“Not
all those who wander are lost.”
J. R.
R. Tolkein
What a
spectacular spring day. The skies are clear and the humidity is low.
Looks like a great day for a ride. Let's go.
Our
first stop for the day is Hogie Joe's in Thomson, Georgia on Railroad
Street across from the old train station. What a fun restaurant
with great food. There is so much to look at with all the old
pictures of Thomson. I ordered the black and blue burger and it was
to die for. Joe got there reuben and really enjoyed it. They do
have hoagies as well but this restaurant was named after a man named
Hogie. While we were sitting there enjoying our lunch, Joe took my
picture and posted it on face book giving kudos to the restaurant and
stated we were on our first stop of our adventure today. Next thing
we know, the co owner and general manager, Amy Kiel came over to our
table and asks us where we are going on our adventure today. I was
thinking she was a psychic or something since I didn't know Joe had
posted his comment on face book. We told her about going to the
Elder Mill Covered Bridge and she said since we would be in that
area, we should also go see the Watson Mill Bridge, another covered
bridge. She was just lovely and we thanked her for her advice and
the great food. Hogiejoes.com.
Elder
Mill Covered Bridge, aka Rose Creek Bridge was built in 1897 and is a
99 foot long bridge you can drive over near Watkinsville. We did
and it was a little nerve racking as it is a narrow single lane
bridge but held up well with us on it. No cars came the other way
nor did they the whole time we visited this amazing spot. It is one
of 13 covered bridges in Georgia that are still functional and it
stands proudly above Rose Creek. What a great place to go sit near
the creek to listen to the water rushing by and hear the call of the
song birds singing. What a beautiful, wooded, secluded area and is
so peaceful. The bridge itself is amazing and was put together with
wooden pegs. Nathaniel Richardson was the maker of the bridge which
was named after David Elder who was originally from Virginia and
later a soldier from the Revolutionary War. He came to Oconee County after his military service to live out his life and his
descendents have lived in this county for over 200 years. This
bridge was moved in 1924 from over the Calls River about two miles
away. That must have been something to see watching that move.
Every December one of the neighbors decorates the bridge with
Christmas lights. We enjoyed our quiet time here being all alone
with nature and history. This is only 95 miles from Augusta and is
within easy reach. cityofwatkinsville.com.
Watson
Mill Bridge State Park is a lovely 1,018 acre park near Comer,
Georgia about 83 miles from Augusta. We drove down peaceful country
roads with farmlands abound on our way taking turn after turn to get
there. It was so well worth the trip when we pulled into the state
park and saw that magnificent covered bridge. The setting looked
picture perfect and we got some picture perfect pictures. Did I just
say that? But it is truly an awesome site to see. The plaque states
it was built in 1885 by W. W. King, a free slave
who was the son of
Horace King, a famous covered bridge builder. The bridge is 229
feet long and the longest original site covered bridge in Georgia and
was built over the South Fork River. We drove over two lane bridge
to see the camping area of the park. This was another site that was
just wonderful to sit and look at this wonderful piece of
architecture and take great pictures. The details on this bridge
are amazing. The park offers hiking, biking, camping, and horse
back riding. www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com.
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