Sycamore Lodge, Jackson Springs, NC

  Waved goodbye to Virginia on the 11th of November and heading to Jackson Springs, North Carolina. Smooth drive once again. Stopped to restock our supplies and that went well. It works well for us to do that on travel days, this way we are good for the week or so. Arrived at Sycamore Lodge mid afternoon and set up camp.

Sycamore Lodge is a beautiful campground. One of the nicest we been in thus far. Long spacious sites, mostly pull throughs, perfect for our RV and can accommodate the really big rigs.

Actually, the sites in the area we are at are meant for those traveling together and can fit two rigs. Width wise you have plenty of space to move around and set up camp, have picnic tables and fire rings, can even squeeze a vehicle in. In true resort style, the sites are on the close side but still feel roomy enough that your not shaking hands with your neighbor. Sand and gravel mix pads mostly level, did have to put a couple blocks under the front wheels though.

Holly Tree dressed for the holidays
 with Pine Needle Tinsel

 

  Many trees, made me feel as if I was back on Amboy Road as there was a big ole American Holly on our site. Growing up, we had two Holly Trees out front, they were so beautiful and always full of red berries. Now here again, this one to is just full. Lots of Holly Trees here that are more bushlike, with leaves without the “teeth” of the American Holly. I believe they are called, Yaupon Hollies. Pretty with thick waxy leaves and lots of red berries. Makes for a nice view and the birds love them.

  Quite busy here for November but I'm sure nothing like it would be in the summer. This place has so many amenities and every weekend has events going on. Pool, playground, horseshoes, mini golf, a pond for catch and release fishing, canoes, shuffleboard and more. All of which are kept in working order. There is a Lodge with kitchen, reading rooms, library, gathering room and more. The Campstore is well stocked and the staff always friendly and ready to do want ever they can to make your stay better. The bathhouse is wonderful, my favorite kind. Instead of separate areas for men, women, shower, toilets; this had 10 individual rooms. Each had a solid locking door and contained all you needed: shower, sink, toilet, mirror, hooks and bench! Your own private powder room with lots of hot water and well maintained.

Grist Mill Cabin

  

The campground had once been a private estate: the lodge, campstore, community center, several of the cabins were all from that time. How beautiful living there must have been. Speaking of the cabins, there were 6 or 7, two are remarkable. One had been the Artist Studio of the daughter from the original estate. Another, a grist mill, the Water Wheel still in operation. What fun it would be to sit on the patio and just watch that go round and round.

The weather, unfortunately, was not conducive to doing much of anything. We were there during that crazy Artic Blast that hit almost all parts of the country, so most of time we were there it was cold or rainy or both! Got in some walking, bike riding, intermingled with games of Horseshoes, Shuffleboard, and Corn Hole. Did give us lots of time to catch up on things inside and fortunately the weather cleared for some full moon gazing.

Not much more of note except one entertaining item. The day before we were to leave a Class C pulled into the site next to us. A woman got out and started setting up camp. Something vaguely familiar but not strongly. I did notice when she pulled in a Basset Hound sitting up front, I love Bassets, having had one of the best while growing up. Dandy will live in my heart forever. Anyway, pretty soon she bought out the dog and I decided I just had to go and say Hi. While rubbing those wonderful ears I looked up and asked the dog's name. She said it's Molly. I did a double take and at that moment it clicked, we had meet Barbara and Molly when we were camping at Gettysburg! Yep, small world even when camping!

On to a place of lots and lots of love and laughter. Onward to Kannapolis!!

Beautiful Full Moon

Mini Golf seems to be a required item in campgrounds!

So cold there's ice!

Got to admit, he is adorable!

Fairy Stones? Just what are Fairy Stones?

Stone crystals composed of iron, aluminum and silicate, known as Staurolite, when formed become two basic shapes. The Hexagonal, or six sided stones are known as single crystals. When two single crystals intersect they form the shape of a cross, either at right angles as in the Roman or Maltese Cross or at a forty-five degree angle to form an X shape known as the St. Andrews.

An exact combination of heat and pressure caused the formation of the staurolite crystals during the formation of the Appalachian Mountains. Mineral deposits surrounding the crystals is known as schist. The Staurolite is harder than the shist and less easily weathered causing the more resistant crystal to become uncovered. These stones are found in many places of the world, but only in pockets. One of these pockets is located in Stuart, Virginia and are call Fairy Stones following a Cherokee legend.

“The Cherokee lived in what is now called Southwest Virginia and considered this pocket of land sacred and the legend of “Fairy Stones” is thought to be over 2,00 years old. It involves “The Little People” what we know as Fairies or Brownies. The Little People lived in caves and in the forests. They were about two feet tall, long black hair and spoke the language of the Native Americans. It was told it was they that taught the Indians about medicine and brought messages to the people. They were friendly, lively, and most helpful, though could be mischievous. This is the Cherokee Legend of Stone Crosses:

Early one day long ago form time out of memory the people of a Cherokee village awoke and faced east to say their morning prayers to the creator in heaven (Ga-lun-la-ti). In the distance could be heard the cry of an owl, a sign of possible death and bad luck. The eastern sky began turning many colors and looked as if a storm was coming. Indians from other villages joined them and there was a feeling of sadness. Soon, the Little People (Yun-wi T-suns-di) appeared. They spoke first to the Tribal Elders and then to all who had assembled.

They told the story of both greatness and sadness. Many years ago, a new star (No-t-lu-si) had appeared in the eastern sky beyond the big salt water. A special child had been born to a tribe chosen by the creator. He had grown into a man of wisdom and taught his people the ways of the creator. He was a man of kindness and brought strong medicine (Nu-wa-ti) to his people. Although he taught purity and harmony with the creator, he had many enemies who would not hear his message of peace. They would not believe his medicine made sick people well. Thus, on this day, they would torture and kill this wise man and he would walk towards the night land (death).

As the sky grew dark, the Indians sang a death song to honor this beloved man of peace when they called the son of the creator. The animal nations of the forests soon came and stood by them. Because of their great sorrow, the Cherokee began to cry. Their tears soon covered the ground. When their weeping had ended, they looked down and their tears had been changed into small stone crosses. For the Indians, the cross design had always represented the cardinal points or the four directions. Now, it had a new religious meaning. The creator (E-do-da) had heard their prayers and songs and had given them a sacred gift. The Cherokee kept these stone crosses and always honoring them. The place of the stones becoming a place of tears and prayers.”

In 1768, the Cherokee were forced under the Treaty Of Hard Labor to give up their lands for the settlement of white man. The Little People are said to still be there though few see them as they hide from most.  The land of the Fairy Stones eventual became as it is known today, Fairy Stone State Park. If you go there, to the place of the Fairy Stones, listen carefully and you may just hear to voices of long ago. 

This is but one version of the Legend Of Fairy Stones, preserved by the Chiltoskey family of Cherokee, NC. The park offers this and and a more abbreviated version. Regardless of how one feels about the legend it is a lot of fun to go and hunt Fairy Stones. Unbroken ones are getting harder and harder to find and we were fortunate to find the pieces we did. Below are examples of the different type stones.

2 singles, broken St Andrew, broken Roman, and a Maltese.
These are among the many we were fortunate to find. 

Hiking Fairy Stone State Park

 Hiking is one of things Paul and I love to do. We have been fortunate to have hiked many areas in New Jersey and other states. I find it interesting how different the rating system can be for trails in different places. In North Jersey, when a trail says difficult it means lots of rocky outcrops, very steep grades and high elevation. We have hiked some where it's a good thing we were going down that stretch or I would have not been able to continue, the rock face just to high. Yes, Paul had to catch me as I dropped down from a seated position. And those trails weren't even considered the Challenging Rate, just Difficult.

Fairy Stone State Park has several trails rated easy, moderate, and difficult. We were able to sample each rating. All were fun, well marked, most ran into to others so you could make loops, extend or shorten your hike and all on our side of the highway could be reached from the campground without the need to drive. Having had the experience of New Jersey and being in the mountains of Virginia, we were a bit concerned about the Little Mountain Falls Trail as it had a rating of Difficult, but it had a waterfall! I love Waterfalls. We hemmed and hawed and decided we would do the Lakeshore Trail and Turkey Ridge Trail as they both had a Moderate rating and would be about 3 miles total, figuring we could get an idea just how tough the trails were. That was the idea setting out. Off we went. Lakeshore is as it says, a trail that runs along the lake for a long section of it. We found the going easy, not to many inclines, none real steep, and the views beautiful. From Lakeshore, we were able to pick up Turkey Ridge. That too was a relatively easy, wide trail with more but still not overly steep inclines/declines. By taking that trail we were able to detour over to the spillway with even more beautiful views. Backing tracking from there we once again picked up the Turkey Ridge trail. It was a perfect hiking day, the weather in the low 60's and sunny, we were in our glory. We came to the junction of Turkey Ridge and Little Mountain Falls Trails, looking at the signpost it was a mile to the Falls.
Hmm, well, it's just a mile, we can certainly do that and can always
backtrack if we find the trail to difficult. So, of course, off we went.
The trail map mentioned a 20 foot steep decline right after reaching
 the falls, that was our concern with as mentioned, our hiking
 experience. Of course, we were were doing the trail in reverse of
the usual way (Yes, we do most things backwards, LOL)
which meant an incline of a steep 20 feet, just what do
they mean by steep?? We would soon enough find out. What the
 trail map didn't mention was the 5 or 6 times you had to cross the
stream in order to get to the falls. Fortunately, there hadn't been much rain of late so while we did have to rock step, lucky, we didn't get our feet wet! There was an almost when the rock Paul chose to step on was a wee bit rocky. I actually find the challenge of stream crossing fun, deciding which rocks to use and hoping they are sound! We did well with both that and the slightly steep inclines/declines of the trail and manage to get to the falls without incident. The Falls was a little bit of a letdown, more of a cascading and not much power behind it. I am sure in the springtime and after a big rain it would be more dramatic, but still it had it's beauty and was the perfect spot for a picnic lunch. We started back out and
while the trail ahead of us was steeper than it had been it was
 definitely manageable (even if my thighs wanted to tell
me different, haha) That couldn't have been the “Steep” mentioned
could it? No, but yes that was it, I like this rating system, one I can
manage even on “Difficult” trails. On we went enjoying the trails,
 the trees, the beautiful views of the valley. We got back to our
campsite and all but collapsed into our chairs. Our 3 mile hike turned into a 6 and ½ mile one. Such pleasurable exhaustion, and so worth every step.

During our stay at the park, we managed to do all the different trails, each having their own special beauty and several we were on
several times, at least portions. The Beach Trail was an easy walk and allowed us to lunch overlooking the lake.

The only one we couldn't finish was the trail to the Horse Camp.
We did fine with the ups and downs but the stream was our downfall. Just too wide and not enough rocks clearing the water for our comfort. Hiking in wet boots in cold temperatures isn't something I want to do.

Though disappointing, there was a positive besides the beauty of
the hike itself. We met up with five people on horseback;
what gorgeous horses. Chatted with them a bit and headed back to camp.

This life style so lends itself to being able to take advantage of our love of hiking and Fairy Stone State Park has been the best yet.

Fairy Stone State Park Stuart Virginia

Headed out of Front Royal and traveled south to FairyStone State Park, in southern Virginia, on Nov 4. Now this is my favorite state park so far, may decide to make two or three posts out of our stay there. The ride went smoothly, little traffic. That is the advantage of being able to set one's own schedule. We travel during the week and not before 8:30 - 9:00, missing that morning traffic. With keeping our travel days to no more than 5 hours we get where we are going before rush hour and plenty of time to set up camp before dinner. So far that is working well for us. 

Fairy Stone is beautiful, in the mountains just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The campground situated well up and away from the day use area but close enough for us to being able to walk there and back. Campground is mostly well maintained, has the feel of true camping with lots of trees. The bathhouse kept cleaned with an interesting setup. The restrooms are located in the front of the building with the typical women's on one side, men's on the other. The showers are generic and located in the back of the building, five shower rooms with lots of great hot water. Good setup. No other amenities at the campground it's self, but plenty to do in the park. My only complaint there is the big need for the site pads to be redone. Many were very uneven and the asphalt missing in big chunks. If you were tenting you were set as nice sandy tent pads were recently put in. Most of the sites are on the short side so not really conducive to big rigs, though there were several that came in and made it work. We being 30 feet had no problem.  The park also offers cabin and yurt accommodations, some of the cabins have a lovely lake view. 

We had the pleasure, while there, to get to know the Camp Hosts. Pete and Sharon have been Camp Hosts there for the past ten years. They keep the sites clean, bathrooms stocked, and help out the campers as needed. We clicked well when we met and enjoyed several get togethers involving lots of chatting, laughter and a bit of wine. Pete is a semi retired woodworker, making clocks and mantles pieces. Would so love to see his work. Sharon is retired, having worked for many years at Clemson University. At one of our campfires together another camper joined us. Turned out Eric is an author and has a ministry helping those with PTSD and similar difficulties. He himself was in the service, having been wounded dealt with this over the years. What an interesting gathering and the conversation flowed. Once again we were gifted.

One of the things we enjoyed was the hiking, and being able to get to the trails right from the campground. I believe I will write about our hiking in a separate post. Meanwhile I'll get back to our time there. The park has a large lake for boating, fishing and even a beach open during the warmer months. The lake is man made and now covers the town once called Fayerdale.  Fayerdale was a Iron Ore Mining Center and the remnants of the old Iron Furnace is still visible. When the country started importing Iron Ore from Germany at a much lower rate Fayerdale couldn't compete and became a ghost town. It was under the administration of FDR and the beginning of the Civilian Conservation Corps that the land became a state park. Several of the cabins are the originals built by the CCC.

We learned this at one of the many talks held at the Visitor Center. A must see when at the park, it holds many displays of the various birds, animals, Fairy Stones and other items of interest found at there. We enjoyed meeting one of the Interpreters, Joe, and had the pleasure of hearing so much about the history and mammals there, even a enlightening talk on the moonshine business. The area was once known as the MoonShine Capital of the Country.  The park was to have an talk and excursion to the "Hunt Area" for FairyStones", learning we would not make it to that, Joe gave us a personal tour and helped us find many of the stones. Now to me, that's going above and beyond, we so thank him, again another gift. More on Fairy Stones in another post.

Interpreter Joe

I highly recommend visiting this gem of a park, the largest of the six original State Parks of Virginia. For hiking, swimming, boating, finding FairyStones, hunting, fishing, camping or just being, it can't be beat. It even has an Equestrian Camp. Something for everyone and one I would certainly go back to. 

Now on to Jackson Springs, North Carolina.

Safe Travels

hmmm Must have been a time/space warp hehehe