A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
This was a second Saturday weekend, and we had a paddling trip planned with Lowcountry unfiltered. For this trip the guys decided to stay close to home – their home near Bluffton, SC. I planned to head down a day early and do some photography, but a friend from Savannah had another suggestion. We would sneak in another paddling trip Friday afternoon. For this trip we would be heading to the New River, between Hardeeville and Bluffton.
Three of the things I’ve never done: I’d never kayaked on the Catawba River, even though the Catawba River Keeper website links to some of my resources about the river. I had never been to Lansford Canal State Park. I had never seen spider lilies in bloom. All of that was about to change.
Another Second Saturday and time for a Lowcountry Unfiltered adventure. This was actually a cross-over event, with as many participants from the Church of the Double-Bladed Paddle group on Facebook as LCU participants. Granted, two of us were in both groups, but still. The venue was one for the books – Turkey Creek and Stevens Creek in McCormick County turned out to be a waterway with an identity crisis. It didn’t know if it wanted to be Upcountry or Lowcountry.
Read More “A River with an Identity Crisis: Paddling Turkey and Stevens Creeks” »
It was a beautiful spring day, perfect for exploring downtown and the Falls Park area. Ken wanted to get some photos of the Rock Quarry Garden for a painting subject, so Tuesday morning of this past week I drove over to Clemson to get him for a downtown Greenville photo walk.
NOTE: Once again, I’m playing catch-up. I had interrupted my Newberry ramble with a couple of other posts that were a bit more time-sensitive. Now we’re back to our trip from a couple of weeks ago.
My sister Glynda and I had been on a photo trek across Newberry County searching for old schools and churches. We had left Newberry and dipped down into Saluda County for a bit. We would eventually make our way back to Newberry and make some more discoveries.
Read More “Newberry Schools and Churches Ramble – Part Three” »
Glynda and I were on a ramble through Newberry County. I had several points of interest loaded into my GPS, including some schools and historic churches. So far we had visited three historic schools one one church, but we were just getting started. There was much more to see.
Read More “Newberry Schools and Churches Ramble – Part Two” »
This past weekend had already been incredibly busy. There was the Morten Lauridsen event, SC Comicon, and I was barely getting started. Seems like everyone had an event planned for this first weekend in April, and I was going to hit as many of them as I could.
Glynda was at our house for dinner and we were looking out the back picture windows with a view of our lake. She made the comment that everything was getting green so fast. We were almost past the point of winter rambling, where vegetation doesn’t obscure the hidden treasures on backwoods roods. We decided it was time for one last photo trek before the leaves set on in earnest, hiding old buildings and other items of interest. Our target area would be Newberry County and parts of Saluda County.
I made my usual trip preparations – recharging camera batteries, scanning Google Earth and Facebook for possible targets, and loading up my GPS with points of interest. My POIs for this trip included several old schools, some of which I’d missed for whatever reason, along with several historic churches and cemeteries.
Read More “Newberry Schools and Churches Ramble – Part One” »
Duncan Chapel Cemetery near Furman University is often called “The Children’s Cemetery.” It’s rumored to be haunted, and paranormal investigators have left toys on the headstones to engage the spirits of the children. Dubious science aside, this whole notion and nickname are based on a false premise. While I was out and about exploring Greenville I made some discoveries that cast doubt on the idea of this being a “children’s” cemetery.
There’s a problem with belonging to several paddling groups on Facebook. Everyone is posting these fantastic shots of their paddling trips, and I start to develop a case of paddling envy. With beautiful weather this past week, I decided I had to get out on the water, even if it was just a short paddle on a local lake. After looking at several options, I decided on Saluda Lake on the west side of Greenville.