2018 Great Lakes States – "Heading Home" Seneca S.C, & Augusta GA & Florida
Photo
link:
Friday October 12th – Monday,
October 15th
Twin Lakes Campground, Lake Hartwell,
Seneca, SC
Heading
south, we planned to get in some more mountain biking and to visit good friends
in Seneca, S.C. We had a campsite on Lake Hartwell at a great Army Corps
Campground. After getting setup we packed some bags to head to Jim & Sharon’s
home on Lake Keowee. We stayed at the “Wagner Resort” as we call it, for three
nights. On Friday night, we all went out for dinner and drinks at a great local
café. Jim was leaving the next day to visit family in California. The rest of
the weekend we spent with Sharon and their sweet dog, Remi. She took us on a
pontoon ride around the lake, which we all enjoyed, especially the dogs! Our
last day there, Sharon came out to our campsite and we had a nice steak dinner.
It was wonderful visiting with them again.
Tuesday October 16th – Saturday,
October 20th
Petersburg Campground, Strom Thurmond
Lake, Augusta, GA
Next we
headed south to the Augusta, Georgia area. Our campsite was on Lake Thurmond,
which again was lakeside with an amazing view. Our main reason to visit here
are the excellent mountain bike trails at Forks Area Trailhead System (FATS) in
the National Forest. These trails came highly recommended by other bikers we
have met in our travels. The trails are rated IMBA (International Mountain
Biking Association) Epic. And they sure were. We rode some trails every day,
and had some thrills and some challenges. Overall, some of the best trails we
have EVER ridden! There was also a lakeside, 20 mile trail, Bartram Trail, that
Kurt did ride part of, from one trailhead in our campground. This is certainly
a “go back” for our next travels north. So much fun and challenging!
Sunday, October 21st – Wednesday,
October 24th
Wekiwa Springs State Park, Apopka,
Florida
This
was a convenient stop for our last leg of the trip. Also, one of our favorite
Florida State Parks. The campground is very nice, most sites with full hook
ups. The spring is great for swimming and paddling downstream in the Wekiva
River. The Park has many hiking and biking trails, which we only had time to go
hiking. Our other favorite is Wekiva Island, a local bar that is on the shores
of the Wekiva River that one can paddle up to the waterfront boardwalk. There
is also entry via local roads. We did visit there a couple of nights and it is
dog friendly! The boys love running off leash at this lovely place and playing
with other dogs. We then headed home on Thursday, so we could be ready for
Halloween! Our first chance to actually have “Trick or Treat” in the neighborhood
where we now live!
So
great to be home and to enjoy the wonderful winters down here!
