roadside attractions – Wandering Dawgs

UGA Football Barn Sign

September 3, 2018September 5, 2018Posted in Georgia, Sporting EventsTagged back roads, country roads, Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Bulldogs Fans, Georgia Bulldogs Football, NCAA Football, roadside attractions, SEC Football, Sports Teams, Tennile, UGA Football Barn Sign7 Comments

College football season is finally here! For the next three months, the Wandering Dawgs will be making the drive to Athens, Georgia to watch our University of Georgia Bulldogs play on Saturdays in Sanford Stadium.

Along with thousands of other UGA football fans and students, our favorite route to Athens is along Georgia Highway 15. One of the familiar sights of the trip is an old barn beside the highway in Tennile.

About eighteen years ago a message about Georgia Football had been painted on the sign for the first time. Ever since then, the message changes a few times during the year. Now whenever we travel that way we look forward to seeing what new message will be there.

UGA Football Barn Sigh 09-16-2003

UGA Football Barn Sign 10-29-2002

UGA Football Barn Sign 11-18-2004

UGA Football Barn Sign 8-27-2007

UGA Barn Sign 9-26-2009

UGA Barn Sign 8-23-2011

GA Barn Sign 11-04-2011

GA Barn Sign under renovation 9-24-2012

GA Barn Sign under renovation 10-14-2012

GA Barn Sign 11-02-2012

UGA Barn Sign 11-08-2013

UGA Football Barn Sign 07-11-2014

UGA Football Barn Sign 09-26-2014

UGA Barn Sign 8-21-2015

UGA Barn Sign 2-27-16

UGA Barn Sign 7-24-2017

UGA Barn Sign 11-2-2017

UGA Barn Sign 3/22/2018

The barn sign has a web page and Facebook Page. The Red and Black featured the barn sign in this article Painted barn brings message to UGA football, fans for next season .

Go Dawgs!

Mosley’s Wiregrass Junction

June 1, 2018Posted in Georgia, Nature, Road Trip, Tourist Attractions, WildlifeTagged Animal Exit, Camel, Mosley's Wiregrass Junction, roadside attractions20 Comments

When was the last time you were driving down the interstate in the state of Georgia and saw a camel or a buffalo?

The first time we saw a buffalo from the interstate as we were traveling east on I-16 towards home we knew we were going to have to stop. Ever since then Moseley’s Wiregrass Junction has become a favorite stopping place when we are traveling along that route.

Usually we just watch the animals from the parking lot but the last time we were there we opted to pay the $2 per person fee to see them up close. We also bought a bag of animal food before going through the gate to see animals.

20180529Animal-Exit-(1) — Mosley’s Wiregrass Junction just off I-16 at exit 98

20180529Animal-Exit-(41) — Camel at the Animal Exit

20180529Animal-Exit-(19) — Emu at the Animal Exit

20180529Animal-Exit-(99) — Peacock Feathers

20180529Animal-Exit-(66) — The goats weren’t shy

20180529Animal-Exit-(91) — Goats waiting for a handout

Next time we may opt for an additional $8 to take a tour of the farm where their zebra, buffalo, cows, pigs and other animals live.

Mosley’s Wiregrass Junction Animal Exit Farm is located on Georgia Interstate 16 at exit 98 in Aline.

You can connect with them on their Facebook page at https://facebook.com/wiregrassjunction57

Unusual Roadside Attractions

July 22, 2017July 25, 2017Posted in Road Trip, Tourist Attractions, TravelTagged Green Giant Statue, Hammer Museum, Iron Horse, Mitchell Corn Palace, Perky Bat Tower, roadside attractions, Smallest Church in America, Smallest Post Office, South of the Border, Superman Statue, Wall Drug, Wordpress Photo Challenge21 Comments

Sometimes we stop to see unusual roadside attractions as we wander around America.

We had to take a tour of the Hammer Museum — Hammer Museum in Haines, Alaska

20110526Pikes-Peak-(23) — Bigfoot on the road to Pikes Peak in Colorado

Smallest Church in America in Ochopee, Florida — Smallest Post Office in America in Ochopee, Florida

Smallest Church in America, Townsend, Georgia

The Iron Horse on Highway 15 in Green County, Georgia

20170113South-of-the-Border-(1) — South of the Border, South Carolina

20070414SD-(8) — Wall Drug Store in Wall, South Dakota

20070413SD-(5) — The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota

We visited Superman in Metropolis, Illinois — Superman Statue in Metropolis, Illinois

20070608Amarillo-(28) — Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas

20080602Country-Roads-Take-Me-Home-(1) — John Henry Statue, Talcott, West Virginia

What kind of unusual attractions have you seen in your travels?

Nesting Birds at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

April 25, 2016February 24, 2018Posted in Birds, Georgia, National Wildlife Refuge, Nature, WildlifeTagged day trip, geocaching, Georgia birding, Great Egret, Harris Neck, roadside attractions, Smallest Church in America, tri colored heron, wood stork, Wood Stork Nesting9 Comments

Wood storks, egrets, and herons build their nests every spring in the trees of Woody Pond at the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. Located in Georgia just a few miles from I 95 in between Savannah and Brunswick, it is a great day trip from our home.

Woody Pond at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

Wood storks were placed on the Endangered Species list in 1984. After almost 30 years of conservation efforts to increase the wood stork population, their status was upgraded to Threatened in June, 2014.

A path along the dike beside Woody Pond provides a great place to view the birds. The wood storks and egrets shared the trees.

Nesting Wood Storks and Great Egrets at Woody Pond

Many of the wood storks were working on their nests. None of their eggs had hatched yet.

As I took photos, Henry used the spotting scope and pointed out a mother egret with chicks that I would have never seen. The nests were a long way from where we were so the picture isn’t the best but it gives you an idea of the size of the baby egret.

In the shallow water at the edge of the pond a tri-colored heron entertained us as he searched for food.

Tri colored heron

Tri Colored Heron gets his catch

After leaving the refuge we stopped at the Smallest Church in America to take a look and do a little geocaching.

An arsonist burned this church in November, 2015. The church is being rebuilt through the efforts of volunteers and the work is almost complete.

Smallest Church in America, Townsend, Georgia

Smallest Church in America

After finding the geocache hidden near the church we headed for home.

The (Extra) Ordinary Iron Horse

October 20, 2015November 18, 2015Posted in Georgia, PhotographyTagged Athens Georgia, Green County Georgia, Iron Horse, Iron Horse Plant Sciences Farm, roadside attractions, University of Georgia, Weekly Photo Challenge15 Comments

Henry and I have traveled north on Georgia Highway 15 between Greensboro and Athens at least once a year for over 40 years. And for over 40 years, the first one to see the Iron Horse in the middle of a cornfield north of Greensboro shouts “I see the horse”!

When the corn is tall the only part of the horse that is visible is the head. The rest of the year he is easy to spot.

The Iron Horse stands tall in the middle of a cornfield

I love the story about how the horse came to be in that cornfield. The horse was created by Abbott Pattison and was originally placed on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens in 1954. Students frequently vandalized the sculpture so a professor in the agricultural department agreed to set the Iron Horse up in the middle of his cornfield about 20 miles south of Athens.

The Iron Horse is so tall I had to look up to get this photo

The farm today has been renamed the Iron Horse Plant Sciences Farm and is a part of the University of Georgia’s research farmland. The previous owners of the land have retained ownership of the Iron Horse. The University of Georgia granted an easement to the sculpture so people like me could get close enough to admire the horse and take pictures.

This is my contribution to the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: (Extra) Ordinary