March 23. Landsford Canal State Park


























 Today we decided to visit the park we had heard about so much from our friends, but they had said we shouldn’t go when it is warm because of bugs. 57 degree overcast day was perfect for hiking. We only saw three other couples. 

This canal was built in 1823 to assist transportation between settlements along the Catawba River.  Roads were often muddy and difficult to travel, traveling by river was preferred.  Rapids on the Catawba were dangerous for supply boats so, a diversion dam was built to get water to flow through the canal. The dam was built at roughly 40 degrees from shore and extended to cross over 2/3 of the width of the river.

The trail included a canal trail following its path and a mature trail following the river bank  there was even a large deck at the rivers opening to see the bloom of the Rocky Shoal Spider Lily which is almost extinct due to uses of the river for dams and water treatment.  We didn’t get to see them because the bloom in May. All together we hiked over 3 miles out and back. 



Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 25, 2021 at 3:22 PM

    Wow, you two can find the coolest places to visit. Glad you could walk the whole 3 miles!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Red Bay Alabama 4/8

Image
 All settled in Tiffin territory. A little chilly here today. Staying at 1st Class Glass waiting till Monday to have Tiffin people come and evaluate our to-do list. Went to lunch at Cole’s BBQ across the border in Mississippi. Small hole in the wall place on a tight corner. Great pulled por, fried green tomatoes and pickles.  Picked up some supplies from the Ace hardware store inside a Piggily Wiggly. We are in northern Alabama for sure   Visited the Allegro Club back in Red Bay and learned about some interesting spots to visit this weekend. 
Read more

Everglades Nov. 6-9

Image
 Wow. It has been awesome here. With the cold front that came through we had fewer mosquitos and we kept the windows open. The stars at night with clear skies could not be counted. Temperatures from low 60s to highs of 75.  Our first day we drove to the Marina and the maintanence worker took us to see an American crockodile just sun batheing not 10 feet away. We then drove up to the Earnest Coe Visitor’s Center  a lot of good information about the plant and wildlife around.  Next we stopped at the Anhinga Trail which was a short raised boardwalk through the marsh.  We saw fish, birds and an alligator that was hiding in the brush.   The next day we too a pontoon boat ride through the glades and bayou. We traveled the man made canal, the Florida Bay, and Coot Bay.  Our Guide, Captain Nick, added historical information as well as wildlife facts. The sights have been amazing with gators, crocodiles, hawks and even buzzards (trying to eat the caulking off o...
Read more

Shiloh National Military Park

Image
 Couldn’t be more happy to have my Yankee RV winter jacket! Visitors center displays Union, Confederate and women equally in accounts of the first major battle of the Civil War. Well done.  Dennis kept trying to compare his silhouette to Grant as he is a distant relative on his grandmother’s side. Maybe the nose. Our auto tour of the battlefield was like a scavenger hunt through history. 160 years ago a war took place.  This battlefield covers three days of the worse and bloodiest battle of the Civil War that lasted 4 years. Interesting fact, General Albert Sidney Johnston, Confederate commander, led 4,400 men against U.S. Grant.  He was the highest ranking officer killed in combat during the Civil War and remains the highest American officer ever killed in action. The terrain and amount of equipment they had to move through woods and swamps really seems an impossible task.  Touring the sights, hearing the cannon go off and seeing the plaques of times and dates ...
Read more