Getting to Great Smoky Mountain National Park took longer than expected.  A few wrong turns didn’t really help much.  Just coming out of Santee, I went North on I-95 and ended up on the wrong side of the lake.  But it being a beautiful morning, I didn’t mind.

But trying to stay true to form, I just hung a left and went through Manchester State Forest.  Much nicer getting off the Interstates and just following the smaller highways.  Even if it did involve some big logging trucks.  The trucks seemed to be going to pulp/paper mills, which explained the smells.  Reminded me a bit of Vancouver Island.

This little detour did add a National Park to my list – Congaree.  It’s not actually on Google Maps, for whatever reason, but it was on the AAA paper maps.  I ducked in and had a chat with the ranger.  It’s one of the newer parks – recently converted from a Monument.  He suggested a few hikes, but I stuck to the shortest one, mostly because of this:

Getting eaten alive wasn’t really much incentive to go wandering through the swamp.  But the raised boardwalk was nice.  Gamer in mean still thinks of the swamp level in L4D2…

Tree’s Knees! – Snorkels?

Salamander basking in the sun before ducking back under the boardwalk.

Historic still – more rusty junk in the protected natural forests…  Don’t see stuff like this out west.

The short hike was a very nice change of pace to recharge the soul.  Sitting around in the old growth hardwood was very peaceful.  Getting back onto the I-26 afterwards was less interesting.  Especially as it involved the typical rainstorm.  I ducked off to put on rain gear, but the storms didn’t last long and soon I was sweating again.

The general intention was to get near Great Smoky Mountain National park, and the city to the south of the park is Cherokee.  At this point, I was rather sick of the interstate and I thought I would duck off to follow the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway.  Not a bad view:

Kind of scenic, but it didn’t take long for me to realize it was clearly going the wrong way.  I pulled off in Columbus to go into a Visitor Center to hopefully find motel coupons and planning guides.  Not much luck there, but I did get to sit in the AC and cool down a bit.  The place was a combination information and chamber of commerce.  Sounded like the nice lady there was attempting to get people to start projects locally. Pulling off the rain gear, I headed west without much plan on where exactly I was headed.

Another rainbow!  And guess what?  More rain!

Being on the Parkway meant not many exits.  The signs had indicated 60miles to Cherokee and with the rain, I figured I’d duck off.  When I pulled over in Waynesville to check for directions and look for a motel, I had no reception. I was just about to hop onto the road and continue west into the sunset when the phone picked up wifi. Figured it was worth asking about a room and owner was kind enough to give me a bit of a discount.

Very nice little motel, rocking chairs in outside all the rooms.  I was sorely tempted to spend another night and just tool around the area. I think if the forecast had been better, I would have.

Grabbing a quick shower, I walked out in the search for food. Bumped into the owners and some other guests.  They recommended I head next door to Bogart’s.  Seemed as good as any other.  Peach beer:

Rib-eye special.   Decent steak, but the one in Texas is still the best so far.

After many days of very boring riding and minimal nature, this day was a nice change of pace.  Nice little hike through an unexpected National Park and a bit of fun…  And even that short bit on the Parkway reminded me to return tire pressures to normal until the fun riding stops again…