Grand Tour of Georgia

Received a message from a friend yesterday telling me about the Grand Tour of Georgia. It is an event from March 15 to November 15 that involves visiting specific sites on a motorcycle and getting a picture or passport stamp. 17 of 20 sites across the state must be visited by November to complete the task. Entry fees support a charity for abused children. Find out more about it here: Grand Tour of Georgia

There is also a face book page.

This year the locations are related to the civil war so Sergent Chuck, maybe you want to come over and participate. I will post my photos here as well as on their site for credit.

I wish I had known about it a few days sooner as I passed a mile from one location in King's Bay coming back from Daytona. Luckily another is on my way home today and a third is in my home town.

Looks like an interesting ride, with support for a good cause as well. Great idea. Somewhere I have a picture of me when I was about 7 yrs. old (1955) standing next to a cannon on Kennesaw mountain.

danrev said:

Looks like an interesting ride, with support for a good cause as well. Great idea. Somewhere I have a picture of me when I was about 7 yrs. old (1955) standing next to a cannon on Kennesaw mountain.

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That's about 4 miles from my house.

Got my first tag in Darien. Union troops set this church on fire twice yet failed to burn it. It was rebuilt after a hurricane destroyed it 20 years later.

Second tag closer to home. Milledgeville was capital of Georgia and this is where Civil War Seccession vote was held.



My favorite historical marker is just around corner from tag. If you think today's politics is tough, this is where a future governor horse whipped his rival.

that l do pig said:

That's about 4 miles from my house.

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We lived in Acworth at the time. My dad pastored the Presbyterian church there, and preached occasionally at the Mars Hill church, which was out in the country at the time. I don't think it's still in the country now, since that area has grown a lot over the years.

danrev said:

We lived in Acworth at the time. My dad pastored the Presbyterian church there, and preached occasionally at the Mars Hill church, which was out in the country at the time. I don't think it's still in the country now, since that area has grown a lot over the years.

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suburbs now, I bought my Vespa GTS very close to there from a large motorcycle dealer. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mars...Church+Rd+NW,+Acworth,+Georgia+30101&t=h&z=15

that l do pig said:

suburbs now, I bought my Vespa GTS very close to there from a large motorcycle dealer. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mars...Church+Rd+NW,+Acworth,+Georgia+30101&t=h&z=15

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When I decided to get back into riding, I originally considered getting a Vespa GTS since I had so much fun riding my Lambretta as a teen. But then I thought I could do more with the NC 700x and so went that way. I think I made the right choice since I can only afford one 2 wheel vehicle at a time.

Coming back from my trip Saturday / Sunday I circled the west side of Georgia to pick up some more tags on the tour. I posted some in my adventure thread but didn't want to load it up with the Grand Tour of Georgia pics. A bit more here as if you are reading this I assume you have an interest.

For me much of the fun in participating in this challenge is the history I am learning from places I likely would never have known about.

I started Saturday afternoon entering Georgia from Chattanooga at the Chickamauga Battlefiels.
The Willder monument is one of the most impressive so I looked it up. Wilder was a successful Union leader of the Indiana regiment. He personally guaranteed loans to get repeating rifles for his unit which gave them much more fire power and made them a formidable foe. He was turning the tide in this battle in the Union's favor when the assistant secretary of the army insisted he be escorted to safety in Chattanooga. This interruption caused the initiative to be lost.


Next stop was Rome, Georgia a bit south. Here was a spot I had multiple times passed within 100 yards of but had no idea what was there with just a sign for visitors information. There was a park with seveal items of historic significance. The specific item for the tag was a giant lathe from the Rome Iron Works that had been used to make things for the confederate cause such as cannons. The union army burned the iron works but the lathe was so massive the heat did not affect it. The lathe was used up into the 1970s.


As I entered Georgia at 4:30 it was approaching dark and I spent the night just south of Rome. Sunday morning I headed south to the next stop in West Point, Georgia to get a picture of this plaque. The card in the picture is what I have to show to prove I was there with my name clearly shown in the picture. I will have 20 of these when done. (already have 7).



Closu up for you to read about the last Confederate fort to fall to the Union during the war.


An hour further south is Columbus, GA. Here is the Civil War Naval Museum. Unfortunately the museum was closed so I will have to go back. Did get the tag with a picture of the stearn of the Water Witch. This was a Union gun boat blockading Savannah. The Confederates captured it in a daring raid but their pilot was killed in the process so they had trouble getting back. They sank it to keep the Union from getting it back. It was salveged a few years back, and this is a full scale replica.



Last stop on the way home was Andersonville. It was a Confederate POW camp during the war. It is now the National POW Museum. It is a moving experience to visit here and learn of the horrors some went through in defense of our country. During the Civil War 45,000 Union prisoners were sent here and about a fourth of them died here. There is a muddy ditch going through it that was considered to be a good water supply and why the location was chosen.

This picture shows where the camp was. The white stakes show the location of the wall and the rope withing the wall that prisoners would be shot if crossing as crossing it indicated an attempt to escape. Some committed suicide by crossing the rope. The first time I visited here I did the math of how many would have been in my yard then stood in my yard at home wondering how that many could physically move around, much less live.


Original site from other side. A reconstruction of a bit of the wall to the left.


A monument in back of the museum.


Wisconsin Monument. Inscription says "Let Us Have Peace"


I hope to get a few more tags going to and from the SGT.

When you make it back to Columbus be sure to make at stop at the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning. I would say this is one of my favorite military museums and a great place to spend a few hours.

https://www.nationalinfantrymuseum.org/

Dutchie
Elberton Georgia claims to be granite capital of the world with over 20 operating quaries and 150 businesses making itmes from granite including half a million tomb stones a year. Of course when granite is this big in the county there has to be a museum and in the museum is an interisting Civil War artifact - Dutchie.

In the late 1800's the town commissioned a sculpter to carve a granite statue of a confederate soldier to go on top of a monument in the town square. The sculpter was an immigrant from Pennsylvania. When the statue was unveiled the confederate veterans were immediately upset. Seems the sculpter had never seen a confederate soldier so he carved what he know. The statue appeared to be a Pennsylvania Dutch Union Soldier. Within 2 years Dutchie was off the monument and burried and a new sculpter that properly represented a confederate soldier put up. Recently Dutchie was dug up and put on display in the museum.

Dutchie


His replacement - a True Confederate

Good to see this catching on. The Virginia Grand tour I think started all this.... 11 years ago. I did the tour about 7 years ago but haven't done it since (didn't complete it then as I wanted to keep my passport book for future use!). It's a great idea, helping you to find great roads and interesting places to visit, and you never can say you don't know where to ride to (at least until you visit all the locations).

These always support some great cause as well. If you have the time I highly recommend any grand tour from any state.

Link to VA tour http://www.vamotorcycletour.com/

Stumphouse Tunnel

Near Walhalla, SC off Moonshiner 28. Not sure how a SC site is part of the Grand Tour of GEORGIA, but who cares if riding the Moonshiner is how to get there.

An unfinished railroad tunnel that extends 1/4 mile into mountain. Also a home to lots of bats. Warning signs conerned with people not having cleaned shoes after entering other bat caves and thus transferring disease among bat colonies.

I also want to take participate in this grand tour and I hopefully that I will do participate there I want to know that is there any foreign player can be participating?

kasi said:

I also want to take participate in this grand tour and I hopefully that I will do participate there I want to know that is there any foreign player can be participating?

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This one runs out next month. If a person has the tim off it could probably ne done on a week. I think there will be another next year with a different theme.

Right fuzzy!! if next year with different time then I hope you will contact with me before start because I also want to participate in it with full of passion..

kasi said:

Right fuzzy!! if next year with different time then I hope you will contact with me before start because I also want to participate in it with full of passion..

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If I do I will post it here.

Hey Fuzzy,

It's back and this time...it's about trains!

Grand Tour of Georgia

Agent said:

Hey Fuzzy,

It's back and this time...it's about trains!

Grand Tour of Georgia

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I've been following it on Face Book. Not going to have much time to take trips around the state this year with a few personal and work things going on. Only got half of it done last year before getting pulled elsewhere, but that half made it worthwhile. Need to be able to devote at least 4 or 5 weekends to getting it all in.

Now that looks like a cool activity. I wish someone would do it here.

I almost took a job teaching in Milledgeville when I graduated from college. Didn't have enough money to move and I lucked up into a job in the same town I attended college. Still here 40 years later.