Mountain Adventures! Kennesaw, Dahlonega, and Amicalola Falls

Hey Everyone!

Busy busy adventuring this week! We did a day trip to The Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, then the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History (to see the General, a famous train!) and THEN we drove to Dahlonega to see the Gold Museum in downtown, in the Old Lumpkin Courthouse. It was a long day, but we did it, and learned a lot along the way! Then today we went to Amicalola Falls!

I'm not much of a history buff, so I am learning a lot on these adventures about some of our more interesting history points in Georgia. Obviously there was information about the Civil War in the Kennesaw locations, but then in Dahlonega I learned more about the gold rush and how they refined the gold into coinage before the Civil War took out that whole industry. The biggest revelation I had was that BECAUSE of the discovery of gold in Dahlonega 1829, and the ensuing rush of people to the area, our government decided to enact a land lottery which gave land to people moving in to pan for gold! However, the Cherokee already lived there, and the government decided they needed to relocate the Cherokee, which is how the Trail of Tears started! So the gold rush in Georgia is responsible for the Trail of Tears!!! It was interesting going to these sites on the same day and seeing the different perspectives the museums gave on the Trail of Tears, because I'd never really connected a specific event as the catalyst for it.

In other news, The Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is free admission so you should definitely check them out. They have a sweet little museum on site and there were cool free trading cards about different areas on the site that you would see when hiking. I definitely intend to go back and hike properly the 11 miles of trails, they are so lush and green and it's very near Atlanta! Plus, the view is spectacular.

The General is a train at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, on site where it was originally taken by Union troops during the Civil War. Beautiful museum, it's actually part of the Smithsonian, and my favorite part was all the cool information about the foundry process for making trains! They had original wooden patterns which would be used to make the sand molds then cast the iron needed to make the train! They even had a video demonstrating the process on an industrial level (I did foundry work on a small scale in college but always wondered about the really big stuff). Quality Museum, definitely check them out!

Also, wonderful penny press of The General available in the gift shop.

Dahlonega was cool, we learned about how they refined the gold from the rock using giant crushers, and a lot of the politics behind the mint they established as a branch of the PA mint to make the gold available for circulation. We didn't arrive on time to see the video and decided not to rush the museum itself, but they seem to have a cool exhibit with original tools and examples of minted coinage.
Here are the pennies, showing the machine used to break up the rocks, a $2 1/2 gold coin, and a miner using a water cannon to break the rock face (designed by a Dahlonega artist!):

Today we went to Amicalola Falls, the tallest waterfall in Georgia (and possibly the southeast), and it was GORGEOUS. 604 steps in total and it's a pretty hike the whole way, with some beautiful plants you'll only see in undisturbed old growth forests. I'm glad we are adventuring to all these hiking sites while things are in bloom! Plus, we saw a snake sunning himself, a bunch of salamanders, and then we met a groundhog baby named Tater Tot!!! Seriously the cutest little dude and super friendly, he is becoming part of their outreach programs.
The Falls, A Fish, and a bear in a tree, all in penny form:

Also, here is Tater Tot:

Other fun facts: I learned Kennesaw is a Cherokee word for "graveyard/cemetery," that Dahlonega is a Cherokee word for "yellow money," and that Amicalola is a Cherokee word for "tumbling waters."

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think and I'll update again soon!

Second Adventure! Stone Mountain

Hey Everyone!
Today was my second Penny Press Adventure, this time to Stone Mountain in Stone Mountain, GA. I've been here more times than I can count, but not often enough in the last few years! I have a friend who hikes the summit every week, so this week I joined her and multi-tasked by gathering some pennies from the top of the Mountain, in the Skylift building. I really enjoyed the hike up and we sat peacefully at the top and chatted about life and nature while watching the birds flying around (Maybe hawks? Large brown birds of prey).

For those of you who have never made the hike up Stone Mountain, there are some landmarks worth pointing out: First, the flags of Georgia including our confederate flag, but that is to be expected seeing as we have a confederate monument inscribed on the side of the mountain. Then you will pass the infamous gum pole, where people from all over have stuck their old gum. I personally think it's gross, but at least the gum is all in a consistent spot, and it makes for a neat photograph. Then you hike for a while passing trees that are literally rooted in the granite, and veins of garnet. As you approach the top, there is a steep area (with a railing for those of us who need assistance or something to brace on, just be sure to wash you hands after), and then you make it to the top! Be sure to turn around and check out the Atlanta cityscape, and today we could see Kennesaw Mountain, another mountain I'm not familiar with, and I believe the Buckhead cityscape. Very cool bird's eye view of the Atlanta area.

Of special note, when you reach the top you'll notice round divots in the mountain all over the place-- these are actually formed when lightening strikes the mountain top, creating pot-marks in the granite-- they're SUPER COOL, and it's neat to see how nature is still re-arranging the landscape. If it has rained recently, you'll also see a lovely water pool with stepping stones that you can hop across.

Today I chose to press four of the Stone Mountain Pennies: Fireworks, the State Bird Brown Thrasher, Atlanta Cityscape, and Stone Mountain Side of the Mountain Scene. Here is a photo of those pennies below:

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more adventures soon!

The Revelation and First Adventure!

4.18.16
I have always really enjoyed pressed pennies, but when I was little my mom told me they were a waste of money, so I only collected them when I REALLY wanted them. Although I don’t collect them as seriously as the people who hunt every single one down and press all the available pennies, I do save pre-1982 pennies and quarters in a coin purse that I take with me when I travel-- just in case.

On our drive back from Philadelphia to Atlanta, I was struck with a new way of sightseeing: Penny Press Adventures.

So here was my revelation, as we are entering Virginia-- we can use the Penny Collector Website to see if there are any upcoming penny presses on our way home! Sure enough, there was one at the Visitor Center that was less than a mile away-- we pull over and I get two pennies-- the Virginia is for Lovers and a nice scenic shot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We search to see what else will be on our route and there is a darling press at the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, so we stop there as well and get a penny, but also learn about what they do there and about wildlife in Virginia! It was completely unexpected and a great detour on our approximately 14 hour drive home.

Now I have decided this is something I will pursue as a serious hobby-- choosing places on the Penny Collector website to visit. Penny presses tend to be in cool places, sometimes tourist-y but overall places I would have liked to see regardless, and not always places I would know to go.

Today was my first official Penny Press Adventure-- keeping it close to home, I went to the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta, GA and gathered the incredibly cool Adventure Time penny, as well as the Regular Show and Loony Tunes pennies. I also checked out their CNN specific penny press and got the obligatory scenic shot of the Atlanta skyline from the CNN building. Here is a picture of those beauties:

I could have gone to the GA Aquarium, but having been before and not been too impressed with the pennies I got, I skipped it to hang with my awesome friend Tori! She is more familiar with the downtown area, so ate lunch at Anatolia’s where we had splendid Roasted Eggplant, falafel, and some steamed veggies. We then wandered Centennial Olympic Park, watched kids play in the fountain, and met a 14 year-old who seemed to think we were pretty cool, visiting from Warner Robins. She paid me the great compliment of thinking I was only 17, and spent quite a while chatting with us about school, what we do normally, and even more philosophical subjects.

We then wandered back to Tori’s car, and she gave me a lift home after we dropped off some boxes for her friends who are moving soon. Then when I got home I mowed the lawn (which is no small feat, our yard is huge). All in all, I would say an excellent, productive day, and a great start to my Penny Press Adventure Saga!

Stay tuned for more adventures from: Stone Mountain, Amicalola Falls, and Birmingham, Alabama for the Iron Statue of Vulcan (who should be my patron god)!

Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day!