"SUNSHINE" Stories: 2017 Fall Camping - Week 4: Wrapping Up the Smokies and Moving On!

Thursday, October 5, 2017 Cades Cove Loop Road

Too hot or too cold? That is the question I ask after another terrible night’s sleep. I haven’t had many this trip, but when I do, I don’t enjoy it.

After rising at 0900, we ate breakfast walked around the CG, got trail info and decided to take the auto tour of the Cades Cove Loop. The Smokies claim to have the largest and best maintained collection of log buildings in the US. Who would argue?

It was 1400 when we returned to the CG. We had a quick bite and walked both loops of the CG, had dinner and lit the evening fire before stepping into the Little Mansion at 2030 for the evening.

Tomorrow we hope to get an early start so we can make Deep Creek CG by 1100. The sites are available first come first serve and, it being a holiday weekend, we want to make sure we secure a spot!

Friday, October 6, 2017 Did we get an early start? Was it early enough? Did we get a campsite? Read on!

Okay, I got almost six hours sleep last night, from midnight until almost 0300 and from 0600 until almost 0900. I don’t know why I sleep in three hour shifts occasionally, but there you have it.

So, we were underway by 0930, not particularly early, but not particularly late either. We had hoped for an 0800 start but that was not to be. It took us the better part of an hour to do the 24 miles back to the Sugarlands Visitor Center and the Newfound Gap road. Once we made the right turn, it was climb the mountains time. We were going up for about 15 miles or so when we reached the gap, it was downhill for the next 15 miles.

Deep Creek was reached by about noon. We set up camp, drove into Bryson City where we walked and shopped. I bought a few local flies from the Fly Shop. They suggested a good spot for me to try.

We also found the Fly Fishing Museum and paid it a visit. I’m not sure why there is a Fly Fishing Museum, but Bryson City claims to be the capital of Fly Fishing in the south!

Saturday, October 7, 3017 Trying My Luck!

Our day started at our usual time, about 0900. We decided to go to McDonalds for breakfast and wifi. We got both and spent an hour or so checking e mail and such. Several years ago we looked at a light weight folding camper made by Lee-sure Lite. The salesperson suggested that it was light enough to be towed by a motorcycle. We'll looky here, there are four of them here at the McDonalds all hitched up to Honda Goldwings.

After breakfast, we returned to our Lil Mansion where I rigged up my fly rod. I put on a new tippet and one of the new flies. I set out to fish Deep Creek. It’s not at the confluence of the Tuckasiegee and Deep Creek, where they said I would catch 40 fish. We checked that place out and there were several drift boats and three or four guys up to their arm pits in the river. Because I have hip waders, i couldn’t get that deep if I wanted to. Besides, I would fall trying, i don’t know how those guys negotiate the slippery rocks beneath the surface.

I decided to fish Deep Creek from the CG. I was making some good casts, but rocks peeking above the water surface hampered the drift of my fly. On my last cast before quitting for the day, I got the line snagged on some sticks that were in the water. I lost the Fly and about five feet of the tippet I just put on the line. To make matters worse, as I was trying to retrieve the Fly, I fell in! AGAIN! Not “again” today, but during my last foray, I slipped on some slippery underwater rocks and, although I didn’t technically fall in, I managed to end up deeper then my hip waders, at least on one leg!

The remnants of Hurricane Nate are expected to hit the area tomorrow and Monday. Strong wind and as much as 10 inches of rain are possible. We’re toying with the idea of heading to Mt. Pisgah tomorrow instead of Monday when we planned to return there. That CG is predicted to get the storm as well. Of course, we’re concerned about trees being blown over in 50 mph gusts and wrecking the camper or worse, us! Flash flooding is also possible, but we’re pretty high above Deep Creek if we stay here, and the Mt. Pisgah CG is pretty high up on the mountain, so flooding shouldn’t be a problem at either place. Of course, if the “Tuck” (the big river that runs through Bryson City is the Tuckasiegee) floods, our egress from Deep Creek through Bryson City would be compromised. Stay tuned!

Sunday, October 8, 2017 Running from Nate?

In a word, YES! We made the decision yesterday, based on weather forecasts, to abandon our plans to camp at Mount Pisgah. We did, however, hop on the BRP for 25 miles so we could have lunch at the Pisgah Inn. Delicious as usual!

Anna Marie found Croft State Park, near Spartanburg, SC with electric and hot showers. We arrived at about 1530, having driven for six and one-half hours, a record for this trip. Shortly after our arrival, we received a tornado warning on our phones. We avoided gusts of 48 mph at Mount Pisgah only to have to worry about tornados? To top it off, within an hour of our arrival, the area had a power outage. The Ranger said she was told power would be restored at about 2100 hours. I’m writing these notes at 2330, and we still don’t have electric! It’s warm and muggy. The AC would have been nice. I suspect it will cool down a bit, perhaps into the high sixties. We had significantly more than the 1/4 to 1/2 inch of precipitation that was predicted.

Since the rain curtailed our outdoor activities, we found a nearby movie theater. It was a multiplex with oversized, leather, living room like, lounge chairs that were very comfy. Our movie selection, Kingsmen: The Golden Circle, was below average and not nearly as good as the first.

Tomorrow we plan to drive to Santee State Park, about 150 miles away. Next, we’ll stop at either Skidaway or Fort McAllister State Parks. Both are in GA. We’ll pick the one closest to I 95. On Wednesday, we should arrive at Jekyll Island. We’ll leave there on Sunday for Crooked River Stste Park, also in GA, and site of the Phlock Reunion which begins on Monday.

Monday, October 9, 2017 Four Hours to Santee State Park

This mornings drive was mostly on I26. The 70 mph speed limit (we did 60) and gentle, rolling hills made for easy driving. A couple light showers didn’t hamper our progress.

We secured our campsite at about 1300. After being viciously attached by gnats, we sought shelter in the camp store. It has a very nice lounge was free wif and AC (it’s 85° and humid). We spent a couple hours surfing the net and looking out at Lake Marion, the largest lake in SC.

Upon returning to the camper, we fired up the AC and settled in to watch a movie. Half way through, the propane alarm began chirping. But the propane is off? What’s going on? It chirped a bit last night too, but the it stopped. Thinking about the problem, I reasoned that it might be chirping because of low voltage coming from the battery, even though we are plugged into shore power. We were plugged in last night too, but the power went out in the CG) and never came back on. It was still out when we left!

Something must be wrong with the power inverter. It must not be charging the battery. I checked it out and sure enough, I found that the 120 power cord plug was disconnected from the inverter. I plugged it back in and voila, the light were bright again! We’re back in business.

Tuesday, October 10, 3017 Skidaway Island State Park

This morning, we departed Santee SP headed to Skidaway SP in Georgia. Over the years while cruising the ICW, we sailed through the Skidaway Narrows after getting an opening of the Skidaway Bascule Bridge. That bridge is gone now, having been replaced by a high rise bridge several years ago.

Skidaway SP is a gem. This is our first time here and it looks great. The sites are big, there are ample restroom facilities with showers and laundry, and the sites have water and electric or water, electric, and sewer connections.

We tried to get to Delegal Marina on the island, but it is located in a gated community. We used the marina after transiting the notorious Hell’s Gate passage one time while north bound during a rain storm.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017 Savannah!

Today’s adventure was a self guided walking tour of Savannah. Rather than a mileage objective, we were intent on finding unique food, a couple architecturally interesting buildings and a few of the famous squares (areas of green parks scattered throughout the city).

We started our walk at the Visitors Center and walked down Liberty Street. We turned right onto Bull Street and in a few blocks came upon Madison Square. I waited until school was out before texting our discovery to Madi! On the other side of Madison Square and across the street we found our first food destination, Gryphon. Owned by the Savannah College of Art and Dedign (SCAD), Gryphon is a Restaurant and tea room. We were there to partake in a Savannah culinary tradition: Grilled Pimento Cheese Sandwich with Cucumber Salad. It was not our normal fare nor was it something we would necessarily ordered, but it's a classic Savannah tradition. We washed it down with Georgia peach iced tea, not the store bought kind, but fresh made with the real ingredients. Very refreshing.

Next we walked several blocks to St. John the Baptist Cathedral where, while walking in a cross walk, I was almost run over by a bus that refused to stop.

Our next target was Leopold’s Ice Cream Shop, reputed to be the 5th best ice cream in the WORLD! AM ordered the Pink Sunday, a breast cancer awareness promotion, and I ordered a Tutifruti Malted Milkshake. The Tutifruti concoction was invented by Leopold’s in 1919 and is another Savannah tradition. Turns out I liked it. We were both happy with our choices.

It was a long walk back to the car and we were both bushed having walked almost four miles in the heat and humidity.