Saturday, May 13, 2017

2017-9 From Georgia to South Carolina


 2017-9

Marion South Carolina
one of many small rural towns along the way
great little antique shop in former bank


South Carolina


Campground: Mr Z's Rv park, Gilbert SC. $20 50 amp service, full-hookups. Cable TV and wi-fi available though I wasn't able to connect to either one. A small park, with swimming pool and laundry facilities. 40+ over the air tv stations. Excellent Verizon signal.

Campground: Little Pee Dee State Park. Electric 30 amp/ water, $18 plus $7.76 reservation fee. Dump station at exit. Lake is empty. 40+ over the air tv stations. Marginal Verizon signal.

from N Georgia to South Carolina

Augusta Georgia



While waiting for the repairs to be done on the camper wheel, I drove over to Harlem Georgia, the hometown of Oliver Hardy. Hardy was born in Harlem in 1892, but after his fathers death in the same year, his mother moved the family to Milledgeville where she became the manager of a hotel. One of the few acceptable careers for a woman. The young Oliver was enthralled with the many troupes of entertainers passing through. Starting him on an early career as an entertainer. The little museum honoring Laurel and Hardy and the many movies they were in. The Columbia theater in town is being remodeled to house a larger Laurel and Hardy museum. While I was at the museum, a group of “mentally challenged” folks came in to watch a Laurel and Hardy movie. Something they often do on a regular basis. Enjoying the slapstick humor and simple stories. A little museum providing a service to the community and special group of people.

After repairs to the camper were made, at a cost exceeding one thousand dollars, I was ready to head out of town. Well not really, I could have easily stayed at the COE campground as the lake views were awesome. But I did head out onto Interstate 20 and only had to put up with a minor delay due to construction on the highway.

camper repairs
channel bearing cracked
destroyed brakes 

the parts weren't all that expensive
it's all in the labor costs....



little me

on the road with Laurel and Hardy




South Carolina, Lexington
Distance Traveled: 89 miles


This is a minor stop, being that I didn't get on the road till after 1:30 in the afternoon and I didn't want to drive all that far. During my short stay at Mr. Z's campground, I'm making reservations and discovering that North Carolina in particular has had lots of recent flooding and many of the campgrounds I'd normally stay at are closed due to damage from all the flooding. At this point I have all but 5 days reserved. And I may just wing it and try staying in a National Forest campground along the way. Possibly with no electric but with my solar panels, I should be able to handle it. Of course that depends on how hot it will be. Temps are expected to be in the 90's this week and onward.

RV camping info: I rely heavily on a couple of internet web sites and apps to find suitable campgrounds along my intended route. Recently I've been relying heavily on Passport America, Rvparky and Ultimate Campgrounds. I usually follow up with RV Park Reviews to see what others say about a campground I'm considering, as well as using Google maps/satellite images to zoom in on a campground to get a better feel for the place.

Distance Traveled: 134 miles
on the boarder between South Carolina and North Carolina


notes:

  • roads in South Carolina are in terrible shape. From major highways, state roads, county roads and even the state park roads look like they haven't been paved in 20 years or more. A 2 cent tax increase on gas was just approved and will go towards road improvements. Long overdue.
  • While in Columbia SC at their history museum, it mentioned how cotton was king. But around 1920 or there abouts, the boll-weevil arrived and decimated the cotton crops. Not only destroying the cotton, but closing the hundreds of textile mills throughout South Carolina
  • The museum also has a large exhibit on India's culture. Why you ask? Because their recent governor, Nikki Haley was born in India. After her parents moved to the U.S. She eventually became the governor of South Carolina and is now the U.S. Representative at the U.N.
  • I previously mentioned the bark beetle as having destroyed many of the pine trees in the norther Georgia. One of the camphosts said he and his wife had a house built about 6 years ago. A couple years later, he discovered the entire back of the house was infested with pine bark beetle larva. The original contractor had to tear out the entire back wall to his two story house and replace it.

great collection of telescopes from the 19th century


the Indian influence in South Carolina

Nikki Haley, former Governor, U.N Representative
born in India and migrated with parents to SC

solid silver


South Carolina Science/history Museum
in former textile mill

a cypress canoe, still attached to the tree stump
unfinished and found at bottom of river

oh how I remember my first transistor radio
the beginning of my love of  all things tech...

big displays, weak on followup info

I ended up driving a portion of I-20, but got off when it merged into I-95, an interstate highway I try to avoid at all costs. The final rural route to Pee-Dee State park was very remote, traveling past small country farms with everything from corn, rye, wheat, cabbage, strawberries, onions, I saw it all. Including a number of small cattle farms. The campground, named after the Pee Dee Indian Tribe is much like an old country campground or fish camp in appearance. The main road leading into the park is so worn down that the gravel is poking through the once paved road. The campground loops are all sandy with mainly pine trees between sites. The main feature being the lake, which is currently empty as the earthen dam was breached in two spots during last years hurricane Mathew and it has not been repaired as of yet. Even part of US 41 is closed due to repairs being made to a bridge.

Hurricane Mathew damage

the earthen dam was damaged in two places

Pee Dee State Park, 30 amp electric/water


the lake is empty after damage from the hurricane of last year

I drove into Mullins, a small southern town worn down and tired. Had lunch at the Garden Alley. One of those local places in the south noted for their buffet lunch with lots of collard greens, catfish and fried chicken. The building was most odd, it that it was probably only about 15 feet wide and a couple hundred feet in length. Definitely a local hangout and of course I enjoyed a simple hearty meal. Barely visible from the main street.

You might be wondering about the name of the park I'm in, Pee Dee State Park. It's named after a local Native Indian tribe who were so named by the English who first arrived in the area. Giving the Indian tribe the name Pee Dee as well as the river and region it's name. It wasn't until 2006 that the U.S. Government gave certified recognition of the tribe. The tribe having only a small population as with most Indian tribes who perished due to European diseases etc.

Heading into North Carolina next week

more photos:






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