A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
Sometime back, Laura and I were driving down White Horse Road and it struck us just how many unkept cemeteries there were. I made a mental note to check on these, and subsequently several were added to my list of orphaned graveyards. One that struck me as particularly forlorn was located right next to an … Read More “Orphaned Graveyards – Bakers Chapel AME” »
Continuing with my exploration of old and abandoned church graveyards, one of the most surprising and upsetting finds was the graveyard of Fellowship Church. Located at the intersection of Fork Shoals Road and Georgia Road, the graveyard is abandoned and trash laden. The plot is now bounded by a Dollar General to the east and … Read More “Orphaned Graveyards – Fellowship Church” »
I don’t know why, but this pandemic has given me the worst case of writer’s block…ever. I will try to catch up, but I make no guarantees. With writer’s block comes a loss of direction. When I’m out rambling I usually do so knowing that I’ll write about it here. It gets to be a … Read More “Back to the Santee with Lowcountry Unfiltered” »
These past couple of weeks have been difficult with the loss of our brother-in-law. I’m trying to catch up on several posts. I was able to take a few kayaking trips during that time, mostly as a way to cope with stress. One of those trips was a full moon kayaking trip on the Saluda … Read More “Moonlight on the Saluda” »
A few summers ago several of my friends and I started doing what we called “Water Wednesdays.” We would pick a different venue each week and try to get out on the water. Since then several of my paddling friends have retired and in this time of social distancing, it seemed like a good time … Read More “Social Distancing on Water Wednesdays” »
No words. There are really no words to describe the experience of a total solar eclipse. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to try. At least I can show a few of the photos I took (nearly 10,000, if you include the GoPro time-lapse images) and describe the events at our house leading up to and during the eclipse. It was a most excellent eclipse party, and the experience is one I wouldn’t have missed for anything.
This was my last Second Saturday with Lowcountry Unfiltered before we move out west. I was hoping for an epic trip for this outing, and Matt came up with a perfect venue. This particular Saturday we would be exploring the wilds of the Lynches River through Florence County. It would be one of our longer treks, and take us through areas we had not yet explored. It did turn out to be an epic, and most excellent trip.
Read More “Paddling the Lynches River with Lowcountry Unfiltered” »
I recently acquired a map from my Aunt Grace’s estate. While she was in Paris she found an old map of South Carolina in an antique store. The map had lots of interesting information, including the slave population for each county. The information and history intrigued her, and since it was from her home state, she bought it. Aunt Grace knew that I was a map geek and was especially interested in the history of the state. Before she died she expressed her desire that I get the map. I won’t go into the long and sordid details of how it did eventually end up in my possession, but rather delve into the history of the map itself and the cartographers that created this work of art.
Back at the end of May I posted a link on Facebook about an artist in Bulgaria. Vanyu Krastev puts googly-eyes on bits of broken concrete and other things to turn them into humorous faces. When I suggested that we do the same thing around Greenville, Vicky Turgeon said she wanted in on the action. Today we finally got our schedules to match, so Laura and I joined Vicky and her kids, Nicholas and Emma, to “eyebomb” downtown Greenville.
I was out and about exploring the Pee Dee region of the state, searching for ghost towns. I’d already found a couple of potentials – Ella’s Grove, Centenary, and Eulonia – and I’d stopped by the Marion County Museum and had lunch on Main Street in Marion. Now it was on to a couple more remote locations, and eventually find my way back home.
Read More “Ghost Towns of the Pee Dee – Part 4, Jordanville to Dalcho” »