July 2023, Tallulah Gorge State Park

We arrived!

Tallulah Gorge State Park in Northern Georgia is our first stop on this 2,000-mile summer pop-up camp adventure. Bless my beautiful boy for coming to the house and giving us a loving send-off.

July 1, 2023 – Jeremy gives us a sweet send-off

“Mam, did you possibly register your reservation under a different name?” – George, park ranger, Tallulah Gorge State Park

In all the preparations for the trip, I managed to lose sight of the ACTUAL departure date. We arrived at our first stop at Tallulah Gorge State Park to discover – oops- we were a day early. So after running some mental gymnastics on possible options, I found a historic Bed and Breakfast only a few miles away in Franklin, North Carolina. Franklin Terrace Bed & Breakfast, like most B&Bs, comes complete with a gracious AND eccentric host. Quirky fun.

Franklin Terrace Bed & Breakfast Built in 1887, the Antebellum-style home, originally opened as a boarding school for young women, is now a B&B. Owned and operated by host Paul and his family, it briefly served as Franklin High School before being converted into a hotel. Franklin Terrace was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. 

July 2023, Franklin Terrace Bed & Breakfast

Tallulah Gorge State Park, The main reason for being at this particular park is so that I can visit with my 88-year-old Aunt. I haven’t seen Aunt Lillian for over 30 years. Our family was and is fractured in the way some families are. Estrangement is a familiar necessity. Repairs are rare. Lillian and my Uncle Dick (my mother’s brother) left their Indian Rocks Beach home of many years to retire in Franklin, NC. Dick passed last year. My mother passed in 2009. It seemed important that I visit with my aunt. Lillian is the only remaining family member on my mother’s side of the family. I’m hoping she’ll help me clarify some of the memories we share from my childhood.

Setting up camp is an exercise in hope. The challenges are unknown. You arrive only confident you’ll have electricity and water. When I chose what’s called a “pull-through” site for our stay at Tallulah, I knew I’d lose privacy. A pull-through site is precisely what it sounds like. The pull-through site has two openings, so you can pull in and out without backing up. When making this reservation, I’d just purchased my first pop-up camper. Backing up was a skill I hadn’t yet mastered.

It took me 45 minutes of meditation and Feng Shui concentration to decide on the best position for my camper and pop-up living room. This site provided a significant challenge. My pull-through site is located at the end of a circular one-way drive. Anyone leaving the campsite will drive around my site. Creating privacy would not be easy. Another challenge? Unlike the wooden picnic benches I’d encountered at Florida state parks, this Georgia bench is a massive hunk of immovable concrete.

I’m finding a path forward an hour after check-in, disassembling all the STUFF I typically bring on camping trips. I position my pop-up living room to greet fellow campers out walking their pups. The camper is tucked under what little shade the site provides. I take comfort in the tree at the end of my bed bunk. There is a bit of foliage between my pop-up living room, where I’ll perch for my morning study and blogging rituals, and the road. I’m on Day Three of a five-day visit. I’ve made a few friends, waving and greeting them as they walk by. Cars pause only to drop their trash at the campsite garbage dump. I’m at peace.