Yakking the swamp

Let me set the scene. This is a big popular park. There are 55 canoes for rent. There are 25 John boats for rent. The parking lot is huge. We launched mid morning and the parking lot was empty. We pretty much had the swamp to ourselves. There are some benefits to camping this time of year. Small crowds are one of them. We were out for 5 hours. We did a hike on an island and ate lunch on a wooden dock. The paddling was spectacular. I had to jump through some hoops to make yesterday's post. I will attempt to use those same hoops today.

Stephen C Foster SP Ga

This place is at the end of a 17 mile dead end road. The Verizon cell tower is at the beginning of the road. We are using our signal booster but things aren't working too well. The park is in the middle of the Okefenokee swamp. We wanted to come here for the paddling potential. I went out after lunch. It was really cool. The channel I was in got narrower and narrower until I had to break my paddle in half and just use one blade. Jenny is still nursing a sore shoulder but she will give it a go tomorrow. We are here 3 nights.

General Coffee St. Park Ga

I think this park is in Coffee county. The park and county were named after General John Coffee, a US congressman and military leader. I'm thinking he might consider dropping the US congressman part of his resume. That's not really something I consider brag worthy. Anyway, there is a working farm in the park as well as a swampy river flowing through it. We are only here for 1 night so we didn't have alot of time to explore. Tomorrow we are headed for Stephen C Foster SP. It's right in the middle of the Okefenokee swamp. We will be there for 3 nights. The reviews that we have read say that cell coverage is weak. We have always been able to communicate somehow but just be advised we might or might not be incommunicado.

Little Ocmulgee day 2

There was a 100 percent chance of rain in today's forcast. They hit that one on the head. There was a short break this morning and I was able to get out. I took the pic below of a bridge on the golf course cart path. We braved the weather and drove into McRae, the nearest town, to see the sights. We found a Piggly Wiggly. It was a blast from the past. Jenny claims she hasn't set foot in a Piggly Wiggly in 50 years. We have one in Beaufort that I went in just out of curiosity last year. It's about what you'd expect. Last week I was complaining about having trouble posting pictures on the blog. I couldn't use the app. I had to use the website. It was a pain. A few days ago Samsung informed me that there was an update for my phone. After installing that, my picture posting problem disappeared. The last pic was taken from under the MP's awning. It was about the only place you could stand outside without getting wet. We move tomorrow.

Little Ocmulgee State Park Ga

Today was the longest drive of this trip. Actually, our drive to Tega Cay was a little longer, but that was day 1. This is a resort park. There is a golf course, a lodge, a conference center, a restaurant, a pool, tennis courts, volley ball and the ultimate attraction......a putt-putt golf course. Also a laundry in the campground.

Hamilton Branch SP

We are still in S. Carolina but this park is near Augusta. The lake we are backed up to is Strom Thurmond Reservoir. We think this is the 3rd time we have stayed here. The attraction for me is the Forks Area Trail System. Bike trails. They are excellent. The trailhead is about a 20 minute drive from this campground. There are 6 loop trails. I rode 2 of them. My 65 year old legs are tired. We are going to cross into Georgia tomorrow. We left Habersham on the 6th of January so we will have been in South Carolina for 21 days.

Last day at Aiken

We drove into town to absorb some local ambience and eat Mexican food. Jenny found a restaurant with great reviews. It was a Mexican grocery with a
restaurant or a Mexican restaurant with a grocery, it was hard to tell. The food was great. The clientele was all Mexican laborers on their lunch breaks. We visited a garden operated by the city of Aiken. The property was donated to the city a long time ago by a couple who bred and raced Thoroughbred horses. The Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame & Museum is located on the garden grounds. I really wanted to spend some time visiting the Hall of Fame but.......well actually I didn't. It's interesting to me that there is a thing called, "The Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame". We move tomorrow.

Aiken SP day 2

I yakked the S. fork of the Edisto on the park river trail. It was very twisty and swampy. Yesterday, Jenny stumbled and hurt her arm catching herself. That's why she didn't go with me. She's OK but wasn't comfortable with the idea of
pulling on a paddle. After lunch we hiked the park's nature trail. We had originally planned on leaving tomorrow but this park is pretty nice so we will be here one more day. There are 2 other campers here. We have met them both. It is very quiet. The only sound most of the day is the wind blowing through the pines.

Aiken State Park

• This park only has 25 sites and 20 of them are vacant. We found one with a hole in the trees that has allowed us to get a satellite signal. This parks main attraction is the South Fork of the Edisto river, which flows through it. We will probably paddle on it tomorrow. The Edisto river is the longest free flowing blackwater river in the country. I do have one alarming development to discuss. I was unable to post any pictures yesterday. I have tried everything I can think of with no luck. I'm afraid there is a glitch someplace and I won't be able to fix it. So, if there are no pics on this or subsequent posts, that's what's happening. 

A little history

After a morning yak we visited Ninety Six National Historic site. Historians believe the the towns name, 96, was used because it is located along a major Cherokee indian path that extended from the ocean to the mountains and the settlement was 96 miles from Keowee, a major Cherokee village. Two other major roads converged at 96 in the 1700s so it was an important center of commerce. The first southern land battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here in 1775. The battle was fought between Loyalists and Patriots. All of them were born here, they had a different view of who should be in charge. The very first southern fatality of the revolutionary war occured during this battle. The loyalists lost the battle. There was another battle here in 1781.  The berms and trenches that were part of the second battle are still evident and the park has a well marked interpretive trail that meanders through them. The Loyalists won the second battle. We move tomorrow.

Lake Greenwood SRA

This park is near a town called 'Ninety Six'. There is probably an interesting story behind that name but I gave been unable to find out what it is. We got our 43rd stamp in our SC parks book today. Our next stop will be Aiken SP and that will be it for stamp collecting on this trip. Our 3 remaining stamps will come from parks near Charleston. As you can see from the pic below the MP is literally backed up to the lake. If the lake was full pool we would be 25 feet from the water. We are here for 2 nights. Possibility of rain tomorrow.

Lake Hartwell day dos

Today was, by far, the nicest weather we have had this trip. I was able to sit in the sun and replenish my low vitamin D level. There are no bike trails here so I sorta tried to make my own. That didn't work out too well. When I returned from what was a 1 and 1/2 hour ordeal I had to spend some time returning my bike to ridability. It's go big or go home baby. After lunch things were so good we got the yaks wet. The pics below kind of show  how our new roof rack works. There are hydraulic cylinders that provide 40 pounds of lift assistance. You only have to lift the boats a few feet to get them loaded. You tie them down while they are hanging on the side of the car. Sweet. We move tomorrow.

Lake Hartwell SP

The drive from the Lake Hartwell KOA to the Lake Hartwell SP was 28 miles. Today set a record for the fewest miles driven between campsites. The campground is pretty much vacant. Our site backs up to the lake. We have no neighbors. We like this site for several reasons. Since the trees have no leaves we have a partial view of the sky anywhere we park. That means we have, at least, the potential to get our satellite TV to get a signal. I had to move the portable antennae several times but I found a small hole in the overhead branches that allowed us to get a signal. Woopee! Small victories while camping are huge. These pics are of me cleaning the picture window in the bedroom and why it is called a picture window.

Anderson/Lake Hartwell KOA

We waited for things to thaw somewhat before we risked getting out of Paris Mountain SP. Since we needed propane a KOA with propane seemed like a logical choice. Our tank is now full so barring another arctic atomic bomb we should be set for the rest of this trip. It took 10 gallons to fill us up. We were in sub-freezing night temperatures for 12 days and only used 10 gallons. I'll stash that bit of information away somewhere. We will be back in another State Park tomorrow night. No pics today. I'll post a snow pic I took yesterday.

Ice Station Greenville

The forecasted snow arrived sometime last night. We got about 3-4 inches. We couldn't leave today and probably won't leave tomorrow. That's OK except for our only concern. We don't have a whole lot of propane. We have been using the furnace constantly for 11 days. We should be fine but we'll need to fill up soon. I did a solo hike in the snow this morning and Jenny and I went out after lunch. We are expecting teens tonight. We'll see how things look tomorrow.

Paris Mountain day 3

I had to ride some of the trails even though it was frigging cold this morning. I was unsure of my ability to ride these trails because when we arrived here there were many young, healthy young men wearing fluorescent biking outfits, riding full suspension 29 inch bikes hanging out in the parking lot.  It was a little intimidating. Turns out I shouldn't have been. I have ridden 'The Whole Enchilada' in Moab. I have yet to see a bike trail anywhere in the east that would be considered 'difficult' in the west. I ride slow but I keep cranking those pedals. After lunch Jenny and I did a hike. The park trail map rates the trails in difficulty. 1 being easy and 10 being hard. There weren't any 10s so we did the only 9. We are planning on moving tomorrow but there is snowy weather in the forcast. We can extend if needed.

Paris Mountain day 2

We weren't really sure what we were going to do today. It was another cold morning and we were reluctant to get out from the 4 inches of quilts we were comfortably ensconced under. We did want to get more stamps in our SC parks book and we needed some supplies and we were accumulating dirty clothes. Our plan came together: We drove to Jones Gap SP (it has only backcountry camping) Then we visited Ceasars Head SP (a wickedly curvy drive) We then descended to Pats house and were allowed to do our laundry (thanks Pat). Jenny made a trip to Ingles to resupply. All goals met. I didn't take a single pic the entire day. I'll take a selfie so I'll have something to post

Paris Mountain SP, Greenville SC

I made a potentially monumental screw up. I extended that bad leveling jack at our last stop out of stupid lazy curosity. It wouldn't come up this morning.  Today is Sunday. I knew I wasn't going to be getting any help so I did what I do best. I fiddled with it. I wacked it with a rubber mallet and played with the controller. It finally squealed up. Problem solved. We really dodged an atomic bomb with that one. It was 24 degrees last night. I put RV antifreeze in the holding tanks so that I would be able to dump this morning. I could dump the shower and toilet but the sinks were frozen. We are here for probably 3 nights. On the way here we stopped by a shoe store. The other pics are my solution to the jack problem and a
dam we walked around on an afternoon hike.

Croft State Park day 3

Well, it stopped raining but winter temperatures have returned. I absolutely had to ride some more of the park trails so I got bundled up and rode off. The park
Is split in half by a creek. Bikes are allowed south of the creek and horses are allowed north of the creek. Hikers can go anywhere. There are several abandoned cemeterys in the park. I stopped by one on my ride and Jenny and I took a hike to another one. We took some cemetery pics. We move to tomorrow. 

Rose Hill Plantation day trip

It rained pretty much all night and things didn't change after sun up. Our plan had always been to visit Rose Hill Plantation to get another stamp in our book. That we did. The plantation was owned by the governor of South Carolina when the state seceded from the union. He owned 7000 acres and 170 slaves. The house was built with thick brick walls but everthing that wasn't brick deteriorated after his heirs let it go. In 1949 an architect from Columbia decided to restore it. The pics below were taken before and after the restoration. The property was well known for its rose garden, hence the name of the estate. There are 4, 175 year old, southern  magnolia trees in the front yard. One of them is the state record holder. The state has owned the property since the 60's. The rain should stop tonight. We will be here one more day.

Croft State Park

This park is just outside of Spartanburg. A 7000 acre former Army base with 17 miles of equestrian trails, 16 miles of mountain bike trails, a 165 acre lake and a gun range. We got here during an unpleasant weather event. Rain. We had to break camp in the rain too. See Jenny's     
'Breaking camp in the rain outfit' below. For those of you who are interested, Roy was right. The right rear jack retracted fine when we hit the button but when we got here it didn't go down too well. It was slow  and noisy. We will not use it again. One of our goals on this trip is to visit a few more of the 47 South Carolina state parks and get a stamp in our book from each park. We found out yesterday that we will be eligible for 2 t-shirts when we get our last stamp. That's good because I hadn't planned on sharing my shirt with Jenny. I took the last pic during my exploratory bike ride.

The MP strikes back episode 15 or 16.

When we were setting up here yesterday the right rear leveling jack was real slow to come down and it was making a weird squeal. This morning I took off the cover and stuck my finger in the hydraulic reservoir. It was a pink jello. As I'm sure you are aware, hydraulic fluid is thin and bright red. I got on the phone with the manufacturer of our system, his name is Roy, and he more or less told me we were screwed. There is water mixed with the fluid. Our workaround was to use blocks under the right rear wheels if needed. It was off to Wal-Mart. While there I had an idea. Why not suck out the pink jello and replace it with the good stuff. I called Roy and he was dubious but he didn't say no. So I did it. We will find out how screwed we really are when I push the retract button tomorrow morning. Our afternoon adventure was 18 holes of disc golf played from the blue tees. There are 2 holes over 800 feet. Playing that course has reaffirmed without question that I suck.

Chester State Park

We have started our winter trip. We've actually been on the road a few days. Our first stop was Tega Cay to celebrate the Birthdays of Seth (5 Jan) and the twins (7 Jan). While we were parked at the KOA near Tega Cay, we had a low temperature of 10 degrees. Jenny and I spent that night at Seth's house. The MP was not so lucky. I had done some preparation but not quite enough. The water pump froze. I had to take apart the floor under the kitchen sink and run Jenny's hair dryer, pointed at the pump for 15 minutes. The water lines leading to the toilet also froze and I had to do the same thing with those lines. Winter camping has some unforeseen drawbacks. This park has a lake, thats frozen, and a tournament quality disk golf course. We played the short course this afternoon. (9 baskets) we'll tackle the long course tomorrow.

Happy Birthday

Caroline on the left, Stella on the right.

The twins turn 8

These are called SQUISHYS. The girls have 42 of them. We gave them 5 more.