On the Blue Ridge

 We spent a few days on the Blue Ridge in Northern Georgia.

I hope that it becomes the other place I know — not the place where I live, but the place I visit so often I don’t have to ask people if they could direct me to a good place to eat.

We stayed in a cabin in Sautee Nacoochee and spent our days driving and hiking. I started to say “driving the backroads,” but the roads are called highways. I’d just say that some roads will scare you at 45 mph and a few will terrify you at 25.

The Appalachian Trail runs through these woods, and we got on a section of it. We also found a section of the Bartram Trail. You’ll be in deep woods and then you’ll come to an overlook, and the view seems to go on forever.

A blue haze hangs above the ridges and seems to follow their contours. You sometimes have to look closely to see that you’re not just looking at a ridge, but at a series of ridges, some more eroded than others and so at different heights. Each has a name — the local folks were diligent about that. Each is a slightly different shade of blue.

We saw the towns of Helen, Blairsville, Young Harris, Hiawassee and Clayton, but we came to see the country.

I love Tallulah Gorge because I like to see and hear water run a canyon. The north rim features a straight drop — no slope. I’d make a long trip to see it.

Warwoman Dell is much more subtle but to my liking. If you visit, you’ll see Warwoman Shear, a fault line as distinct as Balcones Fault in Central Texas. It’s beautiful, uncrowded, quiet. It’s a couple of miles east of Clayton, if you’re interested. And if you’re looking for a good place to eat, the Universal Joint on N. Main Street in Clayton is fine and friendly.

• Notes: For more, see “Up in the mountains,” Sept. 9, 2023, and “The other place you know,” Sept. 18, 2023.