Through Rabun Gap - Home Over the Mountains

This past week, I took my family to the Emerald Coast in Florida for vacation. I may live in the mountains, but I believe I am partly a fisherman at heart. Or at least a beach bum. We had a much needed week of fun in the sun. We left on Sunday morning right at dawn for the long journey home.

Since this was the first year that we had gone to Florida where we needed to come home straight to Gatlinburg, we opted to take Highway 23 out of Atlanta and through the national park, over the mountain, and home. I had never been to this side of the mountains before except for a trip to Highlands and Cashiers, NC. Normally, we drive I-75 to I-40 to the Sevierville exit.

We stopped outside of Atlanta near Lake Lanier for lunch, then we were on the road again. My 16 month old son and my wife were soon asleep, leaving me with only the road and the radio for company. Gradually, the interstate road became a four lane highway, then a two lane highway. The scenery around me changed from suburbia to rolling hills made of forests and fields.

It was a completely different view of the mountains I am so familiar with, as we passed through Tallulah Falls, then Clayton, then Mountain City, passing Black Rock Mountain State Park. There were beautiful views, rivers and turn offs to trail heads everywhere.

Then we came to the town of Rabun Gap. Rabun Gap seems like it was meant to be placed in the little valley that contains it. This town was special to me because my father’s cousin, Mikell, had passed away about a month and a half ago. Mikell lived in Rabun Gap and the funeral was held at the Baptist church there on a beautiful summer day. I was unable to attend the service, unfortunately. Born and raised in the Low Country of South Carolina, Mikell had moved to Rabun Gap some years ago with his wife Sharon. He was already sick with cancer as a result of exposure to Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. Three of my father’s cousins served in Vietnam and all three got sick with some form of cancer or illness. Mikell left us a rich legacy though, one that I can pass to my children. He had thoroughly researched our family’s lineage from N. Ireland, even visiting the old homestead on a trip there. He even planned a family reunion a few years ago where a plaque for our family was dedicated by the Augusta Historical Society. He had written two books. One book was called The Second Georgia Infantry Regiment and was about that regiment’s history during the Civil War. Our ancestor fought in this regiment. The other book Mikell wrote was called Catherine of Ivanhoe, which chronicled the Civil War journal of Catherine Whitehead Rowland of Augusta, GA. Mikell was truly a kind man, one who believed in the importance and sacredness of history. I thought of him and his legacy as I passed through the lush, green valley of Rabun Gap and crossed Rabun Creek.

Next came the quaint mountain town of Dillard. The Dillard House Resort and Restaurant is a favorite haunt of the women of my family, known affectionately as the “Ya Ya’s”. They usually meet at the Dillard House for a few days each year. As you probably know, Southern women tend to be secretive about some things, so as a man in the family, what goes on at these ‘meetings’ is a mystery to me. I’ve heard the restaurant is incredible and the accommodations are first class, but that’s about all the information I’m allowed to get.

Finally, we passed by Franklin, NC and then drove into Cherokee, where my wife and son woke up. We then got on Hwy 441 and traveled into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We rolled down the windows and let in the cool, mountain air. It had rained quite a bit while we were gone so the air was damp and felt good on our skin. Florida had been extremely humid and hot and, while we had a great time, this was a refreshing welcome home. What a complete change from white sands and blue green seas to lush mountain trees and flowing streams. We crossed Newfound Gap and came down the mountains passed Sugarlands and into Gatlinburg. We arrived home tired from our journey, still missing the beach a little, but glad to be back in the hills.

If you haven’t explored the mountains of north Georgia and southwestern North Carolina, there’s plenty of lakes, rivers, hiking trails, restaurants and accommodations. If you visit Gatlinburg and this is an optional way for you to travel home, it’s well worth the drive.


Links of Interest:

The Dillard House

The Blue Ridge Highlander

Tallulah Falls State Park

Black Rock Mountain State Park

Sumter National Forest

Cherokee, North Carolina