May roadtrips - South Carolina, Virginia & Tennessee

So my house sale still hasn't gone through and my feet are very itchy.  I'm leaving for Africa on July 31st but I was really hoping to do Route 66 this spring before Africa.  I probably could have done it if I'd known ahead of time that I would still be sitting here on the sofa eating too much and watching tv on the first week of June.  Every month I spend here eats into my savings.  However, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to take a week and just do a little road trip.  The primary goal was to hit my sisters place and drop off some boxes to be stored in her basement and I used the opportunity to hit a couple National Parks.

Congaree National Park in South Carolina.  I've been here before, but the previous trip was short and we only did a little over a mile hiking before heading back to the car.  I knew it was a pretty nice park with good hiking, I just needed more time there.  What I didn't anticipate was the massive amount of mosquitos that didn't care one bit about the goop I smeared all over my exposed bits before I started.  as long as I kept moving, I was fine.  But the minute I stopped...and I had my camera, so I stopped often...the mosquitos attacked en masse.  Regardless, I got a some pretty nice photos.  A couple of snakes, a bunch of skinks, lots of pretty flowers and spider or two.

Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve & Mabry Mill Historic Site
Spent the weekend with the family and the weather wasn't great, but we managed to get in a quick hike at Buffalo Mountain and when the rain got too much we moved over to the Mabry Mill Historic Site (also one of the most photographed mills in the country).  The rain kept most of the critters away but many of the flowers were blooming. 

Great Smokey Mountain National Park in Tennessee/North Carolina.  I stayed in Pigeon Forge which is a biggest tourist trap than Orlando (I never thought it was possible).  The themes are more country oriented but there are 1000 places that will take your money.  The national park itself was fantastic.  Its huge....absolutely huge.  And unlike most other national parks it is free of charge.  They as for donations in a number of areas but I think its too large and contains too many connective roads for them to charge a fee.  The park is divided into a number of sections and I was really only able to explore one.  Within this area are lots of historical buildings and churches and some great hiking.  I could easily spend a month here and never hike the same trail twice.  I was a bit disappointed in the amount of graffiti I found on 100+ year old homes and barns.  Ever inch of them are covered in "Bob was here" or "JM + TL forever ❤".  Some carved into the wood and some in sharpie or pen.  If you can look past the defacing, the buildings themselves are really interesting.  Straight out of Little House.  I found deer, bear, wild turkey, a single Eastern Fence Lizard and lots of butterflies.