Lynchburg

Over the past few days Barbara and I have traveled north from Brunswick, Georgia to Lynchburg, Virginia to the Lynchburg Thousand Trails RV park. If I had to rate this place on first impressions, I’d give it an F. When we arrived yesterday it was raining and the roads in this park are terrible. This place is covered with red clay and now it is all over our truck and trailer. I just had both washed a week ago, but you couldn’t tell it by looking at them now. In a couple of places I had to put the truck into 4WD just to keep from getting stuck in the mud. However, last evening after the storm passed and things began to dry out, I walked down to the lake and watched the sun go down. I enjoyed an awesome sunset. Take a look!

SEGA

The Southeast Georgia (SEGA) rally begins today, so I walked around the Coastal Georgia RV Park this morning and took photos of the park, wildlife and RV’s. I’ve never seen so many Grand Design (GD) RV’s together in one place before. This is our first GD rally and hopefully won’t be our last.

This guy swam right up to me. I believe he was looking for a bite.
This little one looks as if it fell from the nest.
Honoring our Hero’s.
Lots of Grand Design RV’s.

Savannah

Yesterday Barbara and I travelled to Savannah for the day. We enjoyed a trolley ride through downtown and then a leisurely ride on the Georgia Queen. This city has a rich history predating the civil war. Notable items in Savannah’s history include slave trading, the cotton industry, General Sherman’s march through the southeast during the civil war and most recently the birth of the Girl Scouts. Today Savannah is the third busiest sea port in North America and the largest exporting port in the US. Most of the exports are automobiles. Automobile manufactures like KIA, Nissan and Volvo have manufacturing plants in the southeast that use Savannah’s port to ship overseas. Today the city is frequently used as a backdrop in the movie industry. Those shots of Forrest Gump sitting on the park bench, were filmed in Chippewa Square, in downtown Savannah. The downtown is full of old oak trees, beautiful parks, churches and numerous monuments and statues, and at one time Savannah was the capital of Georgia.

River Street. These buildings were originally built as warehouses to store cotton and have been converted to hotels, shops and restaurants.
River Street looking east.
Today this building is home to Savannah City Hall. It once was the state capital. The dome is made from 24kt gold mined in the state of Georgia.
Civil War Fort Jackson.

Congaree National Park

Today Barbara and I traveled to Congaree National Park (NP). This park is named after the Congaree Indians that once inhabited this area. This is a rare old-growth floodplain forest. In 1976 this area became one of our newest national parks encompassing 27,000 acres. This place kind of reminds me of a smaller version of Redwood NP in northern California. As we made our way along the boardwalk on the self guided tour the only sounds to be heard were to sounds of nature, mostly birds and with an occasional squirrel. Back in 1919 when the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was passed banning the sale and consumption of alcohol this area became a haven for moonshiners. There’s still an old still in the park. I was very proud of Barbara, she made the entire 2.4 mile boardwalk tour without too many issues.

The boardwalk.
Woodpeckers have been having fun with this tree.
The forest canopy.
Pearl Crescent Butterfly.
Common Whitetail Dragonfly.
Brown Snake.
Water Tupelos.
Weston Lake.
Butterweed.
Weston Lake.
A small grove of Cabbage Palmetto Trees.
The remains of an old still.

The Oaks

Today Barbara and I traveled across South Carolina from the west side to the east side. For the next seven days we are staying in the Oaks RV park in Yemassee. It is really quiet here and when hiking along it’s many hiking trails the only sounds I hear are the sounds of nature, mostly birds talking. There is a lake in the back of the park that allegedly has a lot of unfriendly critters in it, so I enjoyed it from a distance. On Thursday Barbara and I will travel north and spend the day in Congaree National Park.

Our home for the next week.

Lake Gaston

Yesterday Barbara and I travelled from Lenoir, North Carolina (NC) to Littleton, NC on the south shore of Lake Gaston. After dinner we sat at a picnic table and were treated to a wonderful display of color as the sun fell below the horizon. I always enjoy the way the colors change as the sun goes down. Take a look!

Lake Gaston with the RV park trading post across the bay.

Pigeon Forge

This past Tuesday, Barbara and I left Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and headed for Lenoir, North Carolina. Pigeon Forge is an interesting place. It appears to be a combination of a tourist trap and a theme park. While there we visited the Hard Rock Cafe and a place called the Island. The Island is a combination of shops and restaurants. We enjoyed some ice cream, beef jerky and a nice fish dinner. In the center of the Island there is a fountain that moves and pulsates to the music. Surrounding the fountain are wooden rocking chairs where we sat and enjoyed the show. Pigeon Forge also has some interesting architecture. Take a Look! We had a good time while there, but we won’t miss the traffic. The day we arrived it took us 35 minutes to travel the last 3 miles to our destination. Ouch!

The Island.