Your Georgia Field Tripping Travel Guide

A few of the Teach Them Diligently bloggers are sharing some mini geography lessons which you will hopefully be able to utilize before, during and after your travels to your favorite Teach Them Diligently Conference or Teach Them Diligently Marketplace. There are 3 great Conferences and 9 Marketplaces so hopefully one of us will be sharing information for a state you will be passing through on your trip.

Our family lives in Georgia just north of Atlanta. Since we will be traveling through the northern parts of the Peach State to reach both the Teach Them Diligently Conference in Tennessee and South Carolina I decided to share about Georgia.

There are two main interstates that run through Georgia, I-75 and I-85. If you're making your way through the state you are most liking traveling on one of these two interstates. It's possible you could also be using I-95 since it is the main interstate for the East coast and one of the oldest interstates in America. However it only passes through Georgia for 112 miles so I don't count it as one of Georgia's major interstates.

History of the roads:
I-75 started being planned in the 1950's and continued being added to until November 25, 1992, when Alligator Alley was reconstructed and received the signs for I-75. I-75. It is one of the major north-south Interstate Highways and travels from State Road 826 (Palmetto Expressway) and State Road 924 (Gratigny Parkway) in Hialeah, Florida (northwest of Miami) to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario border. Interstate 75 is the 7th longest interstate highway after Interstate 95. It passes through 6 different states: Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan.

I-85 is and has always been a work in progress. I-85 is a major interstate highway in the Southeastern United States. Its current southern end is at an interchange with Interstate 65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern end interchanges with Interstate 95 in Petersburg, Virginia, near Richmond.  It passes through 5 different states: Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Just a quick side note I got my first ever speeding ticket on I-85 in Virginia...however I have read that they finally did increase the speed limit on that portion from 65 to 70.  I-85 roughly parallels an ancient Indian trading path documented since colonial times from Petersburg, Virginia to the Catawba Indian territory.

Sights along way:
There are so many sights in Georgia, way too many for me to list them all. So I will share some of our favorites and ones that are on our personal to-do list that are along the interstates. Be sure to label these on your map (see below).

Sights along I-75:

• Atlanta - definitely make a pit stop at our Capitol city, both I-85 and I-75 pass through it. You can actually visit the Capitol building for FREE. There is a museum on the top floor with some great information and artifacts about Georgia. While you in Atlanta you can also visit one or all of the great museums including The High Museum of Art, GA Aquarium, Coca Cola Museum, Turner Field, Atlanta Zoo, Atlanta Botanical Gardens, King Center, Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta History Center and more. Check out my SE Homeschool Days page and my recent post on FREE GA field trips for more info on the great places in Atlanta.
• Warner Robins - there is an amazing aviation museum which is FREE to visit. We went recently and got to take hubby along as well.
• Cartersville - This small but growing town offers many great places to visit including: Etowah Indian Mounds, Booth Western Art Museum, Bartow History Museum and Tellus Museum.
• Valdosta - Wild Adventures Theme park has got to be one of my all time favorite family theme parks. 
• Macon - Is one of GA's larger cities. We have yet to explore this area but here are some sites you may be interested in seeing: Ocmulgee Indian Mounds, Tubman African American Museum, Museum of Arts and Sciences and Georgia Children's Museum.

Many of the Civil War battles took place all along I-75. Visit this website to learn more, many of these towns have small museums, historical sites etc that you can stop at to learn more. In Andersonville you can take a tour of a Civil War prison.

Sights along I-85:

• Atlanta - see above for info.
• Barrow County - Barrow County Museum located in the old Barrow County Jail.
• Buford - Lake Lanier Resort and Waterpark is also a great place for some family fun.
• Stone Mountain - About 10 miles off of I-85 is the famous Stone Mountain park. You will spend an entire day at this park...there is so much to see and do.
• Chamblee - See the amazing overhead structure which comprises the northern confluence of highways I-85 and I-285. Designated locally as 'Spaghetti Junction'. 
• Pine Mountain - This amazing city is 20 miles off of I-85 but really deserves a visit. Recently a friend and I visited for 2 days with our kids. Here are the place you need to be sure to visit: Callaway Gardens, Little White House at F.D. Roosevelt State Park, The Warm Springs, Wild Animal Safari and Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery (FREE).

Be sure to also check out the many amazing National and State parks in Georgia. Many of them are not far off the Interstates.

Map:
Print out this map (actually maybe a couple of them). Next label major cities, rivers, mountains, historical trails, etc. You can also label your route to the Teach Them Diligently Convention. And label any of the places you stop to visit along the way as well.

Cities:

• Atlanta (Capitol)
• Savannah
• Albany
• Macon
• Valdosta
• Roswell (where we live)
• Pine Mountain
• Augusta
• Athens
• Columbus
• Dalton
• LeGrange

Trails:

• Trail of Tears - there are several historic sites in GA where you can learn more about the Trail of Tears which forced hundreds of Cherokee Indians out of their home. Visit this website for a Trail of Tears map of the route.
• Underground Railroad - GA was sadly a slave state. However thanks to brave people like Harriet Tubman who were conductors on the underground railroad many slaves were led to freedom. In Savannah, GA you can visit two sites that were actually underground railroad station stops: First African Baptist Church and Fort Pulaski.
• Appalachian Trail - 70+ miles of the Appalachian trail is in GA. 

Rivers:

• Chattahoochee
• Savannah
• Etowah
• Chestatee
• Oostanaula River

Mountains:

• Brasstown Bald
• Rabun Bald
• Stone Mountain 

Swamps:

• Okefenokee Swamp

More resources:
Several months ago I put together an entire blog post all about Georgia. Be sure to visit that post for more great information, GA Unit Study. Make sure you visit this post for loads of additional information and links. Including book recommendations, craft ideas, printables, games, information on famous people and more.

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We hope you enjoy your travels through Georgia!

Linking up with: Teach Them Diligently