A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
We have just finished our first week on Samish Island in Washington State. We had made plans last spring to come up here when Laura’s summer research ended and spend some time working on her mom’s house. It’s a chance to relax and recharge, but also to take care of some family business. So far the weather has been spectacular, and has been a welcome break from the sweltering heat of South Carolina.
That term has been tossed about quite a bit during this election cycle. As I understand it, it’s the tendency to only listen to those things that support your preconceived notions, and to disavow any evidence to the contrary. I’ve certainly seen that happen, and the speed of media has simply increased the divisiveness created by such echo chambers. Even so, I’ve decided to create my own echo chamber, and here’s why…
I did it. I downloaded the Pokemon Go app and have been playing it off and on for the past week. My intent was to sit down and write up a blog post, but as soon as I got a few seconds to gather my thoughts, some other blog post or news article had come out covering, hyping, complaining about the very points I wanted to cover. It seemed that anything I wrote would just be additional noise. But, to heck with it…
This is the one that started it all – the float to inspire all future adventures with the group known collectively, and increasingly misnamed “Lowcountry Unfiltered.” It was time for our annual Edisto River Beer Commercial and Rope Swing Float. This year didn’t let us down. We had quite the adventure, and not quite the one we were expecting.
Read More “Eighth Annual Lowcountry Unfiltered Edisto River Beer Commercial and Rope Swing Float” »
As I mentioned in the previous post, the past several weeks got away from me. The July 4th weekend was a blur, and the weekends on either side weren’t much better. It seems that we had far too much going on, and not enough time for blogging. So, I’ve decided to hit a few highlights.
The last couple of weeks have been crazy hectic. There have been concerts, paddling trips, family obligations and trips to Florida. Even with all of that, I’ve found time to take lots of photos, process, then upload them. It’s not like I haven’t had time to write – I’ve simply lacked motivation. When I look … Read More “Writer’s Block” »
The day was supposed to be hot. I thought the perfect antidote would be a cool mountain lake. So, Thursday morning I headed out early for what I thought would be a quick morning paddle on Lake Jocassee. As usual, I got caught up in the thrill of wanting to see what was just around the next bend, and wound up spending most of the day there. It met all my requirements for a cool lake, and then some.
In 1987 I was only a mere 70 miles from Stonehenge on the summer solstice. At the time I was young and too ignorant of both the date and geography to make an effort to get down there. Over the years I’ve kicked myself mentally for that lapse, although I probably couldn’t have gotten close with all of the crowds. Even so, I’ve tried to do something special for either the winter or summer solstice each year, whether it’s a kayaking or some other outing. This year I decided to watch the sun rise from Bald Rock.
Several weeks ago I spent some time searching for remnants of the Swamp Rabbit Railroad. This isn’t the famous one in Greenville that later became a popular trail. Instead, it’s a line constructed by the Ohio River and Charleston Railroad to serve textile communities in the Upstate. Despite ambitious plans, it was only completed from Blacksburg down through Cherokee Falls, then over to Gaffney. The railroad was short-lived, but in the early 1970s the section from Blacksburg to Cherokee Falls found new life as a scenic railroad for a bit. That, too failed, and now the railroad is abandoned.
I had explored as much as I could by land. Google Earth indicated the existence of a couple of supports for the old railroad trestle in the Broad River, but I couldn’t get close enough to see them. The trestle crossed Goat Island, which also figures prominently in the story of the Swamp Rabbit. This past week Alan Russell and I were able to get out on the water, and visit these locations.
Read More “Chasing a THIRD Swamp Rabbit – Part 5, Paddling to Goat Island” »
It was hot. Extremely hot. My mind wandered to places where I might stay cool that didn’t require air conditioning. Standing under a waterfall seemed like it might be a good idea, but I couldn’t decide which would work best. Eventually, I decided a cave would do. There are no true caves in our area, but the next closest thing is Stumphouse Tunnel. I decided I’d take the cameras and head up that way. Along the way I would snag Ken in Clemson.