A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
This past Sunday I was privileged to attend the Farewell Reunion of Jack’s Pickin’ Parlor at the Belton Depot in Belton, South Carolina. For fifteen years Jack Ellenburg provided a place for musicians to gather and share Bluegrass, Gospel, and other tunes in a free, family-friendly environment. The Pickin’ Parlor closed in 2014, but its … Read More “A Farewell Reunion for Jack’s Pickin’ Parlor” »
My, how time flies. On May 14, 2004, RandomConnections first came online. 20 years and nearly 3000 posts later, and the site is still going strong. I know I’ve said this before on other anniversaries for the site, but here’s a brief history… In 2003 I started experimenting with blogging. The first iteration was at … Read More “Twenty Years of Random Connections!” »
Thursday was going to be a spectacular day and I was bound and determined to take advantage of it. I ran through my list of local paddling venues trying to decide where to go. I settled on a new place that wasn’t too far away that I’d been wanting to explore. I launched from a … Read More “Paddling with Cicadas Below Hartwell Dam” »
Several weeks ago I did a solo kayaking trip from Lawrence Bridge on Lake Hartwell up to the mill village of Newry. I’d done this trip before back in 2010, but thought it was high time I made a return. In those 12 years there have been many changes. The old abandoned textile mill at … Read More “Return to Newry” »
Some days are just absolutely perfect for paddling. This past Saturday was one of them. It was a Second Saturday, which meant a trip with Lowcountry Unfiltered. This particular Saturday we would be heading back to Sparkleberry Swamp, but the goal was to explore a new section of the swamp. There would be only three … Read More “From Sparkleberry to Packs Landing” »
This is my first attempt at live blogging. You would think after 20 years of blogging I would’ve done this at least once. Now live blogging is now passé, but I’m gonna do it anyway. I’m using voice transcription so things may not come out exactly right. I’m not a huge Comicon fan. Once you’ve … Read More “SC Comicon 2024” »
Hello readers! If you haven’t followed or subscribed to Carolina Ghost Towns, you would really help me out by doing that. I don’t have ads on my podcast. I don’t do Patreon. In twenty years of running this website I’ve never had ads or requested donations. Everything here has been, and will continue to be … Read More “Carolina Ghost Towns Subscriptions” »
So far I’ve got three podcast episodes out in the wild, and four more scheduled for publication. There are about four more in production, along with some bonus episodes. It’s moving along quite well. I think I’ve finally gotten into a production pattern. I’m not an audio engineer by any stretch of imagination, so I’m … Read More “My Podcasting Workflow” »
NOTE: This post was delayed a bit because I came down with a nasty bout of Covid. I’d gotten half the post written when it hit, but didn’t feel like typing or anything else. Feeling much, much better now, so here you go… It had been a long time since our gang of miscreant paddlers … Read More “Edisto River from Sullivan’s Landing to Martin’s Landing” »
Each year I try to do a photo expedition on the MLK holiday. This tradition got started years ago when I was still working in the schools. MLK was an unexpected Monday off and I hated to waste it. I’ve been retired for quite a long time now, but I still try to do an … Read More “MLK Ramble 2024 – Mayesville and Salem Black River Church” »