My surgery will not be until September so we decided to load up and go to Devils Fork State Park on beautiful Lake Jocassee! This park was highly recommended to us by several fellow campers so we were pretty excited to get there. We love "trying out" new places and seeing new faces and it was only 134 miles away!
This is the gorgeous Lake Jocassee and we were not disappointed!
Check-in was quick and simple and we were soon set up on site #6. Our site was large, level, paved and next door to the bath house! We brought our canoe and tubes knowing we would be spending a lot of time in the water! Sweet little Ava came along with us and will stay a couple of nights before Chelsey comes for her!
The campground was beautiful with lots of shade trees and gorgeous water views. There are two big paved loops with one way traffic and no dust! lol. The rangers are very friendly, helpful and make frequent rounds throughout the campground. Each campsite is large and will accommodate your camper plus two tents. All RV sites have electric and water for $23 per night for non South Carolina residents. We had easy access to this enormous lake and were able to stay a week for $161 - not bad!
This is the main dock in the park and is very busy especially on the weekends. It is well constructed, large, pretty and fun to walk out on it and just take in some of the lake's beauty!
This is the "camper preferred" floating dock in the park that we always used. It is not as busy and closer to our site.
Ava and Papaw Ricky did a lot of canoeing. Ava has had a lot of experience kayaking and was delighted to show off her skills today!
The lake is also a great place for paddle boarding. This lady was always on the lake with her dog quietly riding along with her!
Ava was fascinated with the lake's clear water. Papaw Ricky taught her how to "skip" the rocks on the water this trip! She loved going under water to collect the rocks over and over and over and over.....
The beach and swimming area is roped off to protect the swimmers from boats. Beautiful beach!
The beach is small but the water is cool, refreshing and ideal for "floating" all day long. It is a very popular spot for families with children, dogs and picnics!
Ava learned to balance really well on the tube! Ricky and I definitely passed on that! lol.
There's only one thing better than one PB&J and that is two PB&Js! lol.
Chelsey came for Ava but they did not leave before visiting the floating dock and giving her Mom a tour of the campground!
This is called "jumping" rock and is located in the tent section of the campground. You can jump off of it into clear and beautiful water!
I took this picture while standing on the "jumping" rock!
This is why they call Lake Jocassee South Carolina's Caribbean! I took this picture in the area near the "jumping" rock.
There were several small beaches scattered around the water's edge at the campground. Campers who brought boats were able to dock and walk to their campsite just steps away! This campground is ideal for boat lovers!
This is Whitewater Falls on the lake. The waterfall's top starts in North Carolina and ends in South Carolina - interesting!
This is Lake Jocassee from a distance. Absolutely breathtaking!
The more we explored, the more beauty we found at every turn in the campground! It's a great place for getting lots of activity walking when not busy on the water!
Beautiful at dusk too! Water gets so pretty as the sun begins to say good-bye!
It was a great lake for catching bass and Ricky was certainly in his happy place! lol.
BooBoo (who always runs from water) decided to go for a swim! This may have been the "high" point of the trip! See the clear water!
Our week at Lake Jocassee is over and we are on our way home. BooBoo is sleeping soundly as Ricky drives. I guess it was all of the swimming! lol.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Devils Fork State Park and highly recommend it to anyone who loves camping near water! The campground is in the woods and well shaded. Site #41 is the most popular campsite. It is closest to the water with a magnificent view! The nearest grocery store was eighteen miles away so of course we stocked up the one time we went. That may be a negative for some but at the same time would be a positive for others.
We leave here today thanking God for another fun and safe journey!
Ricky and I decided to take a trip before my upcoming August breast surgery. We have found that going away for some rest and relaxation beforehand always clears our minds and renews our strength. This will be my third intubation and third two hour surgery so we both want to be very prepared and ready. We will both come home well rested which makes going "under the knife" much easier and aids in the healing process and Ricky will be ready to be my "nurse" during the six weeks of recovery as I "milk" the situation! lol.
We check in at one of our favorite places, Cascade Lake Campground. It is located in Brevard, NC, a beautiful town with beautiful people and is about a two hour drive from our home. We love this place!
We get set up at waterfront site P5. It's full hookup with water, sewer and electric and only $22.50 per night with our Passport America membership, not too shabby! lol. It truly is lake living at its finest!
This is our wonderful view from our bedroom window! We love waking up to the lush green colors!
This is our view looking across the lake from our campsite. As you can see, the lake sites each have their own private dock for fishing, sunbathing, kayaking or tying your raft to the dock as you float the day away!
Almost every camper brings their own kayak but canoes are also available for rent at a very reasonable rate!
This is Hooker Falls, a two mile canoe/kayak trip directly from our campsite which we could hardly wait to revisit, so off we go on our first day here! It is a very quiet and peaceful trip on the water. No texts, no calls or disturbance of any kind. Just us and nature at its best! Some scenes from the Hunger Games were also filmed here! It attracts fun loving people and pets of all ages! So grab your lunch, pets, kids and enjoy the day!
We both agreed that Hooker Falls is our favorite mountain "swimmin' hole!"
The canoes/kayaks have their own special parking area at the falls!
Hammocks are very popular here and are a welcomed sight to come back to after a long day on the water! Nothing says "summer laziness" quite like a hammock! Combine it with a water view and we are pretty doggone happy! lol.
The campground also has a really nice beach with a roped off swimming area with a nice sandy bottom. The workers rake the beach sand each morning and work hard to keep it clean all day.
The sun is setting at the end of our first day on the lake and it is absolutely gorgeous!
Dusk in the campground signals the campfires to "light up!"
Our first night ended with home cooked chili beans next to the fire!
Our second day started with hiking in the Pisgah Forest. There are many different trails and waterfalls to see and the forest itself feels air conditioned!
We hiked past BIG rocks and TALL trees before reaching this waterfall! The waterfall was cool and refreshing and served as a nice "splash park" for several kids and a few of us adults! lol.
We hiked most of the day and just couldn't resist sharing a banana split from the local Dairy Bar!
We had fresh grilled corn, a garden salad, black eyed peas and jalapeño "pups" for dinner on our second night. It was so good once the sinful ice cream was out of our system! lol.
So here we sit on our little piece of rented paradise! lol. It has been an active and fun first two days! Maybe we will find that rest and relaxation that I was talking about tomorrow! lol. To be continued...
