On Part 1 of 2, we journeyed from Greensboro to Eatonton, but I forgot to share one more photo from that particular leg.



The above sign greeted us on GA 44 southbound as we crossed the Greene/Putnam County line... and we did see a bunch of "moo cows" between here and Eatonton.

Let's continue our journey, shall we....

After leaving Eatonton on US 441/GA 24, we headed toward Milledgeville to "clinch" Baldwin County. Here I am marking this auspicious occasion on the bridge over Lake Sinclair...



We really didn't get any other photos in Milledgeville, but next time we're down there, I promise to take some and share them with y'all.

After doing a little bit of driving around downtown Milledgeville, we proceeded northeast on GA 22 to "clinch" Hancock county.

Once we arrived in Sparta, we were a little disappointed in how things were not exactly "on the rally", but here's a photo from Sparta that proves you can go west, east, and north... all at the same time...


After taking this photo, we headed up GA 22 to Crawfordville and visted A.H. Stephens State Historic Park, which features Liberty Hall, the home of Confederate Vice President Alexander Hamilton Stephens.

We stayed a little over 2 hours to see the park's own Civil War museum and take the guided tour of the house itself (pictured below).



To the right of the steps, there is a plaque noting that Liberty Hall is a National Historic Landmark. Here's a closeup...



... and here are photos of the statue and the gravesite of Mr. Stephens...



On our way out of the park as we headed back to US 278, I found this old-style "JUNCTION" sign...



Even though GA 12 is the road ahead, it is predominately known as US 278/GA 12, thus it should've included a US 278 sign.

Here is the junction it was referring to (note the US 278 sign on the left side)...


One other thing I noticed as we drove into Crawfordville was that the brown trailblazer signs for the Stephens state park were very small.

Here's an example located at the corner of US 278/GA 12 and GA 47...



From a distance, it can be hard to read the small print. My suggestion is to replace these small signs with larger ones.

After visiting the Stephens state park, we drove up GA 47 to visit Washington and "clinch" Wilkes County.

While in Washington, I took several more "roadgeek photos" of signs that caught my attention.

In our first Washington "roadgeek photo", what is wrong with the photo below?



While GA 10 Business does run along this section of Washington, it is predominately known as US 78 Business (BTW, this used to be US 78/GA 10 until it was rerouted onto an eastern by-pass. Furthermore, the brown sign directing travelers to the Robert Toombs State Historic Site should be much bigger. During the Civil War, Mr. Toombs (a good friend of Alexander Hamilton Stephens) was a fiery secessionist who served as the Confederate Secretary of State and Confederate Brigadier General. In 1877, he helped draft a new Georgia state constitution, which would remain unamended until 1945. Regretfully, we did not visit his house, but it is on the agenda for a future visit to Washington and Wilkes County.

In the next photo, notice the redundancy of a "BUSINESS" sign above the US 78 Bus and GA 10 Bus signs. This can easily be corrected by removing the "BUSINESS" sign and moving the "EAST" sign above the GA 47 marker to the very top.



In the above photo, notice the redundancy of a "BUSINESS" sign above the US 78 Bus and GA 10 Bus signs. This can easily be corrected by removing the "BUSINESS" sign and moving the "EAST" sign above the GA 47 marker to the very top.

Next, here's a photo of the upcoming junction with US 78/GA 10, GA 17 (Future GA 545), and the western end of US 378...



Interesting how the Georgia outline in the GA 10 sign is larger than the GA 17 sign.

In the background, there's another overhead "sign salad". Here's the closeup...



Notice how the "GA 10 East" overhead sign is wider, plus the directional arrows in rightmost 3 signs. In the background to your right, there is a "TO I-20" trailblazer sign.

Since we needed gas, we turned left onto US 78/GA 10 East/GA 17 North. Just past the gas station, I noticed the following big green sign (BGS) near the point where US 78/GA 10 and GA 17 split from each other...



In other states, it would've just had the US 78 shield and the word "WEST", but since Georgia loves its state routes, a GA 10 shield was included. If it were up to me, I would replace this BGS with one similar to this BGS on US 27/GA 1 in Floyd County...


After we filled up our gas tank, we headed back to US 378/GA 47 and traveled toward Lincolnton to "clinch" Lincoln County.

Here's a photo of the point where GA 47 separates from US 378 in Lincolnton...



For the rest of US 378's Georgia journey, it is joined by GA 43.

In this next photo along US 378/GA 43, we find another slight "sign goof"...



If you look at the signs for US 378 in Washington, it is signed as "EAST", but for some reason, GDOT signs it as "NORTH" and GA 43 as "EAST". Since GA 43 was running in a north-south orientation before joining US 378, the "NORTH" and "EAST" signs need to be placed over GA 43 and US 378, respectively. (This was one of at least 2 such sign configurations I found along this route.)

Here's a photo of US 378 as we crossed over Clarks Hill Lake (Georgia's name for Lake Strom Thurmond) into South Carolina...



Once we crossed the bridge, we "clinched" McCormick County, SC. In the background, there is a US 378 shield without a directional sign. Between the Georgia state line and the town of McCormick, none of the US 378 markers carried directional signs.

When we reached the town of McCormick, we headed north on SC 28 (which is also known as GA 28 and NC 28 when it crosses into Georgia and North Carolina, respectively), which, along with SC 81, is part of the Savannah River National Scenic Highway.

Here are photos taken where SC 81 ends at SC 28...

In the first sign, note the new fancy South Carolina state highway sign along with the old "plain-jane" version, plus the brown sign with the Savannah River National Scenic Highway logo...


Note the signs located on the left in the background of the above photo. Here's a closeup...



In addition to the new SC state route signs, notice the plethora of destinations, plus the choices for traveling to Anderson.

We decided to take SC 81 to Calhoun Falls and "clinched" Abbeville County in the process.

Once we reached Calhoun Falls, we headed west on SC 72 (which becomes GA 72 and is both a Georgia Governor's Road Improvement Program and a National Highway System corridor). Here's a photo of the junction of SC highways 72 and 81...


... and a closeup of the state route and directional signs....


There was one more Georgia county to "clinch", so we headed west on SC 72 toward Georgia.

Here's the first photo taken just before crossing the bridge over Lake Richard B. Russell into Georgia...



Finally, we are back in Georgia (where SC 72 becomes GA 72) and have "clinched" Elbert County...



Here is the first GA 72 sign just after crossing the lake...


Once Elbert County was "clinched", that completed the entire set of Georgia counties located north of I-20. Now, I can focus more on the central and southern parts of the state for future "county clinching" trips.

While in Elbert County, we decided to take GA 77 north from Downtown Elberton to visit the world-famous (and somewhat controversial) Georgia Guidestones...



In recent times, vandals have defaced the stones and there is a dispute among the landowners where the stones reside and Elbert County as to who his responsible for cleaning them up. Still, it was something I had read about for several years and wanted to visit at least once.

The guidestones sit atop the highest point in Elbert County and can be easily seen from GA 77. Here's a photo of the sign pointing travelers to the stones...



The guidestones are located on (you guessed it) Guidestones Road. Don't believe me? Here's the sign...



After visiting the guidestones, we proceeded down GA 77 back to Elberton and GA 72 westbound to Athens for dinner at The Varsity.

Once we finished our meal of their famous hot dogs and those dee-licious greasy, greasy onion rings, it was back to GRG HQ.

For my complete collection of Georgia and South Carolina "roadgeek photos" from this particular trip, please click here.

And finally, thanks to my old high school friend Steve Yost, here's your special "roadgeek Halloween treat"... "10 Roads That Will Scare You Stupid". Thanks to Steve for sending me this link via Facebook.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading, hope you had a Happy Halloween, and please come back often.

 

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