I know. I know. I know.
It was ignorant to add another park and another trail to our day’s
adventure. I understand the fool
heartiness of dragging four children over an excess of eight miles of
trail. But the sun had not yet set and
the children were game. They wanted the
bragging rights that a full day of mountain hiking would be sure to give. I chose to ignore my husband’s amused glance
as I looked out for the sign directing us to Devil’s Fork State Park.
Evening had brought relief from the full sun. We found even more relief as we descended
into the sheltering canopy of the Oconee Bell Trail. Springtime brought mass sightings of the rare
bloom which lent its name to the trail.
This was summer and all around us we saw varying hues of green. We would have to come back to see the splendor
of the Oconee Bell. We walked through
the wood as quickly as a tired family of six can. We were subdued by our own weariness of miles
already conquered.
Most visitors seek Devil’s Fork for its access to Lake
Jocassee. They spend days fishing,
sunning and playing on the water. Our
trek on the land was mostly devoid of other visitors save for one older couple
whom we passed towards the end of the trail.
They looked at our children and commented about how well they were doing
on the trail. I had denied my young ones
the satisfaction of going back to the Table Rock gift shop and bragging to the
ladies there. I could not deny them
this. I let the children recount their
full day’s accomplishments to the kindly couple. The two fellow travelers listened to our
young ones and were mightily impressed.
My children grew three prideful inches as the adults congratulated
them. They had achieved. They had gone to the mountain and explored
and had made it their own. They were
children, yet they were mighty.
Later, we recounted our tale to the park manager at Devil’s
Fork. He loved that we had explored and
enjoyed the Oconee Bell Trail but could not fathom the thought of us completing
our state park journey without seeing the Oconee Bells themselves in all their
finery. Quickly, he grabbed his business
card and wrote down the dates for Bell Fest and invited us back. He was so earnest and so kind…and we were so
curious…that it was impossible to refuse.
The villas at Devil’s Fork are very different from the CCC
cabins we had stayed in before. The
villas were beautiful modern accommodations.
The children enjoyed the fact that there was a television in the
villa. I enjoyed the fact that they had
no time to turn it on. As per our habit,
we arrived late on Friday night. A
ranger saw us dumbly driving down the wrong road and pulled up beside us. She smiled and said that she had been
expecting us and offered to escort us to the villa. Devil’s Fork is full of sincerely friendly
staff. We went through the drill of
unloading the van, setting up sleeping quarters and settling in for the
night.
Anchor and I did our best to rouse our sleepy brood the next
morning. It was between ten and eleven
before we made it down to the festival site by Lake Jocassee. We knew it would be a wonderful day when we
heard the twang of a banjo playing “Rocky Top” coming from the tents set up for
the festival. A bluegrass group comprised
of students from the local schools were performing…and they were good. A Tennessee girl will either clap along or
cringe every time Rocky Top is played…depending on the skill with which it is
delivered. “Rocky Top” is not a song to
be taken lightly. It is like the Appalachian
Tennessee anthem and it should not be desecrated by any musician who cannot do
it justice. These students were doing an
amazing job. Anchor and I were both
clapping and singing along. Our South
Carolinian born children looked at us as if we were crazy.
The festival did not disappoint. Ben particularly liked the hot dog lunch
while the rest of the children eagerly looked forward to 1:00 which was when we
had signed up for a short boat tour of the lake. We started over to the dock around
12:30. It wasn’t a thirty minute walk,
but we weren’t able to hold the children back any longer than that. We were able to board fairly quickly despite
our early arrival. The children were
immediately taken with the tour guide’s lovable lab. They each vied for her attention but she sat
contentedly on the bench seat near her master and her treats. We headed out. We got the quick tour of Lake Jocassee but
even in the limited amount of time we were out there we saw the migratory loons
and hidden waterfalls accessible only by boat.
We all had a great time. Ben
loved the movement of the boat and the sounds of the engine. He rocked and laughed the entire time. We would have to sign up for a longer trip
soon. Unwillingly, we disembarked. The children petted the dog one last time and
Anchor and I told the tour guide that we would soon make arrangements for
another outing.
We barely had time to make it over to the trail head and our
chance to see the Oconee Bell. The plant
is rare and the park is home to about 90% of the Bell’s known population. The bloom of the Bell is a rare treasure as
it adorns the plant for only a few weeks before its fragile petals give way to
the wear and tear of the woods around it.
We reached the trail head and remembered the last time we had explored
here after exploring two other parks. We
laughed as we remembered those adventures.
We hiked on until we met members of the Friends of Jocassee and a slew
of horticultural experts. They pointed
out the beautiful Bells and gave us a full recounting of their history and
importance. The Friends were full of so
much information. It bubbled out of them
as they joyfully engaged the children in their own excitement about the plants
around them. The Friends themselves were
as much of a treasure as were the rare blooms of the Oconee Bell.
The beauty of the springtime at Devil’s Fork made me so glad
that we had accepted the invitation of the manager to visit. The parks were becoming extensions of our
home. The rangers and staff were
becoming good friends. We were learning
the value of revisiting the parks and learning more and more secrets of these
hidden places. The parks were warming up
to us and sharing their personalities.
Devil’s Fork quietly but vainly flaunted her Oconee Bells and reminded
us that there is always something new to discover in the wilds of the South
Carolina State Parks.
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