Fun at Claw House: 6 ' 18

There's a new patio brew bar at the Claw House in Murrells Inlet

It's a fun place to watch  all the action  in the harbor

and on Goat Island

Our Day Off - Samworth WMA: 4 '18

Today is our day off from the phones.  It has been a long  time since we had a day off together, and  last week was quite stressful.  We both felt like we really needed to get as far away as possible, from tax talk,  phones calls, and all the other routines of tax season.  When we suddenly realized we both had been re-scheduled to have the day off together,  we  wasted no time in taking advantage of this unexpected  blessing.  All chores were put on hold, and  we headed off  to explore the low-country  west of where we live.  

(Above) The small yellow house on the right lower side of the screen represents starting point our home ( above the 708 Springs) while the  blue car in the upper center of the screen  is where we wanted to go. The area is  by-n-large  an un-populated tract of wetlands under the control of various wildlife management organizations.  

In particular, we wanted to see the Samworth Wildlife Management Area which is located 7 miles due west of us ( as the crow flies).

To get there we had to head South on Highway 17.  Turn west via  the bridges which cross the Waccammah , Black and Pee Dee Rivers at Winyah Bay. Then circle back to the north via Highway 701.

From there  we veered off on  a series of successively smaller  paved county roads  which took us past interesting civil war ruins

and  through beautiful cypress swamps filled with waterlilies in full bloom.

Even though the Samworth WMA is only 7 miles due west of us, we had travel 24 miles to cross all the rivers creeks and streams, and it took us a full 40 minutes to reach the well graded road  leading into the WFA.

 ( *see footnote ant the end of this post for specific directions from Georgetown SC)

It was time well spent.

The Samworth WMA was a gift to the sportsmen of South Carolina from Thomas G Samworth   The original 500 acres of the property has grown to 1588 acres though acquisitions and additional conservation grants.  About 1300 acres are  wetlands, 200 acres are uplands and agricultural fields, and 88 acres are long leaf pine. From February 9 to  October 31,  the WMA facility is open  9 am to 5 pm EST to the public for fishing, bird-watching, hiking ( a 2.8 mile nature trail),  canoeing- kayaking, and plantation tours.**

To the right of the end of the road  stands the original colonial era plantation home.  

To the left is a large  picnic area  shaded by centuries old  heritage oaks

Some of which are truly impressive even by South Carolina standards

This one even boasted an osprey nest  in its crown

At the Northern end of the picnic area is a boat ramp for launching canoes and kayaks    It too is surrounded by massive centuries old Tupilo Cypress.

There is also a brand new dock to facilitate  loading, unloading, and landings. 

Both  facilitates allow easy access to  a small tributary of the Little Pee Dee River.

Other than the historic plantation house, there was not a human structure or sound  to be seen along the river.  One could get lost in the peacefulness of this place. Hopefully not literally,  as we intend to try kayaking  here.

But for the present, this trip certainly satisfied our desire to get away from it all.

We came rested and feeling at peace.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

* Directions from Georgetown travel 15 miles north on US Highway 701.  Once crossing the Black River Turn Right onto SC-S-22-4/ SC-S-22-52 and travel approximately 6 miles and turn right onto Samworth Loop road.  Follow to stop sign and turn left.  Travel about 300 feet and turn right onto Dirleton Road arriving at Samwort WMA.

**  ( For an interesting 3 min. video tour of the Samworth WMA see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toDkiw0Hp8Y)

***From February 9 to  October 31,  the WMA facility is open  9 am to 5 pm EST to the public for fishing, bird-watching, hiking ( a 2.8 mile nature trail),  canoeing- kayaking, and plantation tours.  For safety reasons, the WMA facility is closed to foot- traffic from November  1 through February 8 to allow public hunting of waterfowl, deer  feral hogs and doves.

Visiting with the neighbors, Horseshoe Crab: 7 '16

Bruce, Stinky, and I were taking our morning  walk around the plantation  when we spotted the largest horseshoe crab we have ever seen in the Pawleys Island salt water marsh .  Look at the size of this behemoth compared to the liter size plastic bottle caught in the cord grass near it.

A morning walk around the New Development 6'16

So far the heritage oaks are still standing

The sky was clear of rain clouds this morning, so Bruce and I decided to take an early morning walk around the golf course side of the  new development. Starting at the Heritage Oaks at the entrance to our street, we followed the 18th fairway  cart path east towards the 17th fairway taking photos as we went.

Bruce is standing at the corner of the heritage oak lot, looking west along Tanglewood Dr towards the Club House.

Even though it is clearly within the new owners property, the shredders left that magnificent 20 foot high Camellia and the Magnolia tree  adjacent to the 18th fairway alone.  Good thing,  I think I might have been tempted to exercise my right to bear arms had either  mature species been harmed.

This is a view of the woods along the 18th fairway looking east towards the 17th fairway.

And west towards the Tanglewood Drive

Looking through the woods from the 18th fairway

 towards Units 48 and 92.

Looking through the woods from the 18th fairway towards Units 108,

we can actually see the bird feeder in our back yard.

We have a clear view from Fairway 18 to unit 108-4 While most of the trees along the property lines are oaks, the interior of the woods is filled with pine.  I suspect many of these will be harvested soon.

Bruce is on the golf cart path  at the intersection

 of  the 18th and 17th fairways.

Here's the woods at the  corner of the 17th and 18th fairways. 

 We can now see through them to the marsh

 and the causeway to the 13th green.

 Here's the view South, along the cart path by the 17th green ,towards the 18th tee off areas.

Walk a few feet further, past the Hunt  Caretaker's House, and one would never guess how much has changed in the past week.

High Tide with Full Moon on PI Marsh 6 '16

There's a reason we call this the low country.

Whenever we have a full moon,

combined with strong south westerly winds,

and a high tide,  the marsh starts encroaching on the sea island we live on.

This evening we had all three.

Look how close the marsh was to the cart path ( above) 

 and the 12th fairway just beyond it. ( below).

High tide didn't peak  this evening until after dark, and by that time the marsh had swallowed the cart path and was licking at the greens beyond it.  The thing is this was just a windy day (only 22 MPH gusts) not even tropical storm level much less hurricane force.  Remind us to evacuate if a real storm ever heads our way.

Buck Hall Camping 10 '14

We've been having some beautiful weather, so Bruce and I decided to pack up the Kat in the RV and head south to Buck Hall Recreation Area for a three day camping getaway.

The Buck Hall  campground is bounded on the west by the Francis Marion National Forest

 and on the east by the Inter-coastal Waterway and the  Cape Romaine National Wildlife Preserve

It's a small campground.  There are only 14 campsites total, and five of those are reserved  for tent camping .

Every campsite has a view of   the Intercoastal Waterway and the Bulls Bay Marsh 

 It is one of the cleanest  campgrounds we have ever stayed in .  With its large expanses of mowed lawns and park benches it felt more like a city park.

Bruce and I spent a lot of time watching boats of every size and shape go by on the Intercoastal

and taking photos.  

Carolina homes on the Intercoastal

Everywhere we looked there was something beautiful and interesting.

 To the North of the campground there were mansions  and to the South  a local fishing dock

.

To the east was the vast open expanse of Bulls Bay and the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

There was one other feature that made it Buck Hall different from any other campground we have ever stayed in; it was geared toward fishermen.  CC was the only woman (other than the Camp Hostess) in the campground.  Every campsite was occupied by two or three men who had brought two or more trucks and one or two  fishing boats.

It was one of the quietest campgrounds we have ever stayed in.  I don't think anyone there stayed up past 9 pm.  Just before dawn all the guys would haul their boats down to the boat launch and queue up to get in the water.

Once afloat, they would circle about, waiting for their buddies to launch, then head off in groups of three or four boats to their favorite spots on the bay.  After an hour or so, the campground would be empty

 and Bruce and I would have the place to ourselves for the remainder of the day.

It was really peaceful, and we're sure to go back.