Travel Blog

Blue Ridge Mountains

After leaving Winter Garden, Florida, we made it to Fair Play, South Carolina, later that same day with just over 500 miles total.  We wanted to spend a few days on this side of the Smoky Mountains and Jason was able to take a few days from work for us to do so.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and it was rather rainy and cold with the nights down around freezing.

Carolina Landing Thousand Trails Resort

Using our membership with Thousand Trails we stayed “free” at the Carolina Landing Thousand Trails campground in the Southeast zone. This campground is NOT motorhome big rig friendly at all.  Having a fifth wheel would be perfect in this campground since you need the up/down play of the landing jacks to adjust the unlevel sites.  There were only a few sites we had any chance of fitting in length-wise and then any chance of leveling.  We found site A31 at the top of the hill was flat and it is about 45′ long, so we got the motorhome on and level. The 50-amp sites were not feasible and this site was only a 30-amp site, which was a bit of an issue with trying to run two heat pumps since it was pretty cold at night here in March. The topography of the resort is that every site is like a terrace level up and down the hills.

Carolina Landing Thousand Trails – Site 31A – in Fair Play, South Carolina, mostly level but short not leaving much room for parking the Jeep. 30-amp electrical, water hidden in the bushes and sewer. Concern picnic area with provided grill, which was well cleaned.

 

Warwoman Wildlife Management Area

US Forest and other wildlife management area drives are fun and easy ways to get back off the beaten path into nature without the hike.  In the case of this drive, it combined both as we got to the end and the final 500 feet was closed due to rain that had driven 3′ ruts in the road.

We were not able to get to the summit with the Jeep, but we did find a clearing where we could stop and enjoy the picnic lunch we brought. From here is only a 5-minute walk to the actual summit, from which we saw nothing since the clouds had enveloped the mountain that day.

 

Blue Ridge Mountains

Out in the country and the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just a few miles from the South Carolina / Georgia border is Julep Farms.

 

Trying a mint julep for the first time at Julep Kitchen. Includes bourbon, sugar, water, crushed ice, and fresh mint.

 

About 20 minutes south of the Carolina Landing resort are the Georgia Guidestones roadside attraction. The almost 20-foot tall monument was built by an anonymous Christian organization in 1980 and has multiple languages of their proclamation for the future. There is parking here for about a half dozen cars and worth a quick stop if you are driving nearby.