Thursday, July 23, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
A Look at Midland Valley
I was sitting in my office several months ago, when a friend said I should shoot pictures of Graniteville. I liked the idea. Graniteville and the other towns that make up Midland Valley remind me of my roots in Detroit. Blue collar town, working class values. I'm proud of my roots. Unfortunately, Graniteville like my hometown is declining. I see pictures of Detroit, once a proud and thriving city and what I see is the decay. That doesn't mean neither city doesn't have it's bright spots, just that times are tough and jobs have been lost. I drive through the valley and see a lot of vacant buildings and with vacancy comes the decay. There's nobody there to pickup trash, trim hedges, replace broken windows and other such things. I'm dedicating the next several posts to our neighbors in Midland Valley.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Western North Carolina Waterfalls
For the last several years, Ryan, Dee's son, has gone off to camp for a few weeks. And I'll have to say, I'm incredibly jealous. This year at camp, he'll spend the first week backpacking and the second week canoeing. I really hate it for him! The camp is located in Western North Carolina, just a little shy of Pisgah National Forest (my favorite of all places) near Flat Rock, NC. After an incredible Independence Day celebration out on Lake Murray, we got up the next day to usher Ryan off. When we got to the camp, Ryan and I hung out a bit and he showed me one of the trails nearby, while Dee handled the paperwork. Afterwards, we said our goodbyes and headed out. We were free for the rest of the day and the day following! We grabbed a bite to eat, browsed around Flat Rock then headed off to Dupont State Forest. If you have heard of Dupont before, it could be that the majority of the movie "Last of the Mohicans" was filmed there. Lacing up our boots, Dee and I headed for Triple Falls and they were absolutely spectacular! The falls cascade down for 125 feet and are one of several falls located on the Little River. I was swept away by the beauty of the area and layed there as the sound of the rushing water swept away all of the worries of modern life. We were on the top of the falls and after a little deliberation, we decided that if the youngsters (and some older ones too) could navigate over slippery rocks, we could too, so we headed down. Ledge after ledge, we slowly made our way down the falls, turning to gawk at the majesty of each of the falls. In the end, we saw some kayakers spilling over a small ledge as they made their way down stream. It was a great way to end the hike!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
