Kayaking Hobcaw Barony 7 '09

Today we signed up for a group kayak tour of Hobcaw Barony's tidal creeks

 Our group met at the visitor center  near Highway 17.  From there, one of the guides drove us in a van to clam bank landing, 

 and received some basic instruction from the other guide on how to handle a kayak in tidal current.

Then we were off.  It was leisurely  paddle as the  mid tide was high and was flowing  gently toward the Ocean.  It carried us along without much effort.  All we had to do was steer clear of the cord-grass &;  mudflats

( Above my coworker Sue and her sister Pat coming ashore. Below: Sue) 

 We kayaked until we came to the leeward side of the last sandbar between  the Atlantic Ocean and Winyah Bay

Everyone beached their kayaks  and dragged them firmly up onto the beach behind the dunes so they couldn't float away.

 Above: Bruce and guide on beach

Below:  Pat and Sue on the beach

   We were  on a private island which  is off limits to anyone who does not have permission from Hobcaw Barony.  We took a long stroll on the beach facing the Atlantic Ocean. I have grown accustomed to how empty of people South Carolina's beaches can be during the off season, but this was different .  Not only were we the only people, it was completely devoid of all evidence of humanity.  On the barrier island, where you can see for miles, and there is not one man made element in the entire viewshed. I love that about this place. I could watch the play of light on the water, feel the texture of the sand, and know that those things would have been experienced in exactly the same way by colonists who lived here in the 1660s. it was an  odd feeling and even a little lonely.

After an hour of lunch and rest, it was time to kayak back to the landing.Unfortunately the return trip was not nearly so easy as the paddle out.  The tide had  fully turned, and had I not had Bruce to paddling with me, I don't know if I would have been strong enough to overcome the swift current working against us. 

Farmers' Market in East Bay Park '7 '09

One of the joys of living in South Carolina is how fresh the food is.  There seems to be a farm truck stand  or fresh shrimp vendor on every corner.  But we found a new  place to get really fresh food today.  The Farmers Market in East Bay Park in Georgetown, SC attracts farmers and specialty food vendors from all over the county.

But we found a new  place to get really fresh food today.  The Farmers Market in East Bay Park in Georgetown, SC attracts farmers and specialty food vendors from all over the county. 

It doesn't get any fresher than this unless you grow and pick it yourself

The McClellans visit SC 7 '09

My daughter, Laura, her husband David, and our two grandsons came for a brief visit. this week. By the time they arrived, they had already spent two weeks vacationing in Florida, and were exhausted.  As Ryan put it " Too much vacation, Grandma."  Poor babies!

 By the next morning everyone felt a lot more rested so we took off to explore the area

First stop was She Sells Sea Shells where I work part time.  The boys loved the place and I bought them each a bag of shells to take home as a souvenier.

Then we went to Pawleys Island North where we collected so  shells from the beach and played in the warm waves

By that time it was really hot, so we went to Georgetown  to get an ice-cream cone.

We also toured the shrimp docks and bought some fresh shrimp for dinner

 Unfortunately the visit was all too short  and soon it was time to take them back to the airport tocatch their flight home. I  made sure I left enough time to  let them take a quick driving tour of McClellanville.  David was thrilled when I gave him a book about the history of the town

Bye Guys.  We will really miss you!

BJ Rescues a Grasshopper on PI 7 '09

Bruce left his sandals on  the high point of a sand bar on Pawleys Island  while he went wading today.  By the time he returned, the tide had come in and his  sandals were now sitting on very small island.  

A small grass hopper had become trapped on the island and taken refuge from the approaching tide atop Bruce's sandal.

  Bruce coached the happless creature onto his finger then released it  in the sea oats beyond the hight tide line

He's such a nature lover.

Dillsboro Diner 6 '09

Neither of us enjoy trying to eat in a place that allows smoking, so the casino in Cherokee was out of the question.  What to do, what to do?

Checking our local guidebook, we found a well rated bar-b-que smokehouse in nearby Dillsboro .  It tuned out to be an excellent choice.

 The bar-b-que food was excellent, service fast and friendly,  and the decor something out of a movie clique

Definitely a must try kinda  place.

Cherokee NC 6/13/09

 The small Native American Indian village of Cherokee sits at the southernmost end of the Smokey Mountains in North Carolina. It's been overrun by a collection of bears. But, don¹t worry­ these bears are completely harmless. Several Eastern Band of Cherokee artists have created a series of large, life-like fiberglass bears and painted them in bright vibrant colors and designs. Currently there are 15 painted bears completed, located in various spots around town. It was fun to try to find them all.

  Cherokee, is home to Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation which is one of the only three federally recognized Cherokee tribes. There are about 13,400 Eastern Band of Cherokee members, most of whom live on the Reservation. Properly called the Qualla Boundary, the Reservation is slightly more than 56,000 acres held in trust by the federal government specifically for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Like many Indian reservations in the United States, it has a casino which is a major source of income for the local tribe that lives on the reservation.

 In addition, the  shops in the town sell a lot of tourist items... 

 some of which are not even vaguely related to the cultural history of the local tribe

The Cherokee  put on tribal performances  in several museums, a outdoor drama and at several festivals   in which they tell tourists about their heritage

 

As the Oconaluftee  River passes through the town of Cherokee, it is split by a beautiful, grassy island. Called the Oconaluftee Islands Park – it is  sheltered by canopies of oak and sycamore with beautiful walking bridges connect the island.   Its a nice place to have a picnic.  

The Cherokee charge a fee for fishing in the  rivers and streams running through their lands.

Once this entire land belonged to them, but the white settlers whittled away at their holdings until the tribe's population was confined to this one small valley.

Even that was jeopardized when the lead surveyor for the  Blue Ridge Parkway wanted to put the terminus of the road right through the center of their only farmland.  It took a near Indian uprising to convince the US Congress, and the President, that such and action was tantamount to genocide.

Fortunately the Blue Ridge  Parkway was diverted through Asheville, giving that city the advantage of it's tourist traffic, but allowing the Cherokee to retain the fertile farm land they need  to feed their people.

Mountain Home Farm 6'09

One of the more interesting places we stopped in the Blue Ridge Mountains was

 The Mountain Home Farm.

Set up and maintained by the US National Parks Service,

The Mountain Home  Demonstration Farm has authentic original  farm buildings that were purchased when the Blue Ridge Parkway was being constructed and moved to this location to demonstrate what life was like on a  pioneer farm in the Blue Ridge mountains.

All of the buildings on the farm have  signs explaining the use of the building , and  Forestry Service  personnel are there to answer questions more detailed questions about the exhibits.

Of course most farms shared their services with their neighboring farms rather than attempting to be completely self sufficient.  So rather than representing a typical farm, the buildings on the Mountain Home Farm shoe  complete  collection of buildings dedicated to every aspect of farming that would be represented in the community.

Most did have pigs, or some form of livestock, and those that did not relied on hunting.

and most had a kitchen garden with herbs for medicinal and culinary use.

But some were wealthier and had really large  barns and farm plots on very fertile soil

When one considers that all of this building and planting ,( including the clearing of the land and the cutting of trees for the buildings), was generally done by hand and by hand tools, it is truly an impressive accomplishment.

Great Smokey Mountain National Park 6 '09

The main objective of our trip was to visit the Great Smokey Mountain National Park while the weather permitted was warm enough to allow us to do some activities  without having to wear snow shoes

Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Asheville is the most visited national park with 10 million visitors each year. There are 520,976 acres to explore. When I think of the park the first thing that comes to mind is hiking  majestic mountain top with  awesome views. While it is true that this International Biosphere Reserve is home to rugged mountains (with many of its  peaks in excess of 6,000 feet),  it also has historic homesteads, 100,000 different types of plants and animals, and lots and lots of water.. 

Since the park is so large,  how does one go about exploring it  in a three day  weekend? There are four entrances to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park within 60 miles from downtown Asheville.  We tried to see  and do all the  top listed things from each of these entrances to the Great Smoky Mountains. I have created posts which  highlight the best of our experiences in these areas.

 The Deep creak area of the Great Smokies is popular for its streams and waterfalls.

Hikers can choose from several loop hikes leading to several small waterfalls We took several of these short hikes.

The sound  of the water gurgling through these ancient  rocks is  musical.

But there is running water everywhere in the Smoky Mountains.

Dribbles out of the mountain side along the road ways

like these trickles along Highway 144

 or chatters noisily through small narrow creeks

 Joining with other creeks, picking up speed andc cascading down hillsides in every larger volumes as it does here in Juney Wank falls

As it reaches the lower elevations  it spreads out

  in large reflecting ponds

 and spreads into  gentle streams safe enough for children to play in (as it does here in a stream near Cherokee).

Of course, there was much more to see and do in The Great Smokey Mountains, but those activities are topics for future posts.