Chapter 10, Yemassee South Carolina, Congaree National Park & Charleston SC
We stayed at The Oaks at Point South Thousand Trails Campground, a beautiful, wooded campground with a small lake and a trail that goes all the way around. Although the trees made for a beautiful setting, it didn’t make for easy maneuverability in combination with the narrow roads, which gave Dave quite a bit of trouble trying to get into our site. This was another TT park that assigned us a site based on our size and had full hookups, always a bonus! The staff was very friendly (to the point of annoyance at times as they kept texting and asking how things were going, and letting us know about activities in the park etc.). We took a walk around the little lake after setting up our trailer and spooked four alligators along the way, sending them splashing into the water as we approached.
Dave was thrilled but I was a little nervous because of the dogs. Then we came across a poisonous copperhead snake in the middle of the path that Maggie was trying to play with. After that, I didn’t want to walk around the lake again, much to Dave’s disappointment. I told him he could go by himself if he really wanted to.
On our first full day at this location we had to take Maggie and Zoe into Beaufort, the nearest halfway decent sized town, to get them groomed. We took a two-mile hike on the Spanish Moss trail, a ten-mile paved trail system through the Beaufort and Port Royal area, before going to drop off the girls at PetSmart for their appointments. It was a scenic urban trail with huge old oak trees draped with moss which was the most unique feature of the area.
While we waited for the girls (about three hours) we went for a walk with Kenai on a boardwalk along the water in Port Royal, the town adjacent to Beaufort. It was a cool, overcast day but still nice to walk along the Port Royal Sound, and see the tiny crabs scurrying through the tall grasses at the edge of the water, listen to the birds, and watch people fishing off the boardwalk.
After the walk on the boardwalk we went to historic downtown Beaufort. This community was established in 1711 and is the second oldest city after Charleston in South Carolina. We walked around the downtown area looking at old buildings and stumbled across a picturesque square with benches, brightly colored flowers, and manicured grounds. We got ice cream cones from a little shop on the square and walked around a large circular area that had historical markers arranged by periods in time depicting major events that changed the course of this town. It was very interesting.
On a side note, the little ice cream shop served Hershey Ice Cream (no relation to the chocolate empire that shares the name) that was so freaking delicious it’s becoming an addiction! The company that makes it is actually a family-owned business, the Hershey Creamery Company, that’s been in operation since 1894. Unfortunately, you can’t get it in the west as it’s only served in the southern and eastern parts of the U.S. Super bummer! It’s made in Hershey Pennsylvania (same as the famous chocolate), hence the name.
The following day we went to Congaree National Park, one of the lesser known and not as popular national parks. I think one of the reasons for this is because it often floods and cuts off most of the trails, which is the only thing to really do here. If you don’t like to hike, this park probably isn’t for you. But if you’re a nature lover and you don’t mind some walking, you might want to consider giving this one a try. Just check before you come to make sure of what’s open.
According to the National Park Service Congaree is “the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States”. We were lucky enough to visit when the park wasn’t flooded so all the trails were open except for a portion of the boardwalk trail that’s under renovation. Another reason this park might not be as popular as other national parks is that it doesn’t have any grand jaw-dropping vistas or amazing scenery that you can drive through to experience. This park is beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but in an understated sort of way. And the only way to see it is on foot. Another thing that’s nice at least for us, is it’s another national park where we can have our dogs on the trails. You also don’t have to have a park pass so it’s completely free to visit!
I really loved the boardwalk section and was amazed at how the trees and other plants manage to thrive in a floodplain like this. These giants can’t send roots down very deep because of the wet environment so they spread out. They look like creatures from another world, rising up out of the bog and reaching out with their long gnarly fingers. When they’re not working on the boardwalk you can make a 2.6-mile loop staying up on the boardwalk the whole way, but since half of it was shut down when we visited we made a loop using a series of other trails in combination with the boardwalk. Besides the boardwalk, the Weston Lake section was my favorite, green and dense, boggy in spots, with a pretty little creek winding its way through the forest. It was magical.
We also went a little way on the firefly trail which was more open and dryer—not as green and lush as the sections by the water, an interesting example of the great diversity here.
We saw some wildlife while visiting as well—a red-bellied water snake (not poisonous according to the ranger), a broad headed skink (lizard), several scarlet tanagers (birds), and a racoon working its way along the creek. It feels so much cooler to see animals in the wild than in urban areas. We saw some squirrels too, but they weren’t the fox squirrels that make Congaree their home. We were really hoping to see the fox squirrels!
We hiked a little over seven miles all told and enjoyed the experience a lot. I wouldn’t mind returning and doing some more miles in some of the areas we didn’t get to explore on this trip. Good day!
The last main thing we did while visiting the area was to drive to Charlston and explore the oldest city in South Carolina. We’d heard some really good things about this city and were excited to see it. We didn’t arrange daycare for the puppies, so we had them with us for the day as we were too far from Charlston to leave them at the trailer. In retrospect, we would have enjoyed it a lot more without them as you are very limited to what you can do with dogs in tow.
That being said, we did really enjoy our time there, albeit short. Charlston is not only the oldest city in South Carolina but it’s also the largest. The population statistics claim there’s only about 155,000 people within the city limits, but there are obviously way more than that in the surrounding area because it felt so much larger than Salem Oregon! Since our time was limited we focused on the historic downtown district. So many old houses from the 1700s, many with plaques giving the approximate dates when they were built, lined the picturesque streets. The gas lanterns (instead of regular bulbs) lent an old world feel and charm, as did the cobblestone streets (some, not all). One really curious feature we kept seeing were these doors, like actual front doors, leading to open porches. Then there’d be a second “front” door into the actual house. We saw this particular style over and over!
We ate our picnic lunch at White Point Garden, a beautiful green park filled with huge old trees that’s actually a rookery for black crowned night herons, northern mockingbirds, rock pigeons, laughing gulls, brown pelicans and others. This spot provided a shady area to enjoy our lunch and take a load off our feet while we watched the birds flit in and out of the towering trees above. And no, we did not get pooped on!
After lunch we continued our walking tour of the downtown area, passing some larger homes with front yards that were completely enclosed by very tall walls and locked gates. There were other old stone walls as well, some crumbling in places that were overflowing with jasmine, filling the air with the sweet smell of the delicate white flowers.
Down by the waterfront we came across the grand southern mansions with their expansive wraparound porches and beautiful gardens dating from the antebellum era, perfectly preserved. Another interesting section was called rainbow row where the townhouses that lined the street were all painted different pastel colors that reminded me of Easter eggs.
At the Waterfront Park we got to see the famed pineapple fountain, a symbol of southern hospitality and friendship that is the cornerstone of the city. There was an open-air market I would have enjoyed going through but they didn’t allow dogs so we could only walk past the outside. There were so many nice restaurants and cute cafés that we had to bypass as well. We decided that there’s enough here to warrant a return trip. Next time though, we’ll fly in and spend several days to explore it properly. And the dogs are staying home! We might even rent a car and drive to Savanah Georgia; another wonderful old southern city we’ve heard good things about. For the time being, it was the end of our day in Charleston and of South Carolina. Our next stop will be Williamsburg Virginia. Looking forward to that!
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