We decided to head out on an adventure yesterday. After a rainy day stuck inside, we were all itching to get out doors. Eddie came up with a plan to visit Stumphouse Tunnel in Walhalla, SC - after reminiscing about a childhood trip there...
We decided to head out on an adventure yesterday. After a rainy day stuck inside, we were all itching to get out doors. Eddie came up with a plan to visit Stumphouse Tunnel in Walhalla, SC - after reminiscing about a childhood trip there and how awesome he remembered it. So a quick stop to Academy Sports for some flashlights (oh, and they had puddle jumpers on sale for $14), we were off!
For those that have never heard of Stumphouse Tunnel, it was started in 1852 as a tunnel for the Blue Ridge Railroad to connect Charleston to Knoxville. But, the Civil War brought construction to a halt. The tunnel is 17 feet wide, 25 feet high, and there's an airshaft about halfway down the 1,600 foot tunnel. In 1951, Clemson University bought the tunnel and used it to cure their famous blue cheese (ew, this sounds so gross to me!). We also got to climb on one of the train cars, I'm assuming that was there in the 1800s, but I couldn't find any information about it.
We read a sign going in that there were bats in the cave, and since we were the only ones in there - I was officially freaked out about bats & serial killers. My husband laughed about the bats and said they didn't seem to bother Bruce Wayne all that much. To which I replied that Bruce Wayne was a billionaire with the funds to seek therapy for his trauma - I'd just be stuck as the crazy lady terrified of bats. I'm also a chicken because my 18 month old boy basically led the way down the tunnel and didn't want to come out.
Dead of cuteness!
The fog did not help ease my bat/serial killer fears
At this point, I heard a bat squeak and dragged the girls out running
We then headed down a path to view the Issaqueena Falls, named after a Native American woman who alerted settlers (her husband was David Francis, a silversmith) to a native attack. When her tribe realized what she was doing, she jumped off the falls, and they believed her to be dead. In reality, she either landed on a ledge, or a stump (hence Stumphouse Tunnel) and she & her husband left South Carolina to live in Alabama. There's a little easy paved trail to an overlook of the falls. Of course, this was not enough for me & my adventurous family, so we ended up hiking straight down a cliff to get a better view, and play in, the falls. Even little man did some good hiking & climbing!
Natalie: "Hooray - the waterfall!"Me: "Honey, that's not it - it's only a little one"
Thank you, random hiker that wasn't a serial killer, for taking our picture!
We had such a great day, and I hope the girls will remember this. I'm actively finding more places for us to visit this summer, hopefully one a week. I want them to have a love of the outdoors, and possibly not fear bats like I do, hehe.
And last, but not least, please click below to help vote for us on Top Mommy Blogs. It's been a while since I've asked, and we've definitely fallen out of the top ten. Thanks!