Waterfalls – Wandering Dawgs

Caribbean Islands Adventure 2022 – Part 6: Dominica

March 14, 2022March 14, 2022Posted in Nature, Travel, WaterfallsTagged Caribbean, Caribbean Cruise, Caribbean Islands Adventure, Dominica, My Viking Story, Rain Forest, Ti Tou Gorge, Trafalger Waterfall, Viking Sea, Wacky rollers20 Comments

January 19, 2022

Welcome to Dominica!

We had booked a morning snorkeling excursion and had just finished getting ready when our phone rang. The snorkeling trip was cancelled because of rough seas. I had just been looking at the description of the Rain Forest and Waterfall by 4×4 excursion and thinking how fun that would be. I asked if there was room for us and there was! I already had on my bathing suit and asked if there was swimming available and he said yes. That was even better!

We met our guide and followed him to our fun ride for the day – the cool 4×4 shown below. We climbed up a ladder, found our seats and off we went for our wild ride into the rain forest with the Wacky Rollers.

The drive to our first stop was on narrow, steep, winding roads. We stopped for a look down at the capital city of Roseau. When I saw the rainbow I was a happy camper. How could it get better than that? Well, it did.

We stopped at the Botanical Gardens for a look around at some of the beautiful vegetation and an unusual moth caterpillar.

The road was like a roller coaster as we got farther into the rain forest. It started raining which added to the adventure. The driver stopped on a bridge for a view of some hot springs.

*Hot Springs in the Rain Forest of Dominica*

At Morne Trois Pitions National Park we hiked up wet, slippery stone steps to view the Trafalger Waterfalls. It rained off and on the entire hike but the view at the top was our reward.

After returning to the bottom of the stairs we had a chance to read about the park at the Visitor’s Center and gazed out a window to see the rain coming down.

We continued the tour on more roller coaster roads until stopping at Ti Tou Gorge with an opportunity to swim into the gorge. Out of about a dozen people on the tour, only four women took the plunge. The water was cold as we swam against the current into the gorge to a circular pool where we could look up to see the sky. We continued a little farther for a peek at a waterfall before turning around to go back.

Swimming back to where we started was easy with the current pushing us along. It was a challenge getting out of the water onto the slippery rocks but I did it with the help of one of our guides.

The roller coaster ride continued down the mountain on the way back to the ship. Back on board we had a nice view of the colorful city of Roseau, watched another gorgeous sunset and enjoyed another fabulous dinner.

The adventure continues. Where will we be next?

Throwback Thursday #9 – October 17, 2017

October 17, 2019October 16, 2019Posted in Georgia, North Carolina, RVing, WaterfallsTagged autumn, Memories, Nantahala National Forest, Scenic Drive, Scenic drives, Throwback Thursday8 Comments

We’re not traveling as much in our fifth wheel anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.

We spent this day two years ago, October 17, 2017, on scenic mountain roads visiting waterfalls in Nantahalla National Forest in North Carolina, and Sylvan Falls in Georgia.

20171017NC-Nantahala-National-Forest-Waterfalls-(18) — Dry Falls near Highlands, NC in the Nantahala National Forest

20171017NC-Nantahala-National-Forest-Waterfalls-(54) — Fall Colors in the Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina

20171017NC-Nantahala-National-Forest-Waterfalls-(83) — Behind Bridal Veil Falls near Highlands, NC

20171017NC-Nantahala-National-Forest-Waterfalls-(70) — Small waterfall beside Hwy 64 between Highlands and Franklin, NC

20171017Sylvan-Falls-(3) — Sylvan Falls in Mountain City, GA

There’s more about these and other mountain adventures two years ago at Wandering in the Georgia and North Carolina Mountains

Throwback Thursday #3 – August 15, 2007

August 15, 2019August 13, 2019Posted in Nature, RVing, South Carolina, WaterfallsTagged Issaquenna Falls, Oconee State Park, Scenic drives, Stumphouse Tunnel, Throwback Thursday, Walhalla Fish Hatchery14 Comments

Welcome to #3 in my series of flashbacks to memorable days from our RV trips.

Flashback to twelve years ago, on August 15, 2007. After a three month RV trip from Georgia to the west coast, we weren’t ready to sit still yet. With 100 degree heat at home, we decided to escape to Mountain Rest, South Carolina to beat the heat. Our campsite was at Oconee State Park in the South Carolina Upcountry about 30 minutes from the Georgia state line in one direction and the North Carolina state line in another direction.

August 15 was our first full day camping at the park. We started the day by wandering around the state park.

20070815Oconee-State-Park-(11)-close — Lake in Oconee State Park, SC

20070815Oconee-State-Park-(16) — Oconee State Park, SC

20070815Oconee-State-Park-(6) — Water Wheel at Oconee State Park, SC

We took a scenic drive to nearby Issaqueena Falls and the Stumphouse Tunnel.

The falls are named after Issaqueena, an Indian Maiden who fell in love with David Francis, a silversmith who lived in what is now the town of Ninety Six, South Carolina. After she learned that her tribe planned a surprise attack on the settlement, Issaqueena warned the settlers there. Angry at her for warning the settlers, her tribe tracked her down. To escape, she jumped over the falls and hid on a ledge behind the water. The warriors thought she was dead and gave up the search.

200708152Issaqueena-Falls-(25) — Issaqueena Falls

200708152Issaqueena-Falls-(13) — Issaqueena Falls

The Stumphouse Tunnel also has an interesting story. The railroad wanted to connect Charleston, SC with the midwest so they began building the tunnel in 1852. The tunnel goes about 1600 feet into the mountain but was never finished.

200708153Stumphouse-Tunnel-(13) — The Stumphouse Tunnell was never finished

At the Walhalla Fish Hatchery we saw thousands of trout of all different sizes.

200708153Walhalla-Fish-Hatchery-(1) — Walhalla Fish Hatchery, SC

200708153Walhalla-Fish-Hatchery-(3) — Walhalla Fish Hatchery, SC

We camped at Oconee State Park a few more days and continued to explore the area not only in South Carolina but also in North Carolina and Georgia. We discovered scenic drives, more waterfalls, good restaurants, and mountain trails.

200708152Issaqueena-Falls-(6) — Wandering Dawgs at Issaqueena Falls, SC, August 15, 2007

Throwback Thursday #2 – August 8, 2006

August 8, 2019September 15, 2019Posted in National Parks, Nature, RVing, Tourist Attractions, Waterfalls, Wildlife, WyomingTagged Bison, Fifth Wheel, Old Faithful, Scenic drives, Throwback Thursday, Yellowstone National Park8 Comments

We’re not traveling as much in our fifth wheel anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.

Flashback to our first RV trip in the summer of 2006. On this day 13 years ago, August 8, 2006, the Wandering Dawgs were enjoying the wonders of Yellowstone National Park, America’s first national park.

That day we watched Old Faithful erupt and drove the Lower Loop Road where we saw Bison herds (American Buffalo), waterfalls, and spectacular scenery. It was one of our most memorable days from all of our RV travels.

Bison in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)

Lower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)

20060808Yellowstone-Lower-Loop-Rd-(20) — Waterfall along Yellowstone Lower Loop Road

20060808Yellowstone-(23) — View on Lower Loop Road, Yellowstone National Park

20060808Yellowstone-Lower-Loop-Rd-(28) — Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

20060808Yellowstone-Lower-Loop-Rd-(51) — Bison at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

20060808Yellowstone-(7) — Wandering Dawgs at Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park in 2006

We spent about a week camping outside of Yellowstone National Park and spent most of those days exploring the park.

Wandering Dawgs 2017 Year in Review

December 20, 2017January 20, 2018Posted in Alabama, Georgia, RVing, WaterfallsTagged Callaway Gardens, FD Roosevelt Little White House, Tallulah Gorge, US Navy Blue Angels, USAF Thunderbirds25 Comments

This year was a little different for the Wandering Dawgs. Instead of traveling to far away places, we had many memorable adventures by staying close to home in 2017.

Our RV travel started with a short spring trip to Pine Mountain, Georgia to tour nearby Callaway Gardens and F. D. Roosevelt’s Little White House .

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Trail at Callaway Gardens

FDR's Little White House in Warm Springs, GA — FDR’s Little White House in Warm Springs, GA

From Pine Mountain we continued on to Alabama to attend an air show at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. All of the performances were exciting but the stars of the show were the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.

U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds at Maxwell Air Show

Seeing the Thunderbirds was so much fun we made a day trip to the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina to see the United States Blue Angels perform.

Our final RV trip of the year was a fall getaway to north Georgia to see Mountains, waterfalls, and Tallulah Gorge .

20171019Tallulah-Gorge-Suspension-Bridge-(10) — Suspension Bridge over Tallulah Gorge Hurricane Falls

Visiting New York City with my daughter was one of the highlights of my year.

Just like we’ve been doing every fall since the 1970’s we made several trips to Athens to attend University of Georgia’s home games.

20171014UGA-53-Mizzou-28-(11) — The teams take the field for pregame practice before a night game in Sanford Stadium

And when we were home we when for boat rides and walked on the beach whenever we could.

20170813Boat-ride-(13) — Small island in the Georgia salt marsh

20171027South-Beach-Tybee-(3) — Early morning at the beach

My Wandering Around America One State at a Time blog project was really fun to do. As I worked on the post for each state I loved going through old photographs and reading my hand written trip journals. With each state I was flooded with many fond memories of places we had been and the wonderful people we met.

Where do you think we will wander next year? Stay tuned…