Georgia Traverse Day 2
We get up just in time to see Caity off to work. Our son in law, Johnny, had to go in early so we missed him. The night before we noticed an IHOP near Caity’s home and have been craving their stuffed French toast, so off to IHOP we go. Unfortunately they have discontinued the stuffed French toast but we still had a wonderful breakfast. Back to Caity’s to go over our maps and repack a few things in the truck.
We hit the road at 11am for the first leg of the Georgia Traverse. We turn off of highway 11 on to highway 130 and encounter our first obstacle. A tractor trailer attempting to turn around by backing into a side road had dropped his trailer wheels in the ditch and is stuck, completely blocking the road. We pull around several trucks to see if we can use the side road as a detour but it is a dead-end road. Several truck drivers have left their trucks to assist their comrade. One of them suggested that since we were in a 4×4 truck we should see if there is a suitable spot to cross the ditch and continue our journey. Initially we were skeptical. After all the ditch is deep enough to swallow a tractor trailer tandem axle. Luckily about a hundred yards down the road by way of a power line right of way the ditch looked crossable. So with 4 wheel high engaged we head down the right of way and cross the ditch with little effort.
Several drivers stop us to inquire about the road block. One was a bike rider from Florida on a very nice touring bike. He had just bought the bike and had yet to install a GPS device. As it turns out a large part of the detour he would need to make was on our way. Patty pulled out a paper map to insure he understood the rest of the detour and we were both on the road again.
We find Burrells Ford Road and begin running the Georgia Traverse. Our first stop is the Chattooga River to take in the beauty and a few photos including me doing my best Captain Morgan pose. Later we come across our first ever water crossing. Patty gets out to check for any hidden dangers and to shoot some video of the crossing. We find several good camping spots but feel it is too early to stop, so we press on. After enjoying more scenery we finally make camp near the end of Burrells Ford Rd and enjoy a quite evening.
