Bearfootin'

Hendersonville City Hall

Ruthie and I have both visited Hendersonville, about 20 miles south of Asheville, but have never had the opportunity to explore their welcoming downtown. Ruthie was especially interested in checking out a more modern version of the Mast General Store after visiting the original 1883 store outside Boone. The town has become an expensive community of vacation homes and the downtown is set up for tourists and diners. It has been beautifully landscaped, full of trees, flowers and shrubs set in front of handsomely maintained old town buildings. 

We saw the beginning of lots of fall color change. Even when the buildings contained new shops, their historic character was maintained. The restaurants had outdoor patios for dining including one that had set up its roof for outdoor seating. And we were impressed by the town's preservation of a 1927 McClintock Clock made by a company that operated in town from 1917 to 1949.
 

A newer Mast General Store

McClintock Clock

Restaurant with roof seating

 In addition to having trendy restaurants and boutiques, the town had bear sculptures on every corner up for auction to raise money for area charities. Each bear had a QR code at its base. You could scan the code, complete a form and place your bid. If you just HAD to have that particular bear, you could pay $10,000 to pull it from the auction, otherwise, bids will be scored October 16. According to their website, "Each year, the downtown program hosts a live auction to raise funds for the Bearfootin' Art Walk and the many non-profits that the bears represent." Definitely out of our budget but a blast to see.  Below are pictures of our favorite choices.

We took a back road home through the country and stopped at the Asheville Farmer's Market for local vegetables and meat. After that, we hit the gift shop of an organization I support, Local Cloth, which features the work of area fiber artists and provides them a facility for studio space, teaching, and craft demonstration. We've satisfied our urban cravings for now and will shortly be on our way back to the woods near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Check back soon!

Amboy Adventure!

Overlooking the French Broad River

Wednesday afternoon we made it to Wilson's Riverfront RV Park on Amboy Road in Asheville. If you've been reading this blog a while, you know this is one of my favorite spots as it overlooks the French Broad River and adjoins the Asheville Greenway system. Ruthie had asked to make Asheville part of this trip as she's not had the chance to explore the area. 

As soon as we were set up, we headed into town for supper in the Edison Room of the Grove Park Inn. We were lucky to get an early reservation. Ruthie got the grand hotel tour, then we had a grander supper and dessert at The Hop, a great local place near where Ben and Jessie lived with lots of vegan options for a mother who can't do milk. After that, we checked out another campground Ruthie's friend Sarah had recommended, Campfire Lodgings (lovely views but a treacherous road for mountain towing), and walked the greenway until dark. 

Grove Park Inn

Grove Park Lobby

Back of the Inn

The Inn's mountain views

Edison Dining Patio

Oak milk ice cream!

Morning on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Thursday has been even busier. We started the day on a mountain drive from Weaverville to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a lovely route my daughter taught me when she lived here. The day had started with a thick mist along the river but the Parkway took us above the clouds. Then we explored new parts of the greenway, checked out Biltmore Village, and drove through the River Arts District. Under the best of circumstances, Asheville is a difficult place to drive. The city is old and the neighborhood roads predate modern driving. Some of the neighborhood roads narrow to a single lane in spots and the city has put speed bumps everywhere to slow folks down. More recently, they have added tiny traffic circles everywhere. When you are NOT in the neighborhoods, Asheville is full of Interstates which may have confusing splits so every chance I got, I'd choose the gray alternative route in Google Maps to stay off the highways. My kids went to school up here so I'm not totally unfamiliar with the place but Google took us places I had never seen and with driving challenges I had never faced. And no matter how many alternatives I took, we always ended up on I240 to get to Amboy Road and our RV. It got to be a joke.  

All Soul's Church

Children's church playground

Biltmore Village Charm

So the day we had was fun and full. AND we got to enjoy the first colors of Fall. Our next stop is Hendersonville. And best good news is that Congress got its act together and avoided a shut down so we can visit the Great Smoky Mountain National Park after that.  

First colors of fall!

Santee to Congaree

Our view from Santee Lakes KOA

 When I booked this trip last spring, the closest place I could find to Congaree National Park was a KOA in the Santee Lakes area. This put us about 30 miles from the National Park, which seemed close enough and our KOA experience has been consistently good, so it felt like an OK plan. When we checked in to the KOA, two young men escorted us to a site without a sewer hook up. Since they didn't seem full, I asked if we could have a full hook up site. One escort called in my request and they smiled and drove us to a different site. Not only did we get a full hook up,  we got this fabulous view of Lake Marion. 

Santee Lakes State Park

Then I asked our escorts what we might like to see in the area. One of them looked at me and said, "We're in the middle of nowhere, there's nothing to do out here". Nothing to do out here. We're right next to a National Wildlife Refuge and a South Carolina State Park. So I thanked them, finished our set up, took out Google Maps, and we took off to explore the Middle of Nowhere. Sadly, the wildlife refuge, which was a great drive and had interesting information posters at its entrance, was closed for a special hunt. From there, we explored the town of Santee and then headed out to Santee Lakes State Park across Lake Marion from our camp site. The park is mostly heavily wooded camp grounds overlooking the lake along with a Scout camp and several boat ramps. There are nature trails but we were warned again about alligators so we kept the dog (and people) walking to the KOA camp ground. Still, we had another day of lovely weather and great natural beauty. 

The next day, we headed out to Congaree National Park, half way between Santee and Columbia SC. The park occupies 26,000 acres and is "the largest remaining tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in North America" according to their Self-Guided Boardwalk guide brochure. The boardwalk  makes a 2.4 mile loop at the

Congaree Visitor's Center and Gift Shop

Visitor's Center and the guide tells the story of the park's contents and history as you traverse a variety of subtly different ecosystems. 

In addition to the boardwalk, there are woodland trails, primitive campgrounds and the Congaree River which can be kayaked or canoed--if you don't mind spiders or snakes dropping into your boat according to an online review. Alligators swim the river as well. If you love history and old trees, however, the risks might be worth it. The park is home to 15 of the world's largest trees in their species, including a 167 food Loblolly Pine. Some of the cypress trees are over 1000 years old, and ancient Tupelo trees mingle among them. There are also abandoned moonshine stills and evidence of "maroon" settlements--communities formed by escaped slaves. Dense vegetation

Boardwalk

and twisted roots provided safety to those not wishing to be found and were the basis for building such an extensive boardwalk. It was a remarkable experience and thankfully, the only alligator we've seen this trip was from an overlook as it swam the Congaree River. 

The next stop is a stark contrast--urban Asheville. Our campsite will be on the French Broad River and my favorite stretch of city greenway. And free of alligators...

Ancient Cypress

Dwarf Palmetto

Ruthie's alligator photo

Campground Sunset

Skidaway to Mount Pleasant

The coast of Georgia is a series of "islands". Next to Tybee was Skidaway Island, home to a lovely state park with lots of walking trails--and a wonderful gift shop where I could finalize my holiday gifts. 

So the day after exploring urban Savanah, we explored the local nature world, walking about three miles on park trails that led us through swampgrass, palmettos, pine trees, across Confederate earthworks and among cheerful bird songs. We enjoyed new textures and colors--the black-tipped grass, the unusual bark of the palmettos, deep shades of green in the woods, and the gray Spanish Moss clinging to it all. The weather has been perfect, mild and breezy with little humidity, adding to the special feeling we've enjoyed this part of the trip, all made even nicer by Ruthie letting me pick trails WITHOUT alligator ponds...

The next day we headed to Charleston, SC, thinking we'd take in some more history on our way to Congaree National Park the day after. Our KOA, a Holiday set up on a quiet lake, was on the far side of Charleston in the town of Mount Pleasant. I was surprised at all the Sunday traffic and we chose to just stay in Mount Pleasant rather than fight it to go back to Charleston. We did explore the Mount Pleasant Memorial Park, a waterfront park and fishing pier, and had a great Mexican carryout supper. We also stopped at one of the many roadside stands selling Gullah Sweetgrass baskets. The baskets are full of history and tradition and very beautiful, and also very expensive, so none will come home this trip. We also declined walking the local nature trail in the campground after reading the alligator warning signs. Is there a theme here? I am enjoying both the history and scenery we've had the chance to explore but I think I may be ready to head north again.

Sweetgrass basket image from fineartamerica.com

Mount Pleasant KOA

Mount Pleasant Memorial Park

Beginning the Southern Loop

We were home from Amish country for two days, replacing an aged-out gas leak detector, doing laundry and repacking food. We are off on a three week adventure that started with a posting on the Fiberglass RV Forum (fiberglassrv.com) last fall about an Egg Scramble on Tybee Island, GA and ending with our favorite fiberglass gathering in Brown County IN. Gatherings of fiberglass rvs are often called Eggs Rambles or Egg Scrambles because of the egg shapes of many of the popular fiberglass rvs like  the Scamps and Casitas. The last one I attended was in Hiawassee GA. I had a great time visiting among vintage trailers and hoped to repeat that experience along the Georgia coast. I am not seeing vintage trailers in this gathering but we are parked next door to an Escape and there are four or five more of them here--a new experience for me as I have seen so few on the road, though I expect, like me, the owners bought them for the extra room needed to isolate during COVID. 

We are near the beach. Sadly, dogs are not allowed on the beach OR left alone inside the camper. But we have walked nearby and along quiet roads that border area swampland. After the damp and stormy summer at home, the weather here has been lovely, surprisingly not humid as close to the ocean as we are. There has been a breeze and the temps have stayed at 80 or below. There have been surprisingly few insects but lots of birds, singing to us and flying nearby. At this point, we are feeling totally spoiled. AND there is a city-maintained dog park at the campground's edge where we hope to spoil Odie a taste.

Bird filled swamp

City dog park

Ruthie has visited this area before and suggested we spend the afternoon walking the Savanah Historic District. I am not an urban lover but Old Savanah is wonderfully picturesque, resembling photos I've seen of New Orleans, though I have to say, after crossing the Mississippi with Jessie four days before that bridge we crossed at Memphis was shut down for emergency repair, crossing the bridge over the Savanah River into town did give us both pause. That said, the Savanah Historic District was a rich experience.  We saw some buildings from the 1700s, some simple clapboard or brick, mixed in with other buildings from the 1800s trimmed with ornate metalwork, and more modern buildings trimmed in handsome stonework. All through this part of town, there are parks, filled with old trees edged in Spanish moss. The pictures below will give a taste of what we saw. You can click on any photos to enlarge them. 

Savanah River Front

Bridge across the Savanah River entering the city

Coblestone ramp from Bay Street to the river front

African American Baptist Church at a park's edge

Savanah School of Art and Design