Just a half hour or so north of Atlanta, Georgia is a town called White. It’s population hovers around 600 people. It has a fairly decent Motel 6, a really good Waffle House, and a 40-acre car graveyard. I don’t mean any old cars, but specifically cars from 1931 – 1979. I’ll let them tell you their story from the website link above. I just felt like talking about the trip and the photos.
The drive sucked. It wasn’t a long drive, but the way up I decided to cruise through Alabama on my way. It’s some beautiful country, but it’s also a lot of two-lane blue-highway driving. I think I averaged about 62mph for the whole trip there. On the way back, I took 75 back through Tennessee and hopped on 40 in Nashville. Much better, and cut about an hour off my time.
My plan, elaborate as it was, was to drive to White, hang out in the hotel until morning, and then visit OCC. Well, that was the dumbest, boringest plan I could ever think of. I literally drove up there with no plan. I got to the hotel and watched as much Internet TV as I could get with the crappy Wi-Fi. Thankfully, some doofus left his account logged into Hulu so I at least I caught the first few episodes of Season 11 of Futurama. Literally the highlight of day one.
Day two was much more eventful. After a hell of a tasty bowl of sausage, egg, and cheese hashbrowns, I hit up Old Car City, USA. Upon entering the storefront, I met Dean, the artist and owner of the museum. If Georgia hospitality could be embodied in a person, it would be Dean. He was downright open and friendly. He gave me a quick rundown of how to get through the maze of cars without issues and even had cans of bug repellent at the ready. In Georgia, the mosquitoes are the size of the peaches. Can confirm.
The entrance to the 40 acre car graveyard/museum is out the back of the main store, which was actually an old country store! Once out back, the real adventure began.
I could spend a good bit writing about the photos, but I’ll just select a few here to talk about, and leave the rest in a link to the Flickr album.
One of the first cars i came across was this one, I believe a Buick Roadmaster. I liked it so much it’s now the centerpiece of my living room collection.
I took several photographs of this Chysler 300. This is probably the favorite.
Taking photos of cars is not really where I excel. This time around, I took a page from a fellow photographer and zoned in on parts of the car that I liked. This photo, Sport Coupe, is one of those zoned-in photos.
The light dance going on in the photo above is what I came to the junkyard in hopes of finding. Slightly blown out on the C pillar, but I still like it enough it’s an 8×10 print in my living room.
How about a 400 Firebird? No engine anymore, but the body is straight-ish. š
A rolling tire gathers no moss.
I want to say this is Ford. I liked the curves.
These cars are to die for! Dean, the owner and proprietor, does a Halloween walk through the junkyard. He’s a fun guy so be sure you hang out and have a chat with him.
Quick, take the wheel!
Lots of cars in the graveyard stacked like this. There are 4400 cars over 40 acres, so it’s to be expected.
So, was it worth a trip from Memphis ? Yes. Once. It’s a lot of driving and outside of the Graveyard, the only way to make the trip truly eventful would be to hit either Atlanta for some fun urban entertainment, or somewhere like Toccoa Falls, GA for some beautiful waterfall views. When I do go again, I’ll be sure to plan more than just one excursion.
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