Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in Augusta GA

Our next stop was at Diamond Lakes Regional Park Campground in  Hephzibah, Georgia just outside of Augusta. This park site was originally part of the former Augusta International Speedway which was purchased by the City of Augusta and later became the South Augusta Sports Complex. It is a huge park!

As many of you know Augusta is home to the Master’s Golf Tournament. While I used to play quite a bit of golf I rarely play anymore and I was never a fan of watching golf. However, since we were here we were hoping to go see the course. Well as some of you may know Augusta National is a private club accessible only to club members and their guests, neither of which included us. So no tour of the course for us! I can’t imagine how much money they lose by not opening at least the pro shop to the public.

The next day we found another swamp hike at the Phinizy Swamp Nature Park. When we arrived we thought it must be a very popular park however, the lot was full because scores of volunteers were at the park repairing the boardwalks. As a result the first 100 yards or so it was quite noisy with hammers banging nails and saws whining while cutting boards.

The Phinizy Swamp Nature Park is a 1,100-acre nature park close to Augusta, Georgia. The park is mostly wetlands and woodlands. It has a campus for water research and environmental education complete with a visitor center. Once we walked past the initial boardwalk and the campus we found it rather difficult to find the rest of the trail.

Persistence paid off and soon we were walking atop the berms of the retention ponds which made up much of the park. Alongside the berms were lots of  bald cypresses draped in Spanish moss along with forests of loblolly pine and various oaks. The signs posted along the trail warned to watch out for Alligators as well. After a mile or so we spotted a six footer swimming in the open water.

While it was still too early for the migratory waterfowl to be here it was still a pleasant walk of several miles around the swamp. We had planned a loop trail, that is, until a 6-7 foot Alligator laying across our trail changed our minds. As we reversed our course back the way we came we saw a female Black-bellied Whistling duck with several babies in tow, a somewhat rare sighting for this area.

While visiting the Augusta area we did enjoy our brief stay. We certainly didn’t have the time to properly explore its offerings..

Congaree National Park in South Carolina

Along the Congaree River in Georgia lies the little known Congaree National Park. Comprising over 27,000 acres and located in central South Carolina near the state’s capitol of Columbia Congaree National Park is the largest intact expanse of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the United States. It has only been a national park since 2003

Home to an incredible biodiversity of flora and fauna there are some 25 miles of trail including 2,5 miles of boardwalks. The vegetation is predominantly comprised of loblolly pines, oaks, maples, bald cypress, tupelo and holly trees.

We chose to hike the 2.3 mile loop trail as it was very popular for birding and walking, This trail is raised about 6 feet above the forest floor. The trail is mostly on boardwalk and winds through an old-growth forest. Also trail guide brochure suggested we would likely not encounter too many people while hiking this trail, which we didn’t..

There wasn’t a lot of water in the swampy areas since it is late summer but we did take a spur hike on a boardwalk over to the Weston Lake overlook. The lake is an old channel of the Congaree River. At the Weston Lake overlook we saw several mud slider turtles and sunfish.

We also saw some huge loblolly pine, beech trees and bald cypress trees. The boardwalk trail took us through an impressive cypress-tupelo swamp with their fluted bases and hundreds of cypress “knees” emerging from the grounds below.

We heard a screeching Red-shouldered Hawk while walking the trail and later we spotted one and wondered if it was the same one we heard earlier. We stopped to enjoy viewing it through our binoculars and snapped a few photos as well.

We heard many other bird species including the various woodpeckers, Carolina Wrens and Summer Tanagers. We spotted a few deer as well as many skinks, anoles, and spiders. Thankfully, according to Sharon, we saw no snakes.

While the park appears to be a swamp; it is better categorized as an old-growth bottomland hardwood forest which can be often flooded by groundwater or surface water. As we walked along the Boardwalk Trail we could tell when the soils were less boggy by the changes in understory vegetation and the different tree species. We were both very glad we walked the trail as it was such a scenic, peaceful stroll.

Touring and Playing in Columbia SC

After leaving Raleigh NC we began our slow trek to Arizona where we will spend winter once again. We originally planned to spend a few nights around the Pinehurst NC area but the place we wanted to stay fell through. As a result we would be traveling just a bit over 200 miles, a long day for us, to our next spot at Barnyard RV Park near Columbia SC.

It was a nice uneventful drive and about 4.5 hours later we pulled into our site. The park is located behind a flea market. We liked the large sites and Sharon loved that it had cable TV.  However our only complaint was the cleanliness. There was trash and about 150 cigarette butts on the ground, so many that it smelled like an ashtray whenever we went outside. For our peace of mind we picked up the trash and most of the cigarette butts the next morning.

Columbia SC was one of the towns on our list to check out for a future settling down place. We found the town to be overall just okay. The town is a bit rough around the edges however the downtown area has a really pleasant entertainment district along main street just beside the state capitol building.

Speaking of the capitol building we did pay a visit to it but were only able to see the outside and the grounds since the building was closed the day we wanted to see it. We did find a nice little pour by the ounce craft beer place on main street to provide  some solace for our disappointment.

We also played a few disc golf courses in the area. The first one we played must have been set up by a contortionist as the holes were nearly impossible to navigate. Fortunately the other one we played was better but had lots of up and down elevation making it quite the workout for us.

Columbia is also home to the University of South Carolina. While the campus definitely has that southern charm, like the city of Columbia, it too looks a bit worn. Their mascot is the Gamecock and we found a statue of in front of the football stadium, of which we also visited.

We might not choose Columbia SC as a place to settle, but we must mention that we met some of the friendliest people there!

Goodbye Raleigh, It’s a Wrap!

Our time in Raleigh NC has ended and it is once again time to hit the road. In this blog I’ll wrap up our stay with a few other things we did during our stay.

As I have mentioned before we spent the weekends staying with our daughter and her family enjoying time with our granddaughter.We did venture out one Saturday evening to see a minor league team, the Durham Bulls play at their stadium in Durham, NC .

The stadium is located off the interstate in downtown Durham. We parked a short walk away and upon leaving the parking garage we landed in a scenic area featuring water features, lots of shops and restaurants adjacent to the stadium.

We had great seats and really enjoyed the game. A cold stadium beer with some peanuts and BBQ nachos completed the experience!. It was  also pretty cool to see a dog who was trained to fetch the players’ bats after each at bat. Disappointingly the Durham Bulls lost but we had a grand time watching the game and enjoyed our brief visit to Durham NC.

We also enjoyed the occasional Wednesday together on our daughter’s day off. We were able to hike once at Johnson Lake and then another at Umstead State Park. Her corgi, Benny was really happy to accompany us on the hikes.  We also played disc golf together several times and we will certainly miss the exceptional disc golf courses in this area.

One Wednesday we drove over to Duke Gardens to walk around. While we have been there many times before, this is one of those places requiring repeat trips to allow us to savor it at different times of the year. It never disappoints. Admission is free but does require paid parking to be close to the gardens.

One last long weekend over Labor Day we drove over to White Lake where Katie’s in-laws invited us to their family lake house. It was great to visit with all of Brooks’ grandparents, parents and neighbors. It was also fun to be at the lake and chill a bit. Allie, our granddaughter, seemed to really enjoy the lake but wasn’t too sure about getting in the water although she was willing to give it a try with her Dad.

Goodbyes are always hard especially for Sharon but it was time to plan our route out. We had such a great time with family and with new friends at the RV park but the weather is changing reminding us it is time to go.Since we have finally decided to winter back in Mesa Arizona we will start our slow trek westerly…

Hiking in Lake Johnson Nature Park NC…

One thing we noticed about the larger cities in North Carolina is that each has lots of nice parks. One park in the Raleigh area called Lake Johnson Nature Park is a favorite of ours for a scenic nature hike while still being located within the city.

Lake Johnson Nature Park is not only a metro park but it is also a nature preserve. We loved walking the 2.8 mile paved trail around the lake. One morning we met our daughter Katie and her dog Benny for that nice hike around the lake. Benny was probably more excited about the hike that any of us were.

There is ample parking at the trailhead entrance and an overflow parking lot nearby if the main lot is full. The trail began by taking us on an extended boardwalk over the edge of Lake Johnson. We passed several fishermen on the boardwalk who weren’t having much luck based upon my queries.

Once we were off the boardwalk we entered a thick forested canopy of pines and mixed hardwoods approaching 130’ in height. The canopy of this mature Southern Mixed Hardwood Forest lets in very little light so the woods are fairly open underneath. The shade keeps the temperatures underneath the canopy making this a popular hike.

We hiked the trail during the middle of the week and it was still rather crowded as we passed people occasionally as we ambled along. The trail has quite of bit of elevation but mostly due to the constant up and down slopes of the terrain near the lake.

There were lots of mushroom and other fungi littering the forest floor peeking out through the dense layer of pine thatch in the woods. We found opportunities along the trail to venture closer to the lake for some spectacular views. Benny especially enjoyed wading in the lake to cool off.

The trail is pretty much shaded the entire way other than a small open area where the dam is located.. Adjacent to the dam was a wild patch of passion flowers blooming. Of course we had to stop to admire and photograph these most beautiful flowers. It was a great sighting and a fitting end to the hike as we made our way back to the car. What a great oasis for all the city dwellers to enjoy!