Finally we are back to some evening cool camping weather! We woke up this morning to a 65 degree morning with plenty of sunshine ahead. We decided to have a fun day of exploring the area today so after a quick breakfast we hit the almost a loop trail at the top of the mountain.
This area of the mountain was used 1000s of years of quarrying for rocks suitable for arrowheads axes, and knives. All along the trail there were shards of rocks as if we were walking on a mountain of oyster shells in Apalachicola. The views were nice, but the company was even better.
The hike was less than a mile and it was already hot. At the end of the trail at the other end of the parking lot we saw the best view of the morning. I'm sure Dave thought we should have started there and quit!
If there is a museum nearby you know my kids have to go so that's exactly what we did to the natural history museum in the park. This tiny one-room museum was a bunch of fun showing how arrowheads can be made, how to pan for gold, the area animals and habitats, and the rocks of the region.
Our next stop was the Pee Dee lake. I don't really know why that name is so hilarious, but it makes my kids giggle every time they hear it! Ryan wanted to rent boats and float on the river so we did just that! Of course, I was the one voted to row us across the lake, but we did see a very neat dam around the bend.
By the time we made our way back to the boat house I was drenched and we were all pink-faced so we took a few minutes in the shade of the dock to eat some ice cream. Our cheapest ice cream yet!
Once we were mostly full and cool off we hopped in the car headed for the Town Creek Indian Mound. We had such a great experience last year at the Serpent Mounds and we were hoping this place would be interesting as well.
We were greeted and told of a movie and scavenger hunt in the museum first. This guys knew the secret to getting my kids excited! After the movie, in which they said "Pee Dee" about 47 times, we walked around the exhibits in the museum to mark off the scavenger hunt items.
We learned a little more about the mound itself and the culture of the Pee Dee Native Americans. When the kids received their tattoos for finishing the hunt, the guide offered to do a weapons presentation for us he normally only did for school groups. We'd been able to try the atlatl at the other mound last year, but had never seen a demonstration of a blow stick. This guy really knew his stuff and we learned so much about the history and progression of the weapons used by area Native Americans.
Next we toured the Indian Mound. The entrance was built to only allow one person through at a time to help them identify each person that was coming as well as guard from ambush from enemies.
There were a few buildings set up that showed how they lived based on archaeological evidence they'd found about 80 years ago. We learned about the burial custom and how the buildings were constructed. When we made our way back to the visitor's center the kids found the coldest water fountain! Of course they drank all the cold water by the time I got there so I only got a sip of the luke warm water.
When we were driving to the mound, Ryan spotted a fun playground so we just had to stop for some fun on the way back! After exploring all the paths around the structure, the kids decided on a lumberjack-style wobble competition. Laney beat everyone! We played a rousing game of hide and seek and I spun the kids until they were too dizzy to see straight. By that time we were all sweaty again and needing a little air conditioning.
On our way back to the campground it started raining pretty heavy so we decided to wait the storm out and have a picnic at the ranger station. I knew Hermine was supposed to be heading our way eventually, but I didn't think it would be quite this fast. We didn't have cell service in the park to check so once it didn't let up we headed into town to get some school shopping done. It has been a tradition ever since our first trip for Dave to take the kids shopping for a book, new shoes, and some clothes. We thought since it was raining this would be a good use of our time.
Dave's dad sent him a text shortly after we were finished telling him the storm was headed our way so we took a few minutes to figure out a new plan. The storm we were in was to be moving east over us and wouldn't be finished until early the next morning. The hurricane was supposed to be near us by the next day. We made the decision to pack up and check into a hotel a few hours away closer to where we were planning on being the next day.
I've been so very fortunate on all my trips so far. Yes we've had our fair share of rain for 15 days straight. Yes we've had some pretty intense wind and storms over the years. But until this night I have never had to pack up in the pouring rain.
It was raining enough that Ryan, our storm watcher, was a little freaked out so once the girls had their stuff packed I had them jump in the car and just wait on us. Brayden was a trooper helping us as much as he could and Dave was a trooper helping as much as he knew how. I have a method that works for us that I haven't really shared so it can be difficult to help me pack up I admit!
Dave and I were muddy and completely soaked by the time we finished, but we had a hotel to look forward to so we were ok. We were not looking forward to the three hour drive beginning at 9pm however. I was actually very surprised my husband-that-falls-asleep-after-ten-minutes-of-driving ended up being good for about 2 hours! That last hour was tough though. I'm sure I looked like a zombie when I walked into the hotel lobby trying to check in.
My two barefoot kids, my one flip flopped kid, damp and muddy husband, and I walked into the hotel aiming for the elevator to find the quickest route to a bed. I brought nothing except my phone and my laptop. Easiest check-in ever.
