Sunday Picnic

We drove all the way to Lansford Canal park for an easy 3 mile hike and leisurely Sunday picnic with my parents. I thought this would be a good trail to take my mom and dad too because the park, is not only beautiful and an easy walk, it has so much history surrounding it.

"Lansford Canal State Park is stretched along the Catawba River and is home to the well-preserved remains of the canal system that made the river commercially navigable from 1820 to 1835. During this period, boats used the canals to bypass rapids while carrying goods to and from the coast. The park also played a role in the Revolutionary War, as both British and American troops under Cornwallis and Sumter crossed the Catawba river here before and after pivotal battles. This 460-acre park, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, includes historic ruins of canal-culverts, stone bridges, locks, an historic mill site and a lockkeepers house, which contains interpretive exhibits about the canal system in South Carolina. In addition to its rich cultural history, Landsford Canal Park offers visitors an abundance of natural beauty. The rocky shoals on the Catawba River are home to one of the worlds largest populations of rocky shoals spider lilies, tough plants that hang tight in the swift water and bloom spectacularly in huge blankets of white in late May and early June." (SC State Park website.)

The weather was actually nice. It was around 80 degrees out, but the breeze off the river made it very pleasant. We started our hike on the canal trail. My parents stopped along the trail to read the historical information at each site, and I stopped along the trail to snap photos. We took it at an easy pace. We were out there to enjoy nature, not race with her. :) The hike back was the best part, it was all along the river. No spider lilies were in bloom (too early, they ususally bloom in late May and early June. ) But we did see a couple of water snakes and tons of fish.

When we got to the end, my mom wanted to go back and "pick" a few wild flowers she saw. So I agreed to go back into the woods, as long as Boo and my dad set up the picnic and had an icey cold coke for me when I got back. We hiked in about 1/2 a mile and notice that a tree was down. I stood there, staring in disbelief, b/c not more than 2 hours ago we crossed this same path. As I watched my mom make her bouquet of wildflowers, I couldn't help by feel lucky that this tree waited for us to pass thru before it toppled over. RESPECT nature.

As we emerged from the woods, I could see that my dad and Boo had a sweet set up going on. They had the cooler popped open, the camping chairs from the car, and were sitting pretty right in front of the river, sipping on some cold cokes. They looked really relaxed. My mom and I climbed up to the restrooms to wash up and decided we wanted to have a proper picnic at one of the picnic shelters. So we told the guys to leave the chairs where they were and haul the cooler and beach bag full of goodies up to the shelter. When we got to the picnic table, my mom spreads out the table cloth, the guys sit down, and I started passing out the silverware, plates, and napkins. While my mom pulls out the french bread, cold cuts, etc... and starts assembling the sammies, I sliced a tomato and got out my black bean and corn salad that I had made earlier that morning. Boo and my dad tore into the tortilla chips and started scooping up the black bean/corn salad just as I finished laying out the rest of the food (grapes, tangerines, and carrots). After a nice, fresh, outdoor meal, my mom and I packed up while Boo and my dad went to reclaim their spot along the river. I got everything loaded back up into my car and we headed down to relax and join the guys. We sat there for an hour just listening to the river rush by, and watching the kayakers glide through. What a perfect ending to a great day. Til next time, GET OUTDOORS!