A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
As a teenager I’d read a South Carolina Wildlife article about Capers Island, a barrier island on the coast. The place fascinated me, a wild, undeveloped island accessible only by boat. On this paddling trip with Lowcountry Unfiltered I was to learn that there are TWO Capers Islands in South Carolina, and the one we visited had some unusual human-created features.
It a long haul from Samish Island, Washington to Greenville, South Carolina. It’s even longer when you’re traveling with animals and have a limited drive time. Last time I did this drive it was with our two cats. This time we were traveling with Amy’s dog, Luna. Also, instead of heading straight home, we threw in a side trip to Oregon to visit Laura’s Aunt Ellen.
We had taken one ferry trip, but the Keystone to Port Townsend trip was a bit short for Laura’s tastes. She wanted a longer ferry ride. So this past Wednesday we headed over to Anacortes to catch the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. This time we would be walk-on passengers. Our plan … Read More “On the Ferry with a $20 Camera” »
When we were living out here in Washington I bemoaned the dearth of flea markets like the ones we had back home. There just weren’t any that met on a regular basis. There were yard sales and annual events, but no weekly markets like the Anderson Jockey Lot or Pickens Flea Market. What the PNW … Read More “Anacortes Shipwreck Days” »
Several weeks ago Laura and her sister Amy drove across country to the house they inherited on Samish Island, Washington. They spent some sister time together and were able to do some final steps to close out their parents’ estate. Earlier this week Amy and I traded places. I flew out on Monday and will drive back across with Laura in a couple of weeks. In the meantime we’ll be getting back together with friends and visiting places we came to love during our year out here.
The ghost town of Ferguson has been on my mind quite a lot lately. I’ve written a couple of articles about it and my blog posts about the town continue to be the most popular. I’m involved with a project dealing with Lake Marion and Ferguson that I’m not at liberty to discuss online, but … Read More “Return to Ferguson” »
The Bamberg Chamber of Commerce has been sponsoring trips on the Edisto River the first Saturday of each month. I joined them back in April for a section from Zig-Zag Landing down to Whetstone Landing. This month they were paddling from Bobcat Landing on the South Edisto down to Brabham Landing. It was a new … Read More “Edisto River from Bobcat Landing to Brabham Landing” »
It’s strange how procrastination operates, especially when blogging. I like to keep things as current as possible, but sometimes I get behind. That’s when a vicious cycle kicks in. I feel like I can’t write about new things until I’ve covered some of the events I’ve missed, then I get to a point where the backlog seems insurmountable. At that point procrastination becomes stagnation.
Friend and fellow kayaker Terry Alexander has been wanting me to come up and paddle his favorite river, the North Toe. A couple of weeks ago while Laura was out of town I finally got a chance to do just that. I spent a great couple of days in the Linville, NC area catching up, … Read More “Dipping a Toe in the North Toe” »
When I bought Big Red last December I did so with one specific venue in mind – Lake Jocassee. Jocassee is remote and some of the coolest locations are a distant paddle. I was thinking that a nearly 18′ boat with a rudder might make those spots more accessible. It’s been almost half a year since I bought the thing, but I decided that it was time to take Big Red out for its first run on the lake.