Santee State Park, NC
My husband changed gears so he would have more time off in the winter. I took a week off in February 2021 so we could take our maiden voyage. We timed it so we could meet up with my in-laws who were in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains February 18–21. They said we could park our camper in the drive. Before we met up with them, we needed to find the warmest spot that was within driving distance to their cabin.
We settled on Santee State Park in South Carolina. It turned out to be nice. Our site was on the water, and the campground was full of trees. The temperature was between 50 and the mid-60s.
We settled on Santee State Park in South Carolina. It turned out to be nice. Our site was on the water, and the campground was full of trees. The temperature was between 50 and the mid-60s.
Hiking turned out to be good. Several nice paths through different sorts of trees.
Gatlinburg/Smoky Mountain KOA
But first, a harrowing story in the Garden of Eden...
After South Carolina, we headed to Cosby, Tennessee, where my in-laws were staying. We followed Google to the address we were given, arriving after dark. We turned off the main road and onto narrow unpaved road. We followed the road up a hill, passing a small sign ("quaint" I thought at the time) at the entrance to what looked like a walking path. The address numbers skipped the one we were looking for. There was no cell reception so we couldn't get a hold of my in-laws.
There were a few houses around, but we weren't keen on knocking on a door. I started to walk back down the road to look for the address. It was scary. Miraculously, there was someone on the road. I asked him about the address, and he told me the cabin was located in "the Garden of Eden," a collection of properties that was down that "road" I thought was a path. He suggested where we could turn the RV around, because he cautioned there was no way to turn into that narrow road going down the road we came in.
So we backed it up into a field, headed out the way we came, and turned around at a nearby gas station. We headed up the road and looked at the sign and the inconceivably narrow "road" we were supposed to turn into with our brand-new RV. I argued for calling it quits right there and trying to call the relatives from elsewhere. My husband wanted to forge ahead.
To make a long story short, we crawled along this road in the darkness and cleared trees, stone walls, and other obstructions by at most two inches. We arrived at the cabin and met my husband's stepmom. The driveway was at about a 30-degree incline. There was no way we could park our RV there.
So we got to leave. I was more relieved and elated the moment we drove out of that Seven Acre Wood of Doom and onto a real road than than I can say. We headed off to a nearby Cracker Barrel and promised to return as soon as we found a place to camp our RV.
At the glorious Cracker Barrel, I got online and found there was a KOA less than a mile away from the in-law's cabin. I reserved a site for two nights.
There were a few houses around, but we weren't keen on knocking on a door. I started to walk back down the road to look for the address. It was scary. Miraculously, there was someone on the road. I asked him about the address, and he told me the cabin was located in "the Garden of Eden," a collection of properties that was down that "road" I thought was a path. He suggested where we could turn the RV around, because he cautioned there was no way to turn into that narrow road going down the road we came in.
So we backed it up into a field, headed out the way we came, and turned around at a nearby gas station. We headed up the road and looked at the sign and the inconceivably narrow "road" we were supposed to turn into with our brand-new RV. I argued for calling it quits right there and trying to call the relatives from elsewhere. My husband wanted to forge ahead.
To make a long story short, we crawled along this road in the darkness and cleared trees, stone walls, and other obstructions by at most two inches. We arrived at the cabin and met my husband's stepmom. The driveway was at about a 30-degree incline. There was no way we could park our RV there.
So we got to leave. I was more relieved and elated the moment we drove out of that Seven Acre Wood of Doom and onto a real road than than I can say. We headed off to a nearby Cracker Barrel and promised to return as soon as we found a place to camp our RV.
At the glorious Cracker Barrel, I got online and found there was a KOA less than a mile away from the in-law's cabin. I reserved a site for two nights.
Camping at the Gatlinburg KOA
This KOA was absolutely beautiful. The bathrooms and showers were as good and clean as a hotel's.
We discovered that at the back of the park there was a path that led in a quarter mile to the entrance of a trail into Smoky Mountain National Park. C'mon!
The hike we went on was stunning. Amazing. Beautiful. Rejuvinating. Incomparable.
