Month: April 2009

Weekend Update

Posted on By Tom No Comments on Weekend Update
Local, Miscellaneous, Paddling, Photography

Clematis

As Laura put it, it was a weekend for puttering, not for heavy lifting. We started with some yard work Saturday morning, raking, blowing away pollen, spreading mulch, planting flowers, and even taking a few photos of said flowers.

I had gotten a message from my blogging friend Laura Llew that John Boyanoski would be signing copies of his books, Ghosts of Upstate South Carolina and More Ghosts of Upstate South Carolina, at Poor Richard’s Bookstore in Easley. I thought it might be fun to meet John, and to finally meet Laura L in person, so we headed out that way.

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Tales of a “Terra”-rist

Posted on By Tom 4 Comments on Tales of a “Terra”-rist
Geocaching and Maps

Last night I ran into a buddy of mine that happens to be an ATF agent. He gave me some inside scoop on an incident that I saw on the news earlier this week, one that’s given geocachers even more bad press.

On Tuesday someone reported a pipe bomb at the dam in Ware Shoals. The pipe was wrapped in camouflage tape and had the words “Terra Tube” stenciled on the side. My friend was called, and was on the way to investigate when he was told that it was OK, that it was just a Geocache.

It’s been interesting to watch the reaction to all of this. I know the person who placed the cache, and on his website he’s been outspoken about placing geocaches in inappropriate containers and locations. I don’t know how this one slipped past him, but it’s placed him in the position of having to make some uncomfortable apologies.

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Town and Country Photo Class

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Local, Photography

Photo Class

This weekend I took part in a “Town and Country Photo Hike” class taught through Furman University’s Continuing Education program.  The course was taught be photographer Diane Hopkins-Hughs, and I was looking forward to getting some new tips on photo composition, and learning about new places to shoot in Greenville.  Ann Martin also helped lead the class.  This session was the “town” portion, and we would be exploring the downtown Greenville area.  Next session will be the “country” portion, where we head out into the Upstate somewhere.

In most of the classes I’ve taken there is a wide range of abilities and skills.  You have some folks that really are just starting out, and you’ve got some that seem like they are taking the class just to show off how much they already know.  Even if the class turns out to be a very beginner class, as this one did, I try my best to stay out of that latter category.  I just don’t want to be that guy.  Even when a class doesn’t turn out to be quite what I expect, I always try to find something to take back from it.

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Getting More from Your Auto GPS

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Getting More from Your Auto GPS
Gear, Geocaching and Maps

I figured it was time for a round-up.  I’ve been talking a lot about doing various things with a GPS, but haven’t gone into much detail.  Chances are that you got a GPS for your car because you feel like you’re directionally challenged, or you just the convenience of plugging in an address and getting directions.  That’s about the extent of what most people do, but there is so much more.

Thought it might be time to talk about automobile GPSs in general, and how they can really benefit a serious rambler like myself.  The one I use is a Garmin Nuvi 205, but most of what I’ll cover here should work with just about any unit.  If you’re into geocaching, you’ll already be familiar with most of these concepts.

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Peachtree Rock Nature Preserve – Unfiltered

Posted on By Tom 3 Comments on Peachtree Rock Nature Preserve – Unfiltered
Geocaching and Maps, Local, Photography, Travel

Peachtree Rock

This Saturday our Lowcountry Unfiltered group gathered for its monthly outing. We rendezvoused just southwest of Columbia to explore the Peachtree Rock Nature Preserve, managed by the Nature Conservancy and the South Carolina Department of Natural Services. Dr. John Nelson, botanist at USC, director of the state’s Herbarium, and member of our group would serve as our guide for the day.

Lowcountry Unfiltered Gathers

In addition to John and myself, five others joined us.  We gathered at the entrance to the preserve at about 9:00, and got some preliminary information from John.  The area is one of the first set aside by the Nature Conservancy, and contains several unique habitat areas, including a long-leaf pine ecosystem.  The geology is also unusual. A hard layer of rock called ironstone covers softer layers of sandstone.  The sandstone has been eroding out from under the resistant upper layer, creating unique geological formations such as the namesake Peachtree Rock.

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