I should be able to pick out just a few of the more interesting pictures from the past several weeks and give you a glimpse of the amazing things we've been lucky to see. From this point forward things are going to get a lot slower as we spend less time in public. Our balance is currently spending time behind the computer (doing "work") and in nature. Which... isn't that much of a stretch for us.
Here's wishing for a healthy, calm, and not-too-crazy time for everyone we know.
OK, back to South Carolina. Or actually, Georgia for a weekend at the Navigator Cup orienteering meet back in January. Oops, I really am far behind. John and I had great fun, he's able to run more and more, and we each "won" one day of the event (in the "Beard Family" category anyway). We teamed up for the Extreme-O challenge which was super entertaining. The little puzzles and exercises were entertaining, and they even set up a little ropes course over a ravine:
Back in South Carolina, I did some running at the lovely trails of Paris Mountain near Greenville:
I've never seen a waterway quite like this before:
Several stone structures at Paris Mountain were built by the CCC, including this dam:
Continuing our quest to do a race in every state, we did an 8K in a park on paved and dirt trails. John almost beat me, so his running is definitely coming along, yay! High five:
Our "Racing in 50 States" page:
http://www.kipley.com/marcy/race_locations.html
I did a nice run around downtown Greenville and enjoyed seeing some interesting sights (and somehow managed to avoid the temptation of the Chocolate Moose Bakery):
Love a good mural, especially a musical one:
Shoeless Joe Jackson's museum is closed for renovation, but it was interesting to read a bit about his history on the plaque:
I really do like this pedestrian bridge:
This car made me do a double take. Kip, this is for you:
Howie (our travel trailer) was finally on the move again... first to Table Rock for the Foothills Trail out-and-back FKT. That was such a good experience, I think about that adventure quite fondly.
Next up = Columbia and Congaree National Park. We didn't know anything about this park, but it's quite a special gem. Lots of tall trees and floodplain/swamp and an important place to protect.
And Pogo in the visitor center:
Heading for the boardwalk and armed with a trail-clearing stick:
Flashbacks to a particular SWEAR adventure race...
Happily we didn't need to get our legs wet and muddy this time:
Pretty fronds:
Per the visitor center, this old growth forest is among the tallest broad-leaved forests in the world. Many of the trees are over 130 feet tall. Glad we got to see it!
Most of the park trails were underwater...
That's OK, we had a nice walk on the boardwalk. It would be super interesting to come back during the dry season and compare.
Thank you, Pogo:
My IT band was still in recovery mode from the long FKT run, but walking seemed OK so we stopped in downtown Columbia for a quick tour of the state capitol building:
Oh, some bloomings! Spring might be starting soon:
The capitol building was notable for how small it is compared to others we have been in, the ornate decoration, and the statue of Calhoun in the center of everything:
Checking out the upper level:
Enjoying a local coffee shop and a pretty cup of warm-me-up:
One more South Carolina location - Charleston. We'd heard good things, and I can confirm that we did enjoy spending a day there. First a bit of Civil War history with an early submarine, and no one ever should have been asked to ride in that thing:
Switching to modern history, with one of South Carolina's native sons:
Wonderful fountain! And a great place to practice photography; I think there are a lot of creative things you could do here:
Another nice one:
A picture of picturesque houses:
Our favorite part of the day was a boat tour to Fort Sumter. The gulls following us out there seemed to appreciate it too (plus, that's a lovely bridge in the background):
This is back when it was still winter and we were plenty bundled up, waiting to disembark at the fort:
What an interesting place. The Confederates took control of the fort early in the war, while the Union side tried hard to take it back. There was a long siege and lots of bombardment, with shells still visible in what remains of one of the walls:
The ship channel into Charleston, and I believe Fort Moultrie is on the land across the way:
Hard to imagine what it was like being holed up in the fort while all this was going on:
Much of Fort Sumter was destroyed, but if I remember right, the Confederacy maintained control over it during the war.
Quite a unique place to visit and ponder.
As were the other spots in South Carolina that we explored. There's more to see, but that will have to wait for another time.
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