Long Time No See
It has been awhile and there are some gaping holes in my travel blog. But in time, I will catch-up. This past year has been filled with care-taking–first grandchildren, then my mother, then Sitka. But that catch-up story is for another post.
Now, we are on the road and I can resume telling you all about our adventures. Two years ago as I was dodging hurricanes on my first solo adventure, my intention was to go to Hocking Hills in Ohio. If I was to get to the Outer Banks before Daniel hit, I had to let Ohio and West Virginia portion of the trip go.
Two years later, 100º and I am finally in Hocking Hills. It is spectacular and more than I imagined…even with all the photos I pinned on Pinterest, they don’t capture the feeling of hiking through this stately Hemlock forest and moss covered cliffs. I’ll post soon the wonders of this place.
This is my first blog post since we left June 15, but I bet I am already half way through this year’s trip. I don’t know what has kept me from describing my wandering ways… oh come to think of it yes, I do. Sitka care has cut into keyboard time and lack of wifi and cellular connection.
To back up a bit…Sitka has a bone infection or cancer and we’ve been treating it like it’s both. He takes nerve pills, an anti inflammatory, antibiotics, Chinese herbs, glucosamine, CBD oil, I make him Turmeric cookies, homemade food and dress his wounds. I decide to venture out earlier this summer mostly to get him moving again and I think it is the best decision ever. He had been just laying around and not moving most of the day. I thought we might be losing him. Gerard is encouraging me to take off now with Sitka. I wonder about traveling, but I know I can always turn back if it is the wrong decision. It is not.
So back to the beginning of this journey. Pinterest is really my inspiration for my travel research. I see some place that intrigues me and on the map it goes. The trip two years ago showed me there was so much more to explore in the eastern mountains. Mountains and higher elevations are just the ticket to keep this old dog cool. So far, we have had a mixed bag of temps. Most evenings have been cool enough to open up at night. But we find ourselves intimately acquainted with the interior of the van and frigid temps from running the air. But dang… it’s been hot! Heat index over 100º!
I have to go back and play catch up. We left Florida and made our way to Western Georgia to explore canyons and chase waterfalls. Our first nights on the road have us overnighting at places we have been before. I primarily use two networks boondockerswelcom.com– a network of other RVers who offer overnights on their properties and harvesthosts.com a network of wineries, farms and ranches where we can overnight. These first stops I am so comfortable with our hosts, that I hope these two places will always be on my escape from Florida route.
Our first geological stop to explore is Providence Canyon, sometimes called Georgia's Little Grand Canyon. Heat is dictating the hour we do our wandering. We leave our overnight site at daybreak, as the canyon website says it opens at 7am. We arrive and the gate is closed. We wander in anyway leaving the van on the road. Despite its dramatic appearance, the canyon is really not that old. During the early 1800s, this land was occupied by small farms where early settlers struggled to feed their families.
Conservation techniques were unknown to most of these individuals and the furrows left by plows soon grew into gullies. As wind and rain deepened them, the gullies became ravines and in just a few decades the ravines became canyons.
The canyon takes its name from a historic Providence Methodist Church. Established in 1832 on land donated by Rev. David Walker Lowe, a prominent early Methodist minister, the church was an important part of early life in the area.
By the early 19th century, Providence Canyon had become a popular attraction for visitors. General George C. Patton, soon to become a famed hero of World War II, visited while he served as the commander of Fort Benning and his signature is among the names preserved in an early guestbook.
It is a scorcher and it’s best to drive in the air-conditioned van during the hot part of the day. Now, we need to find a campsite with electric so I can run the air and to make it more enjoyable, I need it to be on water. I spy West Point Lake on the map and it looks to be just the place we need. It is a Corp of Engineers campground. Using Gerard’s federal senior pass gets me a site for $12 a night! I take two nights. Surrounded by rolling fields and deep forests, Holiday Campground is on the western shore of West Point Lake, which spans parts of Alabama and Georgia The lake extends 35 miles along the Chattahoochee River on the Alabama-Georgia state line. The campground is located on a forested peninsula and overlooks the 25,900-acre lake with no alligators! I can swim. The most perplexing thing is that it borders eastern and central time zones and my electronics are confused.
I can see returning here and I can see easily staying a week. So peaceful. Next post will take us to another Canyon. Who knew Georgia is a place to escape and wander in cool gorges.
Onward
Catherine and Sitka
