Day Two - A Summer of Bluegrass, Camping and Friends - Monday 4/29/2024

I enjoyed my early morning walk around this small RV park. It is bordered by US 19 and Interstate 10. So, my choices for places to walk were limited! We departed A Stone's Throw RV Park today with our little caravan of 5 rigs! We are in the lead, followed by Janet & Brian, Walt & Debbie, Ron & Patty and Mary & Jerry are our tailenders!

We continued north on US 19. The first "big" town We come to is Monticello. What is unique is there is a courthouse in the middle of US 19. They have created a round about around it. This "Courthouse Circle" might seem like an ingenious way to control the traffic at a busy intersection. But, Monticello is in Jefferson County. Every county has at least one feature that makes it different from any other. In Jefferson County that something is something that’s missing. Missing? So how would you know what it is, since it is missing! What is missing is traffic lights. You won’t find a single traffic light in all of Jefferson County, Florida. Really?! Yes, really. 

The Jefferson County Courthouse was modeled on President Thomas Jefferson’s famous house, Monticello, for which the town is named. Built in 1909, it was designed by Georgia-born architect Edward Columbus Hosford. The builder was Mutual Construction Company of Louisville, Kentucky, whose bid for the project was just shy of $40,000. The building is part of the Monticello Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1977.

We quickly crossed the border into Georgia. 

I guess we were passing through the town of Camilla too early. The Gnat Days Festival is held there every May. We despise these little pests, but here they honor them! Gnat Days is a yearly tribute to their favorite southern pest. The event features crafts, food, and festivities for family and friends. 

We continued north through Albany and Smithville. We drove through Americus. We had friends that used to live in Americus, Doc & Faye. They now reside in Fort Gaines. We met and have traveled with them on many Yankee RV caravans!

We made a rest and fuel stop at a Wal-Mart and Murphy USA. I can't keep track... I am not sure if Debbie went in to shop here or not! Walt says he has all he can do to keep the RV on the road, when they pass a Wal-Mart! LOL

I think some of our caravanners were surprised to find the number of rolling mountains we climbed in this part of Georgia.

After a possible wrong turn and a construction detour, we arrived at FD Roosevelt State Park in Warm Springs GA. At 9,049 acres, it's Georgia’s largest state park. It  is a hiker’s and backpacker’s haven, with more than 40 miles of trails, including the popular 23 mile Pine Mountain Trail. 

We were greeted by the most distinct sounds of the animal kingdom—of the insect group, anyway... the song of the cicada! It's just not the summer of 2024 without the hum of cicadas in the background. There are two different broods of cicadas — one that lives on a 13-year cycle and the other that lives on a 17-year cycle — emerged at the same time from underground in a rare, synchronized event that last occurred in 1803.

When we come back to this area, I would like to see FDR's Little White house. We were not there on a day that they offer tours! The house is now a National Historic Landmark. Franklin Delano Roosevelt built the Little White House in 1932 while governor of New York, prior to being inaugurated as president in 1933. He first came to Warm Springs in 1924 hoping to find a cure for his polio that had struck him in 1921. Swimming in the 88-degree, buoyant spring waters brought him no miracle cure, but it did bring improvement. 

Our sites were all pull-thru along the same loop, close to each other. That helped us have more fellowship during happy hour. It was another great day of travel and a nice quiet place to catch some sleep and some great roads to walk on in the morning!

Follow along as our #TwoLaneAdventures continue!