Barking Embarkers

It’s story time! For those who are new here, I have kept a record of Chloe’s and my adventures during our travels! I write and publish these about a year after they happen, for various reasons, but mostly per my grandma’s advice. And I don’t know about you, but you ALWAYS listen to your Grandma’s advice- they know. Here we Go! Brace yourselves, it’s time for an enticing, incredible, thrilling and heart wrenching: A Tail of Chloe Rue (I know its tale, I just can’t help it).

South Carolina is Beautiful

It was the fall of 2019 and I was savoring every moment of the South Carolina sunshine. And every moment I could enjoy air conditioning; because this midwestern girl is NOT made for 90 degree, excess humidity.

South Carolina is definitely the most dog friendly place Chloe and I have been able to enjoy. Not because of friendly facilities either- dog life was CHEAP! We paid 10$ a day for Chloe’s daycare, and took our intensive training classes for only 50$ a month. It was incredible! And Chloe was extraordinary in school. We passed our Certified Good Dog Citizen (CGC) exam in downtown Columbia, during the ‘Soda City Festival’ that was basically a farmers market downtown every weekend. Chloe loved every moment!

South Carolina is full of incredible adventures. Chloe and I took our kayak up to the Great Smokies, we explored around the Florida Keys and found some awesome dog beaches. We had the opportunity to worry over hurricane Dorian and we got to explore a beach ridden with shells after the hurricane at Folly Beach. We found Oconee County, that has waterfalls around every corner! We also went to a grape stomping festival and made some awesome friends (shout out to Caroline and Robin and Mary Ellen! You guys are amazing ♡). And we savored time kayaking, found on a meet up group!

This week’s post though, is about the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. Chloe and I took a weekend adventure along the parkway when the colors were changing and wow, the experience was staggering.

The Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway was a bucket list road trip for me! For those who don’t know me well, I am OBSESSED with bridges and waterfalls. And the parkway is full of both! It starts with Skyline drive in Shannedoah National Park, and goes all the way through the beautiful mountains to connect with the Great Smokies! I took a weekend trip, and it was not nearly long enough! There was so much to see, so many hikes to explore, so many views!! Chloe and I had a ball.

Stealth Camping

We arrived to the parkway later than we anticipated, as this was definitely one of our more spontaneous adventure weekends. I truthfully drove north on an interstate until I saw the sign for the parkway and figured ah, this would be a great weekend for that! And turned off into a very rural town somewhere between South Carolina and Virginia, and hopped onto the parkway.

So Chloe and I looked at the Cumberland Gap, savored some beautiful fall leaves and had a small picnic supper when we decided we needed to camp somewhere! Unfortunately free campsites were few and far between, and cell reception was spotty. I decided to try my luck at stealth camping. There were a couple other discrete vans and tiny campers set up on scenic pull-outs off the parkway, and since I just had my truck I thought we’d give it a try!

Now it’s important to note that stealth camping is not necessarily the most legal thing in the world. You might be sleeping somewhere and get a knock on your door at 2am from a police officer asking you to move. That’s just a gamble everyone who stealth camps has to take! I’ve been lucky everytime I’ve tried it.

We found a quiet scenic spot at “Lump Overlook” which was also supposed to be a great sunrise spot! Chloe and cozied up and enjoyed our camping adventure.

The Parkway in the Fall

The next morning was quite cloudy! Chloe and I took a walk around our “lump overlook” and saw naught but white and grey! Thankfully, this meant the drive was very quiet and uncrowded which I had heard was rare for the parkway in the fall. Chloe and I enjoyed a beautiful hike to a waterfall, along a river and finally made our way to the iconic Bridge.

We enjoyed watching the clouds slowly break down to let the sunshine through, and as more sun came out, more people crowded around and were out enjoying the parkway. By the time we made it to the bridge, there were lines of cars parked, hopeful to snag a photo of this bridge. I found a parking spot a ways out, and noticed a small discrete trail alongside my parking spot. Chloe and I still had hiking legs gearing up to go, so we decided to see where this trail went! Would you believe, it went directly underneath the bridge, to a waterfall!

The best part about traveling with a dog, is they can feel your excitement and participate in the joy that comes with finding such amazing secrets in such beautiful places. Chloe and I scrambled up a rock that looked out over the changing scenery, and enjoyed a sandwich lunch. With the bridge over top of us, a waterfall tumbling down behind us and staggering views in front of us, our hearts were as full as our bellies in that moment.

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