Chau Ram County Park Visit, Westminster, South Carolina 5/6/17

George getting pictures of RAMSEY CASCADES 

While traveling on May 6,   George and I stopped for a little hiking plus checking out a waterfall in the Chau Ram County Park near Westminster,  SC.  This is the neatest little park ---and if you are ever traveling along Highway 76 between Clayton,  Georgia,  and Westminster,  South Carolina,  take a few minutes to visit here.

The park gets its name from two bodies of water which converge here..  One is Ramsey Creek and one is Chauga River... Hence--the name CHAU RAM County Park.

Since we were 'on the road' we didn't stay long --but we were there long enough to check out some of the park and its beauty...  Today I'll share some of the pictures we took that day...   You can click on the pictures to see enlargements...

The gorgeous  MOUNTAIN LAUREL was in bloom...  AWESOME!!!

A close-up picture of the MOUNTAIN LAUREL in bloom

Reflections of the Mountain Laurel in the water 

We crossed the CHAUGA RIVER on the SWINGING BRIDGE  you can see in this picture...

As we hiked on the 'other' side of the CHAUGA RIVER,  we stopped to get a picture of the WATER rushing over the rocks!!!!   

I took this picture of George as he climbed around on the rocks to get some good 'water pictures'.

The one thing I think about when looking at my pictures from this little park is PEACE....  This is a fantastic and PEACEFUL place...

Can you see me?????   George took this picture of me on the Swinging Bridge!!!!  (That is a little 'island' between the waters of the Chauga River.)

Beautiful MOUNTAIN LAUREL in full bloom!

I'll close with one more picture of the Mountain Laurel in bloom....   Hope you enjoyed our little visit to this amazing park...

Have an awesome week...

Hugs,

Two New Waterfalls for George and me!!!

US at 30 foot Reedy Branch Falls,  South Carolina,  5/18/14

On  May 18, 2014,  on our way to Ocean Isle Beach  (check THIS post),  we stopped along the way to visit some waterfalls.  This year,  we stopped at 3 different places (once we got into South Carolina on Highway 76).  One was BULL SLUICE (which we have seen before) ---but the other two places were NEW waterfalls to us...

Today,  I'll share some photos of these two new waterfalls.  Hope you enjoy them.  Since I was getting over my surgery,  I still didn't have alot of energy.  SO--George picked waterfalls with almost no hiking needed...  That was perfect for me on this trip.

The first waterfall we saw was named REEDY BRANCH FALLS.  This 30 foot waterfall was gorgeous ---and we were the only people there.   SO--we just relaxed and enjoyed  ourselves for a little while,  thinking that the waterfall was there JUST for us!!!!

REEDY BRANCH FALLS -30 feet (South Carolina, 5/18/14)

Oh how she loves this man!!!!!!

Can you tell that we were having fun at Reedy Branch Falls????

Mrs. P (our wonderful Prius) enjoyed seeing the waterfall  too!!!!

The second NEW waterfall we saw that day (also on Highway 76 near Westminster, South Carolina) was in a fabulous county park,  CHAU-RAM County Park.  We were SO impressed with this gorgeous park (named for the Chauga River and Ramsey Creek).  We drove straight up to  RAMSEY CREEK FALLS (40 foot cascade) in this park...  It was just so beautiful!!!!!  And---again,  we had the waterfall and area  ALL to ourselves, due to the rain/drizzle!

I got to explore the area a little,  so I caught this photo of the Photographer at work with his tripod!!

Gorgeous  MOUNTAIN LAUREL in the park

The gorgeous tiny blooms of the Mountain Laurel;   Aren't they beautiful?

Two silly people having fun at Ramsey Creek Falls!!!  That guy makes me laugh!!!!

RAMSEY CREEK FALLS,  40 foot cascade;  (South Carolina, 5/18/14)

US  at RAMSEY CREEK FALLS,  South Carolina

I hope you enjoyed seeing our two new waterfalls!!!   I'm not sure what our total is now --since we sorta lost count.   BUT---we are probably up to 600+ different waterfalls seen since 2001....  Can you tell that these two lovebirds LOVE waterfalls????? ha

If you want to see more about the Chau-Ram County Park,  click HERE.  We highly recommend the two new waterfalls,  plus this park (there is picnicking, camping, lots of hiking, and even a big swinging bridge to see).  SO---we need to go back when we have more time to explore this park.. 

Here's some GOOD NEWS from me:  Went to see my surgeon yesterday for my 'follow-up' to surgery visit (been 3 weeks since my surgery).   My doctor checked me out --and DISMISSED me,  saying that everything is fine and that I am healed....  Yeah Rah!!!!!

Have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday!

Hugs,

Emoticons

More from Charleston

Here is another set of pictures from our visit to Charleston. If you missed either of the other two posts, you can look at my sidebar on the right and scroll down to LABELS. Click on CHARLESTON. Above is a picture of the church which George and I attended while there, St. Michael's Episcopal Church. That church has a fabulous set of bells (men pull the ropes), and it was great standing outside and listening to the church bells chime --as the music bounced off of all of the surrounding buildings. AWESOME!!!!!

I showed a picture two days ago of the "Two Meeting Street Inn" (a hotel now) on the Battery. Here is one of the Tiffany windows in this inn... Gorgeous, isn't it?

Many of the beautiful homes in and around Charleston have beautifully manicured gardens like this.

We walked on brick streets and cobblestone streets. AND --we visited Catfish Row... Remember "Porgy and Bess"???? Catfish Row is where "Porgy and Bess" took place.

Since most of the homes in the historic area around Charleston are million dollar homes, you can only imagine all of the fancy and very expensive cars we saw in the driveways!!!!

Fancy iron gates were abundant around the Battery area of Charleston. I could do an entire post showing all of the beautiful gates and fences and balconies.

This is the "City Market"---where everything in the world (almost) is sold . These are some of the Sweet-grass baskets made in the area.

And I saved the best for last!!!!! Many of you have asked if we saw the famous Rainbow Row in Charleston... The answer is YES.... For those of you who haven't heard of Rainbow Row, it is a row of houses (mid-1700 homes) which are now all different colors. In my picture, you can only see about four of them--but there are quite a few more along this street, all in different pastel colors. THIS is a must see for anyone visiting Charleston.

Hope you have enjoyed my three posts from Charleston.

Have a blessed Palm Sunday!!!!! Hosanna!

Charleston on Dwellable

Hugs,

More Tidbits from Charleston

After showing you the beautiful homes in Charleston (YESTERDAY'S POST), I wanted to share more from Charleston, SC with you today. We were there in June of '08 and the Crepe Myrtles were in bloom and gorgeous. You can see some in the top photo. People tell me that Spring is the best time to go because of the Azaleas which are in bloom then. More photos are below.

See the fern growing on this Live Oak tree? It is called Resurrection Fern... Interesting, huh?

For all of you gardeners out there, how do you like this landscaping???? Note the ivy (or ground cover) even on the steps!!!!! Wooooooo!

Looks like this house is going through some renovation. BUT--that's not why I included it. I wanted to show you the DOOR. I didn't know this, but many Charleston homes have a 'false' door---which only leads onto the porch area , and not into the home itself.

What material is this house made from???? Stone???? Well---NO. People who build (or renovate) homes in Charleston 'try' to keep these homes in the Charleston historic style. This home is 'really' WOOD... But, it is made to look like stone. Interesting, huh????

When George and I visit places, we try to find out everything we can about the area. This little tidbit is interesting I think. After the huge earthquake in 1886, the older homes in Charleston got 'earthquake rods' --which helped straighten the walls of the houses. See the rod running across this home? Did you know this? I didn't before that trip.

This picture is a tad blurry ---but I wanted you to see the turnbuckle where the rods can be adjusted to reenforce homes that were damaged or cracked by the earthquake.

Finally, here is a picture taken from the Battery of Fort Sumpter. We didn't get out to Fort Sumpter while we were there --but George has been there. Neal and family visited there recently.

Charleston is really a gorgeous, old southern city. Visit it if you get a chance--and while you are there, ask questions and learn about the things you see. I personally spent WAY too many years ignoring so much around me...

Hugs,

P.S. I found a new gadget on Blogger yesterday which I hadn't noticed before. It's a "Search" gadget. I put it on my sidebar, and asked it to search my blog only. SO--if you are looking for all of my posts on something specific (such as Tallulah Gorge or Bluebirds), you can type that into the search box, and they will come up for you. I have been yearning for some kind of index (other than the labels), or a table of contents. This is at least a start!!!!!