The North Georgia Mountains offer some of the best places to explore, relax, learn and enjoy one of the premiere Appalachian areas in the southeast. Northeast GA has a rich heritage filled with Scottish and Irish descendants who have, in many cases, preserved time honored music, traditions, foods and hospitality. If you want to immerse yourself in a culture that still retains some of its authentic heritage tinged with Native American influences, you should plan on exploring the North Georgia Mountains in the near future.
The native peoples of Northeast GA can claim ancestry to Scottish and Irish settlers in the 1700's. Even to this day, their language is still influenced by the Scotch and Irish brogues which were fused together to make what is a distinct Appalachian dialect. Not only was this area influenced by settlers from Ireland and Scotland, but the Native American influence is still apparent through some of the folk lore, preserved Cherokee Indian mounds and family blood lines who claim "kinfolks" who were Indians. The North Georgia mountains are not far from where the Indians were compelled to leave their homeland and travel the Trail of Tears starting from the Great Smokey mountains.
Authentic music is still influenced by the rich heritage as well and many great musicians both famous and little known are products of the mountains of GA. Blue grass music is a definite outgrowth of Scotch-Irish music and instruments such as the guitar, bass fiddle, banjo, mandolin, violin and dobro are common to many native bands. You can often hear a facsimile of the bagpipe sound in some of the traditional mountain arrangements. Vocals may or may not be added and are usually a window dressing for much of the instrumental music played in this genre although some of the harmonies are exceptionally good. Famous people from old timer Bill Anderson to new groups like Union Station with Allison Kraus are famous for their adherence to Appalachian traditional music sounds.
Food is a great indicator of the interesting flavor passed down through generations of Appalachian descendants. You won't find the fancy deserts and small portions of half cooked meats that you will find in a New York upscale restaurant. You will, however, find hearty meats, vegetables and deserts that are preferably cooked from fresh grown produce and fresh slaughtered animals. Some of the pudding deserts and fruit pies still show their heritage from the Old World. Homemade cane syrup and fresh milled rye flour go together as tasty pancakes topped with dark syrup and is a meal straight from the mountain cupboard.
The scenery is breathtaking and you can almost feel what the noble settlers felt when they surveyed the landscape upon arrival and decided to settle there because it reminded them of their distant homeland. Don't miss an opportunity to explore the beautiful North Georgia mountains and spend as much time as possible soaking in the wonderful culture and enjoying a plethora of unique activities for the entire family.
