You reach SC 11 from the road to Chimney Rock. Or, if you missed that shortcut, you'll come out at the flashing light on SC 11. Don't worry. In both cases, turn left on SC 11 and proceed toward Chesnee.

The country is open, offers views across the gently rolling hills or back towards the mountains. You'll see a few more peach orchards.

Keep your eye out for the water tank as you approach Chesnee. If you need gas or want to eat, you can continue into Chesnee. People come from all over to the restaurant on U.S. 221 on the east side of town run by a collector of antiques. The display gallery is right in the restaurant. You can enjoy a snack with a Studebaker car, an old gas pump, a not-fancy camera, an old radio, or some other treasure.

The route from the water tank in Chesnee back to South Carolina 11 is on residential streets. A one-lane railroad bridge with weight restrictions is located before the crossing of U.S. 221. The crossing of U.S. 221 is dangerous with limited sight lines and a complex road arrangement. Great care must be exercised at this crossing. Be sure to observe both the U.S. 221 bypass and the business route to the right, as well as to your left.

Cowpens exists in two time periods. More famous is its role as an important Revolutionary battle after Kings Mountain. On January 17, 1781, Daniel Morgan and an army of Continental Line units from Maryland and Delaware, with William Washington's cavalry, and with militia units from Virginia and the Carolinas, defeated Banastre Tarleton's infamous Legion in a classic manner still studied by military students around the world.

More important for our tour on the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, the Patriot army stopped here on the night of October 6th, 1780. But they didn't camp here. They slaughtered some of the cattle pastured here for a hasty meal. They continued their marathon march that began about dawn on October 6th and ended at the battle about 3 p.m. of the 7th. In less than 36 hours they covered over 50 miles to reach the battle!

At Cowpens National Battlefield, you can walk the battle road down which Tarleton's troopers charged to their destruction, the same road down which the Patriots marched to Kings Mountain. The visitor's center includes a stirring film of the January battle. Filmed with reenactors, the cold of that January dawn is chilling on a summer's day. A special lantern-lighted tour is held each year near the battle's anniversary. Other special programs are held throughout the year.

You can also picnic on a green lawn surrounded by tall pines that characterized the upcountry of South Carolina.

While you're here, go back to the flashing light where South Carolina 110 and U.S. 221A cross SC 11. Turn left and follow SC 110 across Interstate 85 to the town of Cowpens. You'll have a chance to shop or eat, and you'll pass places to get fresh peaches in season. They take the battle seriously. Notice the figures of soldiers painted on walls here and there throughout town. You can park your car where one of Colonel William Washington's dragoons waits to pounce on Tarleton.

When you leave Cowpens National Battlefield, turn right and continue along SC 11 toward Gaffney. You've come around in a big circle, since leaving the Green River. Look to your left on a clear day and you can see the high mountains. Your looking at the trail all the way down from Morganton.

Notice the rise on your right. This is Thicketty Mountain. On your left is Furnace Mountain where iron ore was mined. This area is part of the geological structure that includes Kings Mountain. A surprising number of ores are found and were worked commercially, including lead, tin, and copper.

Gaffney is the county seat of Cherokee County. You'll find discount outlets as well as a variety of restaurants and stores.

This country was on the boundary between the Catawba and Cherokee indians. Disease and war decimated the Catawba, leaving their name on the river that flows from the mountains at Marion and Morganton down to the Charlotte area.

We are in rolling foothills approaching the valley of the Broad River and the Kings Mountain range. East of Gaffney, we travel toward the river. The water is deeper now because of dams on the river. We'll cross on the two-lane steel U.S. 29 bridge upstream from the Cherokee Ford where the Patriot army crossed in 1780.

If the water is low, you can see the rocky bed of the river. We're looking at waters collected from a large portion of the trail as it runs down from McDowell, Rutherford, and Polk Counties.

We turn off U.S. 29 to look at the river and to get back on the historic route. The steep hills are the flanks of the mountain range. Kings Mountain is modest, as mountain ranges go. Its high point on its pinnacle is just over 1700 feet above sea level. But we are seeing the remnants of ancient volcanoes that once soared into the prehistoric sky.

No less grand is the glory we follow on this simple country road at the end of our journey. We follow in the footsteps of people who willed a nation into being. Like the farmers who stood on the green in Lexington in the dawn of April 19, 1775, like men who stepped forward on a hot July morning in Philadelphia, like the men who shivered through a winter at Valley Forge, these men would not be denied.

The ridge is visible now across the valley of Kings Creek. We have come all these miles in their footsteps, as they came in 1780. Just a wooded hill, a long slim ridge is all we see. This place is grand from the grand people who came in 1780.

The visitor center includes the 18-minute movie, "Kings Mountain, Turning Point of the South." There is also a museum with exhibits showing the life of both armies. Special programs are available throughout the year. Check before you arrive.

There are trails for hiking and abundant opportunities to watch birds, look at wild flowers, and to see wildlife.

The larger state park was created with the national park by the U.S. in 1940 and given to South Carolina. The national park's focus is history. The state park's is recreation, with camping, cabins, two lakes, and hiking trails. Oh, you'll find history in the state park, too.