8 October 2011 Georgia and Alabama

Everyone at the hotel restaurant looked even older than me so we opted for a stop in Pine Mountain for breakfast and a few caches. We were hunting for a cache on the caboose pictured below when a local cacher spotted us and stopped to say hi. She had her geodog with her. He was a big baby and wanted rubs. He also really seemed to like the attention of getting his picture taken. The caboose hide was one of the best micros I have seen... ever.

We were going to go to Columbus, Georgia and hunt a few caches before crossing into Alabama for a few finds in the state. On the way to Columbus we stopped for a find outside a really interesting cemetery with a number of homemade markers. A number of markers and grave sites have been damaged over the years, but the care spent in making these memorials was visible.

Columbus was a nice looking town, but filled with a number of dnf's for us. We did get to complete a challenge at The Pemberton House. Dr. John Styth Pemberton was the man who developed the formula for Coke.

The Springer Opera House was built in 1871 and is still open for performing arts today. It's an great looking old building.

There's some old buildings in Columbus. Columbus was one of the South's two major industrial centers during the Civil War. News of the surrender had not reached Union or Confederate troops resulting in the Battle of Columbus which was the last land battle of the Civil War. Large portions of the city's industrial area were burned, but many of the old homes were spared.

Phenix City, Alabama was just disappointing. The town is really down on its luck. The only site while we were there was a guy riding a horse down the middle of the street. The guy looked like he had no idea of how to ride a horse and the horse appeared to want nothing to do with being ridden.