Rocky Raccoon…

 

Went in the screen room,

Only to find no food there.

Rocky was bad,

Probably mad,

When he left sandy prints on the table.

Rocky ran out,

And scurried about,

Only to find Glenn by the fire.

They each said some words,

It was strangely absurd,

And Rocky ran off to Glenn’s ire.

 

We pick up our adventure as we depart Myrtle Beach and head south. But first we had to cook up a new batch of taco meat:

 

On the way to Edisto Beach State Park, we stopped by Huntington Beach State Park about 15 miles away to take photos. Below are the beach, boardwalk, and a campsite:

A sweeping Grand Strand beach, pristine and wide open. Sea-breeze camping and fishing from a jetty or in the surf. And some of the finest bird-watching on the East Coast. That’s not all Huntington Beach State Park has to offer. There’s also Atalaya, the picturesque, Moorish-style winter home of Anna Hyatt and Archer Huntington, sculptress and philanthropist, respectively, who left the park and adjacent Brookgreen Gardens as their legacy. Nature lovers also will enjoy the park’s Environmental Education Center and wide variety of programming, including the chance to see loggerhead turtles and other endangered plant and animal species up close. The park’s freshwater lake is a sure-fire place to see alligators and sometimes even a mink or two. We did not see any alligators during our brief stop, much to Glenn’s delight.

Another 100 miles south was Edisto (pronounced ED-isto), where we would be camping for two nights, Saturday and Sunday. Below are photos of our campsite and the beach:

An oceanfront campground on a palmetto-lined beach famed for its shelling is just one highlight of Edisto Beach State Park. Only an hour from Charleston, the park also offers another campground deep in the maritime forest full of live oaks and some of the state’s tallest palmetto trees, as well as a row of comfortable cabins nestled in the woods but with a front-row view of miles of pristine marshland.

Edisto Beach State Park also offers the state’s longest system of handicapped-friendly hiking and biking trails, including one leading to a mysterious, 4,000-year-old shell midden alongside a secluded bend on a tidal creek.

It was also our first chance to put the canoe in the water. We launched from the state park pier into Big Bay Creek, leaving just as the tide was turning from low to slack. This gave us a free ride out and an easy paddle back. Some photos:

 

Driving 80 miles south, or 12 miles as the crow flies, we arrived at Hunting Island State Park for 4 nights of camping, Monday through Thursday. Below are some photos of our campsite:

The lower photo was taken at dusk from the path to the beach that ran right alongside our site.

Hunting Island is South Carolina’s single most popular state park, attracting more than a million human visitors a year. Also attracted to the semi-tropical barrier island is an array of wildlife, ranging from loggerhead sea turtles to painted buntings, barracudas to sea horses, alligators, pelicans, dolphins and deer, raccoons, Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes and even the rare coral snake.

What they all enjoy is five miles of beach, thousands of acres of marsh, tidal creeks and maritime forest, a saltwater lagoon and ocean inlet. Amenities include a fishing pier and some of the state’s most desirable campsites.

I woke up before dawn on Tuesday morning and walked down to the beach to take some sunrise photos:

Below is my favorite one. There was a fishing boat crossing through the sun’s reflection. Look close:

 

Adding to the natural history of the big park is a piece of man-made history: South Carolina’s only publicly accessible historic lighthouse. Dating from the 1870s, the Hunting Island Lighthouse shoots 132.5 feet into the air, giving those who scale its heights a breathtaking view of the sweeping Lowcountry marshland and the Atlantic Ocean.

Since Glenn had to leave the campground for a few days, the only way for me to visit the lighthouse was to hike on the park’s trail system. It was almost 4 miles round-trip through a very primeval looking forest. The weather was foggy and damp and I saw no one else on the trail. Actually, it was kinda spooky. I kept waiting for a pack of man-eating dinosaurs to come crashing out of the ferns and nibble on me. Below are some photos of the trail and the lighthouse:

A fellow camper told me that the Vietnam scenes from Forest Gump were shot in this area.

On the hike back I noticed an alien spaceship hiding in the trees and what looks suspiciously like a clump of baby’s feet growing from a tree trunk:

 

Getting back to raccoons, we had a nightly visitor at Hunting Island. A big fat nightly visitor. Wearing a mask and with human looking hands, he would jump up on the picnic table and snuffle around for food. The first night I caught him with my cooler open and just about ready to steal my cheese and taco meat. In fact there were two small tears in the cheese bag where his greedy little teeth had been chewing.

The next night I strapped my canoe tie downs around the cooler, but that must have frustrated him because I found small teeth marks around the lid and sandy footprints everywhere. So the cooler joined me in my tent.

Rocky and Glenn had a run in on the second night by the fire. I had gone to bed to read when all of sudden I could hear Rocky chittering and running around with Glenn in hot pursuit. Ah, the joys of camping…

We are leaving here on Friday and spending two nights camping in Georgia or Florida. We are not sure which campground yet. Then we spend the next month in Florida with reservations at all our stops.

Stay Tooned!

Greg

Myrtle Beach Bound!

 

We finally made it to the east coast. Destination: Myrtle Beach State Park in South Carolina. We stopped along the way to take campsite photos at Carolina Beach State Park in North Carolina. Below are pictures of the intercoastal waterway that borders the park, the marina, and a typical campsite:

With a marina providing access to some of North Carolina's best fishing spots, a secluded camping area beneath towering trees, and miles of hiking trails that traverse a variety of distinct habitats--not to mention the presence of the Venus flytrap, one of the world's most unique carnivorous plants--it's no wonder Carolina Beach State Park is a popular coastal attraction. Located in an area steeped in both history and natural diversity, the park includes a visitor's center with exhibits depicting the wonders of its environment.

 

80 miles further south found us rolling down US17 and entering Myrtle Beach. We arrived Tuesday afternoon and set up camp. Early Wednesday morning I took a short stroll down to the beach to capture some sunrise photos. Glenn stayed behind to scare away intruders with his snores…Below is our campsite, the beach, and the pier:

This changed my mind about having pancakes for breakfast:

I walked out on the pier to see what all the fisherman were catching. They were small fish called “Spots”, which resembled perch. Looking north from the pier you can see some of the hotels that line the beach in an area known as The Grand Strand:

A wide open beach, fishing pier full of anglers and stories, campgrounds in the oceanfront woods, all in the middle of it all in Myrtle Beach. Since 1935, a trip to the beach has meant a stay at Myrtle Beach State Park each year for hundreds of thousands of families from across the United States and Canada. Located in the heart of the bustling Grand Strand, one of America’s most popular and diverse vacation destinations, Myrtle Beach State Park also is a natural retreat, home to one of South Carolina’s last stands of easily accessible, oceanfront maritime forest.

 

Thursday we headed to the heart of The Grand Strand and checked out the boardwalk area. This is a quintessential summer beach town. Tourist shops are everywhere and there are countless seafood restaurants. Crabs seem to be the main theme. Here are some photos:

Another view of the hotels along The Grand Strand. They seem to go on forever:

Envisioning a year-round golfing resort on 65,000 acres of undeveloped oceanfront property, John T. Woodside built a luxury hotel and had a Scottish golf course architect build the area’s first course in 1927. The Depression waylaid Woodside’s plans for further development, and he eventually sold out. The venerable golf club, later renamed Pine Lakes, is now the centerpiece of Myrtle Beach golfing.

More courses were added over the years, and by the late 1970’s The Grand Strand had become a premiere golfing destination. Simultaneously, the beaches emerged as a favorite East Coast summer getaway. Today, the area attracts vacationers from all over the country and annually courts thousands of returning Canadian visitors with it’s signature Canadian American Days Festival in March. Pretty neat, eh?

There are now over 100 golf courses in the area, along with more than 50 miniature ones. Yep, driving along US17 you pass by a putt putt course every few hundred yards.

 

We will be getting the canoe wet when we hit Edisto State Park, our next stop about 125 miles south. We will be there for two nights starting Saturday. The Edisto River is supposed to be a great spot to dip a paddle. Maybe we will get lucky and spot a gator or two.

Regards,

Greg

Snow? Really?

 

Yes, really. We put the pedal down and spent Halloween weekend in Brighton township near Pittsburgh. We awoke Saturday to a light snowfall. luckily we were staying at the home of Jim and Marge, two friends of Glenn.

 

Our destination for Monday was Camp Creek State Park in West Virginia, about 300 miles south. We saw quite a few old factory towns along the banks of the Ohio River. What a different era. The sky cleared as we arrived at Camp Creek.

Camp Creek State Park was formed from Camp Creek State Forest in 1987, when a tract of approximately 550 acres was set aside to create this recreation area. Still adjacent to the park lies Camp Creek State Forest. Consisting of nearly 5,300 acres of forest land this property has managed to demonstrate sound forest management principles through the concept of multiple-use. A hunter will find many species of game including deer, native wild turkey, ruffed grouse and a variety of small game. Camp Creek, from which these areas take their name, is one of the best stocked trout streams in the state and can offer hours of fishing enjoyment.

The park is situated just two miles off Interstate 77 at exit 20. Camp Creek State Park is an oasis for the vacationer. Whether you choose the park as a vacation site or a stop over on the way to another destination, rest assured you will find exactly what you are looking for. Surrounded by the breathtaking mountains of southern West Virginia, Camp Creek offers a chance to enjoy what state parks are all about. The Ranger told us that the campground is always full during the summer, so plan accordingly. Here are some photos:

The clear sky meant cold temperatures for Monday night. The fly on my tent was frozen the next morning and I had to put on gloves to touch my tent poles! After breaking camp, we looked at the ambient temperature gauge in the car and it read 27 degrees. With the sun out. Yeah.

 

Our campground for the next three nights is William B. Umstead State Park in North Carolina, about 10 miles west of Raleigh. We stopped in Hanging Rock State Park along the way to take photos:

Not far from the cities of the Triad area, off the four-lane highways there's another North Carolina to be discovered sheer cliffs and peaks of bare rock, quiet forests and cascading waterfalls, views of the piedmont plateau that stretch for miles.

Hike the trails of Hanging Rock State Park and let nature put life's hectic pace in perspective. Rent a vacation cabin and fall asleep to the lullabies of spring peepers and chorus frogs. Join an interpretive program and discover something new about nature's bounty. Nestled in the hills is a cool mountain lake that beckons to swimmers and fishermen.

The leaves are still turning at these campgrounds and the colors are spectacular. They are like a crunchy carpet as I walk the trails.

 

Tucked between the growing cities of Raleigh, Cary, Durham and the corporate world of Research Triangle Park is an oasis of tranquility, a peaceful haven—William B. Umstead State Park.

Here, two worlds merge as the sounds of civilization give way to the unhurried rhythm of nature. Highways fade in the distance as trees, flowers, birds and streams form a more natural community. William B. Umstead is a place to escape the pressures of everyday life, a place to picnic in the pines, to wait for a fish to bite, to take a hike or horseback ride on trails through the woods.

Small, with only 28 campsites, it is a great suburban park. Glenn went into town to run errands on Wednesday, so I hiked one of the many trails to Big Lake. Simply beautiful. Here are some photos:

 

Then I ended up at Big Lake:

I like how they posted this trail marker:

 

We will be leaving here early Friday morning to drop off the car at a friends house in Raleigh, and then boarding Amtrak for a 6 hour ride to Washington, DC. The weekend will be spent exploring the capitol and heading back on Monday. I hope I run across (or over) Pelosi, Reid, and Obama. I would dearly like to smack some sense into them…

I won’t be posting again until the middle of next week from Myrtle Beach, SC. This is where the real camping starts as we follow the coast south to Key West, and the northwest to Texas.

Multi-tasking is an over used word in the office, but it applies to camping as well. Just this morning while sitting on the crapper I also cut my toenails…

Regards,

Greg