Whitewater Rafting and Safety
​The rivers of the southeastern United States are well known for whitewater rafting adventures. While whitewater rafting could seem scary, it is actually quite safe if done right. PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices) and helmets must be worn for safety. Guides go through significant training in rafting before they can take out customers, and they complete training in CPR, First Aid, and rescue work. Rafting difficulty levels are indicated by rating the rapids, from Class I to VI. Class I rapids are a fun little bump, while Class VI is considered impassable. The Pigeon River where 'ittle Bear rafts has Class I to IV rapids.
States
The United States is made up of 50 states. In many ways, each state can be compared to a European country, because they are similar in size and each has their own government and laws. In fact, California is such a large and populous state that if compared to countries, its economy would rank fourth in the world, and its population would rank 34th (equivalent to the country of Canada!) Americans identify strongly with their states. They often have state-funded universities with strong in-state allegiances and rivalries. Because the US is so large, and there is so much weather and geographical diversity between the states (from the glaciers of Alaska to the coral reefs of Florida), many Americans never leave the United States in their lifetimes.
Carolina Bays
These are elliptical depressions in the land, concentrated in the eastern United States, and called this name in the Carolinas. They vary in size from one to several thousand acres, and many lie from northwest to southeast. There are different theories about how they were formed. The ground surface layer of the bays are either sand or mud. The disturbance is in the middle layer, as the harder layer underneath doesn’t show any deformation. The bays can have different plant life, depending on how deep they are and what the top layer is. Most are marshy and have pond cypress trees. The Woods Bay State Park featured in the book has a cypress tupelo swamp with a boardwalk where visitors can visit the Carolina bay and even have the chance to spot an alligator!
Cars and Driving
The car is the foundation of transportation in the United States. Public transportation is not available on the same level as it is in many countries around the world, except for in a few large urban areas like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. In the past 100 years, housing, shopping, and even schools have been built to accommodate access by car. While there are still yellow school buses in most areas, many families drive their own children or carpool instead. Americans also think little of driving for hours, even in a single day, to visit familyor friends, have an adventure, watch a sporting match, or even eat at a restaurant. An American might tell you that ”It’s 10 hours to my parents, three hours to the beach, and four hours to skiing.” These are typical driving distances, accounting for traffic and weather. Gasoline is much cheaper in the United States than most of the rest of the world, and cars are taxed at a much lower rate. All of this automobile usage contributes to climate change, which presents a problem like the chicken and the egg: It’s quite hard to reduce car usage when so much of American life depends on driving. Alternatives with lower carbon impacts must take into account cultural acceptance and the sheer size of a country that has been built around the individual freedom of the automobile.
US National Parks
The United States has 63 national parks that are protected for their beautiful and unique nature. The National Park Service exists just to manage them. Park management includes deciding what areas are open to the public, and how, as well as education about the park, its history, and its natural features. This is intended to preserve and protect the parks for generations to come. In addition to the national parks, there are 433 nationally managed areas that include historical sites, forests, and preserves. Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming was the first one, designated as a national park in 1872 by President Ulysses S. Grant. Fourteen of the parks are also UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and 21 parks are UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. There are national parks in 30 US states, and California has the most with nine. Many national parks offer hiking trails to explore the park. The terrain can range from short, paved sections accessible to all, to extremely rugged backcountry, requiring both special permits and skills to survive in nature. Access and facilities can vary greatly from park to park. Some offer stately and luxurious lodges for guests, while others only have primitive camping (cold water and pit toilets), but every national park offers something significant to experience. The parks offer ”passports” that can be stamped in each park, making it a fun lifetime goal to see them all!
State Parks
In addition to the national park system, each of the 50 US states boasts state parks. Since not every state has a national park, these state parks bring nature and recreation closer to home. State parks often have more luxurious camping, offering climate-controlled facilities and almost all the comforts of home. The South Carolina park system mentioned in
the book consists of 47 state parks at the time of publication, ranging from sandy beaches to high mountains. The Ultimate Outsider program rewards people who collect stamps at all of the parks with a t-shirt and a certificate
Barbecue across the United States
Americans love their barbecue, and they have many different ways of making it. The styles differ regionally, primarily based on the immigrants who settled the area and the local ingredients that were available to them. Barbecue can be made from pork or beef; it can be slow roasted, smoked, or grilled; it can be made from individual cuts of meat or the entire animal. All these variations create different flavors, even before you add the different rubs and sauces. The barbecue in this book is Pee-Dee style whole hog pit barbecueas found at the famous Scott’s Bar-B-Que in Hemingway, South Carolina. It has a peppery sauce, and is served with two slices of white bread and two sides in a styrofoam container. Pit barbecue came to the United States from the enslaved Africans. Most top pit masters today descended from enslaved persons, carried on the traditions, and launched the cuisine into international prominence. Scott’s Bar-B-Que was founded in 1972 by Roosevelt and Ella Scott, and has been recognized as the best barbecue in the United States. Their son and pit master, Rodney, went on to run an award-winning restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina, with more locations throughout the South.
Kuwohi, Clingman's Dome, and Indigenous People
This mountain, known either by its Cherokee name Kuwohi, or Clingman's Dome, is the highest point at 6,643 feet (2,025 m) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, as well as in the state of Tennessee and the 2,192 mile (3,528 km) Appalachian Trail (a hiking trail that goes from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, following the Appalachian mountain chain.) There is a short trail to an observation tower at the top, which is accessible by a ramp. Kuwohi means “mulberry place” and according to a Cherokee myth, the mountain was home to White Bear, the great chief of all bears. The Cherokee are indigenous people of the southeastern woodlands of the United States. Prior to European colonization, they settled primarily in towns along river valleys in an area of about 40,000 square miles (103,600 square kilometers) including parts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, and Alabama. As Europeans settled in the area, the indigenous people were forced westward or into small reservations.
Wonder Bread and Convenience Food
Founded in 1921 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Taggart Baking Company
was one of the first companies to sell sliced bread nationwide by 1930. American culture embraces convenience, and sliced bread was an early convenience and luxury that allowed women, who traditionally prepared food, to buy bread instead of baking and slicing it. While the taste and texture is soft and mild, significant efforts have been made through the years to enrich the bread with vitamins and minerals. Many other companies imitate Wonder Bread and most grocery stores have their own brand, as many Americans prefer it as their sandwich bread even today. Convenience food in general took off in the United States after World War II, as companies who had prepared non-perishable meals for soldiers switched to producing food for consumers. As women had entered the workforce during the war and wanted to stay there, the market for convenience food continued to grow.
Churches
There are more churches in the United States than in many other countries, and they provide many services for their members and the surrounding communities. In fact, driving on smaller roads through the American South, one often sees more churches than grocery stores and gas stations. Churches can be of many denominations, from the more traditional Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, and Catholic, to newer mega Christian churches. In addition to Christian churches and thanks to the diversity of the United States, you will also find Jewish synagogues, Muslim mosques, and other buildings for worship. Attending church is not only a religious experience, but also a social one. Many activities are offered, not only on Sundays. Churches often provide social services such as daycare, education, elder care, food kitchens, and clothing and household support that are often provided by the governments of other countries. Americans also may show their religion and speak of it more openly by wearing clothing and decorating their homes with religious themes. If something bad happens to you, you will almost certainly receive prayers and blessings.
Eating at Restaurants
When you visit the United States, eating out is often a new experience in many ways. Newcomers are often overwhelmed at the number of choices, as Americans choose exactly what they want to have with their meal. For example, when the author goes to a steakhouse, her order might sound like, “I’ll take the ribeye, rare, with a house salad with bleu cheese dressing, no croutons, and a baked potato with sour cream and butter.” From her years dining out, she has learned to answer all the questions up front. Her friends from overseas are flummoxed with the options. In many other countries around the world, the chef selects the appropriate side dishes and sauces for the dish, so you often just order the chicken, beef, or vegetarian meal.
Another big difference is constantly refilling drinks, even sodas. Almost every other country serves soft drinks in a can or bottle. Even if there is a fountain machine, you get one glass. Some countries even mark the fill amount on the glass! The US is all about free refills, and you often can lose track of how many sodas you have drunk as the waiters dutifully keep your glass full. The wait staff focuses much more on customer service, because of the way they are paid. In the US, waiters earn most of their income through customer tipping. Americans have a general rule of tipping 10 percent of the total bill for poor service, 15 percent for decent service, and 20 percent or more for excellent service.
Finally, visitors are shocked by the amount of food that American restaurants serve. Many restaurants include a very tasty and tempting free starter (chips and salsa in Mexican restaurants, rolls and butter in steakhouses), so you can find yourself full without even making a dent in your main course! In general, appetizers are shared with the table, not one per person, as one may be used to in other countries. Then, the main course is enough (more than enough?) all on its own. This brings about the custom of doggie bags, or the take-home box. Many consider eating out two meals: the meal in the restaurant, and a lunch for school or work the next day. Don't forget to save space for dessert, which is often very sweet, and definitely enough to share!
Pimento Cheese
Pimento cheese is an appetizer, an accompaniment to a meal or hamburger, or a meal in itself on crackers, bread, or vegetables! Recipes vary between stores, families, and manufacturers, but key ingredients are cheese, mayonnaise, and pimentos (a type of sweet red pepper, originally from Spain but now grown across the American South.) The recipe has origins in the northern United States around the beginning of the 1900s, but it is widely associated with the South and is even called the “pâté of the South.” It is served at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia; Southern Living magazine calls it one of the “iconic foods” of the tournament. Many Southern chefs have their own variation, experimenting with cheese types and blends, as well as seasonings that can include horseradish, jalapeños, onions, garlic, pepper, paprika, hot sauce, or even dill pickles. Spread it on Wonder Bread for a pimento cheese sandwich, as Elly enjoys it, or use it as a dip, put it on a hamburger, or simply eat it as it is.
Bald Eagle
The bald eagle is the national emblem of the United States and has been since 1782, but did you know that it was an important spiritual symbol of the native inhabitants long before the United States was founded? These large and majestic birds (the largest measured 9.5 ft (2.9 m) in diameter and 20 ft (6.1 m) tall!) are most often found around water, looking for fish. They don't tend to catch fish themselves; instead, they take fish from smaller fishing birds and mammals. In fact, Benjamin Franklin fought against the bald eagle as the United States’ national emblem for these thieving tendencies: “I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character.” Despite his wishes, the bald eagle prevailed and remains an important symbol of the United States. They are not really bald, but could appear so as their gleaming white-feathered heads are a contrast to their brown bodies and wings.
America or the United States
While the formal name of the country is the United States of America, within its borders you will hear it shortened to “America,” while the outside world refers to it as "USA" or the “United States,” to distinguish it from the continents of North and South America, and the many other American countries. Citizens of the United States consider themselves Americans, and see themselves differently from other North Americans, whom they call Canadians and Mexicans.
Lacrosse
Elly plays a sport called lacrosse that is popular in South Carolina and other east coast states. Lacrosse is the oldest organized sport in North America, as it has origins with the Native Americans in the 12th century. It is played outside on a grass field, with a ball and sticks with a net on the end. The level of contact in the sport has evolved since its origins and today, women have stick-to-stick contact only. The game is played by using the head of the lacrosse stick to carry, pass, catch, and shoot the ball into the goal. The field and goals are similar to soccer or hockey.