Tag Archive for 'georgia'

Day 2: Americus, GA to Florence Marina State Park, GA

January 4, 2007

Outside of Plains, GA I passed the Foundation Peanut Seed Center of the GSDC, and being the horticulture nerd that I am, I had to stop and take a picture.

When I got to downtown Plains, I noticed that my handlebar bag was slipping on the bars (not good). I tried to tighten it to no avail, so I thought maybe I needed to put a washer on the screw to give it a larger area to tighten against. This only made it worse as the entire fastening mechanism stripped itself. The guy at the hardware store helped me fix it by rigging a completely new nut and bolt system. He did most of the work but only charged me 35 cents, the cost of the parts. [and 500 miles later the fix still works]

Later today I made it to Providence Canyon. I had always heard about it and had no idea how big it really is. 200 years ago this was just hilly land. Poor farming practices of cotton farmers during the 1800’s caused runoff that eroded away the sandy soil, creating a canyon that is up to 150 feet deep.

Tonight I stayed at Florence Marina State Park and took advantage of their shower and laundry facilities. I still don’t understand what the deal is with RV “camping”. Why do people want to go park for the night where there are a lot of other people parked for the night, watching satellite TV, and surrounded by security lights on poles? It’s not even dark here. This is not nature. Still, the hot shower was nice.

GSDC Foundation Peanuts

Peanut Seed Processing

Providence Canyon, Georgia

Providence Canyon, Georgia

Providence Canyon, Georgia

Providence Canyon, Georgia

Providence Canyon, Georgia

Georgia Haybales

Day 1: Macon, GA to Americus, GA

January 3, 2007

Just outside of Macon I passed the first historical marker for the trip: the entrance to the William Bartram trail. Here lies a small creek and the remnants of an old mill. From there to Americus the landscape was dotted with peach and pecan orchards, scattered fields of cotton, and even a few large plantings of cactus.

The miles crept towards 80, but no matter how far I went, the story remained the same; run-down small town struggling to survive. Crumbling homes and boarded factories standing as echoes to the past. Somewhere along the line, I though, people made money here, built nice homes, and earned a respectable living. Then it all got sold away to the U.S. interstate highway system, Made in China, or big business agriculture. Nobody comes here anymore.

Today I saw: The home of Samuel Henry Rumph, father of Georgia’s commercial peach industry.

I stayed: At an abandoned cemetery off in the woods on a sideroad on the other side of Americus. Despite the secluded surroundings, traffic on the sideroad ended up being insane, and a dog somewhere nearby barked almost the entire night.

Creek Near Bartram Trail

Bartram Trail Sign

Old Mill Structure?

Closeup of Old Mill

Peach Orchard in Georgia

Cactus Field in Georgia

Rumph House




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