Tallulah Gorge is in the northeast part of Georgia in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The gorge is over a mile long and has a dept of 608 feet. That is what the back of the card tells me.
The card also tells me Tallulah means “terrible” in Cherokee Indian talk. Is that how Tallulah Bankhead got her name?
By the way, Oliver Hardy, before he was in show business, was a supervisor of a railway line that went from nearby Tallulah Falls to Franklin, North Carolina.
Oliver Hardy’s home was in Madison, Georgia. US Hwy 441 goes right by Tallulah Gorge and fifty or so miles down the road, through Madison.
I vaguely remember a famous tightrope walker walked over it one time Wallander? I searched for such an event on Google with no luck.
Of course Tallulah Gorge has a Lover’s Leap. It seems every steep drop off in this area has a lover’s leap with an Indian princess and Brave from opposing tribes doing the leaping.
Each time over the years we have been there I am overwhelmed at the dramatic natural beauty of the gorge. About the only thing I can think of each time is “Wow!”
Also, the gift shop there is a right winger’s paradise, or it was the last time I was there… many rightist slogan bumper stickers. I guess it would not have survived if there wasn’t a market for that kind of merchandise.
I love reading about my local community! Thank you for a consistantly great history lesson.
ReplyDeleteIt was Karl Wallenda who crossed the Gorge -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Wallenda
Jane,
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my site and thank you for educating me on the Wallenda who crossed the Gorge. I am thinking about going in and correcting it, like I knew it all the time... just joking.
Also, it is great to hear from a fellow Mariettaian.
That place is beautiful too, Eddie. I didn't know the meaning of Tallulah; I wonder if Bruce Willis knows - it is one of his daughter's names.
ReplyDeleteJudy,
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, I remember that too - or it seems that I do, that one of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's two daughters is named Tullulah.
Tallulah gorge is beautiful - I've been there a few times and camped on the Tallulah River. In the place I was camped, it was very rocky. One day I stepped on a grey-brownish colored snake that was at least 5 ft long and *huge*. It just slithered off into the river.
ReplyDeleteDeborah,
ReplyDeleteIsn't there a boarding school nearby that carries that name?
the gorge is wonderful for hiking! their walking trails are made from recycled tires and it really gives a great bounce!
ReplyDeleteBird,
ReplyDeleteand I bet a great smell if one should put his cigarette out on the trail by stepping on it.