Southern Pines, North Carolina To Boiling Springs, South Carolina

Updated: Feb 16, 2022

Comfort Inn

Boiling Springs, South Carolina

February 16, 2022

Today began with me realizing again how poor my grasp of America's geography. It is going to take me three days to drive from OBX to Atlanta. Granted, I only cover about 200 miles per day and I am driving "non highways" but still. My complaint is not about the time -- I love driving the backroads and seeing the "real" Carolinas; my complaint is about my grasp of the geography.

My goal today was to get to Greenville, South Carolina -- I ended up stopping in Spartanburg solely because I have never been here.

The drive through North Carolina from Southern Pines was filled with pine trees, farm land, logging trucks and a higher percentage of mobile homes than I have seen in a while. Apparently my observation is confirmed with real data:

And check out which cities have the largest percentage of homes as mobile homes:

Many of the pine tress I saw in North Carolina were the tall type with the needles at the top. I should know my pine trees but that knowledge has vanished from my mind.

As I entered South Carolina, I realized that my drive would be unlike any one I had taken before -- I was driving east to west across the top of the state. In the past my drives have been north to south (Columbia to Charlotte). The scenery changed somewhat as the tall pines gave way to more "shrubby" pines and a variety of other trees. And not so much farm land. I saw the name "Pee Dee" several times and my curiosity got the better of me and I looked up the origin of the term "Pee Dee." Thanks to Wikipedia:

The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in the Carolinas of the United States. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course, above the mouth of the Uwharrie River, is known as the Yadkin River. The river empties into Winyah Bay, and then into the Atlantic Ocean near Georgetown.

The river flows through the original homeland of the Pee Dee Native Americans, and is named after them. The Pee Dee are a part of the South Appalachian Mississippian Culture. They were actively built from about 1000 to 1400, leaving some centers for unknown reasons. The Pee Dee still reside in the area, with the seat of the tribal government having been located in neighboring Marlboro County since 1976.

The northeastern counties of South Carolina compose the Pee Dee region of the state.

The exposed rock formations along its course are the source of a NIST reference standard.

It is an important source of electric power and public water supplies, as well as recreational use.

While the Pee Dee is free-flowing in South Carolina, upstream in North Carolina, several dams have been constructed on it. The opening and closing of these dams causes dramatic swings in the depth of the river in South Carolina. The sharing of water between the two states has sometimes been a matter of controversy, particularly during periods of drought.

Some commercial fishing is done during the winter shad run, and for shrimp in the lower reaches. The river is excellent for recreational fishing and boating.

There are numerous boat landings, yet most of the river is wild, with forests of tupelo, oak and gum along its shores. Herons and alligators can be seen along the way, and a lucky sighting of a bald eagle is possible.

A majority of my drive in South Carolina was on South Carolina Route 9. I was confused because I was headed west while the road signs said I was on 9 North. Wikipedia provided me the answer:

South Carolina Highway 9 (SC 9) is a 259.570-mile major state highway in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The highway travels from Cherry Grove Beach to the North Carolina state line upstate. The highway is currently the longest state highway in South Carolina. It is signed as a north–south highway, even though it travels in an east–west direction.

Route 9, which was mostly four lanes, was empty, causing me to wonder why it was a four-lane road. I came across several small -- very small -- towns. Most of the houses I saw would be considered rural. While there were some large homes, many were small. I saw a good number of broken-down cars in front of those small houses, enough that it made an impression on me.

As I indicated, I called an audible and made Spartanburg my destination. I had to drive though the town (city?) to get to my accommodations for the evening. Is the whole town a healthcare center? Wow. First impressions are that it is a pretty Southern town. I drove by a place called the "Sigar-n-Spice" that looked like the kind of place I'd like. Google tells me it is a "Quaint retro institution known for burgers, BBQ & souvlaki, served by the plate or family-style."

I borrowed this photo from the internet:

Spartanburg reminded me of the movie "Shag" in which four high school girls head to Myrtle Beach for a fun weekend. A highly-underrated coming of age movie. The band in the movie is the Voltage Brothers playing under the pseudonym of "Big Dan and The Sand Dollars."

My hotel for the night (it is going to be cold) is just north of Spartanburg in Boiling Springs. There's a story:

The area became known as Boiling Springs because of a small spring in its heart that, up until the land was commercially developed, actually appeared as if it were boiling and would sometimes shoot water 6 feet into the air. The geyser diminished gradually over the years. In the 1930s it had become a shallow, barely bubbling stream and today the water is still. The spring is located at the corner of McMillian Boulevard and Highway 9 on the same lot as the (formerly) Bi-Lo Shopping Center and the Verizon Mobile store. Once the land was developed and the shopping center was built, the springs ceased to boil. After the spring was cleaned up and dug out, a small park was built around it with benches, flags, and a memorial to a citizen of Boiling Springs.

A final point. When I checked into the hotel, the gal told me here family name is Fox, from the area around Bristol, Virginia. The home of her great grandfather in that area is still in the family. Pretty cool.

Photos from the day:

In North Carolina