Mark's Photo Travels

Unless you somehow have been living in a van down by the river the past few months, you're aware a total eclipse of the sun took place today, Monday, August 21st, 2017, across the United States. Living at an area where totality would achieved, I chose to experience the total eclipse right here at home. The area of totality stretched roughly from Oregon southeast through South Carolina. This map produced by NASA shows the path through the United States: This map, also produced by NASA , shows the path in more detail as the eclipse raced through South Carolina: For this twice in a lifetime event (an annular eclipse occurred here in 1984), I definitely wanted to take photos, but I also didn't go to great expense given how thoroughly this event was likely to be covered  by everyone in the area. I had tried to score some free eclipse glasses around town, but I always struck out. I decided to order some eclipse glasses off eBay. I tested my eclipse glasses to mak...

If you live in the Upstate of South Carolina, Western North Carolina, and Northern Georgia then you already know rain has been scarce the past few months, leading an expanding area of severe drought conditions. As of November 15th, 2016, the area classified by the United States Drought Monitor as "extreme drought" covers most of the Upstate, parts of western North Carolina, with parts of northern Georgia classified as "exceptional drought". This drought, along with low relative humidity and falling leaves, makes conditions favorable for wildfires. In response, the South Carolina Forestry Commission announced a burning ban (but exempting campfires) in the northernmost Upstate counties (Anderson, Oconee, Pickens, Greenville, and Spartanburg) on November 9th , expanding south and east to the Piedmont counties the next day . Also on November 9th, an escaped campfire near the Foothills Trail  on Pinnacle Mountain spawned a fire that's grown to over 5100 acr...

For the past several weeks, the owners of  Taylors Mill  have been promoting their big celebration, Taylors Mill - 50 years later , through social media and television. I had already scheduled the last of my vacation days several months ago for this week, so when information about the event came out I was to happy to learn I was already available. The Taylors Mill - 50 years later event page on Facebook explains the purpose the celebration In 1965, the Southern Bleachery closed the doors on its makers. In 2015, we celebrate a new generation of makers, artisans and craftsmen in Taylors. On April 22, 1965, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal reported the news that Southern Bleachery and Printworks, in business since 1924, will wind down operations over the next few months leaving about 1000 people out of work. J. P. Stevens bought the mill two months later, and would own the mill until 1998, but the number of jobs didn't replace all the ones lost. Taylors Mill is no...