2011-05 Caesar's Head and Table Rock

Solitude Pointe is about mid-way between two very pretty SC State Parks - Table Rock and Caesar's Head.  

Caesar's Head SP provides a magnificent view.  On a clear day you can see into 3 states - SC, NC, and Georgia.  The day we visited was a hazy, but we still had a great view.

The Rhododendron were just coming into bloom.

Table Rock dominates the view for miles.

Table Rock State Park is one of the most popular in SC with hiking trails, picnic areas, camping and a large lake for fishing and swimming.

A lovely old log building built by the CCC can be leased for weddings and special occasions.

There is a nice regional visitors center across Hwy 11 from the park.  We enjoyed taking a break sitting in a swing on the porch looking up at the mountain.

The closeness of the mountains and places like Caesar's Head and Table Rock are some of the reasons we would like to find a home in this area.

2011-05 Bald Rock, "Pretty Place" and DuPont State Forest

We took several drives up Hwy 276.  This is a very winding road that climbs sharply up to Caesar's Head and then continues on through Brevard, NC.  We saw the beautiful red Rhododendron shown above at the Chamber of Commerce in Brevard. 

Not far after leaving the campground is a roadside pull off we subsequently learned was called "Bald Rock".  We had seen a number of cars stopped there but did not know why.  So one day we parked and took a short stroll to discover a large rock outcropping with long distance views.  We were glad we stopped to explore.

In the distance you can see Table Rock:

Past Caesar's Head just before you come to the NC border is road leading to Camp Greenville YMCA.  Monique had driven there once before with a group of ladies on a church retreat to see "Pretty Place".  She knew it was a place I would want to see.  "Pretty Place" is the name given to the YMCA camp's open air chapel that has a fantastic overlook.  It is generally open to the public unless there is a wedding or other scheduled activity.

 

Continuing along Hwy 276 after crossing into NC there is a road leading to the DuPont State Forest.  This property once belonged to the DuPont Company and has recently become a NC State Forest.  There are a number of beautiful waterfalls.  Here are the two we visited:

This is just a gorgeous area.  We went to Hendersonville, NC each week while at Solitude Pointe so James  could get his allergy shots.  Usually we traveled Hwy 25 which is a relatively new 4 lane highway.  There is limited development along this route, and it is a beautiful drive with long mountain vistas.  Twice we traveled along Hwy 276 and then past DuPont State Forest.  This was a longer route but equally beautiful with part of the route through the state forest and part through pretty mountain valleys.  We certainly recommend these areas in SC and NC to visit and tour.

2011-05 Hagood Mill

We discovered Hagood Mill a couple years ago.  It is an 1845 Grist Mill and Folklife Center operated by the Pickens County (SC) Museum. We learned there is a monthly festival the 3rd Saturday of each month, so we made sure to go this May while staying at nearby Solitude Pointe.  We had a nice afternoon touring the exhibits and talking with the demonstrators. 

There was a military historical  exhibit by the SC State Guard (not the National Guard).

I enjoyed talking to and admiring the work of a man re-caning a chair.

This young man gave a great explanation of his Civil War reenactor uniform, guns, and a replica of a rare Confederate rapid fire cannon.

I was fascinated by the demonstration of a flint knapper as he showed how to make flint arrow heads, axe blades, etc.

This lady had the hottest job as she demonstrated cooking over the open fire in a cabin fireplace.

We love to see handmade quilts.  This always reminds us of the quilts made by my Mother and Grandmother.

All the time we were wandering around, we enjoyed some great country and bluegrass music performed by two different groups.

Another gentleman was dressed as one of the Revolutionary War "Over the Mountain Men" who defeated the British at the battle of Kings Mountain, (This is another interesting place to visit in the SC Upstate.)

 

We highly recommned a tour of Hagood Mill, especially on the 3rd Saturday of the month.

The next post will cover one more demonstrator we met just as we were leaving.

2011-05 Mr. Joda Snipes - Hagood Mill

Our final highlight at Hagood Mill was our time talking to Mr. Joda Snipes about his wood carvings.  We came upon Mr Snipes as he was beginning to put away his carvings, but he took time to answer our questions and entertain us with his stories and singing.  He was a great story teller.  We especailly enjoyed his story about his Santa Clause carving. (Click the play button to view.)

One of his specialties are hand carved "music spoons".  Here are a couple of short videos of Mr Snipes playing his spoons.