A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
As usual, fellow explorer Alan Russell and I planned to a ramble on MLK Day, as we do each year. We brainstormed several options, and decided to head to upper Anderson County to the community of Slabtown. I had actually visited these sites back in 2021 with the intention of writing a blog post about … Read More “Slabtown, Equality, and the Thalian Web – MLK 2025” »
Today starts Season 2 of my podcast, Carolina Ghost Towns. I realize I’ve been doing readers here a disservice. I’ve been devoting lots of my efforts into the podcast, but it doesn’t show up here, except on the Podcast page, a link which doesn’t seem to be working on my main page. Therefore, I’ve decided … Read More “Podcast Episode – Cambridge and Ninety Six” »
Yeah, it’s been a hell of a year. It started with big plans for travel and other projects. It ended with depression and wondering where things are going in 2025. There were lots of ups and downs along the way. On the positive side, I started my new podcast, Carolina Ghost Towns. That’s been a … Read More “2024 Wrap Up” »
With all the chaos post-Helene I haven’t had much of a chance to get out and explore. I’ve been working on scripts for season 2 of Carolina Ghost Towns, which will include an episode on the ghost town of Shelton in Fairfield County. It had been awhile since I had visited, so I thought it … Read More “Seeking Shelton” »
Each year about this time I get lots of comments like this – “You would make a great Santa!” This year it went even further. I was invited to be Santa for a local Christmas parade. I declined, mostly because I wouldn’t be able to find a good suit in the short time before the … Read More “Saint Nicholas – Sinterklaas – Santa Claus” »
I needed to do something totally unrelated to dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. For several months Debbie Weeks from the Upstate Cemetery Preservation Alliance has been inviting me to join them on several outings, but the timing just never worked out. This time the planets aligned and I was about to join them. … Read More “Antioch and GPR” »
We knew there was a storm coming. We had charged up all of our devices and power blocks knowing that we would lose power. We had stocked up on a few things that we could cook easily on a camp stove. We were ready. …or so we thought. Hurricane Helene really did a number on … Read More “Going to Helene and (almost) Back” »
It seems that my paddling group, Lowcountry Unfiltered, has fallen apart. We’ve all been pulled in different directions and Second Saturday trips are no longer a given. There’s another Facebook paddling group called Carolina Splash Mob that has paddling trips just about every weekend. My plan was to join them on Saturday for a trip … Read More “Paddling Keowee on a Busy Saturday” »
…or, rather, catfished AFTER a family reunion. Most of my ancestors have stayed right here in South Carolina and lived within a couple of hours drive of where I now live. That makes genealogy a bit easier for me. Especially on my mother’s side you just have to head down to the Greenwood-Abbeville-Edgefield-Saluda area (AKA, … Read More “Catfished at a Family Reunion” »
For well over a year now I’ve been playing in a Bluegrass jam at Fireforge Crafted Beer in downtown Greenville. The jam is hosted by Matt Puriton and Sam Kruer and features some amazing musicians from around the upstate. Each week I’m amazed at the quality of music that comes out, and we have a … Read More “Bluegrass at Fireforge” »