We left soggy Hickory Knob State Resort Park and made the quick drive over to Baker Creek State Park for our final park in this area. We knew this would be a quick visit given the hour (stomachs were beginning to growl) and the weather (the only geocache we might have looked for was at the water line, which surely this day would have been underwater).
I had only been here once before while geocaching sixteen-ish years ago. There is supposedly a nature trail here, which the geocache was on (a different cache than we would have found today)…but neither I, nor cachers before me, nor cachers since have been able to find that trail. Bushwhacking in flooded conditions would not have been fun today!
There is a nice looking playground here, but we didn’t play on it (see previous reference to wet conditions and empty bellies).
Perhaps the star of the show here at Baker Creek is the pavilion overlooking a little arm of Lake Thurmond. While we were there, a local neighborhood was setting up for a picnic. We went in the small office/store, stamped our passport, saw the toad that was inside, and enjoyed the view for a few minutes before heading out.
I would be remiss if I didn’t let you all know what we did afterwards. While we didn’t do a ton there at Baker Creek, we did find a delicious place to eat there in McCormick, and we found a fantastic historical gem (pun intended?) that you should know about.
Where we ate is one of those places that nobody would actually stop at if you didn’t know better. It’s one of those walk-up-and-order-through-the-window places, unassumingly located at a fork in the highway. Meet Gert’s Kitchen. In doing research for this trip, I knew a meat-and-three would be nice, given that it was Sunday. This was what popped up.
Most people ordering here (and there were many) were just taking their food to go, but since we weren’t local, we ate there on a picnic table. Let me tell you…they do it right there! I had a fried pork chop, collards, black eyed peas, and cornbread (and yes, I know it’s not New Years). At around $11 per plate, it’s a great deal, too!
From there, we drove just a few minutes south on Highway 28 closer to the center of town. On the right, you’ll see a sign, again very unassuming, for Heritage Gold Mine Park. (The website itself doesn’t scream ‘Hey! Cool place alert!’ either, but don’t let that stop you.)
First, some history. Though California is often associated with gold mining here in the US, South Carolina has mined its fair share of this precious metal, especially in the middle of the 19th century. Digging the mine would have been tough work, and given the time and place, it should come at no surprise that slaves were the ones digging.
The most productive mine at the time was over in Lancaster County, but the second most productive was here where we were. William Dorn was the one who found the vein, and as such, the town used to be called Dornsville. Fast forward a few years after the gold tapers off, and he sells the land to a Mr. Cyrus McCormick, hoping to get lucky again. While he didn’t find a giant gold deposit, he still got the town named after him, so I supposed that’s a win.
Nowadays, the remnants of the mine still exist. A gentleman conducts tours every 1st and 3rd Saturday with its accompanying Sunday. He shares a wealth of knowledge as he walks you around to show you the different shafts, tunnels, etc. There is a tunnel you can normally enter a good ways, but given the rain, there was some standing water that would have made entry a lot wetter than we’d want.
After the tour, he has a place where we can try our hand at panning. The only other place around that I had panned for gold was up in Dahlonega, GA. He showed me and Teagan how to do it, and we ended up with a couple of small flecks of gold. (The gold isn’t from here…he buys it elsewhere and distributes it in sand for us to find.)
For the younger kids, he has a little gemstone sifting activity for them to do. It’s more rewarding for them as they see all the pretty colors, and it’s faster/easier to do. Sage loved doing that.
All in all, 10/10 would recommend our McCormick itinerary. Learn some history, eat delicious food, see beautiful places. Nothing better.
Now, we’re 44 parks in. Only three left to go. The end is near!
Beavers in the Park 