Gypsy Trip to Cheraw, SC, Sugarloaf Mountain and more

Judy and I have always loved what we call Gypsy trips.

We take off and don't know exactly where we'll end up.

Last Friday was one of our favorites.  We started off by

heading toward Cheraw, SC, one hour away, where we

were definitely having lunch.

While giving our appetites a while to "mature", we visited Cheraw's
Riverside Park, where we saw some of the prettiest fall colors we had seen.

A view of the Pee Dee River.  Riverboats once came upriver
as far as Cheraw in the 1800's.

We did stroll down by the river and will walk the other trails on
a future trip. But now it was lunchtime.

We lunched at The River's Edge, perhaps Cheraw's finest eatery.
It was established and is run by Mennonite families and offers
a wide variety of sumptuous foods.  The service and food were
excellent.  Everything about the place says "Welcome."

Warm thoughts like this were all around.

Homemade quilts added to the homey decor.

No, we didn't buy it.

 After lunch, we stopped in at the town library where

we swapped some books at their free shelf.  We found

Judy a 15 pound pumpkin at a local stand -- there will

be more pumpkin bread in the works.  We found several

books, videos, and miscellaneous items at a thrift store.

 Heading south, we pulled into Cheraw State Park,

where we had been once before, but in springtime.

The park's Lake Juniper was beautiful and clear this fall day.

The boardwalk that borders the lake and leads to the spillway
makes a lovely walk, with lots to see.

We thought the colors were exceptionally good considering
it is now late November.

Lily pads dotted the shallow waters.

The shoreside shrubs were a wonderful palette of fall colors.

Judy dubbed these "Tombstones."  I like that.
They are actually "knees," a specialized root of water-loving
cypress trees.

At first we thought the cypress trees were dying, but the ranger
said this is their dormant season.  Unlike most conifers, they are
not evergreen, and lose all their needles in the fall.  And their
"Cones" are not cone-shaped; they're round.  When these cones
fall, they must be in water at least three months in order to germinate!

This is the bark of the cypress, which reminded us of cedar. Actually,
cypress is closely related to California's giant redwoods, and can
live 600 years or more.

This is the bridge at the spillway where the boardwalk ends.
There is a campground on the other side of the lake.

Documentation that we were actually there.

This pine tree extends a friendly arm for Judy.

From Cheraw, we headed south on U.S. 1 through Patrick

and another 5 or 6 miles to Sand Hills State Forest. We were

here to investigate a geologic phenomenon known as

Sugarloaf Mountain.

It can only conceivably called a mountain because it is a full
100 feet higher than ALL other terrain, in all directions, as far
as the eye can see.  Hmm.

I wondered why this "mountain" had not eroded away as all the
neighboring terrain had done over the eons.

Use of the stairs will protect the mountain from erosion at the
hands-  er, feet - of humans. We abided by the rules.

This large sample of what we know as Indian Paint Rock is a
clue to the mountains survival.

As we approached the mountain, the size of this HUGE sample
of Indian Paint Rock made me wonder still more.

These are the stairs that lead up 100 feet to the pinnacle,
and a surprising view.  Hi, Ken!

Hi, Judy!

This closeup of Indian Paint Rock reveals the array of colorings,
due to the variety of mineral in its makeup.

There is definitely a presence of iron, which when oxidized yields
the rusty red. Silicon, the building block of many rocks is also present.
Later when I looked up Indian Paint Rock, I learned it is sometimes
called Ironstone, and in some regions of the county is called Indian
Paint Pot or Hematite Geodes. The chemical makeup of all of these
varies greatly.

While fascinated with the rocks, I couldn't ignore the beautiful leaves.

A view to the north.  We were only 60 miles from Pinehurst.
I thought some of those longleaf pines looked familiar!

This is the observation area at the top. Rather rocky and seemingly barren.

This marker indicates the geologic significance of the site.

We wondered just how far we really could see.

I believe this heavily loaded tree is a shortleaf pine.

The mountaintop was not barren after all.  This wiregrass appeared
to be surviving quite well.  It was the only clump at the top, which
made me wonder if someone had planted it.  On the other hand, I
wonder what would grow there if not trampled and hampered by
feet like mine.

One more glimpse to the northeast, toward Patrick and Cheraw,
where we had come from.

And one more use of the handy self-timer.
It's hard to find a stable place for the camera sometimes, but
at least I don't need a selfie stick.

Time to start down.  And you DON'T want to ROLL down!

We stopped again for this novelty shot. I wonder who could
crawl through this hole.  It's smaller than it looks.

As I cautiously worked my way up this Indian Paint Rock boulder,
I thought about how easily our grandkids (AND kids) could do it.

I loved how this oak branch was resting its weight on the rock.
Cooperation in nature.  It reminded my of Old Man Poplar on
the Sandhills Farm Life Nature Trail.

It's really an ideal rock for climbing. It was that slippery pinestraw
that gave me second thoughts.  But all went well.

As we exited the Sugarloaf Recreation Area, I snapped this
nearby lake.  We only saw one vehicle in the hour we were there.

Heading home in a roundabout way, we went through

Chesterfield, SC, where neither of us had been before.

It's a town of fine historic houses. And one great 

thrift shop.  Who just happened to be having a bag

sale on clothes and another on books! It took us a 

while to unload the car when we got home.

It was a great day and affirmed for us yet again

that you don't have to go on a cruise or even a long

weekend to have a great little getaway!