Friday, May 22, 2015

More Waterfalls - May 21, 2015

Another gorgeous day here in  the up country.  Perfect for a ride to see some waterfalls that are on our list.  First stop is at Chau Ram County Park to view Ramsey Creek Falls.  The brochure listing the 31 falls in the area didn't mention the county park is 200 acres of scenic beauty.  It is the site where the  Chauga (pronounced Chawga) River meets Ramsey Creek, thus the  name "Chau Ram".  The park offers picnic sites, hiking trails, 25 overnight camping spots, some with hook ups, playground, fishing, and swimming.  We plan on returning another time to picnic and fish.
 
 
 


 

 
Suspension bridge over the river

View of the river and bridge from one of the picnic sites 
 
 
Our second destination was the Brasstown Falls further north.  The brochure didn't mention that the falls were in the middle of Sumter National Forest via a gravel and forest service dirt road, and although it did say it was a short walk to the falls, it didn't explain that in order to see the 4 sets of falls, you'd have to walk down a steep trail.  Consequently, we didn't get to enjoy its beauty other than looking at pictures of it on the web!
FS 751, the road at the falls trail entrance 

Evidently the water isn't the only thing that falls here.
This is the best photo we could get of the upper falls, and Bob had to venture out to a rock  cropping to get it.




 



 





Monday, May 18, 2015

Trip to Six Mile May 14 2015

We never did find the actual town of Six Mile which is about 25 miles northeast of us, but we finally found the marine canvas shop we were looking for  after two attempts.  The seats on our pontoon boat are in need of recovering.  Our park owner suggested Janice's in Six Mile.  We towed and left the boat there to have the work done, which will take about 3-4 weeks since there is a backlog of orders.
On the way, we passed the Oconee Nuclear Power Plant on the Keowee River, Lake Keowee, and the site of Pickens Court House.  After dropping off the boat, we decided to check out the historic site.

The town called Pickens Court House, named after a famed Revolutionary war hero, Andrew Pickens, was established in 1828 when settlers heading south decided they didn't want to go any further and stopped on a knoll on the banks of the Keowee River.  The town had a jail and the court house, and later it was decided by the clergy that it needed a Presbyterian church, so one was built around 1838, although the date is not certain since all church records have been destroyed.  In 1868, politicians decided the population growth warranted dividing the area into two counties, so Oconee County was formed, with Walhalla as the county seat, and a new town called Pickens was established as the county seat for Pickens County.  Little by little, folks moved from Pickens Court House to either Walhalla or Pickens, some literally taking their house with them. The old court house was moved to Pickens.  Except for the church which was spared, whatever buildings remained in Pickens Court House met the same fate as Portman Shoals.  Everything went under water when Lake Keowee was created in the 1960's.
 
 
 
 


The church is open for tours on Sundays from 2-5 pm.  We might go back another time to see the inside.


Rural Townville May 2015

When we first arrived, we saw some type of grass being grown in the fields around the farmlands.  It amazed us to see how fast it grew, especially with all the rains in April.  Once it became dry looking, it was mowed, left to dry more, and then rolled into hay bales.
In 2 months, the grass grew over 2 feet high
 
Letting the grasses dry
A pasture of rolled hay appeals to the country bumpkin in me. It also looks as though the grass is starting to sprout again.

Now the farmers have planted corn.  It will be fun to watch it grow.
This is Happistance...Charlie's new veterinarian clinic.
 This is looking at  entrance to the clinic from the office.  The two doctors have several buildings and barns on the large property, in addition to two horses in a pasture.

Their black horse was being camera shy
 


GSP May 4 2015

Our sister-in-law, Amy, needed a ride to and from the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) since she was flying to Tampa to attend her grandson's first Holy Communion the first weekend in May.  The airport is east of Greenville off I-85.  Although traffic was heavy around Greenville, especially at the exit to I-385 towards Columba, it was amazing how laid back it was at the airport itself.  
 
The road to the airport off I-85 looks like you are driving into a state park
 
                                                     The terminal  is behind the fountain
                                  A view of the fountain and flags from the terminal sidewalk
The folks around here dearly love sculptures
Hope you had a good flight, Amy!






Anderson May 2015

A historical marker on Rte 24, a road into Anderson, commemorates Portman Shoals. Approximately 1000 feet north of the sign was a power plant.  Back at the turn of the century, it provided the longest high voltage line in the country.  Its supply of energy is what gave Anderson its nickname of The Electric City. What the marker didn't mention is that the town of Portman Shoals as well as the power plant totally disappeared underwater in the 1950's when Lake Hartwell was created.
 
 
A view of the lake near the historical marker turnoff
 
 
The main branch of the Anderson County library is in the downtown historic district of Anderson.  It is a beautiful two story structure.  Various sculptures are near the entrance.
 

 
"Poetry" is situated between the front and side entrances
 
"Huckleberry Fish"
The Family benches


 
Not far from the library is a pavilion where the Anderson Farmer's Market is held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings from May until November.
Parking area near the pavilion and across from the Anderson Art Center.  I love the pedestal clock.
I went to the market at 9 am on May 2, the first day it opened.
 The vendors had some home baked goods, lots of jewelry and art, one was a beekeeper who sold honey and candles made of bees wax, but only one  had any vegetables, and those were mainly lettuce and radishes.  I think it was too early in the season.  I will give it a try another time.
 
 




Sunday, May 17, 2015

K-5 Update

The April rains turned the red clay on our lot into thick, red mud.  The park owner agreed to put a load of gravel in the area where Bob parks his truck since the ground there was sunken in from when a pipe was put underground.  Bob plans on leveling the lot with fill dirt and then plant grass to prevent future mud puddles.

What we thought were cute jumbo bumble bees turn out to be wood boring carpenter bees which are known to cause major damage to wood structures.  Bob found out that an aerosol, such as an automotive brake cleaner, sprayed into the holes where they nest kills them almost instantly.

We now have two vegetable garden areas.  One has roma tomatoes, green peppers, and has been seeded with dill which have not yet sprouted.  The other against the shed has pickling cucumbers and sun flowers.

Bob organized his shed, but now the work benches are covered with pieces and parts of a remote control hydroplane he is building.  If he finishes it successfully, the game plan is to fly and land it when we are in the pontoon on the lake.

Great for mud pies!
 
Work camper, John, leveling out the area once it dried up
Nice gravel parking spot, but wouldn't you know, we haven't had much rain since.
At first glance, this looks like a hole made by a drill, but it is one of the entries to the carpenter bee nesting area inside the roof joist, bored out by one of the bees.
Bob spies another culprit in the timber under the deck
Take that, you wood eating bee!
Boy, chasing bees is hard work.  Bob the Bee Killer takes a break
Peppers, tomatoes, and (fingers crossed) dill in between.  Behind the planter is a flowering vine, the name of which I've forgotten.
Newly planted cukes and sun flowers
Not exactly his old two car garage, but a man cave workshop, nonetheless
 
  

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Apr 30 2015 -A visit from the family...

Florida Family, that is.  Former co-worker and amiga, Mireya, and her son, David, and their dogs, BeeBee and Harley, paid us a visit.  They had vacationed in the Blue Ridge mountains, and drove down to our place on their way back to Bonita.  It was a very short visit since they had at least another 10-12 hours to go.  We had time to have lunch and a short walk to the lake, and then they headed out.  Mireya said maybe she would come back another time, rent a cabin, and stay longer.  That would be nice.
 
Mireya and David..Beebee and Harley behind them
Mireya on the park trail. David is in the background at the lake edge with Harley
 

On our deck
Bob and me