Mission 026 - DeSoto State Park | RV CAMPING in Alabama’s Mountains

Waterfalls and whitewater rivers in Northern Alabama! Come along and see how the first few days of our Spring Break 2021 week-long adventure to DeSoto State Park begins! We’ll arrive at the fantastic campground there, then check out some of the beautiful river shoals in the park, and some larger falls outside the park and in the surrounding Little River Canyon National Preserve. Watch and see for yourself!

Mission 011 (Part 2) - Kings Mountain National Military Park

Our newest video is up on the YouTube channel! Our long weekend at the Kings Mountain parks continued with our Saturday visit to the National Military Park, the site of the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. We lucked into visiting on the weekend before the October 7th anniversary of the battle, so there were lots of goings-on with re-enactors and other demonstrations to see, in addition to the lovely forest hike. Take a look at our jaunt through this historical place and see yet another fine example of the great work the National Park Service does in preserving America's special places!

American History, in Our Own Back Yard! (Well, almost...)

Yet again, we find places to explore fairly close to home! During our one-year-of-RV'ing anniversary trip back to Lake Greenwood State Park, we ventured over to Ninety-Six, SC to see the National Historic Site there. It's fascinating to walk the grounds and learn about the events that happened here, and how instrumental those events were in the creation of our nation. Situated amongst 1,000 acres of forest land, this site is another example of the fantastic job the National Park Service does at protecting significant places, keeping them beautiful and accessible to everyone. If you live nearby or are traveling through this portion of South Carolina, you definitely should devote a couple of hours to experiencing this great place!

See what we found there over on YouTube!

End of "Camping Season?" BAH!! Bring On the Fall!

Hey, fellow Campers!  Jessie here again!  Fall approaches, and parts of the country may see the end of "camping season" on the horizon, but we here in the warm, wet South don't look at it that way!  Cooler weather just means changing your camping expectations, and to keep you apprised of our itinerary, today we share what we have mapped out through the end of the year.  Here goes: 

• For the Labor Day weekend (and our wedding anniversary!), we'll return to the site of our very first RV'ing trip - Lake Greenwood State Park.  With a year's worth of experience under our collective belts, we may actually have a stress-free trip this time around - although the first trip there was wonderful in its own way! 
  
  
• In the first week of October, we'll head up to the unique Kings Mountain State Park, which is kinda-sorta two parks in one. Not only does SC Parks & Recreation operate the State Park, but the National Park Service also participates in the property, managing Kings Mountain National Military Park. The park is also a big destination for horse-lovers, with lots of equestrian activities there. 
  
  

• We'll spend the Halloween weekend in a very UN-spooky place - Watson Mill Bridge State Park over in Georgia! Famed for the old covered bridge at the park's entrance, this park caught our attention while we were researching our trip to Tallulah Gorge. We expect lots of opportunities for great fall-colors photo-taking there (weather permitting, of course)!
  
  
• Thanksgiving Break presents a challenge, as we want to use the time off from work to go camping, but families "demand" we remain close to home, so as a compromise, we'll camp at Richard B. Russell State Park. On the opposite side of Lake Russell from Calhoun Falls State Park (where we had a wet. wonderful weekend this summer), this Georgia park is close enough to my folks' place that we can still do Thanksgiving Day with family during our stay.
  
  
• The year ends with our week-between-Christmas-and-New-Year's vacation, a tradition we hope we've started after our Asheville adventure last winter. This year, we've decided to see Myrtle Beach State Park... in the dead of winter! The way we figure it, all of the summer beach-crowd won't be there making lots of racket, right...?  

We'll provide more details as these dates approach, and more stories and pictures after the dates pass!  Stay tuned! 

Mission 007 (Part 3) - Pirates & Castles... and Ice Cream!

Our Spring Break week in St. Augustine continued with a day in the heart of Historic Downtown.  We spent this particular morning going through the Pirate & Treasure Museum, a subject near and dear to Jessie's heart, being that she's from North Carolina (also known as "pirate country" back in the 1700s).  After lunch, we toured Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, learning about the fort's unique history and taking in the lovely views of Matanzas Bay.

Of course, we recorded large parts of our day, as well as our discovery of Mayday Ice Cream, for video-posterity!  Take a look at our latest entry over on the YouTube channel!

Mission 006 - Congaree National Park

No camper, no problem! While the "Aluminum Falcon" is in the shop, we got our dose of St. Patrick's Day-green that weekend by taking a day-trip over to South Carolina's only National Park - Congaree National Park! We see the largest intact expanse of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States, up-close and personal. Despite its reputation as "nothing but a swamp," we found it to be a lovely, peaceful place.  See what we discovered in our latest video over on the YouTube channel!