Some of the beauty of being an RVer is that your plans are never really thwarted. They may have to change last minute, and we may end up visiting an unexpected place; but the overall goal of experiencing something new will still be met. As we make our way down the East Coast, we had our hearts set on visiting Charleston again. We had been there before, but it was during a tropical storm so our time there involved pelting rain, fierce wind and no boat to Fort Sumter. This time around we were fully expecting to realize that dream of visiting Fort Sumter and strolling Charleston’s beautiful rainbow row in the sunshine. As it would happen, our hopes for another visit to Charleston were disrupted when Chris’ hard drive crashed delaying our departure. Our new schedule would put us in Charleston over Memorial Day Weekend. Well, that just wasn’t going to happen. We could not find a single RV spot anywhere near Charleston, so we had to fix our sights elsewhere. Elsewhere turned out to be Columbia, SC, a trip to a floodplain forest, a visit to the home of the Gamecocks and a different spot impacted by the Civil War.

Congaree National Park

Congaree is an old-growth forest that lies in the floodplain of the Congaree and Wateree Rivers just outside of Columbia. It is a very flat area and the frequent flooding here continually changes the landscape. Congaree is recognized as an area of champion trees including a cypress tree measuring over 27 feet in circumference and a loblolly pine at 169 feet tall. It is also renowned as one of the few areas on the planet for synchronized fireflies. Each year, fireflies gather in Congaree and at some point during late May/early June their lights are synchronized together. Flash on, flash off. All together. Wouldn’t that be incredible to see? We missed it by 2 days this year, but maybe we will catch it another time. Here is a closer look at Congaree and its beauty…

McKissick Museum & USC

After Congaree, we decided to head in to Columbia to visit the University of South Carolina. McKissick Museum on campus is free to the public and there is a front desk manned by students to help visitors. It is a small museum with just a few exhibits on wood workers, impressionist paintings of the South, natural history and USC memorabilia. I was hoping for more on the history of South Carolina, but I think the State Museum would be a better option for that. Regardless, we enjoyed the building’s architecture and free exhibits…

After the museum, we strolled along the horseshoe…

We then visited the fountain…

And the Longstreet Theatre (completed in 1855) used by Southern and Northern forces during the Civil War…

And even Greek Row…

As you can see, it is a lovely campus worth an afternoon stroll and a great wrap-up to our time in Columbia.

Next stop, Andersonville Prison, GA.

Additional Information

• We stayed at The Barnyard RV Park for $31.00 a night. Although a large campground (200 spots), it was very quiet and the spaces were large. There was a mix of permanent locals and travelers from all over the country.
• There is a canoe path on Cedar Creek inside Congaree National Park park that would be idyllic with the still waters and cypress trees. You can rent a canoe nearby in Columbia.