Vagabond Tales- Hike to Watson Mill Covered Bridge

February 21, 22

Spent the morning and early afternoon hiking and picnicking.
Watson Mill Bridge is the longest covered bridge in the state of Georgia, spanning 229 feet across the South Fork River. Built in 1885 by Washington (W.W.) King, son of freed slave and famous covered-bridge builder Horace King. The bridge is supported by a town lattice truss system held firmly together with tree nails. Another interesting note is there are only 20 covered bridges left in Georgia.
Midway through there are these nice window openings. It is quite dark inside and these windows are it’s only light.
The views from these for pedestrian crossers is a real treat. The volume of water is so loud while you are inside, it fills your head and you cannot even hear cars coming. So be careful!

For those who live in our area and are wondering the difference in length between Watson Mill Covered Bridge and the Elizabethton Covered Bridge… Elizabethton is made of white clapboard and was built in 1882. It spans 134 feet across the Doe River. By my calculations Watson Mill is longer by 95 feet and it is still in use today. It has only a 9 foot clearance so you are not advised to take your motor home or camper across.

Farther down the river , we came upon an abandoned power station or hydro electric station that generated power for Watson’s grist mill.

This was a pretty gentle trail minus a couple spots but it really afforded beautiful views.
It was a follow the purple blaze type of day!
I would have loved to have had a time lapse of the growth of this tree!

The weatherman said it would start raining at 3:00 this afternoon and he hit the nail on the head. We got back just in time to hole up in the camper for the rest of the day! And listen to the rain on the roof.

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