Skip to main content
Aging in Place is Easy with Opa Home Care

Reliable and Trusted Care at Home

Tell Us About Your Senior Loved One

We have after-hours phone coverage 24/7, 365 days a year.

+1 866 373 2302

Some of the most common aging-in-place services we provide include:

 In-Home Support Cherry Log, GA

If someone you care about is unable or unwilling to stay alone either during the day or overnight, our in-home caregiver services can provide the assistance they need. We understand that loneliness can have a significant impact on an individual's mental and physical health, and we are here to offer the necessary support to ensure their well-being.

 Personal Care Cherry Log, GA

Opa caregivers provide much-needed help with maintaining personal hygiene, dressing and eating, and aiding with mobility. We also provide transportation assistance, help facilitate communication, assist with medication management, offer support with home maintenance, and provide assistance with shopping and meal preparation.

 Home Health Aides Cherry Log, GA

Long-term spouses and partners rely on one another for companionship and love. That's why, at Opa, we can develop specialized care plans for aging couples who need home care in Cherry Log, GA.

 Senior Companionship Cherry Log, GA

Opa caregivers are here to help you or your elderly family member with running errands like getting to and from medical appointments, picking up prescriptions or groceries, and attending community activities to stay engaged and active.

 Medical Care At Home Cherry Log, GA

Sometimes, seniors need around-the-clock in-home care. Our experienced caregivers are available to stay with your loved ones for an extended period to ensure they stay happy and healthy at home.

Companion

Short-Term Companion Care Services

Loneliness can greatly affect someone's mental and physical well-being. That's especially true after having a major surgery or illness. If your loved one cannot or does not want to be left alone after being discharged from a hospital or care facility, our short-term caregivers are ready to help.

Personal

Short-Term Personal Care Services

Short-term caregivers from Opa can provide essential support with daily personal care, including grooming, getting dressed, eating, and getting around. Our services also include transportation, communication assistance, medication management, household upkeep, and help with shopping and meal preparation.

Assistance

Stand-By Assistance

We offer stand-by assistance while your senior loved one takes a shower, goes to the bathroom, moves from room to room, and walks outdoors. We can also provide stand-by assistance while your senior completes exercises and activities prescribed by Physical and Occupational Therapists.

Here are three of the most difficult challenges that family caregivers may encounter when looking after their elderly parents or loved ones.

Home Care Services Cherry Log, GA

Poor Sleep

As people age, their sleep patterns can be disrupted, causing them to wake up multiple times during the night. This can be due to a shift in their internal body clock, stress, or worry. If dementia is a factor, you may need to be vigilant, as sundowning and wandering could occur. Caring for your parents or a loved one requires a clear and rested mind, which is why getting enough sleep is essential for both your well-being and your ability to provide the best care. After all, you don't want to get so burnt out and tired that you take a trip to the hospital. Avoid getting burnt out and exhausted, as it could lead to a trip to the hospital.

 Elderly Care Cherry Log, GA

Lack of Support

Taking care of aging parents can feel overwhelming and like you're shouldering the entire brunt of responsibility. Moreover, thinking that you're the sole caregiver can be stressful and put unneeded strain on other relationships in your life. It's crucial to understand that caregiving is not a one-person task. Trying to handle it alone can lead to burnout, depression, and other serious health issues. It can also negatively impact the quality of care your parents receive.

 Senior Assistance Cherry Log, GA

No Privacy

Living with your parents can affect both your physical and emotional privacy, especially if one or both need significant amounts of attention. This can lead to feelings of fear and disorientation when you're not around. Similarly, it can be challenging for your parents to maintain their own privacy while you're taking care of them.

testmonial

What Clients Say About Us

Location: 9755 Dogwood Road, STE 320, Roswell, Georgia 30075, United States

Phone: +1 866 373 2302

Office Hours 8:30a - 5:30p Monday - Friday. Additional hours are available by appointment.

Office Phone Hours 5:00a -11:55p, 7 days a week.

After Hours We have after-hours phone coverage 24/7, 365 days a year.

Latest News in Cherry Log, GA

He didn't leave his North Georgia home for 3 years - so the neighborhood came to help this veteran out

For three years, Mr. Roger Alexander did not leave his own home until his neighborhood came to his door.CHERRY LOG, Ga. — A man in the North Georgia mountains is feeling the warmth of community after living alone and in the cold for years.Known as Mr. Rogers to his new friends, Roger Alexander lived in his Cherry Log, Georgia, home without heat. The home, which he built himself in the 80s, had been falling apart for years."This was my first and only home," he proudly said.The only company to keep i...

For three years, Mr. Roger Alexander did not leave his own home until his neighborhood came to his door.

CHERRY LOG, Ga. — A man in the North Georgia mountains is feeling the warmth of community after living alone and in the cold for years.

Known as Mr. Rogers to his new friends, Roger Alexander lived in his Cherry Log, Georgia, home without heat. The home, which he built himself in the 80s, had been falling apart for years.

"This was my first and only home," he proudly said.

The only company to keep is the rushing streams and the wind in the trees.

"It's isolated, the way it feels," he described. "I spend a lot of time by myself."

And it does seem lonely in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood. For more than three years, Rogers hadn't seen another soul.

He got his groceries delivered and had no visitors to his home; he sat alone on his couch. He mostly enjoyed the solitude.

Until, one day, his neighborhood came to the door.

"He said he had just given up on people," Michelle Patton said. "He said he didn't want to burden anyone; he didn't want to ask for anything."

Patton owns a cleaning company and responded to a Facebook post about an elderly U.S. military veteran who needed help. She thought she was just going to tidy up but found he needed much more than that.

So she asked for the helpers - and her friend Virginia Allgary stepped in.

She took Mr. Rogers out for lunch as volunteers started assessing all of the work that needed to be done in his home.

"It was amazing to spend time with him. He is an amazing person and that's why everyone wants to help," she said.

Patton made a post on social media asking for other people to come share their talents and skills to help fix Rogers' home. A community now dubbed Mr. Rogers' Angels.

"We don't want anyone in our community to live like this, or any of our elders to be scared to ask for help, or to sit on a sofa for three years without having someone say hello," Patton said.

So the neighborhood got to work, hundreds of people volunteering their time and skill, clearing trees, rebuilding the deck, creating room in his home - and space in his heart.

"I'll never be able to repay what they're doing for me, and I hope they know how I feel about it," said Rogers.

Credit: Live Oak Roofing + Exteriors

Patton says the work is bringing them all closer together. Thousands of people joined the group rallying around Mr. Rogers online.

"The world is going through a lot right now. There are a lot of differences, a lot of things that will make you forget that we all just at the basic of it, we want love. We want to be loved, we want to share love," she said.

Sharing love and creating a new purpose in the neighborhood.

"Now we have this family," Patton said. "We were strangers - and now we are going to love on each other and be there for each other, and this is a forever thing."

To the veteran, it is a beautiful day in Mr. Roger's neighborhood.

Mr. Rogers' neighborhood came together in community

1 / 5

Live Oak Roofing + Exteriors

Tucker's Tree Service & Excavating, Inc.

North Georgia Crawlspace -NGC

Bucktown Grading and Construction

Patton Enterprise's

Docks Home & Excavation Services

Live Oak Roofing + Exteriors

Legacy Mechanical Services, Inc.

Controlled Climate Services

Sebastian Gonzalez Tree Service

Three Rivers Junk Removal

Ellijay Roofing Company and Restorations

AfforablepaintingandremodelingofGa

Sissontrees

STR Cleaning and Concierge

Puckettcareseniorsolutionsllc

Atlas Cleaning & Maintenance

Ks Painting

Rain Man Roofing

Restoration Cabinets

Handy Randy

Underwoodflooringandmore

Jason Chumley - Chimney Service

Vulcan Materials

Danny Ensley delivery driver

Affordable Painting & Remodeling of Ga LLC

On his 43rd album, prolific Georgia-based folk musician takes a big leap

While most of us were baking bread or pursuing comfortable hobbies during the pandemic, John McCutcheon was busy writing songs. Upon returning home from an Australian tour in March of 2020, the singer-songwriter self-quarantined at his rustic cabin in Cherry Log in the North Georgia mountains.Credit: Eric Peterson“I took my dog and we quarantined for about three weeks,” explains the multi-instrumentalist. “There’s a great little community up there. Cherry Log is one of those places, that by the time you ...

While most of us were baking bread or pursuing comfortable hobbies during the pandemic, John McCutcheon was busy writing songs. Upon returning home from an Australian tour in March of 2020, the singer-songwriter self-quarantined at his rustic cabin in Cherry Log in the North Georgia mountains.

Credit: Eric Peterson

“I took my dog and we quarantined for about three weeks,” explains the multi-instrumentalist. “There’s a great little community up there. Cherry Log is one of those places, that by the time you hit Canton or Jasper, you can feel the pressure just melt away as you arrive. I was relieved of the stress of tour preparation. I didn’t have to go to the airport every weekend, but the one thing I could do was write.”

And that’s exactly what he did. To date, an impressive 54 of those songs have been issued, beginning with 2020′s “Cabin Fever: Songs from the Quarantine” and “Bucket List” in 2021. His latest, “Leap!,” released this past September, jumps into the catalog as his 43rd release during a 50-plus-year career.

“But none of them are about the pandemic, they’re songs because of the pandemic,” McCutcheon continues. “One of the things that time did was remind me how much I really like to be at home, either here at Smoke Rise or up at the cabin. At 70 years old, I don’t have to be doing 100 gigs a year anymore.” This weekend, he’s playing a self-described “hometown tour” that brings him to Eddie’s Attic on Friday, a benefit in Cherry Log on Saturday and Athens on Sunday.

As his touring schedule has decreased a bit, his productivity level has dramatically increased. “It feels like writing is my primary job now,” he says. “At different points in my life, I’ve turned to writing as a way to investigate the moment, wherever I was at the time. I did a tour in the Soviet Union in the early ‘90s and I wrote the whole time, just to see what would come out. I think this is a continuation of my exploration.”

Credit: Irene Young.

But how does any musician turn out an incredible 43 full-length albums of good material? He says discipline is key. “When I do songwriting workshops, the number one rule I stress is ‘ass in chair.’ I just took my own advice, sat down and wrote.”

“Art is not about control,” he continues, obviously warming to the topic. “It’s about abandon. I just found that place to let go. I would start a line and not even know where it was going. A character might suddenly turn left when I’d intended them to turn right. I’d say, ‘Well then, let’s see what’s down this road.’ That’s how it works.”

McCutcheon reveals that he also has another full album of material ready to go as well as a hefty batch of co-writes with several of his likeminded friends — including legendary folk artist Tom Paxton. “I guess it’s a wonderful problem to have,” he laughs. “Maybe I’ll be like Prince and start a vault! I record in D.C., but if I had my own studio here, I’d probably work in it every day like Vince Gill or some of the Nashville folks.”

Born in Wisconsin and schooled in the folk arts throughout Appalachia, McCutcheon once considered Nashville as a possible home. But he settled in the metro Atlanta area 17 years ago to be near his partner, prominent author and storyteller Carmen Deedy. “I fell in love,” he says. “Not only with Carmen but the perks of the area and the Georgia music scene.”

“It was the first time in my life I’d ever lived in a town with a baseball team or a world-class symphony. It was nice not to be sitting in baggage claim in Topeka or somewhere, wondering if my guitar had made the connection. There’s a fraternal and friendly music scene here; it’s so cooperative and diverse. People want to create together, no matter the genre. ‘Oh, you’re a hip-hop musician and I’m a folk musician? OK, let’s go!’”

Despite his divergent writing explorations, McCutcheon’s vision is firmly dedicated to his listeners. “I’m basically a utilitarian songwriter because I’m writing with the audience in mind. Hoping they’ll get what I’m trying to say or at least adding their own meaning to it — which happens a lot.”

The songs “become living documents, carriers of ideas.” For songwriting advice, McCutcheon insists all you need to do is just “sit down and get out of the way. The song will come alive in the moment.” The next step is to play it live for an audience. “If they go, ‘huh?’ you’ll know you’ve got to work on it some more.”

For McCutcheon, presenting his folk songs to appreciative live audiences is a vital part of the storytelling tradition. “I’m not just singing my diary or rehashing love songs, I’m plugging into stories from the ether of the zeitgeist, thinking, ‘Yeah, this one deserves to be told, again and again.’ So rather than sacrificing it to the 24-hour news cycle to disappear forever, it becomes a bit of aural literature.”

Though he may not be a household name to the masses, the entertainer has a hardcore legion of fans who sustain his vocation. “I’ve been doing this for a while now, as you know. I’ve lived my entire adult life without having to seek other gainful employment. I guess that’s major success, in and of itself. A bonus is, I get to keep doing it while almost all my friends are retired. It’s just part of taking that leap.”

The leap, as referenced in the album title, is from “The Ride,” the first track on the new record. It’s also McCutcheon’s not-so-subtle philosophy of life. “When you jump into something, you take a leap of faith,” he says. “Rather than scream all the way down, maybe you should just enjoy the ride.”

CONCERT PREVIEW

John McCutcheon

7 p.m. Feb. 3. $28-$32. Eddie’s Attic, 515 B N. McDonough St., Decatur. 404-377-4976, eddiesattic.com.

About the Author

Lee Valentine Smith

Editors' Picks

Gilmer County Jail Bookings

Browse Category An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.Browse Category An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, A...

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Browse Category

An archive of every person arrested and booked into the Gilmer County Jail in Gilmer County, Georgia. Includes Ellijay, East Ellijay, Cherry Log, Ai, Cartecay, Tails Creek, Whitepath, Whitestone, Yukokn, and all surrounding areas served by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office. Any jail bookings before February of 2020 will not be included.

Georgia news site owner accused of voting illegally

News ObserverImageBodyThe Georgia Election Board has accused Brian Keith Pritchard, 56, of Cherry Log, of voting while serving a felony sentence.Pritchard’s case was one of 35 sent by the board on Feb. 10 to the state attorney general or local district attorneys for prosecution, according to a release from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. A week later, the board referred 24 more cases for prosecution.Pritchard’s Linkedin profile identifies him as the owner of Fetch Your News....

News Observer

Image

Body

The Georgia Election Board has accused Brian Keith Pritchard, 56, of Cherry Log, of voting while serving a felony sentence.

Pritchard’s case was one of 35 sent by the board on Feb. 10 to the state attorney general or local district attorneys for prosecution, according to a release from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. A week later, the board referred 24 more cases for prosecution.

Pritchard’s Linkedin profile identifies him as the owner of Fetch Your News.

A spokesman for Raffensperger’s office said Pritchard moved to Georgia in 2008 and registered to vote in Gilmer County. Between registering and 2014, he voted in 14 elections.

When the Gilmer County Election Board learned of his felony probation sentence from a case in Pennsylvania, his name was removed from the voter rolls. The spokesman said at the time that the district attorney deferred action on the case until the state election board took action. Pritchard’s case was opened before the election board in May 2016.

Appalachian Judicial Circuit District Attorney B. Alison Sosebee said she has not received any information from the attorney general in regard to the case. In fact, she learned of the election board decision through the secretary of state’s release.

Court records from Allegheny County, Penn., show Pritchard pled guilty to a trio of charges in May 1996. Those charges included two counts of Forgery-After Writing and one charge of Theft By Failure to Make Required Disposition Funds.

The court records show Pritchard was ordered to pay $33,340 in restitution and $289.64 in court costs. He received probation under a migrated sentence. In June 2011, a bench warrant for failure to appear was issued for Pritchard, which was lifted and closed the next month.

“Election fraud is not tolerated in Georgia. When there is evidence of it, the people responsible face prosecution,” Raffensperger said in a statement. “Georgia has multiple safeguards in place that allow our team of investigators to discover fraudulent voting. They worked to catch the wrongdoing in these cases and they maintain the security of Georgia elections.”

Among the cases bound over for prosecution on Feb. 10, including Pritchard’s, were four incidents of felons voting or registering to vote, four cases of non-citizens voting or registering to vote and one case of misplaced ballots during the 2020 general election, which didn’t change the outcome but did affect the total. Also bound over for prosecution were canvassers for two organizations trying to register people to vote, including one who allegedly submitted registration applications they knew were false.

Roadside Bigfoot: This Georgia museum is devoted to legendary beast

A Bigfoot mask and other items donated by the family of Yeti researcher Tom Slick on display at Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum in Cherry Log, Ga. The owner of this intriguing piece of Americana at the southern edge of the Appalachians is David Bakara, a longtime member of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization who served in the Navy, drove long-haul trucks and tended bar before opening the museum in early 2016 with his wife, Malinda.John Bazemore/Associated PressCHERRY LOG, Ga. – Along a bustling four-lane ...

A Bigfoot mask and other items donated by the family of Yeti researcher Tom Slick on display at Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum in Cherry Log, Ga. The owner of this intriguing piece of Americana at the southern edge of the Appalachians is David Bakara, a longtime member of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization who served in the Navy, drove long-haul trucks and tended bar before opening the museum in early 2016 with his wife, Malinda.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

CHERRY LOG, Ga. – Along a bustling four-lane highway that winds through the north Georgia mountains, an unassuming wooden structure breaks the monotony of churches, billboards and stores selling kitschy knickknacks.

Once a BYOB supper club, it’s now ground zero in the search for a legendary beast.

Welcome to Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum.

“I can remember my great-grandmother talking about having a cabin in the woods, and she saw Sasquatch,” says Sherry Gaskinn of Villa Rica, Georgia, who was driving by one afternoon and had to stop in. “I’ve always been curious.”

Her husband, Phillip Blevins, lets out a skeptical chuckle.

“If it was up to me,” he says, “I’d already be on down the road.”

Bigfoot researcher David Bakara opens a box containing plaster cast of footprints said to be from a Russian Bigfoot at Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum in Cherry Log, Ga. Bakara, a longtime member of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization who served in the Navy, drove long-haul trucks and tended bar before opening the museum in early 2016 with his wife, Malinda.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

The owner of this intriguing piece of Americana at the southern edge of the Appalachians is David Bakara, a longtime member of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization who served in the Navy, drove long-haul trucks and tended bar before opening the museum in early 2016 with his wife, Malinda.

He’s looking to provide both entertainment and enlightenment in an area known for apple orchards and blazing fall colors.

“I wanted to take what I know about Bigfoot as an active researcher and investigator, but I’m also a huge Disney World fan,” the 57-year-old Bakara says. “I was thinking, ‘Maybe I can make this thing like a family attraction.’”

Instead of Space Mountain, the attraction not far from the Tennessee state line has an elaborate display of Bigfoot laying siege to a remote cabin, with a hatchet-wielding mannequin desperately trying to bar the door as two hairy paws burst over the top. Color-coded maps document hundreds of alleged sightings, a towering reproduction depicts a hairy 8-foot-tall beast, and the famed 1967 video of an alleged Sasquatch sighting plays on a loop, along with harrowing recollections from those who claim to have encountered a Bigfoot.

“The reason I didn’t shoot it is, it was just too human,” a hunter says in one account. “I couldn’t pull the trigger because something told me this ain’t right.”

A Bigfoot attack display at Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum in Cherry Log, Ga. The owner of this intriguing piece of Americana at the southern edge of the Appalachians is David Bakara, a longtime member of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization who opened the museum in early 2016 with his wife, Malinda.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

There’s even a glass case claiming to hold feces collected from a Sasquatch in Oregon.

Believers continually add to the already ample collection. On a recent day, the mail carrier delivered two casts of footprints supposedly made by foreign Bigfoots.

“You want to see an Australian cast?” Bakara asks, tearing into the package.

He has filled up the former supper club and is planning to expand his museum, which welcomes about 50,000 visitors a year.

For those who think Bigfoot is a phenomenon confined to the Pacific Northwest, where that grainy video from more than five decades ago gave Sasquatch its greatest brush with fame, Bakara is quick to point out countless sightings the world over.

In Australia, the mythical creature is known as Yowie. In the Himalayas, they call it Yeti. In Russia, it goes by Alma.

Closer to home, there’s the Florida Skunk Ape, the Georgia Booger, the Missouri Momo.

Bigfoot masks on display at Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum in Cherry Log, Ga. The owner of this intriguing piece of Americana at the southern edge of the Appalachians is David Bakara, a longtime member of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

“There are several subspecies of these things,” Bakara claims, displaying nothing but sincerity. “Some have short hair. Others have long, red flowing hair. Some are multicolored, almost like a squirrel where’s there’s gray and red and brown mixed together. Some of them have a very human-like face. They just run the gamut.”

He’ll gladly tell you about the time he saw a pair of the elusive beasts.

In 2010, Bakara says, he was summoned by a Florida man who had spotted strange creatures on his property. Using a thermal imager, he and his team were able to make out a pair of creatures emerging from a nearby swamp.

“We took turns looking at them,” he says. “They finally figured out we could see them, so they left.”

Bakara could talk all day about what’s become his life’s work but clams up on the most obvious questions:

What is Bigfoot?

Where did it come from?

“That’s a secret we’re not supposed to know about,” he replies ominously.

A Bigfoot mask and other items donated by the family of Yeti researcher Tom Slick on display at Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum in Cherry Log, Ga.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Bakara implies that the creatures are the unintended consequence of a government experiment gone haywire, hinting that his life would be disrupted if he ever went public with his entire body of work.

Bakara has been interested in Bigfoot since a young age, spurred on by early news reports and the 1972 cult classic “The Legend of Boggy Creek,” a sort of docudrama about a Sasquatch-like creature supposedly hunkered down in Arkansas.

He knows he’ll never persuade all the people – even most of the people – of Bigfoot’s existence, and he’s fine with that.

“Does everybody need to know everything you know?” Bakara asks. “No. It’s best they don’t know.’

There are doubters, of course.

One person signed the guestbook as “Bigfoot,” listing his home as the “Woods.” In the section that asks “How did you hear about us,” the visitor writes: “People were taking my picture.”

But Bakara says most visitors treat the museum with respect, at least while they’re on the grounds.

“I’m just curious,” says Angie Langellier, who stopped in with her family recently while passing through on a trip from Illinois. “So far, I’ve had nothing that’s convinced me.

“But obviously, a lot of people have seen a lot of things that have convinced them.”

On the Net

Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum:

www.expeditionbigfoot.com

.

You might also like

Disclaimer:

This website publishes news articles that contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The non-commercial use of these news articles for the purposes of local news reporting constitutes "Fair Use" of the copyrighted materials as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law.