More S'mores Please

We've been promising the kids we'd go camping for awhile now. For one reason or another we just didn't get it done. But they filled their behavior jar and the prize they wanted was a camping trip so we knew we needed to make it happen. We decided to copy our good friends the Palmers and visit Stumphouse Tunnel. (This is the third time we have stolen a trip idea from them. I hope they keep taking cool trips.)

We picked the kids up from school and headed straight for Oconee State Park. We had hoped to get there around 5:30, but ran into unexpected traffic - at least some of which was Clemson tailgaters. When we got to the campground, we realized we had the ugliest spot in the campground. (The campground is designed more for trailers than for tents.) Fortunately it wasn't full and we were able to change to a beautiful spot.

We actually got the tent set up before dark even though it doesn't look that way in the pictures.

We had tinfoil dinners and banana boats for dinner. I forgot to take pictures of those. (Just for the record, I like banana boats way more than s'mores.)

Thanks to Jalen, we were up at the crack of dawn. (How old do you have to be to sleep in your own tent??)

Sky view.

For breakfast we had omelettes in a bag. They're fun to make.

Our camping spot was right by a ravine. The kids had fun exploring it.

Our site.

Our little pyromaniac.

Keeping my feet toasty.

This picture looks like night, but it was morning. I experimented with the camera's manual settings and had some successes and some failures.

Baylie reading "The Lightening Thief" with her playaway.

The campground was really great. There was an open field where we played kickball and soccer. It was right next to a miniature golf course, which we never got around to playing.

Jalen and me on a tire swing.

Hanging around on the monkey bars.

There were two fun playgrounds.

Laid back Baylie.

Jalen is always on the run.

Loved the campground.

One of the things I love about the South are these old deserted houses you find from time to time. I love to imagine their stories.

Next door.

I spied this gem from the road and David stopped so I could get a little closer.

It was so cute. It was sad that it had become overgrown and vacant.

There was a huge hornet's nest in the roof. I really want a hornet's nest and I was tempted to steal this one, but I was afraid I'd discover it wasn't vacant. (I still kind of wish I'd tried...)

Another great thing are the road names.

Campgrounds around here are nice because they have good facilities - bathrooms with plumbing, water, electricity, little stores, etc. I like to rough it with amenities.

Our first stop on Saturday was the Stumphouse Tunnel. It has an interesting history and was started before the Civil War.

Near the entrance to the tunnel are lots of fun hills to climb. The roots and rock formations make for fun and easy climbing. Can you see Baylie??

There is an old railroad car at the site.

We had someone take our picture at the entrance of the tunnel. I didn't adjust the light right so we look like ghosts.

There was quite a bit of water in the tunnel, especially on the sides.

I tried to take pictures inside the tunnel, but they didn't turn out very well. The light did weird things. There were some areas where the water was dripping heavily, but I couldn't get any pictures of that.  

Looking from the inside towards the exit. The water on the floor looks like part of the walls. The kids are standing in the dry space in the middle.

Another view of the entrance.

Love the forests of South Carolina.

Baylie collected rocks and then carried this heavy bag the rest of the day. She cracks me up.

This sign was made out of railroad spikes.

Our next stop was Issaqueena Falls, just down the road from the tunnel. The story of Issaqueena can be found in the link above about the tunnel.

It was a pretty little walk from the parking lot to a viewing deck.

Trees pretty  much blocked any view of the falls from the deck.

So we decided to hike down the hill to the falls. It was a pretty steep hike, but not very long. We did have to climb over some fallen trees.

It was totally worth it. The falls were awesome - even though there wasn't as much water as at other times of year.

Behind the falls.

Baylie and me behind the falls.

Jalen and David.

A view of the trail from the bottom.

The locals were really nice and several of them told us where to go next. They recommended we go to Oconee Station and Falls. Oconee Station was originally built in 1792 as a fort.

 Later a home was added and it became a trading post.

Old cobblestones.

Root cellar under the front porch.

Just down the road are the falls. It was an easy hike, but not as easy as we had been told. I had worn my flip flops because we had been told it was a flat, easy hike. About halfway there, I got a weird cramp in my leg and my toes curled up tight. I couldn't straighten them. David had to pull them back open. I was afraid it was my achilles tendon (which I tore and had operated on several years ago). After a few minutes we were able to continue on.

These falls were also amazingly beautiful. I didn't get in the water this time because I was afraid the cold water would cramp my leg, which was still sore.

Seriously - look at this amazing place!

The kids slid down this little rock (they also fell a few times...).

The hike back.

We passed a sign that showed we could have actually hiked from our campground to the falls. It was interesting because we had to drive about 20 minutes to get there as the road goes around the mountain, but the trail can cut through.

When we got back to camp, we went to the lake.

The kids went for a dip, but David and I stayed dry.

For videos of the kids swimming, you can go HERE and HERE.

Another sky view.

That night for dinner we had hamburgers and s'mores. Jalen goes crazy for his marshmallows.

He even roasted four at a time! I called him the marshmallow ninja.

We headed back Sunday morning. I wanted a picture of this beautiful house in Oconee. David is always so good to stop and encourage me to take pictures when it would be easier to just keep driving.

We couldn't help but notice that everything closed down on Sunday.

You know you live in the Bible Belt when...

We made it home in time to watch Sunday's sessions of General Conference. We also watched Saturday's sessions and were so excited to see my niece, Hailey, singing with the MTC choir.

It was a fun, relaxing and truly beautiful weekend. Even Jalen admitted he was glad we left the iPads home!

Note: I forgot to mention that another one of my favorite things about camping in South Carolina is the weather. It was in the 70's during the day and the 50's at night. PERFECT!