Yesterday I was finally able to get down to some serious work on the second edition of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia for publisher W.W. Norton and Company of New York.
In 2016 I crisscrossed Georgia for more than 10,000 miles, exploring the nooks and crannies of the state. I visited old mills, covered bridges (almost every one in the state), courthouses, old churches and historic houses without number, and whatever else caught my fancy. And then I organized it all into 15 tours covering various parts of the state.
Each tour is carefully mapped out with precise driving directions and information about points of interest. Each chapter also includes a list of places to eat and to stay, attractions, and events.
For the second edition, each tour has to be retraced, taking note of anything that may have changed, and each restaurant, hotel, attraction, and event has to be contacted to make sure they are still functioning -- something always necessary, but especially important in these days of the dreaded virus.
Two of the tours cover points of interest in northwest Georgia. The one I retraced yesterday began at New Echota, the Cherokee capital near Calhoun, ran past Old Car City through Cartersville to the Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site and on to Rome and the Old Mill at Berry College, then back north to Howard Finster's Paradise Garden near Summerville, several sites in LaFayette and on to the Old Country Store in Villanow. The tour was about 175 miles, and there were many more sites that I've left out because the list is to long to include in this blog post. I also added one (new) old church because it was historically significant and was only a mile off the route.
I was happy to be able to complete this tour in one day, although I still have to write the changes into the manuscript and call several places for up-to-date information. Fourteen more to go, plus the editor has asked me to add one new tour, which will be in southeast Georgia.
The second edition won't be out until mid-2022, so if you can't wait to begin exploring Georgia's backroads, leave a comment or email me at djphoto@vol.com.
Photograph and text copyright 2021, David B.Jenkins
I post each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
Soli Gloria Deo
For the glory of God alone
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