Thursday, November 26, 2015

Week Six to Week Eight Helen, Georgia for Octoberfest

I spent a few weeks at an RV park in Cumming, GA, just about 14 miles from my daughter. With she and Mike we made a day trip to Helen, GA which is a unique town, it looks just like an Alpine village.

After the Cherokees left the area on the “Trail of Tears” the area was populated by white settlers. In 1828 gold was discovered nearby and the Great Georgia Gold Rush was begun. Thousands of miners came to the area and mined gold for over a century. Settlers left since mining operations quit at the end of the century. The next major industry was all about timber. A great sawmill was built and a railroad came up the Chattahoochee River to Helen. The sawmill operated until 1931 and again people left for other places.


According to  http://www.helengeorgia.com:

By the 1960's, there was nothing left except a dreary row of concrete block structures. In 1968, local businessmen met to discuss what could be done to improve their town. They approached a nearby artist friend, who had been stationed in Germany. He sketched the buildings, added gingerbread trim, details and colors to the buildings, giving an Alpine look to the entire town. In January 1969, business owners and local carpenters began turning ideas into reality. Now all downtown stores have been renovated and many buildings and cobblestone alleyways added. Faces of buildings were painted with scenes of Bavaria and North Georgia, mirroring the migration of early settlers. 
There are now over 200 shops and you may tube down the Chattahoochee River, visit an amusement park, pan for gold and gems, take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, or enjoy international dining. You may fish, swim, canoe, raft, play tennis, hike, ride motorcycles or golf.

Here is just a little bit of Helen:
102_2343
102_2345
102_2340

Can you pronounce this:
102_2344
It started raining just as we were leaving Helen. Here is part of the rainbow that stretched across the sky:

Nice experience, wonderful day with the kids!

Week Five–Talladega Superspeedway, Riding Around the Track

William "Bill" France, Sr. broke ground on the former Anniston Air Force Base in 1968. He wanted to build a track faster and longer than Daytona International Speedway. Originally named Alabama International Motor Speedway. The name was changed in 1989  to Talladega Superspeedway. The track opened on September 13, 1969. The cost was $4 million. The track is a tri-oval and is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long tri-oval.
  
047-102_2227
041-102_2221
043-102_2223

The seating capacity is 80,000.[1] The seats are purposely red with white interspersed. It always looks like they are occupied.

048-102_2228

Out of the bus and to take photos on the stage of Victory Lane.
051-102_2231

056-102_2236


061-102_2241
063-102_2243


068-102_2248
072-102_2252
I missed taking a photo of Turn 2

Most of the photos were taken through the minibus windows. 
It was a “Fun Ride”
.[1]  ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talladega_Superspeedway