A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
I was browsing through the University of South Carolina’s collection of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. These maps are highly detailed maps of towns and cities from the early 20th Century and are excellent for historical research. According to Wikipedia… Sanborn maps are detailed maps of U.S. cities and towns in the 19th and 20th centuries. Originally … Read More “We’ll Always Have Paris” »
A new episode of Carolina Ghost Towns has dropped. This one is about the lost town of Shelton on the banks of the Broad River in Fairfield County, South Carolina.
It had been far too long since I’ve had a kayak out on a river. Hurricane Helene brought a halt to most of my paddling activities. I did some trips down in Florida over the holidays, but I was in need of some Edisto time. When I saw that the Edisto River Canoe and Kayak … Read More “Givhans to Good Hope – Edisto River with ERCK” »
A new podcast episode is out. I’ve embedded it below:
As usual, fellow explorer Alan Russell and I planned to a ramble on MLK Day, as we do each year. We brainstormed several options, and decided to head to upper Anderson County to the community of Slabtown. I had actually visited these sites back in 2021 with the intention of writing a blog post about … Read More “Slabtown, Equality, and the Thalian Web – MLK 2025” »
Today starts Season 2 of my podcast, Carolina Ghost Towns. I realize I’ve been doing readers here a disservice. I’ve been devoting lots of my efforts into the podcast, but it doesn’t show up here, except on the Podcast page, a link which doesn’t seem to be working on my main page. Therefore, I’ve decided … Read More “Podcast Episode – Cambridge and Ninety Six” »
Yeah, it’s been a hell of a year. It started with big plans for travel and other projects. It ended with depression and wondering where things are going in 2025. There were lots of ups and downs along the way. On the positive side, I started my new podcast, Carolina Ghost Towns. That’s been a … Read More “2024 Wrap Up” »
With all the chaos post-Helene I haven’t had much of a chance to get out and explore. I’ve been working on scripts for season 2 of Carolina Ghost Towns, which will include an episode on the ghost town of Shelton in Fairfield County. It had been awhile since I had visited, so I thought it … Read More “Seeking Shelton” »
Each year about this time I get lots of comments like this – “You would make a great Santa!” This year it went even further. I was invited to be Santa for a local Christmas parade. I declined, mostly because I wouldn’t be able to find a good suit in the short time before the … Read More “Saint Nicholas – Sinterklaas – Santa Claus” »
I needed to do something totally unrelated to dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. For several months Debbie Weeks from the Upstate Cemetery Preservation Alliance has been inviting me to join them on several outings, but the timing just never worked out. This time the planets aligned and I was about to join them. … Read More “Antioch and GPR” »