Day 41: La Crosse, WI to Badlands NP

Stops:

The Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD

Badlands NP, SD

Every town has to have that one thing that brings in the visitors and the tourism.  For Mitchell, SD it's the World's Only Corn Palace.  No, the palace isn't made entirely of corn but it has murals decorated from corn cobs and grains from the local region.

The process takes some time as the old murals are stripped starting in late May and the new murals are laid out in August and finish up in October. Every year has a different theme, this year was "We Celebrate." By the way, it's not cheap to do the new murals either.  It costs $130k every year.  There are 12 different colors of corn used and special fields laid aside just to grow the corn.  It's quite a process to keep up every year.  If you are thinking, what about a drought? Does that affect the murals? The answer is yes.  In fact, in 2006, because of severe drought, there were no new murals.

The palace was built in 1892 to show the world that South Dakota had a healthy agricultural climate.  Did you know that the corn palace we see today is not the original.  In fact, this is the third iteration of it.  

We made it just in time to the Badlands NP to catch the sunset, and I mean just in time as I literally had 10 mins to get the following pictures.

Once the sun went down, we tried to find a campsite, but the Badlands only has campsites at opposite ends.  We went to the one towards our entrance but it was full.  The other one was of gravel road over 20 miles away. No thanks.  

We decided to go to the ranger program at the amphitheater instead.  We learned about the park, but even better, we learned about the National Grasslands.  Mostly they are located in the Great Plains region of the US, but there are little areas in California, Oregon, and Washington for example.  You can take your car 35 ft from the center of any road on the grasslands and disperse camp up to 350 ft away from the center of any road.  It just so happens that Buffalo Gap Grasslands is just outside of The Badlands.  After the ranger talk, we tried to find a road in Buffalo Gap and we ended up finding a road to a trailhead and stayed at the trailhead for the night.  Another night, another problem solved and complete privacy and silence to boot.

Day 36: Richfield, OH to Sandusky, OH

Stops:

Cuyahoga Valley NP, OH

Day 2 at Cuyahoga Valley NP looked like it wasn't going to happen at first.  With a high probability of a couple of inches of rain forecasted, we decided to play it by ear.  

We decided to head to the Everett Covered Bridge.  The bridge was originally built after someone drowned in the small creek and was functional until 1975.  It had deteriorated so much, that it had to be rebuilt and made better.  However, you cannot drive over it anymore.  On the way to the bridge, we encountered a small snake and walked around it.

The morning decided to cooperate with us, so we decided to rent some bikes from Century Cycles in Peninsula and go on the Towpath Trail.  The Towpath trail was used by the mules to pull the boats through the canals and to the locks.  The trail is fairly level and mostly dirt or small gravel.  There are occasional boardwalks and paved areas.  The entire length of the Towpath is about 21 miles.

Along the way we came across a pond with snapping turtles and frogs.

Finally, we went back to the Winking Lizard for lunch and a drink and I came to know why it was called the winking lizard. I swear he winked at me!

Nearby, is the Deep Lock Quarry hiking trail. Within Deep Lock Quarry lies Lock 28, which at 17 feet was the deepest lock on the Ohio & Erie Canal, and an old quarry from which blocks of Berea sandstone were cut for the canal locks and other local structures.

Near the lock was the quarry where many of the sandstones used in the construction of the locks on the northern section of the Ohio & Erie Canal were cut from.  You can still see the stones left behind used to make the locks as well as a Freemason logo.

Another neat hike is at the Ledges area of the Virginia Kendall park. It is located within Cuyahoga Valley NP. A short hike in and you will see that there are rocky cliffs within the forest.  There is also s cave, icebox cave, but it is closed due to white nose syndrome.

Finally, we ended the day eating sweet corn on the cob from Szalay's Farm. The corn comes right out of their fields and is some of the best corn on the cob I've had.

We left Cuyahoga Valley NP towards Sandusky, Ohio wishing we could hang around longer to see more wildlife.  The locals may not know how good they have it.

Day 35: Chambersburg, PA to Richfield, OH

Stops:

Cuyahoga Valley NP, OH

We arrived late in the afternoon to Peninsula, OH which is close to Akron and also near Brecksville, the hometown of our friend, Bobby Lee.  In fact, Bobby knew the area quite well and basically we communicated through a series of text messages on what to go see and where to go eat.  It was like having our own personnal tour guide.  For the few hours we had left for the day, this was really useful and made our use of time much more efficient.

Cuyahoga Valley NP is unsuspecting at first.  It is surrounded by a bunch of residential areas linked by small towns like Cuyahoga Falls, Brecksville, Peninsula, etc.  But because of it's history with the Ohio and Erie canals and the system of locks used and the shipbuilding done there, along with its support of small farming communities,  it is now a National Park.  In fact, many the small farms are still working farms today.  However, it is much more than that.  For wildlife lovers, I would consider it a hidden gem.  Beaver Marsh was once a junkyard and was reclaimed by beavers. 

Now you are able to see herons, fish, snapping turtles, ducks, tree swallows, beavers, frogs, and much, much more.  Out of all the national parks I've been to so far, this one has the most concentrated area of wildlife.

We started our exploration with Brandywine Falls.  It is a short walk from the parking lot but a beautiful waterfall with the water cascading down the rocks.  Just further up is where a mill use to be.

Driving to different points in the park actually takes you in and out of the park weaving through the residential areas to get there.  Our next stop was at the Boston Mills Visitor Center.  It contained replicas of the shipbuilding process but was closed unfortunately for the day.  Next door was a great restoration of an old gas station and garage.

We finally ended out at Beaver Marsh at dusk, where the wildlife really comes alive.  You will come upon a lock and even a beaver dam in the marsh.  

Here, I came across a frog sitting on a lily pad in the lock making for this almost icon photo.  

Next I came across this heron fishing for dinner.  I actually saw it dip its head in the water and pull out this colorful fish and then swallow it whole.  It was like watching a National Geographic movie.

And then, we spotted the beaver swimming around the marsh.

This little swallow was flying in and out of a small hole in the this tree.  It wasn't the only one either.  Several other swallows were doing the same thing.

Finally this red-winged blackbird was cawing at me, begging for it's picture to be taken. I couldn't resist.

Afterwards, Bobby suggested dinner at the Winking Lizard bar in Peninsula before we headed to Richfield to call it a night.

Day 34: Shenandoah NP, VA to Chambersburg, PA

Stops

Shenandoah NP, VA

Gettysburg, PA

After a restful first day in Shenandoah, we were ready to go.  It's beautiful, but I have to admit that seeing so many parks in succession might make you more immune to some of the more subtle charms that Mother Nature has on offer.  We've remarked a number of times about how some folks rave about things that are just okay to us.  We wondered if these are people who live in urban centers and just don't get to see much of nature.  Rather than beating myself up as jaded, I just feel thankful for the constant beauty I'm exposed to in Oregon.  

But Shenandoah had a little something up her sleeve to surprise and delight us.  After a leasurely up-and-at-em, we hit the road intending to hike our planned trail and get on our way.  Not long into our remaining 50 miles of park, I spied something large and black on the side of the road...and yes, it had a face!  "A bear!" I'm sure I squeeled as A braked and turned us around in the nearby street.  He's shouting at me that there are more than one and to get the camera and I prove my usefulness by hyperventilating my delight as a tiny bear cub raised his head and took a peek at us.  As we were now blocking two lanes of traffic consisting of people for whom bears were like the scenery I found so-so, we moved on and pulled into the next parking lot where A got out his zoom lens and we circled back around for another look.  We watched until momma bear and her two cubs were beyond sight in the brush.  It was magical.

We also saw groundhogs on that drive and these were a little less magical, but still really fun, especially later when we saw signs for Puxatawny!  We wrapped up our day in Shenandoah with the highly recommended Dickey Ridge-Fox Hollow Trail.  The trail leads you down into Fox Hollow, named for a family that lived and died in the Hollow as evidences by many artifacts of their farming life and family cemetary just off the trail.  It was an interesting way to underscore that this was private land acquired to create the park as opposed to land that had been federal or protected for most of its history.  Even with my delight at seeing the bears off the road, I was a little nervous to meet them in the hollow along the trail.  For good or ill, we didn't meet any bear along the trail, though there was a point the brochure said was a common spot for bear sightings.  We did see many butterflies, insects, chipmunks and several birds, including a large bird with a distinctive call we later identified based on the call as an American Kestral. I don't know the other trails in Shenandoah well enough to say what trails I would recommend - I do know enough to say that this trail shouldn't be the only one you do in Shenandoah.  

So, after that, we headed north and had a whirlwind multi-state day traveling through Virginia, West Virgina, Maryland and into Pennsylvania, crossing the historic Mason-Dixon line.  At this point, we were still ahead of schedule and had some plans a few days hense that allowed us to slow down.  As we were journeying around through Civil War country, we'd seen several signs reading, "Civil War Trail," and A kept saying "Where's Gettysburg?"  Believe it or not, neither of us actually knew in the beginning so I had looked it up - it's in Pennsylvania.  We were in Pennsylvania so we decided to check out Gettyburg.  

So I already mentioned that we didn't even know which state Gettysburg is in, so that should prepare you for how uninformed A and I were going in, because uninformed we were and we got a GREAT education in Gettysburg.  First, there is Gettysburg the town, which existed during the civil war and continues to be a small city.  Then there is Gettysburg, the battlefiield, the site of the bloodiest battle in the civil war which is now preserved as the Gettysburg National Military Park.  And finally, there is the Gettysburg Address, the stirring two minute speech by Abraham Lincoln dedicating the National Cemetary at Gettysburg.  If you were as uneducated as I and are not interested in history, that might already give you enough information - feel free to look at the pictures and skip the rest, but if you like history, read on. 

I loved growing up in the midwest, but I have to say that as A and I did the auto-tour around the Gettysburg (GB) I envied the kids who live nearby and most certainly must "have to" visit GB several times during their schooling. We had popped into the Visitor's Center before we drove around the sites. I regret little on this trip, but I do regret not viewing the Cyclorama painting and the educational video at the Visitor Center and not purchasing the CD audio tours of the site.  You don't realize until you get out there how much is there.  As we learned, there are 1300+ monuments on the several acre battlefield.  The majority of the monuments were placed in 1880-1890's by returning Civil War veterans from both sides and represent where each brigade or corp was located at some point during the battle.  We learned later that the placement of some of the monuments is subject of debate with several southern states still debating who's forces advanced farther during the Picket's Charge.  Each monument has some of the story of that group written upon it and it would take days or weeks to read all of them.  Some are merely small squares of concrete with a few numbers and letter etched in them and others are incredibly ornate.  

Stop 3 of the auto tour is at the Eternal Light Peace Memorial dedicated by Civil War veterans from both sides in 1938.  We kept following the tour route and couldn't believe the size and scope of the battlefield and the monuments that just kept coming.  At some point, feeling a little overwhelmed, we stopped the auto tour and returned to do a walk and talk with a ranger.  We walked through a small part of the battlefield while the ranger gave us a talk focusing on the aftermath of the epic battle on the locals who's land was devestated by the deaths of 12,000 men and 40,000 horses, shooting of millions of rounds and heavy artillary shelling.  We heard the stories of a single mother who's home was used as Union headquarters; a free African-American who was able to look from his back yard into the south where slavery was still legal and who was displaced after the battle because his rich farmland was now a cemetary; and of the 6-month pregnant wife of the cemetary groundskeeper who single-handedly moved and burned many horses killed on her grounds.  

Everything is connected.  I feel like for the rest of our lives, we'll tell stories that link to this epic American road trip.  Pluck one string and the others start vibrating. As we toured the beautiful battlefields and read some of the memorial monuments, the battle and its aftermath were just starting to come off the page of a history text.  The ranger talk brought it a little more into reality - from 51,000 wounded, missing or killed Americans to the storeis of three individual civilians put through hell.  Our next stop was Gettysburg National Cemetary.

The cemetary was beautifully laid out and incredibly moving.  A monument to Abraham Lincoln greets you at the entrance with the entire text of the Gettysburg address.  I've since read a criticism of the address that suggested that it was the same sentiment addressed by the other speaker, but simply more consice.  That is the mark of a great speaker - concise, precise and memorable - reading the address in this setting was incredibly powerful.  This monument is not the actual location where the address was delivered - another monument put up by the state of Kentucky marks that spot.  

We were struck even more by the gravesites surrounding this monument than by the monument itself - set into the ground in rings around the large monument are graves marked with whatever information they could determine about each soldier - for some, this included name, regiment and more, but sadly, for others, this might have included only their home state or no information at all.  

We finshed the night on a much lighter note with perogi and local brews at Appalachian brewery and a stroll around the local fair for a funnel cake.

Day 33: Waynesboro, VA to Shenandoah NP, VA

Stops:

Shenandoah NP, VA

At the south end of Shenandoah NP is Rockfish Gap and the starting point of Skyline Drive, the famous, scenic 105 mile drive through the park passing by many overlooks.  It is also the end point for the Blue Ridge Parkway, which as you remember earlier, starts at the Smoky Mountains.

The AT trail also runs very close to the the road, sometimes crossing it.  This will become relevant in just a little bit.  

The overlooks are nice at first, but become boring after the first couple of them. You see the beautiful rolling hills, and because the park boundaries don't expand much from Skyline Drive, you see cities and farms just beyond them which spoil the view.  

We did come across a group of fit 20 somethings doing a photo shoot for Marmot outdoors company at one of the overlooks.  They had prepacked backpacks, and Marmot clothing, walking around in undesignated areas for hiking amongst the tall grasses. They didn't have on hiking shoes, just tennis shoes covered up by the tall grass.  One guy standing on the roof of a minivan with his Nikon SLR and Cokin filter ordering the models around.  I'll have to go pick up the next catalog from Marmot to see if I can find the pictures.

The thing about this park that is different from the other parks are the deer. Here they come out all times of the day, whereas, in the other parks you see them at dawn and dusk.  You could throw a stick and hit 20 deer. They were everywhere.

As we went further, we came across hitchhikers.  Clearly, they had been hiking the AT trail because if their backpaks, trekking poles, and disheveled looks.  They needed a lift, probably to a campsite or camp store.  Normally, we don't pick up hitchhikers, but they looked so sad that we had to stop and get them.  Don't worry, we had our pepper spray on hand if we needed it.  They were nice boys in their 20s.  We asked their names to which they said, Rambles and Yodi.  Hmmm, strange names, but I figured that was their last names.  They needed a ride up to the camp store a few miles away.  They had been hiking the start of the AT in Georgia since mid-April and met each other recently in North Carolina and became hiking buddies.  As we learned, they didn't purify their drinking water, but drank from moving water sources. Seems to me like a gamble.  They eat ramen noodles, peanut butter, jerky, etc.  The last two nights, they came across 3 bears each night.  Rambles was Connecticut and Yodi was from California.  As we learned, on average, hiking the entire AT trail takes about 6 months, so they should finish in mid-October. They were quite happy for the lift and we got a little education from it, maybe a little good karma too.

Our goal was to get halfway to Big Meadow and camp there for the day.  As we left again, we found another hitchhiker and picked him up.  His name was Brother Bear.  That's when I realize the AT hikers give each other nicknames.  He did look kinda like a bear, so I am assuming that's how he hit his name.  Brother Bear was from Ashville, NC, and a self-proclaimed country boy. He started the trail back in mid-March.  When asked what kinds of food he ate, much of it was the same as the last set of hitchhikers, but he added that he ate foods with high caloric content and lightweight.  He wanted a lift to the store at Big Meadows which was perfect as we were heading there. He was looking to recharge his electronics there.  As we passed a bunch of his friends at one of the overlooks, he let on that many AT hikers hitchhike here.  His friends were people he met on the trail and he says he knows 500 of them.  When asked about bears, he says he saw them as well and gave some tips on what to do.  Most of it was just ignoring the bears as they are big babies.  Not sure I want to find out.  We also asked him about the shelters.  They are place about every 8 miles apart.  Sometimes, shelters meant for 6 people will have 20 people crammed into them.  We dropped him off and headed to find our campsite.

Needing the rest we took a nap and made dinner. We bought some firewood for the evening and as the sun was setting, drove out to big meadow and went for a walk to work off the food we just ate.  Hoping for something more than deer encounters, we went on a road looking for bears and other wildlife.  We met a father and daughter from Pennsylvnia along the way doing the same thing (working off dinner).  This was their first National Park, so we gave them suggestions for other parks as well.  We hiked about 3 miles round trip but didn't encounter anything but more deer.  On the way back, it was dark enough that the lightning bugs lit the way, almost like a Disney movie ending.

We headed back to camp where we proceeded to settle in for the night around the campfire until it was time to sleep.

Day 32: Summerville, SC to Waynesboro, VA

Stops:

Congaree NP, SC

If you blink, you might miss Congaree National Park.  It isn't that big and there isn't many signs to help you find the way. Many GPS's even get the directions wrong.  I can tell you, though, it is a neat place covered mostly with sweet gum trees in a mostly marshy, swampy area.  Seems like the perfect place to film another Friday the 13th sequel. I can imagine Jason emerging out of the murky waters for his next victim.  The only problem are the mosquitoes due to all the standing water.  If you stop walking for a second, a dozen mosquitoes will attack you. While mosquito repellent slows them down, they are likely to get you through your clothes. Still, wear a hat, long sleeve shirt, and pants to survive. When you enter the visitors center, you see a sign with mosquito threat level. War zone is the highest and that's where it was pointed to.

Talk a walk around the 2.5 mile boardwalk and see the swamplands and wildlife.  The roots of the sweet gum tree spread out and point upwards through the standing water looking like wooden spikes throughout the swamp.  We saw giant hairy spiders and even a barred owl swooping through the trees looking for lunch.  Turtles swim in the nearby lake.

Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted almost all the photos to this park, so here are some similar images i pulled from a Google search for now with the credit: 

Nationalparks.org

News.nationalgeographic.com

Nationalparkstraveller.com

After being drenched in our own sweat from wearing long sleeves clothes and pants in the hit, humid weather, we got back in the van and changed our clothes and headed off to the Wal-Mart in Waynesboro, VA on our way to the next park.

Day 30: Gatlinburg, TN to Charleston, SC

TStops:

Great Smokey Mountains National Park,TN/NC

Blue Ridge Parkway, NC

The Great Smokey Mountains NP is actually split almost equally across Tennessee and North Carolina and the largest  NP east of the Rockies just over a half million acres.  It is located within a day's drive for 2/3 of the population of America.  It is also the most visited park with 11 million visitors annually.  I'm sure the reason is because of its closeness to so many people, and of course it's beauty.

So why is it called the Smokey Mountains?  It's not because of smog pollution, although there is some of that there now.  It's from the fog that hangs there and appears as large smoke plumes which are a result of plants exhaling chemicals that have high vapor pressure.  The fog and haze gives the mountains a blueish appearance, despite all the green trees.

The 3rd highest peak in the park is called Clingman's Dome.  The 360 degree viewpoint is worth the short, but steep hike. Get there at sunrise or sunset or shortly after for an amazing view. Along the way, you may run into snails on the path.

70 miles of The Appalachian Trail go through the park and AT hikers have said it to be the most beautiful part of the AT trail.  Part of the trail goes next to Clingman's Dome.  Another part goes by Newfound Gap where you cross from one state to the other.  We decided to hike from Indian Gap to Newfound Gap, about a 3.4 mile in and out.  During the process, we crossed from state to state.  Newfound Gap is where FDR declared the Smokies as a National Park.

The road follows a stream most of the way and I recommend stopping at least once and listen and watch it. So relaxing.

At the Oconaluftee Visitors Centers is a great example of a a 19th century farmstead.  It'll make you appreciate the modern coveniences of today, but have you missing the organic food and a closeness to the land.

Here, you can also catch the Blue Ridge Parkway as well.  It is the starting point and goes all the way north to Shenandoah NP in Virginia.  Noted as America's scenic byway, I will disagree here and say that I've  seen much more scenic drives in both New York State and the Western USA, but we did part of the byway and enjoyed it.  

The next part of our journey was completely unplanned, but purely based on wanting to travel coast to coast. Charleston, SC, here we come.

We stopped at a rest stop at some point near Columbia, SC to try to make a quick mac and cheese dish in Moby, but all the while I had a strange vibe with a man staring at us for almost our entire time there.  Why was he there for so long? Did people at rest stops really rest for 30 to 40 min? I know I never have. We usually go to the bathroom and get some travel info and then leave.  I wrote it off, but as we were just about ready with our mac and cheese, some guy came up to the van and started staring inside.  I thought he was casing us looking for weapons or valuables, but I've got a hot pot of macaroni that I'm mixing up with cheese and can't do much.  He proceeds to to ask for help with something and I told him that I'm a little busy at the moment.  He leaves, but I'm already creeped out, so we serve up the mac into bowls and make an immediate run for it down the highway, never looking back.  I mean isn't that how these things get started. A stranger lures you outside of your safe area and then bad things happen.  We have pepper spray with us, and this is the first time I had considered using it.  Note to self...don't stay too long at rest areas. They really ought to call these "short break and get the hell out" areas.

We finally arrived in Charleston where my memory was suddenly jogged about palmetto bugs. That's probably because of all the palmetto trees and SC's state flag.  My wife had never heard of these but basically, they are flying cockroaches.  Just as soon as we found our Wal-Mart for the night and got out of the van, sure enough, there it was....and they aren't scared of people either. They will come after you.