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!

RV Service at Gaffney Freightliner and a Few Hikes!

Our next stop was going to be to Charlotte NC but we decided a few weeks back to see if we could get an appointment at the Freightliner Shop in Gaffney SC. We figured it would be a long shot but we called and they said they didn’t have any appointments open but we could come on in and stay at the Freightliner Campground.That way they would try to squeeze us in between appointment.

Therefore instead of spending the July 4th long weekend at Charlotte we moved over to the Freightliner Campground. We thought it was nice they allow customers to stay in their lot while awaiting service.  30/50 amp hookups are at every site and they have a water station along with a dump station on premises.

The suggestion is that customers stay the night before service and the night after service but the receptionist when we called had no problem with us arriving on the Saturday of the long July 4th weekend saying that there would be plenty of open sites as we did see upon arrival!

We parked and set-up for our hopefully short stay awaiting service. Our RV needs its oil changed as well as the lube in the rear axle. We decided to also have the transmission serviced so we will have new transmission fluid once again. Finally we will have them lube the chassis as well.

While waiting for service we took a drive over the Cowpens Battlefield National Monument. “This Revolutionary War site commemorates the place where Daniel Morgan and his army turned the flanks of Banastre Tarleton's British army. This classic military tactic, known as a double envelopment, was one of only a few in history.”

We have visited Cowpens before on a previous service visit but we this trip we wanted to hike the trails.. There are some nice trails in this park and the one we took was a perfect hike of a couple of miles on a mostly shaded trail. We did a little birdwatching as well as imagining what it might have been like back during the war for the young frontiersmen in this part of South Carolina.

Another day we found another hike near Gaffney on the Lake Whelchel Trail. While the hike was too long (6.7 miles) for us, in this heat, to go all the way around the lake we did hike a few miles in and out on the trail. It was a really nice trail with ample shade through dense woodlands with several peeks of the Lake as well.

Finally the day came and we had all requested service completed. Even better there were no major maintenance surprises encountered by the service techs doing the work. We can’t thank the staff enough for working us in without an appointment and we can now move on to North Carolina…

Why are some camp hosts so rude?

Again the time came to move on so we packed up the RV and entered another state  into South Carolina. We were heading to a new, for us, campground named Conerose Campground which is a COE campground located on the huge Lake Hartwell.

Near the small town of Townville, SC this is another fabulous COE campground. We did run into a challenge getting there though. I knew from looking at the drive using Google Satellite View that the last few miles would be on crappy roads. What we didn’t know was that we would have to make two u-turns to get to the park. Yikes! However, it was our own fault using our GPS and not noticing beforehand there were two Conerose roads.

We finally arrived at the gate house and were informed that someone was still in the site. No biggie. I politely asked where we could park to wait and the gate attendant curtly states we have to leave the park outside the gate. She proceeds to tell us to make a u-turn behind the gate house, which is totally impossible for our sized rig to do.

I explain this to her so then I was told that I should drive through the host loop to get turned around which I was able to do. Outside the gate house I pull over on the narrow road so I could get out to assess what lies ahead to do yet another U-turn so I would be pointed back toward the park. That’s when Miss Surly sternly hollers that I can’t park there as I am not yet outside the gate!

To which I say, sorry, but I am going to look at my U-turn options ahead before moving any further. She then tells me I can do a loop through the neighborhood. And marches back to her gate house. As I peruse my options once again her advice would have been dreadful for our sized RV so I found a spot where we could back into and turn around once unhitched.

We waited an hour and a half before the person finally departed our site. As we were checking in little Miss Surly had suddenly become little Miss Bubbly only after Sharon emotionally confronted her about her lack of useful information in front of a co-worker. I am guessing she was afraid of being reported. Unfortunately she is not the first surly camp host we have encountered and I am sure not the last. Some people relish the power embodied by being a camp host while others are truly welcoming.

Once settled we loved our large and heavily wooded site. We chose this area as it was close to Clemson SC and we wanted to visit the University. A short drive away we found the University and both felt it was a bit underwhelming especially after visiting the magnificent University of Alabama (maybe we had overhyped our expectations). We did stroll around a bit but the highlight was the SC Botanical Gardens on the campus.

We hiked a beautiful lush trail along a creek and encountered lots of birds and beautifully landscaped planting. Near the end of the trail was a small cabin that reminded us of one of our stays in a cabin in Gatlinburg TN near a babbling creek. We highly recommend this short hike as there is much to see. Many of today’s photos are from this garden. It was very enjoyable and washed away all the unpleasantness from the day before.

Finding RV Parks in Georgia…

We enjoyed our brief stay in Walterboro South Carolina but needed to move on south. I was hoping we could extend at Colleton State Park but that didn’t work out. We still have four nights to fill before our reservation at Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach in Florida.

As a result I had some planning to do. So my first place to look was on the Passport America site to see what was close by and I found a couple of prospects. First was the Southern Retreat RV Park in Brunswick, Georgia. We have stayed there before but it was called Golden Isles RV Park then.

Looking on the details on Passport America about the park it said they only honored Passport America rates Monday through Thursday. Golden Isles did the same but always let us stay through a weekend at the same rate when asked. We tried that with the new owners only to learn that things had changed and stays are limited to only one night on the PA rate. Well shucks!!!

I searched the  PA website again and found Walkabout RV Park a little further south in Woodbine, Georgia. We have also stayed there before but the last time we called they said that the sites they had available at the PA rate were full. With fingers crossed we called to inquire and found out they had availability for the weekend so we quickly booked Friday and Saturday nights.

Then we called Southern Retreat RV Park back up and booked Wednesday and Thursday. SO we ended up with two nights at 50% off due to PA and paid for one full night. We packed up, hit the road and pulled into Southern Retreat RV Park a few hours later.

We went touring one day while we were there and revisited some places we have been to before such as St. Simon’s Island, Fort Frederica and stopped at the Tipsy McSways in Brunswick for happy hour. It was as enjoyable this time around revisiting these sites as it was the first time we visited.

NOTE:  We are now at Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area in Florida for five nights.  

Colleton State Park in South Carolina

As we pulled into Colleton State Park we were surprised at how small it was. Sites at this state park are fairly close to one another but at least we scored a nice pull through site.With few campers in this out of the way park we mostly had unobstructed views of the forest out our windshield instead of other campers which made it nice.

This park is mostly a park utilized by canoers and kayakers as it is on the Edisto River. The Edisto River is one of the longest free-flowing blackwater rivers in North America. The tannic acid of decaying leaves, branches and roots of the hardwood trees surrounding is where the water gets its black color from.

We discovered a short nature trail right beside our campsite making it pleasant to take morning strolls through the woods. Also there was s short boardwalk over to the Edisto River where boaters can easily put their watercraft into the river. There were lots of Pileated Woodpeckers in these woods making their loud and vocal calls.

One afternoon we took a scenic drive to see the countryside. We did have a planned stop at the Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary near Walterboro SC. We hoped to get in some good hiking but sadly were limited since most of the boardwalks were in disrepair due to past hurricanes.

We still enjoyed our hike and we even found one on the boardwalks open. This allowed us better access into the tupelo swampland. It made for another great day for us on our Road of Retirement… 

NOTE:  We are now at Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area in Florida for five nights.  

Migrating South–A New Philosophy…

As the leaves have begun to show signs that fall and cooler weather have arrived, it is time for us to start our migration south. During normal years I would be excited about the trip planning to our winter destination but this year, with Covid-19 so prevalent, I am not so excited to plan this journey.

Why is that? Well for starters we are on the east coast and when we are on the east coast we like to explore the small towns and larger cities to enjoy what they have to offer. Out west we focus on hiking due to the abundance of  public lands available to discover nature’s beauty and solitude. We also like to visit local breweries everywhere we go to taste different craft beers and support local businesses while visiting.

With Covid-19 still holding the USA in its clutches these type of visits simply won’t happen for us. With me having a science background and education we take Covid-19 very seriously and do our best to avoid any situation in which we don’t feel as though we can be safe in. While we will still visit an occasional brewery they must have ample outdoor seating as we will not visit one with only indoor seating. Yes, we are very cautious.

With that in mind as we plan our travels south we will drive slightly longer distances and stay at places for shorter periods. Where we normally like to travel 100 to 150 miles we will stretch that to a couple hundred miles at a time between stops. Likewise we normally like to spend no less than 3 nights at any given location but now will often only spend 2 nights.We will stay longer at places which offer what we feel are safe activities during this pandemic. Oh, how glad we will be when this is all behind us.

Our first stop was one we have been to many times before as it is a nice distance away from Raleigh NC and easy to get into and out of. Bass Lake RV, a Passport America park, is under new ownership and now only takes Passport America for one night but we were able to use our Good Sam’s discount for the second night.

All we did while during our stay was to walk around the nearby lake, catch up on our laundry and watch some college football. Yes our team the Texas A&M Aggies took one on the chin from Alabama but it was to be expected. We are still avoiding laundromats by using our portable ZENY Portable Mini Twin Tub Washing Machine. We bought this back in March when the pandemic chased us out of laundromats and it has not only kept us safer but has pretty much paid for itself by now.

NOTE:  Our next stop for us will be Colleton State Park in South Carolina for three nights.  

A Couple of Fun Free Things to do in Charleston, SC…

With one more day in Charleston we chose to do something we had planned before but had never done. This was to walk across the 2.7 mile Ravenel Bridge. Before doing so we also wanted to check out the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. Charles Pinckney was one of the principal authors and signers of our Constitution. This historic site is the remains of his preserved coastal plantation. I find it interesting how many of our founding fathers were slave owners and wonder what they would think now about slavery…

The plantation is found in what is typical of South Carolina low country plantations with its stately large Live Oak trees draped in Spanish Moss. This 28 acre  farm is a remnant of Pinckney's original 18th-century 715 acre plantation known as Snee Farm that he inherited in 1782. There are trails throughout the 28 acres and we enjoyed visiting this free historical site.

Next up for us was the hike across the Ravenel Bridge. We always wanted to do this hike but weather conditions kept us from doing so. Even today the weather was a bit dicey but we figured we might only see sprinkles of rain so we pushed on.

Known by locals as the “Double Diamonds” the  Arthur J. Ravenel Bridge is an engineered artisitc masterpiece. It is a 8 lanes wide cable stayed bridge which opened in 2005. It towers above any of the ocean freightliners that choose to pass below it.

It really was a pleasant hike across the bridge rewarding us with 360 degree panoramas of the Charleston SC skyline and bay around us. We could see an aircraft carrier docked across from the city and a cruise ship we later found out one of our friends from North Carolina was boarding(small world). There were turn outs where we could pause to watch many sailboats and touring craft sail underneath the bridge. We are certainly glad we made time to hike across the bridge during this visit to Charleston SC.

NOTE: We are now in Brunswick GA for a three nights before moving on to Flagler Beach State Park in Florida…