Tallulah Falls (08/05/03)
Last updated 8/6/03
Russian
Translation Here
Tallulah Falls is a little town
near Atlanta, Georgia, famous for its otherworldly beautiful river
gorge with numerous waterfalls. The history of the town is intimately
connected with the fate of the gorge; the place was a popular resort
since the 1800s when the natural beauty of the falls, as well as cool
summer temperatures, attracted holiday visitors. However, when the
Georgia Power Company showed up in the 20th century and put a dam on
the river upstream of Tallulah Falls to convert the stream's energy
into electricity, the falls slowed down to a mere trickle, and so did
the tourist crowds. For decades the town had nothing to its name other
than the dubious honour of supplying Atlanta region with electrical
power. Some years ago, under public pressure, the power company agreed
to set free a certain amount of water through the dam and return the
falls to their former beauty. It actually turned out that the
waterfalls are at their prettiest when the water runs at a lower
pressure than it used to naturally, before the dam was put in place, so
for esthetic reasons (probably economic ones, too!) the power company
releases water at 200 cubic feet per second, as opposed to the original
roar of about 500 cfs. For a few weekends a year the waters of Tallulah
river are set free, and whitewater rafting and canoeing competitions
take place.
We got to enjoy the waterfalls in
their "esthetically pleasing" mode which I found quite attractive.We
hiked the rim trail of the Tallulah Gorge that involves a steep descent
of some 500 stairs to a suspension bridge (see picture; swings about in
a fearsome way if you run across), followed by a matching ascent on the
other side of the bridge. On this hike you get to see waterfalls and
cascades in multiple locations, as well as -- unexpectedly -- a
butterfly bush! It was a flowering pink bush, literally covered with
butterflies of all shapes and colors, at least a dozen of them at the
same time. Maybe it was a butterfly version of a mall where they get to
congregate...
Another claim to fame that
Tallulah Falls has: in 1970s, the legendary tightrope walker Carl
Wallenda crossed the gorge on a thin steel cable and even did a head
stand on it twice during the walk. We saw the location of the tower
where the cable had been attached, and marvelled at the expanse of air
over the gorge that the guy had to cross above the river stream way,
way below. Such a walk would be an amazing feat for anyone, and I was
all the more impressed by Wallenda when I learned his age at the time
of the accomplishment: 65 years old, and a grandfather. "Tragic
footnote" (that's how they had it on the memorial board): Wallenda fell
to his death 8 years later when attempting a similar walk in Puerto
Rico. To me, this ending to a magnificent life of a trapeze artist
seems more appropriate than tragic... what a way to go!
Pictures
Waterfalls in the Tallulah Gorge
If we shared with you pictures of ALL the butterflies on
that bush, there'd be a dozen here...
Waterfalls in the Tallulah Gorge
If we shared with you pictures of ALL the butterflies on
that bush, there'd be a dozen here...