Final Days at Buck Hall

We just took our final bike ride on the Palmetto Trail in the Francis Marion National Forest.  The rains have gone and the forest actually seems to be drying up a bit.  We need more rain already.  But tomorrow it will no longer be our home.  It has been the most fantastic two weeks walking and biking the trail, walking along the Intracoastal Waterway and watching the spring migration of the boats that spent the winter in Florida and the Bahamas.  Jake, our yellow dog, has become quite proficient at chasing the squirrels up trees.  We have become good friends with our camp host, Pat Crawford. You can read his blog HERE.

I am trying to remember what all has kept us so busy.  I had a nice Sunday Brunch with my daughter, Christie.  We went to Mosaic, a small place in Mount Pleasant, and had great food.  I was able to have Shrimp and Grits – Yea!!  It was wonderful!

Linda and I ate lunch.

 I also had lunch with my old high school friend, Linda.  Linda and I re-found each other on Facebook about five or six years ago and have developed a wonderful friendship outside Facebook!  Would you believe that she moved to Mount Pleasant a few months after we left.  Timing is everything isn’t it?

Me on the left and Lucy on the right.

 We met friends Ray and Lucy at Smoky Oak Taproom in James Island and had lunch.  Now talk about food!  Oh, my but that food was incredible.  Kirby and I shared a platter of pulled pork and the best ribs I have ever had in my life!

That is the owner/founder on the right.

We managed to get to Coast Brewing in North Charleston.  They make such great brews and we have been fans for years.  It was fun to see how much they have grown.

We were so pleased to see so many people at Coast enjoying the awesome brews.  Kirby's favorite is Hopart and I like the stout.

Brendan, Carey, Christie, Michael and Kirby (leaning in to get in the picture per my instructions!)

We were invited to have dinner with the family at Brendan and Carey’s new apartment.  Wow, they sure didn’t build apartments like that when I was living in them!  Granite countertops, stainless appliances, trak lighting!  Small but incredibly beautiful.  We had our dinner in the common area, using the grill provided.  The weather was perfect for outdoor eating.

On Sunday we traveled back to the old neighborhood and visited with a few folks.  Arlene, who used to be our next door neighbor provided lots of yummy eats and some fruity sangria.  It was fun seeing everyone after a year on the road.

Ray, Lucy, Jack and Juanita managed to get spaces here at Buck Hall for one night so of course we had to have a small party and dinner together.  We sat in Jack and Juanita’s yard and they had an incredible view of the boats going by.

Yesterday my friend, Linda, came out for a walk in the woods and dinner.  It was so wonderful to get to spend more time together.  Hopefully we will meet up again at our Fifty Year HS Reunion in August!

Sunrise

As I write, Kirby is outside breaking camp.  It is sad.  Jake is probably going to go into a funk for a few days.  He really believes that we live here now.  I think this has been his favorite place too.  Next stop – Lake Hartwell State Park! 

RV Volunteer Needed at Buck Hall

We learned from our camp host, Pat, that the people scheduled to relieve him here today cancelled.  The national forest service is looking for someone to work as camp host here at Buck Hall Recreation Area just up the coast from Charleston.  I believe they need someone for all or part of May, June and July.  Just contact the NFS to get the information.  Buck Hall is an awesome small campground with only 14 spaces.  Host gets full hook-up, an incredible view of the Intracoastal Waterway and nice people!

Old Friends and New Friends

Wow, what big rain we just had!  There is standing water everywhere and the skies are still full and mean looking.  Some of the lightning-thunder strikes were less than a mile away and they startle me so that I always make noise with them and that scares poor Jake even more.  Actually he is pretty good with thunder.  Most dogs quake – he just gets a bit uncomfortable.

Before the rains came we got in our walk for the day and it felt so good.  Of course the mosquitoes are out in force and the sky was threatening but we didn’t have any problems – just fun.   Yesterday we did the trail on our bikes which was nice except that way Jake doesn’t get his exercise.

So anyway – we have had a couple of days of friends and fun.  On Monday evening we invited our camp host, Pat, to join us for cocktails and dinner.  Pat was the host here last year when we visited and I have followed his very entertaining blog ever since.  He doesn’t write when he is living his everyday life in Columbia, SC but when he travels in his sixteen foot Casita, he writes about his exciting adventures in his blog.  He somehow manages to make even mundane things like cleaning the public restrooms here at the campground interesting!  And we found out that we have more in common than just Buck Hall Recreation Area.  Our politics are similar, we all love to travel and he spent his life as a professional photographer.  You will enjoy his blog so check it out HERE.  Dinner lasted until we couldn’t handle the insects any longer so actually, given better conditions, we would have built a big fire and enjoyed some after dinner adult beverages.  Next time….we have another week here!

Yesterday we met up with longtime friends, Ray and Lucy.  You will remember them from our travels last summer in Idaho and Utah and then again when we met up in Bullhead City, AZ for a reunion.  Our friendship always just picks up where it left off and there are always many big laughs and lots of hugs.

They brought with them some new friends for us – Jack and Juanita who are from Nebraska but, like us and Ray and Lucy, they are full-timers in their RV.  (It really is hard these days when someone asks us where we are from.  Is it South Carolina where we lived for 5 years, California where we were born and spent the majority of our lives, or is it Arizona where we spent this past winter?  I don’t know!!)

So the six of us met at Red’s Ice House on Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant.  Red’s is an all-time favorite for Kirby and I and we have enjoyed many hours there in the past.  We didn’t bring Jake this time but we usually do as they are so dog friendly on the patio.  It was too hot and humid to leave him in the car while we ran some errands.  We enjoyed a good lunch and then they came back out to Buck Hall with us to check it out.  Hopefully before we leave here next week they will be able to spend some time here.

And for now, the rain is still around and I am still hearing some thunder so I guess we are in for more of this big storm.  Already everything is a brighter green.

Palmetto Trail

We walked a bit of the Palmetto Trail from the trailhead again today and I took too many photos as usual and now can't decide what ones to publish.  It is so beautiful and I want to share it so hang with me here, OK? (I will keep most of them small so remember that you can click on them at any time to see them larger with more detail)

As you know, this is my usual view - Kirby's back.  That is a good thing as today I spotted and swatted a big mosquito on his shoulder.  The mosquitoes were terribly thick.  We had sprayed repellent before leaving the camper and it did help.

This is just one of the areas where the mosquitoes are growing.

The ferns are growing wild everywhere.  Living most of my adult life in Southern California where ferns only grow in pots in an atrium I am continually delighted to see them in their natural state.

I love the boardwalks that get us over the bogs and marshes.

There are some areas where these waffle boards have been laid down to help hikers stay out of the wet. We will shortly come to really appreciate them!

This is one of my favorite spots on the trail.

This doesn't capture what I want too well but I hope you can feel the denseness of the forest.  It is true, you can't see the forest for the trees.

More delicate ferns.

OK, I can recall seeing this last year when we were here.  It is a mystery.  A tumble of broken bricks and mortar with some remaining foundation. Of course I want to solve the mystery or at least come up with a plausible story about it.  So, this is what we decided it used to be - a very well hidden illegal STILL!  Just a little Moonshine Maker!  What do you think it might have been?

 I love this forest!

Now the mud was coming and we were glad for the waffle boards.

This is where we had to turn around a few days ago because there was a total pond covering the trail.  Today the water had receded just enough to make it passable.

You can see the waffle board making our way easy over the muck.

Kirby held Jake close by because the other day when we were here, as we discussed a way around the water, we looked and there was Jake laying in it.  Ah, nice cool water!  Dogs!!

Finally we were completely thwarted in our attempt to get to the Intracoastal Waterway via the Palmetto Trail. Way too much mud and water.  We had to turn back again.

Isn't this little bridge charming?

Almost back home......just a few more ferns!

Sunrise at Buck Hall

I missed the sunrise yesterday because I slept too late and was too lazy to get out there with sleep still in my eyes and this morning I didn't think there would be much of a sunrise but there was!  I just had to be patient as it kept getting better.  Then a fisherman launched his boat and I thought, "there go my pictures", but was I ever wrong.  Just look what his wake did to the reflections. 

(In case anyone is wondering about my camera - I use a Nikon D90.  This picture is straight out of the camera but I did shoot it in the "Vivid" mode which enhances the color a bit.)

As the fisherman passed by he yelled at me to take his picture.  So I did -

This little guy was watching the sunrise also.  Notice that this tree is just now leafing out and so many others are already in full leaf.  We all grow and change at different speeds and different times.

Palmetto Trail

Each day we walk a bit of the Palmetto trail.  It runs about 50 feet from our campsite so it is very easy to get to.  We would like to walk more of it but after about three quarters of a mile the trail is in the middle of a small pond!  We tried and tried to find a way around it but it was hopeless.  Maybe if we can keep the rain away for a few days more it will dry up enough that we can get past it.  But in the meantime we walk the part that we can. 

This is the only thing blooming right now.

There are ferns EVERYWHERE!

With all of the rain and damp, the mosquitoes are in full force.  Lots of insect repellent in necessary!

Jake is in heaven here!