Wateree Lake (SC)

As the days passed, the sujet du jour increasingly focused on where we would spend the Thanksgiving holiday.   Being RVing-rookies, we quickly learned that waiting for the last minute to make campground reservations can leave you choosing between an interstate rest area or "Isle-T" at your local Walmart parking lot.  As we looked for a our next bed-down location, we discovered a lot of “no campground vacancy,” which also led us to discover that there are a LOT of people who like to spend Thanksgiving in an out-of-doors environment.  Even though we’ve always loved to camp, we had never thought to go hiking or camping over the Thanksgiving break.  We wondered if this was something that we had been missing out on..then we wondered some more.

"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving". ~ H.U. Westermayer

Perhaps this ritual is to get in touch with the early settlers of Our Nation, experiencing a fall harvest bounty in more austere surroundings, while appreciating the fact that we collectively made it to another annual milestone...

"There is one day that is ours. There is one day when all we Americans who are not self-made go back to the old home to eat saleratus biscuits and marvel how much nearer to the porch the old pump looks than it used to. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American." ~ O. Henry

…or perhaps it’s in the "escape into the wild" to reminisce of the simpler times of days-gone-by.  A gathering of family and friends in humble surroundings, void of the modern interruptions that now keep our lives continually connected to a self-imposed cyber activity log...

"Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence." ~ Erma Bombeck

…or perhaps this oddity is actually made possible by modern technology.  High-end highly-mobile residences with full kitchens and satellite television to bring the modern conveniences of sports and gourmet cooking to the primitive world...

"Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often."          ~ Johnny Carson

…or perhaps the thought of spending the day in a wet, cold, ant-infested single-wide was better than any of the other options.

Regardless of this newly discovered nugget of Turkey-Day trivia, we needed a place to park our rig for the holiday.  With not many options available for a couple-hundred miles west & south, we found accommodations and pseudo-backtracked into South Carolina towards the Shaw Air Force Base recreation area at Wateree Lake.

Forty miles northwest of Shaw AFB, adjacent to the 14,000-acre hydroelectric impoundment lies the Wateree Recreation Area.  There are 22 full hook-up RV pads and 14 rental cabins scattered amongst the rolling hills which terminate lakeside.  

During the summer months, tent camping is permitted “anywhere you can set your tent,” and the July 4th holiday elevates the campground census above 1,500; who are rewarded with a fireworks show launched from a small nearby island.

We arrived at Wateree on the day before Thanksgiving, and were pleased to quickly set-up in a much warmer climate.  The campground was somewhat busy, with both RVers and cabin renters preparing for the following day festivities.  Although we have historically enjoyed creating an obscene feasting spread for our family and friends, we understood (and even appreciated) that the on-going changes to our lives were a necessary part of this journey.  We would be setting a table for two (and a floor for two).

After the holiday, the campground became mostly deserted.  Again we found ourselves enjoying both solitude and comfort amenities.  Most evenings brought picturesque sunsets over the lake; with the waterfowl either floating on the still waters, or making their way home to the evening roost as the sun falls into the western sky.  

The hiking trails were short, but remote enough to feel like you were in a forest.  A short stray away from the trail led into adjacent land that was the site of an old church.  As with most old churches, small parcels were set aside to bury members of the congregation.  The hilltop church is gone, but a downhill walk through the hardwoods will bring you to a smattering of modest headstones dating back several decades.  One such headstone revealed a casualty of World War II.  Here lies a man who probably wanted to be buried in the rural setting of his upbringing, and he now stands watch over sacred land--a quiet place of honor below the ever expanding canopies of oak.

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