Thursday, July 2, 2020

The good life.

Before we get started, here’s your trivia for today. What river was featured in the 1972 film ‘Deliverance’?

 

I think Mango and I finally have this RV thing figured out. We seem to have found the sweet spot on our third big trip. We are enjoying our adventures so far and are relaxed and resting well.

 

In the early part of this trip, we are focusing on the Carolinas. This is new territory for both of us so that in itself is fun. In previous trips, we moved a little too quickly through areas but this time, I think we’ve discovered the right balance. We spent about 2 weeks in South Carolina and scratched off a couple of bucket list things. And hey, if you’re at all like me, you add things to your list just to be able to scratch them off.

 

We use campgroundreviews.com to help us determine where we’re going to stay next. There were very few reviews on Sadlers Creek State Park and I still can’t figure out why. An average state park experience but oh that lake. Lake Hartwell is stunning and the park wraps around parts of it. There certainly could be more million dollar mansions on this lake but somewhere along the line, the state made it a park. Thank you South Carolina. I think this park ranks in my top 3 favorite places so far. And in case you’re wondering, yes I’m keeping a master list of all the parks we’ve stayed at. Sadlers Creek is #76.

 

Central and northwestern South Carolina is known as Upcountry. Hilly, lots of waterfalls and great hiking and even some whitewater rafting. A huge bucket list item for me for a very long time has been a whitewater rafting trip. And we finally did it. NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) Adventures took us on a 5 hour trip on the Chatooga River. 


Mango and June - second row
What an adventure!! We were outfitted with helmets and flotation devices and watched a video on how to correctly float through a rapids in the event we had exited the raft. We were paired with Mark and Meg, a couple from northern Georgia and our guide Will. We really had a good time and the NOC folks make sure to add some fun activities into the trip as well. They even provide lunch, so we pulled aside about 45 minutes into the trip for sandwiches and snacks. The trip is considered a Class III but there were two Class IV rapids on our trip. We learned that the level of rapids is graded by level of difficulty and risk involved. We started out a little nervous/anxious but Will did a great job in explaining how we would conquer the tough rapids and have fun along the way. Excellent experience and one that would definitely be fun to do again. Oh yeah, and neither of us exited the raft!

 

We are now in North Carolina and will have our first night here which means we earn another state sticker. We’ll work our way across the state, back towards the coast to experience the Outer Banks.

 

And that river featured in Deliverance? Why of course, it was the Chatooga.


-June

 

 

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