Givhan's Ferry SC

Wednesday, 14 March 2018

Givhan’s Ferry State Park, SC

Both Gracie and Dexter have discovered something about Beauty Bark (that decorative stuff used around bushes and trees in landscaping) that tastes irresistible. Walmart landscapers use Beauty Bark extensively, and they have extensive areas to use it in. The dogs were happy as clams munching away on the stuff until I finally figured out what they were doing and started dragging them away at the slightest sniff. I kept thinking they were finding food that someone had discarded, because they’d do that often at shopping centers in Austin. Especially when there were as many nearby restaurants as we had at that shopping center where Walmart was. But it wasn’t food. I thought Beauty Bark was made from tree bark. Apparently not because neither of the dogs has shown the slightest interest in tree bark at any other time, except as something to rub their backs against.

Speaking of Walmart landscapers, they start work extremely early in the morning. Apparently, Wednesday is their day at that location. I started hearing something that sounded like a leaf blower at about 3:30 AM, and assumed it couldn’t possibly be a leaf blower, that it must be something else. But it kept on and on, and then I started to hear another engine driving around and around. I finally got up (who could sleep?) and took the dogs out for a walk and discovered that my ears had told me right. I knew the parking lot lights seemed as bright as day to me, and they must seem that way to the landscapers because they were all over that shopping center with leaf blowers and trimmers and so forth. And that engine driving around was a small water tanker that was driving up and down and all around all the medians to spray all the grass and trees and bushes with water. Around and around and around, spraying all the time, spraying everything several times because they must have been driving about 15 mph, which is pretty fast for what they were doing. Did you know shopping center parking lots lead active night lives?

Yesterday I wrote something about drydocking and I should have said boondocking, which is what it seems to be called when an RV spends time not plugged into anything. I see online that many people live that way and I can spend time like that. But none of my plugs works unless I run the generator, and I can’t charge any of my gadgets, so I don’t want to do it for too many nights.

The drive to this South Carolina park was an easy one except for severe crosswinds almost the entire way. I found myself steering as if I were driving on ice (turn into the skid), especially when semis would drive by – they carry their own wind patterns with them. I felt a little lucky to have made it here safely after all that.

Did you know a highway sign says there’s a place in Georgia called Horse Stomp? Definitely somewhere I want to see when I come back through.

The Georgia highway has signs to memorialize almost everything. The Somebody Memorial Highway, followed a few miles later by a sign saying The Somebody Else Memorial Highway. Not to be confused with The Another Somebody Memorial Interchange and The Yet Another Somebody Memorial Bridge. I should have counted them. The stretch of I-95 that goes through Georgia isn’t all that many miles and there must have been at least a dozen of these designations along there.

When it reaches South Carolina, I-95 becomes 2 lanes on each side with quite a few trees in the grassy median, blocking a lot of the view of the opposite side. More peaceful and cozy that way (to the extent driving with crosswinds and many semis can be peaceful and cozy). But there were stretches where the highway folks had recently cut down long stretches of those trees and graded out the grass, leaving just dirt – not at all an inspiring view. I hate to think what it’ll look like in 4 years when I come back.

Givhan's Ferry is a nice little park. Definitely not overdeveloped, since the roads aren’t paved and the ranger’s office is open only from 11:00 to noon and they don’t have any kind of printed material for handouts and it's hard to find a wi-fi signal. The RV campground only has 25 spaces, and there’s a separate campground for tents that you have to hike to. But lots of trees and quiet. Except for Dexter, who I hope won’t get us kicked out by barking when I leave to walk with Gracie.

I’m really beginning to believe I’m doing Dexter a disservice by having him on this trip. I’m not at all sure he’s well suited for this kind of life. He’s a high energy dog and I’m not allowed to let him off a leash to run around. I walk him several times a day, but for a dog like him, that barely scratches the surface. It turns out he’s got serious tracking skills – natural ones that nobody’s trained him for. I’m betting he could be a great search-and-rescue dog with some training. And he’s easily trainable because he’ll do anything for food and he’s very affectionate so is happy to do things if he likes you. I really like his personality and he’s good company for me and for Gracie, but he’s only 2½ and I think his talents are being wasted on us. If anybody can think of someone who might give him a better home than I am, let me know.

I’ll be here 2 nights and then have reservations at the Myrtle Beach KOA for 2 nights. I don’t much like KOAs – way way too structured and civilized for me – but it gives my brother someplace to send my mail, and I’m certain they’ll have washers and showers. Sometime in the next few days I’ll be figuring out what I’m going to do in April.