I took 221 which goes directly to McCormick through old Southern towns along the railroad, Woodruff, Laurens, Greenwood and then McCormick (keep straight and continue on 378 a few miles to both parks).
On the way home I went through Clinton(catch 56 after Greenwood) instead of Laurens. All of these towns have a railroad running down the main streets alongside antique stores, spas and cultural centers.
( You can get there from I-26 if you take 25 somewhere near the town of Saluda and then to McCormick.)
At Hickory Knob, you come to a golf course at the end of the world with Pro Shop and bar, a lodge with swimming pool and dining room with buffet serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the great room lobby, there are stuffed chairs and couches and pool tables. On the wall are paintings from winners of the
Artist in Residence program each year. I like the water colour.
There are many golfers, but no hikers and the desk clerks, administrative staff do not know anything about the trails. The clerk tells me to take the Beaver Run trail which loops back.
Most of the time, it travels along Strom Thurmond Lake. I come upon a cabin and peek in the window.
There is a table with a half downed bottle of Jose Cuervo on top. I keep going until I realize the trail is not a loop. The rocks I find as I go are very heavy and rust streaked as if full of iron ore.
There are ant hills everywhere, and mounds of fire ants.
I see another log cabin which is the Guillebeau House built in 1770 and moved here from the Huguenot settlement of New Bordeau nearby.
A woman in the Pro Shop connects me to "Ranger George" on the phone who sets me straight about the trails. They start at the big red barn and there are several, two or three miles each and one of 7 miles.
In the car, I realize that my legs are burning and itching. I have been attacked by fire ants.
Baker's Creek State Park is only three miles away. It has a beautiful pavilion whose wide porch reaches out over the shore of Little River, a wonderful place to picnic. There are trails here.
I drive home out of this part of the Sumter National Forrest under a cloudless pale blue sky, a perfect temperature of 70 degrees, past a church advertising a pancake breakfast and another with a sign stating "The Holy Ghost Came". In Greenwood, I drive past the Amish Oven, renowned for good food and then treat myself to a real donut at Donuts and More (they have Tiger Mountain coffee too). This is a real old fashioned donut store, with real yeast raised donuts that taste like they used to taste. Delicious. Coming down through Greenwood, you pass the Civic Auditorium on the left, then Charzene's Beauty College on the right, go through the stop light and the Donut and More is on the left.
Today I have been to the Little River Blueway (and it is more blue than green). This is an area of the Sumter National Forrest, full of lakes and rivers and part of the Savanah River system which is the border of South Carolina and Georgia.
At home, I put cortisone cream on the ant bites.
Ruefully I read about Australian Aboriginal ant totems. The ant works for the common good and has the characteristic of patience. The ant spirit teaches that you have everything you need and will receive it when you need it most. If the ant people come to visit you, this is what you need to learn.
I also read that the fire ant illuminates the beauty of the earth with the brightness of his fire.
I'll say!
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