Abandon Places & Things

How many of y'all have ever driven down a highway, or a country road, and seen some old, abandoned building that has clearly seen much better days? 

These abandoned buildings come in all forms from old houses and corner stores, to the ruins of old mills and schools. Sometimes even an old car, or several, sitting in the same place for years, if not decades.

Many people just see these abandoned places as creepy eyesores with boarded up windows being slowly consumed by nature little by little in the form of kudzu or wisteria -- if nowhere else claims them, eventually the land will take it back. Crumbling and broken places that are still stubbornly standing. To most these places are just an ugly blight on the landscape that one just passes with little serious consideration.

However, once upon a time, these places had life. People lived in them, worked in them, raised families in them. All of them have some story, all of them have memories. Some of them might even have ghosts, who knows for certain? When one considers these facts, these roadside eyesores take on a far more interesting dynamic, a kind of haunting beauty in their own right.

In my little corner of South Carolina we have a fair share of these places, and I've taken the time to photograph some of the more interesting ones. One of them holds a special place in my memories as the Junior High (Middle School) I used to attend in my youth, now long abandoned for a newer facility across town. Others are just abandoned buildings that I've driven past for years: abandoned homes and once thriving businesses. All of them have a history, a story to tell.

The following are photos of some of these abandoned places: 
 

Let me know what you think of my photos in the comments below. As always have a wonderful Dixie day and y'all come back now, ya hear!

Rocky Shoals Spider Lillies At Landsford Canal State Park

Despite living about 20 miles from the place, I have very rarely ever visited Landsford Canal State Park in the summertime. This is largely due to the abundance of snakes (particularly poisonous ones like the Cottonmouth Water Moccasin and Eastern Copperhead) along the Catawba River in the late spring and summer months. 

My personal hang-ups about certain reptiles aside, the summer months by the river are very hot and muggy here in South Carolina. I usually like to take trips to Lansford Canal in the late fall as the leaves have turned. That is when the place is at it's most picturesque. I plan to return in early, or mid November to get some photos of the river and the fall colors. 

The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily
(Hymenocallis coronaria).

I did have a particular mission on this late spring trip. To photograph the abundant -- and quite rarely seen -- Rocky Shoals Spider Lillies (Hymenocallis coronaria) that bloom in late May - June on the river. 

Landsford Canal State Park hugs the last free-flowing stretch of the Catawba River between Lake Wylie in York County and the Cedar Creek Dam at Great Falls. Along the site of historic Landsford Canal on the river are a large stretch of rocky shoals so close together that one can actually walk across the length of this shallow section of the river on them at certain times when the current is slow. It is on these shoals that the largest known stand of the beautiful Shoals Spider Lily bloom, blanketing that stretch of the river in an absolutely stunning display of white and green. 

The Shoals Spider Lily -- which can be found in both Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama -- requires clean free-flowing water with an uneven rocky bottom to root. Unfortunately, most of the free-flowing shoals on the Catawba River have largely vanished. This is primarily because of the hydroelectric dams built along the rocky elevation drops to take advantage of the natural water power. 

The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily has likewise become rare and endangered.  

Thankfully due to wise management in public, private and corporate groups working together in conservation and preservation efforts with the SC State Parks management, the spider lillies still have a place to grow and be appreciated by naturalists like myself. 

So on this trip I brought along my sister's little boys, both of whom had already run out of ideas for summer vacation and needed to get away from their online game systems for awhile -- though not because they wanted to, their mom made them go. Still they did have a good time and afterwards were treated to McDonalds. Yours truly abstained from the fast food. 

I hope that y'all appreciate the photos I took. I am sorry I could not get closer than the overlook at the end of the trail, but I wasn't about to go out on slippery rocks with two younger kids who's mom would kick my ass if either of them got snake bit walking on my watch while along the plants. That and the park rules make that area off limits to anyone but people going through on kayaks. 

Please enjoy the photos. 

Landsford Historical Marker.

If you look closely in the water you can see a
Whooping Crane (Grus americana) standing in the
water looking for a meal.

One of the locks of the old canal.
There are more of them but I am saving that and the story of the canal for my fall trip.

My nephews Caleab and Tyler Morris.

Found this little fella on the path. Have no idea what species
of moth this harry little guy will turn into.
We moved him to the nearby bushes and continued on.

At last we arrive at the shoals!

Tyler and Caleab make a new friend.