Geocaching and Maps – Page 4 – Random Connections

The Journey Home from Olanta

September 26, 2015September 26, 2015 Tom No Comments

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Photography, Rambling

It had been a long day. I had gotten up early and driven down to Orangeburg, then followed the Tobacco Trail along US Highway 301 through Orangeburg and Clarendon Counties. I had crossed over into Florence County into the town of Olanta. I thought about pushing on to the town of Florence, but when I checked my GPS I saw that it was going to take several hours to get home as it was, so it was time to head back. Even so, I made a couple of stops and detours. These were interesting sights worthy of documentation, but I didn’t think they fit with the Tobacco Trail narrative.

Lunch on the Tobacco Trail at the Chat n Chew

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015 Tom 1 Comment

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Photography, Rambling, Restaurants

I do my homework before I go out on these extended photo expeditions. I like to know what’s in an area so that I make sure I can get to my intended target. Sure, I miss things. There were lots of things I had to skip on this particular trek. Sometimes I find too much, and those extra places of interest become distractions from my intended target. Sometimes, though, things work out perfectly, as was the case with lunch at the Chat n’ Chew in Turbeville on this particular trek.

The Tobacco Trail through Clarendon County

September 25, 2015 Tom 4 Comments

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Photography, Rambling

I had come to a roadblock on the Tobacco Trail, quite literally. The Highway 301 bridge across Lake Marion still exists, and still connects across the lake. However, in 1987 it was closed to automotive traffic, and now serves as a fishing bridge. If I were going to cross from Orangeburg into Clarendon County, I was going to have to do some backtracking.

The Rise of Santee on The Tobacco Trail

September 22, 2015September 26, 2015 Tom 1 Comment

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Rambling

For some reason the town of Santee intrigues me. It’s something of an anomaly compared to the other cities on the Tobacco Trail. There is no main street or central business district. Those features make me think that the town as, say, Orangeburg, Allendale or Bamberg. I decided to find out more about it. In the process of that research I discovered a new ghost town.

The Tobacco Trail through Orangeburg County, Part 2

September 20, 2015February 1, 2020 Tom 14 Comments

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Photography, Rambling

I was out exploring the Tobacco Trail through South Carolina. So far I had started at the SC-GA border on the Savannah River and had crossed Allendale, Bamberg, and a good portion of Orangeburg Counties. Orangeburg is a large county, and is bordered by Lake Marion on the east. I was ready to check out the rest of the county, and see how far I could go on this day’s exploration.

The Tobacco Trail through Orangeburg County, Part One

September 18, 2015September 23, 2015 Tom 3 Comments

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Photography, Rambling

So far I had traveled across two South Carolina counties on The Tobacco Trail, aka US Highway 301. I still had a long way to go, though. I was able to get through about a third of Orangeburg when we had a death in the family. Yesterday I was able to go knock out another huge chunk of the highway.

The Tobacco Trail through Bamberg County

September 13, 2015September 13, 2015 Tom 4 Comments

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Photography, Rambling

I’d made it through Allendale County, my GPS beeping every time I reached the location of an old tourist spot that I had marked. I was following the Tobacco Trail through South Carolina on Highway 301. Now I had just crossed the Salkehatchie River into Bamberg County.

The Tobacco Trail through Allendale County

September 11, 2015September 18, 2015 Tom 5 Comments

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Photography, Rambling

I was out exploring Highway 301, the Tobacco Trail. I had driven down early in the morning, trying to resist distractions along the way. Once I finally reached my starting point I visited two old welcome centers, one still in operation, and one finding new life. Now it was time to continue eastward. However, my day was running out, and the trip was much quicker than I would have liked.

The Tobacco Trail – An Introduction

September 7, 2015September 7, 2015 Tom 1 Comment

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Travel

On our last Lowcountry Unfiltered kayaking trip on the Savannah River Larry Easler and I drove back along Highway 301. We were amazed at the number of old motels and abandoned tourist spots along the way. I knew it had to have once been a major thoroughfare, now bypassed by I-95, but I wanted to know more about it. What was its history? How did this highway through one of the most desolate parts of South Carolina become such a major route? The answer turned out to be much more interesting than I could have possibly imagined.

In a previous post I wrote about the old auto trails that predated the US Highway System, and the business associations that promoted these routes and the tourist amenities along them. Here’s the story about how Highway 301 became known as The Tobacco Trail, one of the most important north-south routes along the Eastern Seaboard.

GeoPodcasting Revisited

February 28, 2015 Tom 1 Comment

Geocaching and Maps, Internet, Music, Podcast

Back in 2007 I wrote an post entitled “Geopodcasting – Adding Location to Audio.” I had just given a talk at SC EdTech on geotagging, and the post was meant to explore the idea of geotagging audio files.

There have been lots of changes in the seven and a half years since that post came out. I wanted to revisit the subject and see what tools and options are now available for for adding location data to audio.

Back in 2007 photo geotagging was just taking off. It was (and still is, to some extent) a tricky process. Back then smart phones weren’t as prevalent, so not too many people had a hand-held device that could combine GPS, imagery, and audio. Today we have iPhones, Androids, and various tablets that can do all of this. So you would think that the process would be much easier. But is it?

Read More “GeoPodcasting Revisited” »