South Cove County Park, Seneca, South Carolina
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:4-7
HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY TO OUR SECOND GRANDSON, CODY! Cody has an exuberance for life that is almost unmatched! If you’re interested in listening to enthusiastic renditions of life’s moments, he’s your guy.
AND ALSO TO OUR GOOD FRIEND, BRAD! We are impatiently waiting for Brad and his wife to decide to join us on the road – at least part of the time. 😊
Yet another stunning morning in our front yard!
So we were eating breakfast this morning, when Blaine spotted two eagles across the water by the Visitor Center! They were flying around low to the water and lighting in the trees or on the shore. We decided to drive over and see if we could get up close and personal with them.
Watching for eagles
We did, but not in time to take a picture, however Blaine did manage to catch one in a tree.
There’s one!
Kinda looks stuffed, doesn’t it? : )
It doesn’t show up in the picture very well, but this was really cool!
It was a wisp of fog swirling over the top of the water like a miniature waterspout!
What an exciting way to start our day!
Once again, we drove across the border into North Carolina, this time to the Nantahala National Forest to “Discover the East’s king of waterfalls. Watch it cascade over massive rock pillars and drop 411’ to the river below.” Whitewater Falls.
Diving to North Carolina
It’s a really short walk on pavement to the one and only viewing area.
We’ve actually been here before, visiting in 2013 during the government shutdown. There was no one around, but we decided our tax dollars paid for this park, so we skirted the barricade and walked to the waterfall. There was one other couple who’d decided the same. It was a little eerie being here when it was empty.
This time was different. There weren’t a lot of people, but at least there were some. 😊
Whitewater Falls!
The upper part
The middle
The lower
There’s a trail that breaks off from the waterfall, and Blaine had planned to walk that. We didn’t realize it was a stick-worthy trail.
I was too busy watching where I was going to see where I was. Between the trail and the fact that I was wearing my new boots, I was slow. I never realized how much I relied on the feel of the terrain beneath my feet, something I wasn’t able to do as well with the new treads. When we got back to the Jeep, I compared the old and new and was surprised to see how worn down the tread on my old ones was! It was still good, but the groves weren’t nearly as deep. Funny!
We left the National forest and headed over to the Gorges State Park which was still in North Carolina. It was here that we encountered the most unhelpful, unfriendly Visitor Center volunteer ever! At least I hope she was a volunteer. They really need to find her another job!
Graffiti! Even back then!
Camp Rockbrook for girls opened in 1921.
I don’t know about you, but I never dressed like that at camp . . . .
I liked this shirt!
But not enough to pay $25 for it . . .
We obtained a map and chose our destinations. Up first and very close by, Bear Wallow Falls.
That’s it! Bear Wallow.
We hit it at a very popular time. There’s just a small viewing platform and it was filled with a family, so we took a couple of pictures and returned to the Jeep.
There’s bigger and better places to be.
I say that, but we had no idea what we were in for! First though, it’s lunchtime already. Since we had no idea what awaited us, we opted for lunch at the parking lot, which still afforded a pretty nice view.
Lunch time!
You can either hike a few extra miles from here to the Rainbow Falls trailhead, or you can drive to the parking lot. We drove. And stopped for a few minutes at an overlook along the way.
This rock was about the prettiest thing I saw at the overlook. : )
I guess because the power lines ran through the view?
Spoiled child!
Another un-named waterfall that was across the road.
I switched to my old boots for this one since it would be 3 miles round-trip. I didn’t want to take any chances on sore feet.
Do you think we’ve been warned enough yet?
Apparently not . . . .
The trial runs alongside the Horsepasture River for most of the way, which in itself was enthralling!
I have to cross that??
If you scroll through these next pictures fast enough, you can see how I did it!
Blaine’s so funny!
These pictures aren’t retribution, I just didn’t know how he was going to manage getting back up.
He did it!
And then we came upon Rainbow Falls! There are no words to describe this torrent of water today! We were so glad to be visiting after some rain! We couldn’t get enough!
Oh my!
My oh my!
It was wet up here on the viewing platform.
More like misty. After all those rainy days we hiked in recently, this was nothing. : )
And there’s Blaine!
We wanted to add perspective, as well as getting as close as we could, without becoming another casualty.
You can hardly tell the difference between the previous two pictures, can you? One’s color, one’s black and white. : )
Look how the water vapor swirls once it hits land!
A little further up the trail, is Turtleback Falls.
More warnings . . . .
We were surprised to see these shoes lined up just off the trail.
But then there were more, and we wondered . . . .
Did people loose their shoes to the river/waterfall, or their lives?
Turtleback Falls
This foam reminded me of a giant mushroom. : )
Turtleback Falls
We crossed paths with a couple coming from the other direction and asked about Turtleback because our map and trail markers weren’t real clear. They not only confirmed we were on the right track, he told us about another waterfall on private property that was “about three times the size of Turtleback”. The company he works for owns the property.
Guess where we went? 😊
And there’s our confirmation!
Not easy to get a picture here.
We had to do some crawling around.
The Private Falls.
I think sitting by the river was the best part!
This was on the way back.
More warnings.
Now it’s getting serious . . . they’ve added dogs to the lives lost . . . .
I went out to take a picture.
Trust me, the area I was on was completely safe.
Really! It was!
Heading back home, we ran into some of the most unusual critter sightings!
Just when you think you’ve seen it all . . . .
And again . . .
Just when you think you’ve seen it all . . . : )
They were just trotting up the road without a care in the world!
They’re escapees from a local stables.
Just down the road, there was a guy in a cowboy hat who looked a little flustered.
Wonder how he got them back, and how long it took him?
Another wonderful, exciting, blessed-by-God day!