We started the day, unsurprisingly where we spent the night, at the McDowell Nature Preserve just southwest of Charlotte, NC. I can’t say enough about how nice a place this is. The campground is laid out nicely with large campsites under a dense tree canopy. It’s clean and well maintained and has direct access to 8 miles of dog-friendly hiking trails. We actually tried to come up with some reasons to go back to Charlotte so we can stay there again.
Next it was a little backtracking into South Carolina to visit our 35th National Park. Congaree NP is billed as “The largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States.” For a Floridian the first question is “OK, but why is this swamp a National Park?” and the obvious answer would be that it was a pork … er … pet project of South Carolina Senators Strom Thurmond and Ernest Hollings. Regardless of it’s dubious origins, if you’re into canoeing, kayaking, fishing or just hiking while being hunted by the plethora of biting insects that go along with hanging out in a swamp then this place was made for you.
We are now ensconced in our haven for the next 18 days, the beautiful Smoky Bear Campground in Gatlinburg, TN. Time to start sittin’ and relaxin’!
