Sandy's on her way '12

Got home about 8pm yesterday. Overcast sky but dry roads all the way home. It started raining about midnight and hasn't stopped. The winds are still light as well... but then Sandy is still only half way up the coast of Florida so there is more to come.

Campbell's Covered Bridge '12

 CC by Campbell's Covered Bridge

There are a lot of Campbell Landmarks in Upstate South Carolina. This one was named after the miller who paid to have the bridge built so that the local farmers could more easily bring their corn to his grist mill.

Campbell's Covered Bridge located In Greenville Co SC

It was a lovely place to have a picnic.

BJ  and Campbell's Covered Bridge

The grounds around the landmark are maintained by a Boyscout troop. What a nice gift to others! 

SC State Historic Marker

 A bit more history.

Sniff

The decision has been made...we're going home early. Better to leave a day earlier than planned, than battle driving in tropical storm conditions. Plus it will give us a chance to get the patio furniture indoors before it gets too windy. It doesn't look like the South Carolina coast will get battered too badly, but I am concerned about family and friends living in the north eastern states.

Table Rock State Park, SC '12

Third adventure of the day Table Rock State Park, SC

Table Rock as seen from SC Hywy 11

The giant 3200' granite boulder known as Table Rock dominates the landscape of Pickens Co, SC. Cherokee Indian Folklore told of a enormous and powerful god who used the rock as his dining table, and the smaller peak in the foreground was the stool he used to sit on while eating at the table.  Settlers perpetuated the legend by naming the stone "Table Rock"

Table Rock as seen from State Park Road to Resort

The closer you get to the peak, the more impressive its mass. There are no roads to the top, but there are some hiking trails which will get your there ( if you are young and fit enough).

For my part, I was content enough to have a picnic by the lake at the base of the rock and enjoy the serenity and peacefulness of the moment.

Twin Falls in Pickens Co SC 12

Twin Falls, Picken Co, SC

This is Twin Falls (aka Reedy Bottom Falls, Rocky Falls, Eastatoe Falls, ... it has more aliases than an escaped convict) and finding it was our second adventure of the day. Bruce nominated it as his favorite excursion of this trip. It involved navigating through the curvy backwoods country roads, past biker bars, and bear hunters (which are out in force this time of year), driving through private property, and finally hiking up a unmarked narrow trail along side a beautiful gurgling stream, to locate this lovely 200 foot Twin Waterfall. Definitely worth the effort.

Mt Sassafras, Pickens Co., SC '12

BJ on Mt Sassafras Peak

 Mt Sassafras in Pickens County, SC at 3500+ feet is the highest mountain in South Carolina. Don't laugh, I've bagged peaks with the Desert Peak Division of the Sierra Club that weren't as high as this.

Foothills Trail Trail Marker

Of course it really wasn't much of a hike on the Foothills Trail ...

BJ on Foot Hills Trail

It was more of a short uphill walk from the parking lot where the road crossed the trail about 200 feet below the peak. 

Mt Sassafras Overlook

Just off the parking lot there was a viewing platform that provided some spectacular vistas

This view is across North-western South Carolina and beyond into Georgia

This is looking east across Pickens County toward the East Coast of South Carolina. The outer bands of Hurricane Sandy were blocking the view or we might have been able to see the coast.  

Long Shoals Roadside Park '12

Great reflections

 Surprise surprise. This beautiful little river run is right next to SC Highway 11.   Only a  small road sign, "Long Shoals Roadside Park" and a  small pull off of gives any indication that there is anything special to see.

BJ at Long Shoals Roadside Park

BJ was like a little kid when he saw this place.  He went off leaping from rock to rock with a big grin on his face 

Where are those fish hiding?    I didn't see any fish, but I am sure this is a popular spot with anglers in the Spring run off. 

Endless composition opportunities

The water was low so I could stand on dry rocks in the middle of the stream and take photos

Can't wait to get started painting some of these scenes.

Great color

 I loved the combination of rocks and water and fall color all in the same photo. Pretty sure  this and several other shots will wind up  becoming a painting.

Caesar's Head SC State Park '12

BJ hiking at Ceasars Head SP

Bruce hiking at Caesar's Head SP. under a canopy of brilliant fall foliage.

Over Look  at Ceasars Head SP toward Table Rock SP

 This mountain top park has awesome views. 

Campbells' Mountain

Seen from the same overlook is Campbell's Mountain, SC. (The farthest most peak in the photo above).  It was named for the  American Revolutionary war hero, Col. William Campbell who successfully led the patriots against  Lt. Gen. Charles Lord Cornwallis, commander-in-chief of the British army in the South.  The patriots victory  at Kings Mountain SC was one of the most important events recorded in modern history, and changed the course of the war. 

Raven Cliff Falls Caesar Head SP, SC

We hiked 5+ miles along the flank of the upper peaks of this SC State Park to an overlook for Raven Cliff Falls. It is possible to hike  an additional 1.5 hours straight down through dismal gorge to the bottom of the falls, but the trail signs warned it would then  take an additional  3 hours  to  hike straight back up.  Alternatively we could have hiked an additional mile  to a suspension bridge that crosses the top of the falls, but then we couldn't actually see the face of the falls.. We decided the overlook was the best choice for getting a good look at the 400 foot plunging waterfall.

Jones Gap SC State Park '12

BJ on trail in Jone's Gap Trail sp, SC

Come prepared for a serious workout in this SC State Park. There are some 55+ miles of hiking trails in this wilderness area. We chose to follow one of the lower elevation trails that followed an old river bed. Lots of boulder-hopping, along a beautiful rushing stream.

There's a potential painting everywhere you look '12

  There are numerous lakes in  upstate South Carolina. We tried to visit as many of them as possible today.  Keowee-Toxaway State Park was first on our itinerary.

 

Golf courses, private resorts, and pricey private developments are on the west side.

The extensive shoreline is very beautiful, but you need a boat to see it.

Lacking a watercraft, we had to settle for hiking the Natural Bridge Trail to this lovely little waterfall.

 Road to Oconee SP

The next stop was OconeeState Park.

Oconee SP serves as a jumping off point to the nearby Chattooga and Chauga rivers, hotspots for whitewater rafting and trout fishing.  It is a smaller man-made lake, and unfortunately the water level extremely low when we visited, so the only reference photos I collected were of the local  fall color.

On the road from Oconee SP we stopped at Issaqueena Falls County Park, which boasts  a beautiful 200-ft. cascade. Legend has it that the Indian maiden, Issaqueena, rode to the nearby fort to warn of a pending Indian attack and then escaped pursuing Indians by pretending to leap over the falls, but actually hiding beneath them. This easy hike will take you to the top of the falls, but a short path to the right will give you a grand view of the entire scene.  I am told that the falls are much wider in the spring, but you can't go wrong visiting this place any time of year.

Our next  stop was the Devils Fork State Park.  The land around 7,500-acre Lake Jocassee remains mostly undeveloped and the only public access point to the lake is through Devils Fork. Four mountain streams and several waterfalls feed into the lake, making it cooler than others and a great South Carolina trout fishing spot.  Boats rentals are available, and hiking trails lead around the lakefront.  Even in the flat light of midday, the scenery  along the shore was spectacular.  I captured the reference photo above from the edge of a campsite in the park.

And this is just a sampling of the what we saw.
I got a ton of state park photos today. They'll make great reference photos for new additions to my paintings of the SC State Park Series.

Golfing at Table Rock Resort Oct ' 12

Bruce and I played several rounds of  golf on the table Rock Resort Golf course during the week we stayed at the resort.  Our condo faced the first fairway.   Every morning we would wake up to the course  covered in mist and Sassafras Mt. above in aflame in sunrise. It was a beautiful way to start the day

  The course starts at the top of a mountain side,

plays down hill and across a stream

then along one side of a meadow following the stream

The meadow portion of the course is the only part that is flat.

But that does not mean it is without hazard.  Golfers have to drive around the stream which meanders from side to side. Once you near the end of the meadow, you have to drive over a fairly large pond to get onto the green.

From there you play up and back down a small narrow wooded side ravine

And then its back to the meadow again and across the stream and up another ravine

This hill top tee off has the added benefit of having a great view of one of the local waterfalls.

Well its a benefit if you can enjoy the view and still make your shot down the hill

 Its a tough shot to make.  Overshoot your target and you wind up in the boulders.

Al the ups and downs and challenging hazards made it am interesting course to play,  but it was also a frustrating one.  Not because of the difficulty, but because it is so spectacularly beautiful there that  I had trouble concentrating on the game.

Table Rock Resort '12

We'll be using the Table Rock Resort as a base camp to explore the numerous State Parks in the North west corner of South Carolina.  We got here a too late in the day to do any extensive site seeing, but if the scenery here is any example I can't wait to see more.   Lots of fall color, and the weather is absolutely perfect for out of door activities.

The Cantey Bay near Santee State Park 10 '12

The Cantey Bay is near the  Santee State Park is off of the  I 95 / SC 301 South Carolina.  I've driven by this place dozens of times and barely given it a thought.. or if I did, it was to wonder why it had been set aside as a reserve.  I found out when we drove by it on the way to upstate South Carolina.. when the daisies are in boom it is drop dead gorgeous.  I'm not kidding,  cars were slamming on their brakes to take a look.   I pulled off the highway and onto a secondary causeway that cuts across the preserve.  Got lots of reference photos.  You can bet one of them will wind  up being used as a reference for a painting for my  State Park Series.  Be forewarned if you attempt to do any photography or plein air painting there, there a the site has a lot of fire ant mounds along the road, so watch where you step.

PS also in the same area are the Santee Indian Mound and Fort Watson American Revolutionary War Site.

Charleston comes in #1 ... Again! '12

Charlestons skyline from "The Library' Rooftop Lounge

Top City in the USA? Charleston gets my vote, and apparently Conde Nast Traveler readers agree.
http://www.cntraveler.com/readers-choice-awards/united-states/top-10-cities-usa#slide=1

Colleton South Carolina State Park

Colleton is a South Carolina State Park situated Along the Edisto River. Ive been wanting to check it out The Edisto River is still and slow moving so there is good potential for beautiful reflection photos for my State Park series of paintings. Great Find!

Fort McAllister State Park, GA 10/11-10/14/12

Marsh at Fort McAllister SP GA

The Fort McAllister Georgia State Park campground is on a sea Island, so it is surrounded by water . The only way to get there is across a narrow causeway over the marsh or by boat..

There's marsh on north, west, and south east sides and a river on the east side of the island. All that water makes it very popular with fishermen. I think we were the only campers who weren't hauling a fishing boat

Which didn't stop us from exploring the marsh. We just rented a canoe and paddled around the creeks 

It's incredibly peaceful on the marsh, and the birding is fantastic.

There was also an abundance of 4 legged wildlife including armadillos. This is the farthest north I have ever seen these giant pill bug like critters. Bruce wanted to take one home but Kat and I said "No Way".

We rode out bikes a lot on this trip. It gave us a chance to stop and admire the wildflowers which are covered in migrating butterflies.

In addition to the campsite, the state park boasts a fully restored civil war confederate fort which can be toured ( for a small fee),

The fort was built underground in bunkers formed of sand. For four years the Fort held up against everything the Union forces could throw at it. When the Union naval ships would blast big craters in the place, the Confederate troops would simply rebuilt it with sand and be ready for action the next morning.

The rebels also managed to inflict some serious damage of their own with their cannon fire aimed at the Union vessels. Ironically, it was only after Sherman sent foot solders in to charge the rear walls that the Confederate stronghold was lost.

The SP also has a interesting little museum filled with Civil war artifacts and exhibits about how the men lived in the Fort and on the ships during the battles 

Mornings on the island were incredible

It truly makes one understand what is meant by the phrase "God's golden face"

But evenings were pretty interesting too. There is something downright spooky about all that Moss dancing in the light of a campfire ( Photo is of our tent camping neighbors site)

Our campsite

 We had a beautiful campsite in the woods, but all the campsites in this state park are nice. Would highly recommend the place to anyone who asks.