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A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

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The West Bank of Jocassee

Posted on August 18, 2016August 18, 2016 By Tom 2 Comments on The West Bank of Jocassee
Paddling

Lake Jocassee-7

Jocassee can be many things. Beginning paddlers can hang close to the bank and still get to some cool geological features and small waterfalls. Intermediate paddlers and venture further up to Wright Creek Falls and the Thompson River and Whitewater River areas. Experienced paddlers can take longer trips across open water to the Horsepasture and Toxaway arms of the lake. Regardless of the route taken, conditions on the lake can change in an instance, turning a leisurely paddle into a real challenge. That was really born out on my most recent trip to the lake.

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So Long, Shinola, Hello Dodson

Posted on August 15, 2016August 16, 2016 By Tom No Comments on So Long, Shinola, Hello Dodson
Local, Weirdness

Shinola Building

I was driving on Wade Hampton when I made a sad discovery. Shinola Antiques has closed. There was a real estate sign on the building and a huge dumpster out front.

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Dealing with Old Photographs

Posted on August 11, 2016August 11, 2016 By Tom 1 Comment on Dealing with Old Photographs
Family, Photography

Wright Family History - Child Family-1

Lately I’ve been hit with a deluge of old family photos. There are the Wright Family photos we found out on Samish Island. We shipped eleven boxes of albums and photos back to the east coast. Then there are the Taylor Family photos – thirteen organized and labeled albums. Throw in all of the photos I’ve taken in pre-digital days, and the number of images is astounding. I would really like to convert all of these to some sort of a digital format, but it is a mountain of a task. For the past several days I’ve been working on workflow and equipment to make the job go as smoothly as possible. Here’s what I’ve learned…

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Samish Sojourn – Wrapping Up

Posted on August 5, 2016 By Tom No Comments on Samish Sojourn – Wrapping Up
Travel

Traditional Samish Fisherman

I’m enjoying my last leisurely morning coffee in the cool air of Samish Island. It’s been a great, relaxing two weeks, but this evening we board a red eye at SeaTac to return to the heat and humidity of South Carolina. With limited Internet on the island, I haven’t done many posts, but I thought I’d recap a few things from the past two weeks that didn’t fit into one of our epic excursions.

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Paddling through Hole-in-the-Wall

Posted on August 3, 2016 By Tom No Comments on Paddling through Hole-in-the-Wall
Paddling, Travel

La Conner Kayaking-040

The Hole-in-the-Wall is notorious among sailors. It’s a narrow opening between two cliffs that separates the Swinomish Channel from Skagit Bay. The currents can be strong and tricky, the wind howls between the rock faces, and the tides can be extreme. Add to that an old rock breakwater with its own tricky hole-in-the-wall and siltation from the Skagit River, and you get a recipe for a paddling trip not lightly attempted. Yet, that’s just what I did, and I had a blast doing it.

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Samish Sojourn – Anacortes to Friday Harbor

Posted on August 2, 2016August 3, 2016 By Tom 1 Comment on Samish Sojourn – Anacortes to Friday Harbor
Travel

Quintessential Washington

We had a wonderful day heading up into the mountains with our friend, Casper. On Friday we decided to head the opposite direction – west, toward the San Juan Islands. Our plan was to take the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor.

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Samish Sojourn – Up the Skagit River Valley

Posted on July 31, 2016 By Tom No Comments on Samish Sojourn – Up the Skagit River Valley
Travel

Skagit River Valley and Cascades-1

We had already had several very peaceful days on Samish Island. Part of that time was spent going through some old documents and items in the house, and some was spent exploring. As the weekend approached we wanted to get out and do some more extended trips. One of Laura’s former colleagues at Furman, Casper Wright, was now teaching in Washington State, and would be joining us for our explorations.

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Samish Sojourn – Memories and History

Posted on July 30, 2016July 30, 2016 By Tom No Comments on Samish Sojourn – Memories and History
Family, Travel

Samish Island Backyard

We have just finished our first week on Samish Island in Washington State. We had made plans last spring to come up here when Laura’s summer research ended and spend some time working on her mom’s house. It’s a chance to relax and recharge, but also to take care of some family business. So far the weather has been spectacular, and has been a welcome break from the sweltering heat of South Carolina.

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The Echo Chamber

Posted on July 27, 2016July 27, 2016 By Tom 3 Comments on The Echo Chamber
Internet, Miscellaneous, Rants

Samish Eagle 1

That term has been tossed about quite a bit during this election cycle. As I understand it, it’s the tendency to only listen to those things that support your preconceived notions, and to disavow any evidence to the contrary. I’ve certainly seen that happen, and the speed of media has simply increased the divisiveness created by such echo chambers. Even so, I’ve decided to create my own echo chamber, and here’s why…

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Pokemon Go

Posted on July 20, 2016 By Tom 2 Comments on Pokemon Go
Geocaching and Maps, Internet, Miscellaneous, Weirdness

IMG_8595

I did it. I downloaded the Pokemon Go app and have been playing it off and on for the past week. My intent was to sit down and write up a blog post, but as soon as I got a few seconds to gather my thoughts, some other blog post or news article had come out covering, hyping, complaining about the very points I wanted to cover. It seemed that anything I wrote would just be additional noise. But, to heck with it…

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