Twists of Fate

You decide:  Would we have won the Revolutionary War without these twists of fate?

The American victories at Kings Mountain and Cowpens paved the way to the end of the Revolutionary War at Yorktown.  Thomas Jefferson called these battles "the turn of the tide of success."

But for some fateful happenstances, these battles could have easily gone the other way.

So could have our departure from Greenville, SC, when Tim could not swing our RV, the Dawntreader, fully around the U-turn we needed to make, if we were going to visit NPS's National Military Battlefields at Kings Mountain and Cowpens.

With oncoming traffic headed our way, Tim turned into their path until he reached a driveway where we could take refuge.  Yikes!  There we unhooked our Jeep in preparation for backing out onto the highway once again, a maneuver he successfully made.  Whew!  I think this twist of fate, the first time we've ever had to unhook the car unexpectedly, subtracted 10 years from my life.  But I digress.  Back to my question about the Revolutionary War.

The Battle of Kings Mountain, October 7th, 1780

The obelisk that commemorates the American victory at Kings Mountain

Forewarned by two Patriot deserters that a large body of militia were marching upon him, British Maj. Patrick Ferguson sent a plea requesting reinforcements to Lord Charles Cornwallis and Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton holed up in nearby Charlotte, NC.  But both Cornwallis and Tarleton were ill, or at least that was their response.  Yet, Ferguson was a Scot and as such was not a favorite of either man.  Had he been, perhaps his commanding officers would have better supported him and the battle would have turned out differently.

Instead, on October 7, 1780, the Overmountain Men of Col. Isaac Shelby and Col. John Sevier surrounded and swarmed up Kings Mountain where Ferguson and his company were camped.

"When we encounter the enemy, don't wait for a word of command.  Let each of you be your own officer, and do the very best you can...If in the woods, shelter yourselves and give them Indian play; advance from tree to tree...killing and disabling all you can..." ~ Col. Isaac Shelby, Patriot leader

This 1.5 walking trail leads visitors around the battlefield at Kings Mountain.

Everyone knew Col. Sevier's rugged frontiersmen for their long-rifle marksmanship--and their touchy eagerness for a brawl.  But no experienced military man of that day expected men armed only with hunting weapons to be able to face and defeat real soldiers, trained to use the bayonet.  It had never happened--until Kings Mountain.

Three times frontiersmen from Tennessee charged up the mountainside.  Once, then twice they were chased back down by Carolina Loyalists wielding 17-inch-long bayonets.  Yet somehow Sevier's patriots found the courage to stop running, turn around and go back up against that fearsome cold steel one last time.

The marker where Ferguson fell.

This time Ferguson was killed and his forces overran.  The battle was won!


The Battle of Cowpens, January 17, 1781

Upstate Carolinians drove their cattle down the Blue Ridge Mountains to the cow pens near Chesney, NC where they fattened them up before herding them to market in Charleston, SC.  This open forest proved well-suited for the American rebels led by General Daniel Morgan to make a stand against the forces of Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781.

Morgan's strategy was to position his rebel sharpshooters at the skirmish line to wait until Tarleton's army moved within shooting distance.  Their orders were to aim at the British officers, fire one or two good shots and then fall back to the militia.  As the British came within range, the sharpshooters discharged a deadly fire, dropping two-thirds of the officers, before melting back to the second line of the patriots' defense.

"At first it was pop, pop, pop (the sound of the rifles), and then the whole volley.  It seemed like one sheet of flame from right to left." ~ Thomas Young, American Militiaman, Fair Forest Regiment, 17 years old

A misunderstood order from Lt. John Eager Howard had the center and left flank of Continental soldiers in retreat only to be urged by General Daniel Morgan to "form, form my brave fellows.  Old Morgan was never beaten." When they did so, their new position, perfectly timed, brought them into position to surround the British forces.

Monument at Cowpens National Battlefield

This classic military move, a double envelopment by the Americans, the only successful one of the Revolutionary War, brought the battle to a decisive end.  For Americans, Cowpens was a surprising victory and a psychological shift in the minds of the Continental soldiers.  The British surrendered at Yorktown later that year.

So there you have it!  A dysfunctional relationship at Kings Mountain stayed British reinforcements and a misunderstood order led to an unorthodox double envelopment at Cowpens.  Moreover, Tim and I concluded our day's trip safely after all, twists of fate in our favor all the way around.

Greenville's Green Spaces

One of the benefits of our full-time RV lifestyle is the opportunity to visit friends around the country.

Tim and I recently spent four days in Greenville, South Carolina, visiting Tim's college roommate, Brent and his wife Lori.  You'd think that in that time I'd take a decent photo of them, but all I have is this snapshot of the backs of Tim and Brent taken at Furman University where Brent is a professor.  At least this photo shows a little of Furman's campus, a lovely green space made even more beautiful by the azaleas and pansies in bloom.

We fell in love with their city which is situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and especially two of its public parks.

Richard Pearis, a wealthy settler from Virginia, arrived in the area around 1754 to trade with the Cherokee Indians.

Over time the E in his surmane was dropped and now that name graces many entities in the city including nearby Paris Mountain State Park, a vantage point overlooking the city with a lake for canoeists/kayakers, picnic pavilions and numerous hiking/mountain biking trails.

Pearis built a grist and saw mill on the waterfalls of the Reedy River that later attracted textile mills.  At one time, 18 textile mills were operating within three mills of downtown Greenville, earning the city the sobriquet, The Textile Capitol of the World.

Today the jewel of Greenville's downtown is Falls Park on the Reedy, a 32-acre park and garden built around the waterfalls.

If you want an unobstructed view of the falls, climb up to the Liberty Bridge, a 355-foot suspension bridge that is supported by cables on only one side.

There's also the 20-mile Swamp Rabbit Trail which runs through the park.

The day we were there dozens of schoolchildren were picnicking on the greens, presumably after a visit to an event at the Peace Center, a performing arts venue adjacent to the park.

Once a textile mill town, Greenville, South Carolina has moved into the 21st century as a economic powerhouse.

Major corporations such as Michelin, General Electric and BMW have a presence there bringing more jobs for its growing population.  In fact, U. S. News has ranked Greenville 31st on its List of Best Places to Live and 13th on its List of Best Places to Retire.

Tim and I have added it to our own list of possible places to live after our life on the road ends.  We'd love to see the beauty of these spaces as the seasons change.

The Champion Trees of Congaree

They might not get the fanfare of their western cousins, the redwoods or the sequoias, but over 25 trees in Congaree National Park can crow that they are champion trees, the tallest individuals of their species in the country.  The video at the park's Visitors Center shows footage of an arborist roped into a harness and perched at the very tip of a tree's canopy as he measures it from top to bottom, not a task I would want to try given my aversion to heights.  But isn't it praiseworthy that someone did?

With the average of its trees over 130 feet tall, Congaree National Park is one of the tallest deciduous forests in the world.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg since many of its tallest trees are still waiting to be numbered.

The best I might do is to run a tape measure along a downed tree, but even then I'm not sure I have a tape in my tool belt that would reach 160 feet, the tallest height found in the park.

The Congaree River that flows through the park gets its name from the Congaree Indians, one of the region's early inhabitants.  One translation of "Congaree" means "dragging the bottom of the boat" which is an appropriate description of the Congaree River's depth most of the time.

However, its floodplain may rise and fall as much as 12 feet during the rainy season.

This bottomland forest has sheltered not only Tim and I but also Hernando DeSoto's 1539-1543 expedition, the "Swamp Fox" (Francis Marion) and his Revolutionary War rebels, runaway slaves intent on gaining their freedom, and loggers who tried to clear cut the land.  Thankfully, the efforts of that last group proved unprofitable, in large part, because the giant cypress trees were too heavy to float downriver to buyers.  One group of people who did find the isolation of Congaree lucrative were the moonshiners who hid their distilling operations there during Prohibition.

Congaree National Park gained its official designation in 2003 after a grassroots campaign begun in 1969.  Harry Hampton, writer and editor for The State newspaper, carried on a virtually one-man crusade to preserve the Congaree River floodplain.  An avid outdoorsman, Hampton spent many hours fishing, hunting and hiking in the floodplain of the Congaree River and fought to save the area so all Americans could do the same.

After checking the mosquito monitor in the visitors center--mild at this time of year but summer's war zone is a different story--Tim and I decided it was safe to venture forth.

Our first objective was to hike the boardwalk, the park's most accessible trail that twists and turns 2.4 miles before it loops back to the visitors center.

Equipped with the informative self-guided boardwalk tour brochure, we watched for

Bald Cypress

Tupelo Trees

Loblolly Pines

Yellow Butterweed

Ferns

Mushrooms

Wildlife such as beavers, raccoons, deer, feral pigs, freshwater turtles and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker were too shy to make their presence known to us.  Yet how thankful I was that we did not cross paths with the venomous snakes that may be found in the park, the cottonmouths or water moccasin snakes.

The elevated boardwalk kept us out of the mud known as Dorovan muck which is eight feet deep, a natural filter for the water that flows through this floodplain.  But later when we veered off the boardwalk to hike around the Weston Lake, we found mud puddles somewhat difficult to avoid.

However, it was totally worth it to reach this overlook of the lake.

"A lake is a landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature.  It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature." ~ Henry David Thoreau

What good are the knees of bald cypress trees?

No one really knows the function of these although several theories have been floated.  Do they aid the exchange of air and bring oxygen to the tree's roots?  Do they somehow anchor the tree to keep it upright in high winds?  I'm not sure scientists will ever get to the heart of this matter because research on these swampy denizens is difficult and funds to pursue the answer are not easily obtained.

Until that day comes, I'll be charmed with hearts carved by nature.

And I'll wonder if those carved by lovers have stayed true.

At least, there's no doubt about these champion trees.  They are the superstars of their species.

Backroads To Beaches

Leaving Charleston via the Arthur Ravenel Bridge

Instead of hopping on Interstate 26 and then Interstate 95 from Charleston, SC, Tim and I took the backroads to return to Washington, D.C.  It's been a month since my cochlear implant surgery.  Now that the swelling has decreased, it's time to turn on the implant and see if it works.

But first, the beach!  By taking the backroads, we added Myrtle Beach, Nags Head and Virginia Beach to our itinerary.  Three beaches in three different states--South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia!  If that doesn't make us beach bums, I don't know what will.

Myrtle Beach is the most popular destination along the Grand Strand, an arc of beaches that stretches 60 miles along the South Carolina coast, and a new experience for us.

Unbelievably, we scored a campsite at the end of a row in Myrtle Beach Travel Park, giving us an amazing view of the ocean from inside our RV, the Dawntreader.  

At lower left, Tim gazes at the moon.

Perfect for viewing the sunrise and later soaking up the sun!  We were reluctant to leave, but more beaches beckoned.

Jennette's Pier in Nags Head

So we figuratively pulled up anchor on the Dawntreader and sailed north to Nags Head.  Not only did we wish to experience the beach there, but we also wanted to pay homage to the Wright brothers who proved that flight was possible at Kitty Hawk.

The Wright Brothers' Memorial

Hailing from Kansas, I know what windy days are like, but the gusts of the Outer Banks could certainly match or exceed them.  The wind, the isolation and the sand made it easy to see why Wilbur and Orville picked this place to perfect their planes.  The winds provided lift, the isolation meant privacy from newspaper reporters and the sand softened their landings. 

From upper left: Replicas of the makeshift buildings used by the Wrights,
the park ranger, Tim & I at Memorial Rock,  the marker of the final flight's distance

In his talk, the park ranger at the National Park Service Wright Brothers Memorial brought the enormity of what these two brothers who never graduated from high school achieved.  These two co-owners of a Dayton, Ohio bicycle shop used what they observed of birds in flight and what they knew of balance from their familiarity with bicycles to solve a question that man has wondered about since the beginning of time.  Can man fly?  The Wrights turned that impossibility into absolutely possible.

Rain moved in on Sunday and the temperatures dropped so after attending church, we visited nearby Fort Raleigh, thus ticking off another National Park Service property from the list.  

Fort Raleigh is named for Sir Walter Raleigh who in 1584 was granted a charter by Queen Elizabeth to explore and establish an English settlement in the New World.  Although he never stepped foot on North America, he sent others to found Roanoke Colony, a colony that became known the Lost Colony when all trace of the settlement and its people disappeared.

Lost is also what happened to us when we made our way to Virginia Beach.  The GPS sent us through a maze of backroads that had us trapped before a bridge whose weight limit was 13 tons.  Yikes!  The Dawntreader weighs twice that.  But with cars lined up behind us, there was no alternative except to move forward.  Thank goodness, the bridge held but this is not an experience I wish to repeat.

Pam, Cindy, Tim and  Randy

Despite the chilly rainy days, we had a warm time with friends in Virginia Beach and Williamsburg.

Randy and Pam gave a a tour of the Navy ships in port at Norfolk; 

Then, they took us to a favorite waterfront restaurant for supper.  

Yas, Cindy, Tim and Ralph

Ralph and Yas, longtime friends from Washington, D.C. cooked dinner for us, giving us the chance to share life's journeys with one another.

Would we take the backroads again?  Absolutely!