West Union, SC – September 30 through October 7

We headed further northwest from Lexington to avoid the bad weather and possible hurricane. On our way, we stopped at a rest area. There were tons of monarch butterflies flitting around the blooms there.

We stayed at the Crooked Creek RV Park for a week to ride out the weather. Nice park on the edge of Lake Keowee. There is a boat launch, snack bar, pool, and group picnic area. Looks like it could be crowded in the summer. A lot of Clemson fans flock to the park for the games.

The weather forecasts predicted up to 12 inches of rain. We only got about 5 ½ inches over a 36 hour period.

Once the weather cleared, we looked at houses around Lake Keowee and Lake Hartwell. We also visited several of the many waterfalls in the area.

The Chau-Ram falls is a 30 foot waterfall formed where Ramsey Creek and the Chauga River meet:

Issaqueena Falls was named after a Creek maiden named Issaqueena. The legend posted at the falls states:

As a girl Issaqueena was captured by the Cherokee and given the name Cateechee. As a young woman she met and fell in love with a white trader named Allan Francis. One day she overheard a plan by the Cherokee to attack the settlements on the frontier. To warn her lover, she found a swift pony and rode 96 miles to his trading fort. As she traveled, Issaquenna named the landmarks she crossed on her way – Six Mile Mountain, Twelve Mile River, Eighteen Mile Creek, and others on her way to her final destination at Fort Ninety-Six.

Fearing retribution from the Cherokees, Issaqueena remained with Allan, eventually marrying him. In time, she, Allan, and their newborn baby moved back to Stumphouse Mountain where they built their home.

One day, the Cherokee Chief, angered with the white settlers, sent his warriors to capture Issaqueena. Issaqueena saw them coming and ran toward this waterfall to escape capture. Knowing that the Cherokee believed evil spirits lived in waterfalls, she pretended to leap to her death. She hid on the ledge below the top of the waterfall where she remained until it was safe to rejoin her family. Her dramatic escape began the legend of Issaqueena Falls.

Yellow Branch Falls is a 60 foot waterfall. The information we found about it said that it was a 1.3 mile hike to the falls, but we think it is more like 2 miles. It’s a pretty hike through a thickly wooded forest.

 

 

 

The last day in the area, we visited the Stumphouse Tunnel. It is a tunnel cut through Stumphouse Mountain. Work began on the tunnel in 1853. The work was done by Irish immigrants. Work on the tunnel ceased in 1859, due to lack of funding.