White Water Rafting and
Camping at Tallulah Gorge
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Well,
we left home base this a.m. in route to Tallulah Falls GA for our annual late
summer camping trip/white water adventure with the rest of the family. Mandy and Braxton/Brice will join us
tomorrow after work/school and then we’ll join up with Mark and Lauren Saturday
at the Natahallah Outdoor Center (NOC) for an afternoon rafting trip down the
white waters of the Chattooga River in South Carolina. Becoming somewhat of a tradition for
our family, this is the third year we have traveled to the North Georgia
Mountains and the NOC for an adventurous way to wrap up the waning days summer.
Friday,
August 31
We
contemplated today being a lazy kickback day awaiting the arrival of the
grand-boys this evening – and it was!
Although the day was filled with general camp activities: gathering
kindling and firewood for smores, checking out hiking trails and the gorge, getting
a plan together to keep up our workout routines, we sill had plenty of time for
reading and snoozing. Oh yeah,
Grammy brought along her sewing machine and planned to put together Braxton’s
quilt that she began a week ago.
We
did have an unexpected loss of air conditioning today. By what troubleshooting I did, I
believe that the A/C is ok, but the thermostat needs replacing. The camper uses a specialty thermostat
that I’ll have to order once we get back home. Here’s hoping that it’s only the thermostat!
With
the lack of A/C, we were fortunate that the overnight temps were pretty steady
at 75 degrees – daytime temps were a little higher, but then, who wants to
spend the days cooped up in the camper.
NOT US!
In
an effort to ware the g-boys out, Pappy led an expedition to the base of the
gorge. It wasn’t your leisurely
stroll down the gorge steps however.
To exhaust these boys, we raced down, back up, and across to the South
Rim of Tallulah Gorge. After
hydration, showers and clean clothes, we had a very sound night’s sleepJ
Saturday,
September 1
Today,
we spent the day on the Chattooga River, Section III. Our NOC guides, Eric and Warren, were as
usual very helpful and reassuring to those that needed reassuring. {Now, last year we rafted down
Section IV of the river which is rated with class IV and V rapids and
waterfalls. The NOC has an age limit of 13> (Brice is 11 yoa) to raft this
section, however, last year was very dry and the river level was lower – so
this is why we were allowed on Section IV at that time.} You may have heard that about 6
weeks ago there was death at Alice Rock – so this section can certainly be
dangerous. Like I said, for this
year, we did Section III, and it was just fine.
Hannah
and William stayed with Lauren’s parents at their home in Seneca SC, which is
just down the road a half hour from the NOC. So, when Hannah found out that Braxton and Brice were
rafting with us, she immediately put in to go rafting too! Mark unsuccessfully explained to her
that she had to be 8 yoa to go rafting.
So much for that! (Just 2 ½
more years Hannah Belle.)
Sunday,
September 2
Today’s
highlight was lunch at the Dillard House in Rabun County! This meal has pretty much become a
tradition for us too. Now don’t
get me wrong, I enjoy chowing down there, but I think Braxton would be the most
disappointed of our crew if we were to skip the Dillard House and dine somewhere
else.
After
lunch we headed over to Black Rock Mountain State Park to do some hiking. Because of a constant deluge of rain we
didn’t do any hiking but took in the great sites at the parkJ If you haven’t been to
BRM Park lately, you’d hardly recognize it. Admittedly, it’s been a few years since we’ve been through
this state park, but it has been reworked and many new campsites added. All camping here is at the very top of
the mountain, so the campsites are a little too crowded for my taste.
Monday,
September 3
With
Mandy and the g-boys leaving yesterday, nothing much to do today except to
catch up on the blog, update computer files, read, and of course – snooze.
Last
night it rained off and on. It was
such a comforting feeling to listen to the rain, sometimes loudly, while dry
and cozy in the camper. Today is Labor Day and the park is
emptying out fairly quickly. I
suppose by the end of the day we will be the very last ones left in the
campground – but that’s ok too! A
quiet park is a good park.
Tuesday, September 4
Last
night it rained ALL NIGHT long…and we were one of four campers left. Goood sleeping weather! This morning the rain held off long
enough to get the camper packed and racked to pull out. NO problems…
No
problems that is until we were about 15 miles from home…. at which time we
experienced another trailer tire blowout!
(We also had a blow out back in February on I-75 at the Florida state
line.) This time we were in
Jackson County, GA on Hwy 441 when the tire blew. Luckily, a Jackson Co Deputy was traveling by and stopped to
help. We had already called GEICO
and they dispatched a roadside emergency wrecker to change the tire, but Deputy
Holloway stayed with us until we were safely on our way. [His boss, Sheriff Stan Evans, and I used to work together back
in the day, so the time went by quickly as we exchanged war stories]
Even
though tire blowouts on the camper are scary at best, and hassles to deal with
we are so thankful that this one was a minor blip - just an inconvenience on
our way home. As you know,
when a tire blows, there are so many other things that can go terribly wrong
and end in tragedy.
All
in all, this was a wonderful week of camping, rafting, hiking, and enjoying our
family and we thank God, our protector, for delivering us safely home and
injury free.
Pappy
Brice and Braxton at Tallulah Dam overlook
Braxton and Brice at Hurricane Shoals at base of the Gorge
