Peachtree Rock Nature Preserve – Unfiltered

Posted on By Tom 3 Comments on Peachtree Rock Nature Preserve – Unfiltered
Geocaching and Maps, Local, Photography, Travel

Peachtree Rock

This Saturday our Lowcountry Unfiltered group gathered for its monthly outing. We rendezvoused just southwest of Columbia to explore the Peachtree Rock Nature Preserve, managed by the Nature Conservancy and the South Carolina Department of Natural Services. Dr. John Nelson, botanist at USC, director of the state’s Herbarium, and member of our group would serve as our guide for the day.

Lowcountry Unfiltered Gathers

In addition to John and myself, five others joined us.  We gathered at the entrance to the preserve at about 9:00, and got some preliminary information from John.  The area is one of the first set aside by the Nature Conservancy, and contains several unique habitat areas, including a long-leaf pine ecosystem.  The geology is also unusual. A hard layer of rock called ironstone covers softer layers of sandstone.  The sandstone has been eroding out from under the resistant upper layer, creating unique geological formations such as the namesake Peachtree Rock.

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Middle Tyger Connected

Posted on By Tom 3 Comments on Middle Tyger Connected
Local

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Yesterday we got word that Groce Rd, next to our office, would be closed while a new pedestrian bridge was being moved into place across the Middle Tyger River. Later in the afternoon things had slowed down enough that I decided to wander down and see what was going on. I got there just as the bridge was being lifted into place, and decided to stay and watch it happen.

The new pedestrian bridge is part of a grant-funded project called “Middle Tyger Connected.” Funding has been provided by the Mary Black Foundation, with additional funding from the Middle Tyger Chamber of Commerce and District Five Schools of Spartanburg. The project will connect the town of Lyman with the district’s S.C.A.L.E outdoor classroom and the new Stoneledge Park in Duncan.

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Western SC Tower Tour

Posted on By Tom 7 Comments on Western SC Tower Tour
Entertainment, Geocaching and Maps, Local, Photography, Rants, Travel

Westminster/Oakvale Tower

It seems like spring break got away from me without my being about to get out and visit the lookout towers like I wanted. This Friday was one of the best days, as far as weather was concerned, so I was able to visit some of the locations. My target would be those towers located in Northwestern South Carolina, along with any other interested tidbits I might discover along the way. It was a push, but I managed to visit eight tower locations in one day.

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Family Haunts

Posted on By Tom 6 Comments on Family Haunts
History and Genealogy, Photography

Road to the Home Place

I have always enjoyed looking at the photos of Scott West (South Carolina’s Northern Kingdom). Scott and I seem to cover some of the same territory in Laurens County, and I’ve always admired his gutsy trespassing to get great shots of the interiors of old abandoned houses and interesting places.

Recently, Scott posted a couple of pictures of the old Poole Homestead in the Long Branch Community of Laurens County. I immediately recognized the place as being in one of the old photos my Dad has. After a couple of message exchanges it turns out that we do have some distant family connections (don’t ALL Southerners?) and that some of his family had attended Long Branch Pentecostal Holiness, where my father had pastored years ago.

That brings us to this Tuesday. My mother had taken a trip to visit her sisters in North Carolina, so my Dad was on his own for the week. Since I was on spring break, I decided to head down and hang out with him, and see if I could find this photo of the Poole Homestead. I did find it, and we decided to take a tour of some of the old family haunts throughout Newberry and Laurens Counties.

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South Carolina Heritage Corridor

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on South Carolina Heritage Corridor
Geocaching and Maps, Local, Travel

While out driving the rural highways of South Carolina you may have come across a road sign with this symbol… Seeing a road sign like this lets you know that you are on either the South Carolina Discovery Route, or the South Carolina Nature Route, both parts of the South Carolina Heritage Corridor. On the … Read More “South Carolina Heritage Corridor” »

Fatz Cafe: Where Everyone’s Irregular

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Fatz Cafe: Where Everyone’s Irregular
Rants, Restaurants

Warning, trivial rant ahead.  I know this is minor in the grand scheme of things, and it’s not a really big deal, but sometimes it just all goes wrong… Dinner.  Supposed to be a simple affair, especially if you’re dining out.  That wasn’t the case this evening.  Our dinner at Fatz Cafe was a comedy … Read More “Fatz Cafe: Where Everyone’s Irregular” »

Expanding My Media Empire

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Expanding My Media Empire
EdTech, General Technology, Geocaching and Maps

For some time now I’ve been searching for a way to host media files without clogging up my storage space here on RandomConnections.  Specifically, I’ve wanted a place for audio and for Google Earth files.   Being something of a cheapskate, I really didn’t want to pay for more storage on the site, so I was looking for free alternatives.  I think I’ve finally pieced together a solution, and I’m ready to go live with it.  It’s not the most elegant solution, but it works for me.  More importantly, it doesn’t cost anything.

I had tried both Houndbite and Boomp3 for free audio file hosting.  For the most part I liked Houndbite, but it was completely unreliable.  For the past three weeks it was offline, and just recently came back.  I couldn’t use it in my Google Earth demonstrations as I might have liked.  Since I was having so many troubles with Houndbite, I tried Boomp3.  That is now completely defunct.

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