What Time is It?

Clock Tower, Bartow County Courthouse, Catersville, Georgia, USA

Citizens of Cartersville have been able to set their watches since 1902 using the clock tower of the Bartow County Courthouse.  In the days before atomic clocks, cell phones, and telephone time and temperature numbers, citizens used local clock towers and church bells to synchronize their watches.

Get off the Interstate

Downtown Shops, Cartersville, Georgia, USA

Sometimes traveling is about going to big, famous places with lots of glitz.  Sometimes it's about getting off the highway and visiting a small town.  Cartersville is located a few miles off I-75 in northwest Georgia.

It turns out that this little town not only boasts a quaint downtown, but some very good museums, including two Smithsonian affiliates.

Big Haul

CSX Frieght Train, Cartersville, Georgia, USA
We watched this southbound freight train go through Cartersville's rejuvenated downtown. From the locomotive to the last car, the sites and sounds vary frequently. It must have taken 5 minutes for this train to go through at a pretty good speed.

A half an hour later a northbound train came through, but many of the car types that were full going south were empty going north.