Falling into South Carolina

We said goodbye to South Carolina this weekend, after a two-week stay.  It was meant to be a place to hunker down for $4/day (thanks to Thousand Trails) and get a solid chunk of schoolwork and work-work done.  That's just what we did!  Thankfully, we were able to get out and enjoy some of the fun things to do in the area as well!

Welcome to South Carolina!  To start off, this RV park was not rated well, so we were expecting the worst.  I thought it would be unpleasant but figured that having full hookups for that low price was worth the sacrifice.  I was pleasantly surprised to find this beautiful, peaceful park, which had good Verizon service.

Don't get me wrong--there are some downsides here.  The back of the park has some of the worst roads we have seen.  (Thankfully, we didn't have to stay there.)  The rows are very close together, making maneuvering a challenge.  Hardly any of the sites are even close to level.  There aren't many full hookup sites, and only a few 50-amp available (there were none during our stay).  

BUT, the foliage was gorgeous, the people were the greatest, the campground was peaceful and quiet, and I loved feeling less like I was in a park and more that I was in the forest.  Morning walks were awesome, especially since the place is so ridiculously hilly.  Sorry for the people pulling their RV's up and down the hills, but I got some fantastic workouts in!

During our first weekend in Fair Play, we drove two hours south to visit Six Flags Over Georgia.  While we don't usually visit places so far from where we're staying, we needed to pick up our season passes.  Since the dogs were at home and the drive was so long, this was a short trip.  We avoided crowds by arriving before the park opened and were able to do quite a few rides before we had to leave.  We're looking forward to visiting again in a few weeks and hope to use our passes at the Six Flags in Texas as well as two Six Flags parks in California.  

We didn't want to haul anything around the park with us, so I didn't have my camera or even my phone for most of it.  I did get a few snapshots on my phone as we left, though.

This was Jeff and the kids' first visit to an amusement park and they loved it!  Jeff and Meg felt a little nauseous and weren't able to ride as much as Jordan, Jax, and I.  We took ginger capsules for four days prior to our visit, and I do believe they helped.  Jordan usually gets carsick but didn't have any trouble on the rides.  When we got home, Jeff ordered some more motion sickness supplies for next time.  He's prepared to go to whatever length necessary to ride all the rides!  We can't wait to visit again.  

On another day off, we took a drive to Toccoa Falls.  The falls are located on the Toccoa Falls College campus.  After seeing everything, Jackson said that he wants to go to school there!  It's just a little Christian college, but had a welcoming feel.  With the fall foliage and amazing views, I can see why Jackson would want to live here!

180 ft. to the top!

Just a little stop, but a pretty one!  And we got to see more of the South Carolina countryside, which is all decked out with its changing leaves. 

Another day, the kids and I drove northeast to the Bob Campbell Geology Museum, which is a Clemson College program.  Clemson College is huge here!  Everyone wears their orange apparel and have bumper stickers and tiger tails hanging off the backs of their cars.  I don't know college football, but driving past the stadium was enough to inform me that Clemson takes their football very seriously!  The kids were momentarily jaw-dropped to see it up close.  But back to the museum--

This is a great stop if you can overlook the evolutionist signs and misinformation.  Geology is a great interest of ours, so this free museum was a big score!

There were thousands of interesting artifacts and replicas!  So many beautiful things that we've only seen in documentaries and books.

Bismuth is Jackson's favorite.  Don't ask me how many photos of rocks I took because I would be embarrassed to answer.  The kids were pulling me back and forth to look at the amazing gems around each corner.  We just love rocks.

Jeff teases:  "So, ballpark--how many tons of rocks and sand are we hauling all over the country?"

Well...

  

Q:  What rock is always hungry?
A:  Apatite!  

Like all jokes that take 15 seconds to write, that joke was not funny.  The name of the rock did crack Jackson up, though.

This part was so cool!  They have a small black room filled with large bioluminescent rocks.  You push a button and a lesson begins, with instruction and a show.  We loved this!  They were much brighter than I thought they would be, though they were not as bright as these no-flash photos make them look.

Really Rad Rocks.

By our last day in South Carolina, we still didn't feel like we had seen the area.  Like, really been in it.  For us, that usually means we didn't do enough swimming, climbing, hiking, or something of that nature.  So we decided to go a little north this time, for a different hike, and we were not disappointed!

Isaqueenah Falls in Walhalla, SC is a 200-ft. waterfall located in Stumphouse Tunnel Park.

Walking along the path to the falls.  The colors are even more saturated in real life.

The viewpoint for the falls is at the top.  It's an easy walk, but doesn't provide much of a view.  When I researched this place, I read that you have to hike down to really see the falls.  There is no trail, only a trampled path that is really not a path in a lot of places.  We scrambled over tree trunks and boulders, and navigated through piles of leaves.  I don't know how it's possible that we didn't find any snakes, but thankfully we didn't!  I kept reminding the kids to watch where they put their hands and feet, and to plant their feet and test it before putting their weight down.  To their credit, the kids are careful and cautious hikers.

Lucy did great with the hike, while Sydney needed help in a few spots.  It was safer to have them off-leash because of the uneven ground and tricky maneuvering.  I didn't want them to hurt themselves or trip me because of our 4 foot leash.  I think I need to get them 6 or 8 ft. leashes for future hikes.  I have seen people who do this, and it allows everyone to have a little more space while still keeping the dogs from being a nuisance to other people.  Since the people were up at the viewpoint, it wasn't an issue for this hike.

Issaqueena Falls!  

The waterfall was loud and moved quicker than I thought it would.  It was unexpected, based on the photos I had seen.  The pictures make it look like the water is trickling down, but that is not the case.

Any time we go out exploring, Lucy is Jackson's shadow.  She has always done this and the only reason I can think of is that she senses that Jackson needs the most protecting.  She's a good girl.  

Jackson loved it!  He kept telling us how happy he was, how much fun he was having, and thanked us for bringing him here.  He didn't want to leave!

Happiest boy in the world.

I'm bummed that I didn't get any shots of the girls or Jeff at the waterfall.  Jackson is always right next to me, so I get more pictures of him.  I assure you, they were there, too!

See!  Here they are, on our way back up the mountain.  What a climb!  We were sore all over from this hike, but so happy.

After that, we walked along a side road, searching for the Stumphouse Tunnel.  We kept seeing these enormous spider webs in the trees.  They were several feet in diameter.  I think they looked even more menacing because of all the leaves that fell into them and created huge nest-looking webs.  Jordan thought they were cool.

Into the tunnel!  We would have gone farther in if he hadn't had dogs with us.  It wasn't safe because we had to keep them on the leash and Sydney was tripping me.  It didn't seem like a good idea without our head lamps.

And that was it!  We didn't do very many outings, but the outings that we did were really great. 

Oh!  I can't end the post without mentioning the accents.  Fantastic accents, all over.  I couldn't make heads or tails of what accent I was hearing, though.  From what it sounded like, there were different southern accents all mingled in together.  I've never been overly concerned with manners, but I'll tell you that I did appreciate the way the men bow their heads and call you ma'am when they speak to you.  And the women are so friendly and say things like, "Now, hon, let me tell yew," and they say it slow and like each word is a new sentence, so it sounds like, "Now, hon.  Let.  Me.  Tell.  Yew."  I loved it.  They were great.  Jordan said that she got the sense that a lot of people in the area are unhappy, but I don't know if that's it.  Maybe they just work hard and are worn out by the end of the day.  Maybe they just don't like standing in line at Wal-Mart.  Maybe living there is hard.  It is true that we saw noticeably less smiling and laughter in this particular corner of South Carolina, but the people that I interacted with were so kind.  

After our time in Fair Play was up, we went north for a detour in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  I was originally planning to skip this area because of the bear stories I have heard.  I know there are bears in Brookings.  I know it.  But I lived there for 10 years and hiked all in and around Brookings, and never saw one alive.  So it's not like bears are running all over the town.  From what I've read about GSMNP, this place is not like that.

  

GSMNP = Bear Country.

1,500 bears. 

Two per square mile. 

So I was okay missing it.  Then we had a two-week gap in our plans, talked about it, and ultimately decided that we would be sorry if we didn't take the opportunity to see one of the most beautiful places in America.  We've been here two days and are in love.  Beauty untold, dear friends, and we still have a lot to see.

We love and miss you all so much!  I'm researching and planning the next 6 months of our trip, and it looks like we'll be able to visit some of you.  Just seeing your homes on my map makes me anxious to hurry up and get there!  I can't wait to hug you and laugh with you and catch up.  We've only been gone 6 months but it feels like years.