This is a cool little mountain town in North Georgia. It was the sight of the first U.S. Gold Rush, which was the catalyst for the Indian Removal Act, followed by the Trail of Tears in which about 6000 Cherokee Indians died on the march west.
Now it's just a quiet little town with a few tourists here and there.
Blurry photo of the Consolidated Gold Mine (no longer in operation, but a cool place to visit).
Nearby Amicalola Falls.
Another blurry gold mine photo
A small hibernating bat. We did everything but touch it. Noise, flash. The thing didn't even flinch. If you didn't watch your head you'd bump right into it. Our guide in the mine told us ahead of time.
A machine used to pulverize rock in order to more easily extract the gold.
A nearby warning sign. I've been in the north Georgia mountains about ten times and only once have I seen a bear. It was about the same size as a St. Bernard. I imagined it would be a lot bigger, but around here they don't get so large.
