The photo above illustrates how I have spent the last two Christmas holiday seasons - wandering on the beach in Jekyll Island, Georgia. Listening to the ocean has become my favorite holiday soundtrack. I thoroughly enjoyed both of those trips where a good portion of my day was spent enjoying the calm around me.

Something different was in store for me for the 2016 Christmas holiday season. The cross-country drive to Colorado was the star of this year's show. But that doesn't mean I didn't have something planned for this Christmas day.

No holiday of mine is complete without a proper feast. Harrah's in Cherokee, North Carolina serves a feast like no other and has become my go-to feasting location. So this was a given. But since Mother Nature decided to cooperate this year with clear skies and a very comfortable 66 degree weather forecast, I decided to throw a couple of diversions into the mix and do some sightseeing along the way.

One diversion came in the form of how I normally get to Cherokee. Following US Route 441 from Athens takes me to within one mile of Harrah's and has always been the path of choice. Today, I decided to explore North Carolina Route 28 from Franklin to the small town of Lauada at the intersection with the US Route 19/74, The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway. This will add to the travel time and distance, but should be a wonderful drive on a winding road through the Nantahala National Forest.

The other diversion involved a local sightseeing trip. Tallulah Gorge State Park is located in the town of Tallulah Falls Georgia, population 168. Everything here is named Tallulah. The Tallulah Gorge is a 1,000 foot deep canyon that has been carved out of the Tallulah Dome rock formation in the area by the flow of the Tallulah River over the last few hundred-million years or so. The gorge is about 2 miles long, over which the river drops roughly 500 feet in elevation via a series of 6 waterfalls known as the Tallulah Falls, hence the name of the town.

There is some confusion as to the origin of the word "Tallulah." This area has long been associated with the Cherokee Nation. So it makes sense that the name was thought to have been derived from the Cherokee language. But other sources suggest the word was derived from the Okonee word "talula" which means "town." The Okonee People were a branch of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation who lived in the area for centuries prior to the Cherokee.

The waterfalls were old news to the native inhabitants of the land. European settlers, however, were awestruck by the beauty of the waterfalls and surrounding gorge when they stumbled upon them around 1820. Word spread of the Niagara of the South which attracted wealthy tourists from Atlanta and points beyond. Hotels and boardinghouses were built to accommodate the visitors. The arrival of the railroad to the area in 1882 brought more tourism, the proceeds from which continued to foster development. By 1890, Tallulah Falls was an actual resort town, (having been incorporated in 1885), complete with more hotels, a post office, a train station, and a tavern. Along with checking out the gorge and waterfalls, visitors could also hunt, fish, go horseback riding, or play tennis.

The sheer beauty of the region is what attracted vacationers to begin with. As the area became more crowded with tourists, conservation efforts began as early as 1905 to ensure the area remained beautiful. But Tallulah Gorge State Park wasn't officially established until 1993. The 2,739 acre park contains the gorge, waterfalls, a 63 acre man-made reservoir, and the surrounding wilderness.

I hit the road on my way to diversion number one and arrived at Tallulah Gorge State Park around 90 minutes later. The Jane Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center is a 16,000 square foot educational facility named for conservationist Jane Hurt Yarn who was instrumental in preserving much of Georgia's abundant natural landscape. Contained therein are exhibits relating to the history of the gorge and the area. As expected, the center was closed for the Christmas Holiday.

But the 20 miles of walking trails that lead to the various overlooks and down into the gorge were all accessible.

The gorge area features two Rim trails at the top of the gorge, one on the northern side of the river, (where I was), and the other on the opposite (southern) side of the river, (both can be seen on the park map above). Since the interpretive center is located on the northern side of the river, I was headed to the North Rim Trail, the entrance to which is right next to the interpretive center parking area.

The path from the parking area circles around to the rear of the interpretive center on its way to the intersection with the North Rim Trail.

This is nice and relatively short walk through the woods on a well-kept trail.

Heading to the North Rim Trail from the interpretive center.

The dirt trail eventually turned into a path made of recycled rubber tires which was a lot easier on your feet.

The intersection with the North Rim Trail arrived shortly thereafter.

Now I've never been here before. So I had no idea what to look for or where to go. Signage along the trail listed what could be seen at each overlook and how far away each was. Overlook 1 was listed as the quickest way to view a waterfall. Perfect ! I turned left onto the North Rim Trail and headed that direction.

After a short walk that didn't seem to be anywhere near the .25 mile advertised length, I had arrived at the first overlook.

Signage referred to this point as "Overlook 1A." Alright. It just says "1" on the map, not "1A." I didn't realize at the time that there was a difference between Overlook 1A, where I was, and Overlook 1, where I thought I was. I later discovered Overlook 1 was, indeed, 1/4 mile down the trail. I had inadvertently stopped at the much closer Overlook 1A which was the reason why the walk seemed so short, (because it was).

This means that while Overlook 1A was great, I completely missed Overlook 1 which contains the remains of a tower that held the tightrope used by Karl Wallenda when he walked across the gorge in 1970. I'll have to return to the park again in the future to check that out.

Gorge depth at this location was listed as 330 feet.

The rock formation seen in the photo above sits next to Overlook 1A.

Here I encountered the first of what would be many stunning views !

The Tallulah Gorge from Overlook 1A.

The Tallulah Gorge from Overlook 1A.

The park map shows a total of 10 overlooks, 5 on either side of the gorge. The fence seen in the photos above and below sits along the South Rim Trail and takes hikers to Overlooks 8, 9, and 10.

Zooming in on Overlook 10.

I pointed the camera downstream (to my left), and zoomed in on the gorge walls and the Tallulah River below.

Zooming in on the downstream gorge walls.

Zooming in on the downstream gorge walls.

Zooming in on the Tallulah River.

Zooming in on the Tallulah River.

Zooming in on the Tallulah River.

I then turned to my right so I was facing upstream and zoomed in on the gorge walls.

Zooming in on the upstream gorge walls.

Zooming in on the upstream gorge walls.

Zooming in on an electrical substation across the gorge.

Then I looked down into the gorge some 330 feet below where I was standing.

There's a bridge way down there !

And there were people on the bridge !

If they were able to get to the bridge, so should I, but I'm not sure how.

The bridge stretched across the gorge. So access to the far end would be from the South Rim Trail, opposite of where I was. This means access on this side of the gorge would have to be somewhere off to my right, or the direction from where I just came. So I need to go back to the intersection I first encountered and continue toward Overlooks 2 and 3.

Backtracking on the North Rim Trail from Overlook 1A brought me first to Overlook 3.

L' Eau D' Or Falls and the top of Tempesta Falls can be seen from this overlook. In between the two lies the Hawthorne Pool.

L' Eau D' Or Falls is the first of the six waterfalls in the gorge and drops a total of 46 feet.

Tempesta Falls is second in line and drops a total of 76 feet.

Only the top of Tempesta Falls can be seen from this vantage point.

The Hawthorne Pool that sits in between L' Eau D' Or and Tempesta Falls is named for a Reverend Hawthorne of Athens, Georgia who, in 1837, was swept over Tempesta Falls while swimming in the river at this point.

Overlook 3 offered another stunning view of the gorge !

The overlook seen off in the distance in the photos above is Overlook 2 where I was heading next.

Overlooks 2 and 3 are relatively close to one another which is evident from the previous photos.

I started down the grade and soon arrived at Overlook 2

Overlook 2.

The viewing area at Overlook 2 is larger than that of Overlook 3, but is a bit more difficult to navigate due to the rocks and the slope. This area appears to be built directly into the rocks on the side of the gorge walls.

I also discovered a tree growing from the rocks, like I saw in Colorado.