Every Day is a Gift!
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.
There’s more about these and other mountain adventures two years ago at Wandering in the Georgia and North Carolina Mountains
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.
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.
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.
At the Walhalla Fish Hatchery we saw thousands of trout of all different sizes.
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.
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.
We spent about a week camping outside of Yellowstone National Park and spent most of those days exploring the park.
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 .
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.
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 .
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.
And when we were home we when for boat rides and walked on the beach whenever we could.
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…
We were warned!
We went anyway.
But only as far as the suspension bridge 80 feet above Hurricane Falls.
With my fear of heights I could only go a few feet on the bridge. I did manage to see the top of Hurricane Falls.
I handed Henry the camera for some better pictures.
I took a picture of the falls from the stairs.
And one of Henry looking down from the bridge.
We posed for a selfie before starting back up to the top.
We made it back to the top after stopping at a few landings and resting on every bench.
Younger, braver, and more fit people can cross the bridge to the other side and go down 221 more stairs for a view of Hurricane Falls from the bottom. There is also access to the south rim trail on the other side of the bridge. For us, we are glad we made down and back all in one piece!
