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Welcome to the quintessential south. Very Cool history around this area. Check out more here:
www.dnr.sc.gov/magazine/pubs/septoct2009/edisto.html

The early history of Botany Bay Plantation, made up of the combined lands of Bleak Hall and Sea Cloud plantations, is tied to the rise and fall of sea island cotton. This variety, known for its long, silky fibers, also grew on the sea islands of Georgia and Florida, but it thrived in the soils of South Carolina’s islands and Lowcountry. It was exported to Great Britain where mechanized advances in spinning and weaving produced luxurious cotton cloth and lace valued throughout Europe. From about 1820 to 1861, the period referred to as Edisto Island’s Golden Age, sea island cotton fueled the growth of large plantations—and the wealth of plantation owners—on the island. In particular, the sea island cotton raised by John Ferrars Townsend on Bleak Hall plantation was famous for its high quality.

The outbreak of the Civil War interrupted this prosperity. In November of 1861, Edisto Island was evacuated, and by the following February the island was occupied by the Union army. When the war finally ended, the island's plantations lay devastated, and property records were tangled. Townsend had to appeal to President Andrew Johnson to have the lands at Bleak Hall and Sea Cloud restored to his ownership. Townsend and his descendants returned to raising sea island cotton, earning top prices and awards for quality in the European market until the arrival of the boll weevil on Edisto Island in 1917. Sea island cotton never recovered from the weevil infestation and was wiped out by the early 1920s.

What I believe to be a Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele).

My wife informed me a visitor in the back yard when I arrived home.... There's actually another one waiting to emerge very close to this one. She was able to witness the full emergence of this beautiful creature, while I was forced to collect this shot while light was fading fast (about 7:30 PM EST in October). The coolest part is my 3 1/2 year old got to see this. I still haven't seen this spectacle of nature in 32 years.

You wouldn't think that it would be difficult to get a great shot of a big rock! On my last trip, I did the best with the conditions that were given. The sun and haze were hiding the emerging fall colors. Not a cloud in the sky, a little too early.... but the wife was not feeling well from riding shotgun around the last leg of 276 and BRP, so I took what I could and was happy for just having been out there that day.

Legend has it that Brevard, North Carolina’s White Squirrels arrived here over 50 years ago via a circus truck. Now this story is so strange is almost has to be true. So here is goes…

It all started with Mrs. W.E. (Barbara) Mull, a long time resident of Brevard, North Carolina. Her brother-in-law, H.H. Mull, was given two white squirrels by a Mr. Black of Madison, Florida way back in 1949. The pair of white squirrels had been squirreling around in Mr. Black’s pecan grove ever since a circus truck had overturned near his home. H.H. Mull then gave the little white critters to his niece Barbara Mull up in North Carolina. She kept them inside and hoped they might even breed, but alas, no such luck.

In 1951, Barbara Mull got married and went her way. In her absence, one of the white squirrels escaped outdoors. Not long afterwards, Mr. Mull (Barbara’s father) let the other heart broken and love stricken white squirrel go free. A short time later, little white squirrels began appearing in various parts of town – apparent direct or indirect off springs of this “Adam and Eve” pair.

The White Squirrels of Brevard, North Carolina have become so famous that in 1986, the Brevard City Council unanimously voted for an ordinance that established a sanctuary for all squirrels. The ordinance reads, “The entire area embraced within the corporate limits of the city is hereby designated as a sanctuary for all species of squirrel (family Sciuriadae), and in particular the Brevard White Squirrel. It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt, kill, trap, or otherwise take any protected squirrels within the city by this section.”

Other towns also lay claim to having white squirrels as residents. These include Olney, Illinois, Marionville, Missouri, and Exeter, Canada. Unlike some of these squirrels, Brevard’s White Squirrels are not albinos squirrels, but a variant of the Eastern Grey Squirrel. And since an amazing 27% of Brevard’s squirrels are white squirrels, and since only Brevard has an annual White Squirrel Festival, The White Squirrel Institute, and The Squirrel Box Derby downhill race, this is why Brevard, NC is often referred to as the “White Squirrel Capital of the World.”

So if you ever see a White Squirrel in downtown Brevard, don’t think you’re “going nuts.” Just be sure to bring along a camera to prove it!

Compliments of:
whitesquirrels.com/about-white-squirrels/

There's a nice sliding fall along the gravel road to Cove Creek Falls. If you're on the way to Cove Creek... I definitely suggest that you stop by. Near the top of the falls, you'll find a perfectly round plunge pool about 5 feet deep.

I was out hiking with the wife, and the high sun made it difficult to capture this, but I just couldn't leave this place without taking a few shots.