The Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains

There is more to South Carolina than most people realize. You can drink a couple of beers every evening to kill time and enjoy the  generally good weather, but if you work a little harder, there are plenty of interesting places to be explored.

The northern part of the state lies at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The north-west is surrounded by the Chattooga and the Savannah river and their tributaries. This means that there are plenty of lakes and hidden little creeks that sometimes end up forming hidden waterfalls.

To relax for the 4th of July weekend, my sister and I set out on the road towards Issaqueena Falls. With a road map, GPS, and signs off the highway, we were able to locate these falls situated within the Stumphouse Tunnel Park in Walhalla, SC. The descend to get a good view of the falls was steep and tiring, but it was well worth it.

Issaqueena Falls, Walhalla, SC

Afterwards, we set out for Ceasar's Head, the highest peak of the Blue Ridge in SC, to pay homage to the mountains that I someday plan to hike through. As evident from the photo below, the landscape is beautiful. As a bonus, we spotted a big beautiful lone wolf.

Blue Ridge Mountains

Clinica El Buen Samaritano - Good Samaritan Clinic

I started volunteering at the Good Samaritan Clinic this summer. It's a free clinic open to everyone, but primarily serves the Latin American/ Mexican immigrants.

Many states in the US have a huge population of Latin American immigrants. They are exploited because they work here illegally. Most of them work strenuous jobs as construction or farm workers but live on less than minimum wage, with little help from the community or state. Instead of addressing the issue of granting legal status and proper work benefits, many people and state governments have adopted an attitude of hostility towards these immigrants. South Carolina is among one of them. These states believe that the immigrants encroach upon job opportunities and enjoy the community resources without paying for them. The harsh reality is that many people refuse to work such laborious jobs. Americans are fed and housed because of these immigrants who, in return, don't enjoy any resources, including health benefits.

Today, at the Good Samaritan Clinic, I learned that by Federal Law, health centers/ hospitals are required to have translators for people who need assistance. However, most health institutions refuse to keep any. This hinders the migrant Spanish-speaking population in communicating with the doctors. The GSC is operated while taking care of these needs. It's a start, but its only a small center which lacks funding. It is open Tuesdays and Thursdays and because of lack of doctors willing to work for free, the GSC can provide basic primary health care to only 12-13 patients a day.

My friend and I are were glad we decided to spend some time this summer helping out. My spoken Spanish was rusty, but when we started working with the database entries, I felt much confident - I could put my medicinal knowledge into use.
If you live in a similar community, seek out places where you can help out as well. Help is always welcome.

If you want to know more about the clinic, check out the video below made by my friend, Sarah.


A Place to Feel Secure from Sarah Langdon on Vimeo.

Getting to Lake Jocassee!

Thrilled to find a fellow adventurist in my friend, Elizabeth, we set out with our kayaks towards Lake Jocassee in Salem, South Carolina.
The views after entering Greenville were beautiful! We drove through a small town called Pumpkintown (hehe). Narrow roads, cute little wooden houses, and a couple of pumpkin patches kept me happy throughout the drive.

View Lake Jocassee Trip in a larger map
There's a quaint little shop a couple of yards before the Devil's State Park - our entrance into Lake Jocassee - where we bought our snacks for lunch. Munching in the car, we gleefully entered the park...only to find out that all the spots for boat access were gone! Half- heartedly, I suggested we check out Lake Keowee's entrance, about 5 miles from there.
We struggled to find the entrance to the lake, but thanks to the iPhone, we were able to contact park manager and get the directions. When we finally got there, there was some confusion about parking. We turned around, and came back, and the spots were gone...
Frustrated, Elizabeth and I set out towards the Cherokee National Scenic Highway - the main  route to these lakes - once again. After getting out of the Long Creek Falls lane, we saw a sign displaying "Lake Jocassee Whitewater Falls". Since we had driven ~135 miles from home, Elizabeth and I were both determined to find some outlet into the water and set out to follow the sign. 10 miles into the road - no sign of the waterfalls, no sign of any body of water in the iPhone map, and low gas tank. The latter was an indication that we needed to turn around.
At the gas station, Eliza and I rejuvenated ourselves with water. We decided to go to the Devil's State Park once more before we headed home. We got there, were lucky as five spots had just been opened, and hurriedly unloaded our kayaks!

Maybe it was nature's plan to test our determination - make us struggle for two hours - before we could enjoy the divinity of the lake. White sands, beautiful crystal blue waters, and clean shores - the state of SC was taking very good care of maintaining the lake with the $2 admission fee.

We finally got down in the lake. The waters were cold and felt great in the summer heat. Jocassee is in a gorge, so towards the middle of the lake, one can feel the depth (going into about 300 feet or 91 m)! The cool breeze, light waves, and paddling with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in front of us was a profound experience. Fleet Foxes were singing in my head and I was in heaven. :) I requested, and Elizabeth sang me a funny French song. We both realized that as soon as we got into the lake, our frustrations had disappeared - as if the time driving up to it never existed.

"Fireforests" - The Majestic Longleaf Pines

Last Saturday morning, I set out for the Harbison State Forest (Columbia, South Carolina) to absorb in some landscape for my next painting. There were people with kids, bikes, kayaks, and canoes and I immediately thought to myself - "I wonder what all I have been missing out on". I started on a small trail - the Firewood trail. I decided to walk in a bit in search of a good view  so that I could sit and sketch.
It took me no time to realize that it had been a while since I had been surrounded by nothing but the "wilderness". The fine mulch and dried pine leaves on the floor, aroma of the pine trees, and being surrounded by the tall, majestic, silvery needled longleaf pines was an incredible experience. Needless to say, I could not make a stop for sketching as I wanted to enjoy the hike.
 
Amazing thing about the longleaf pine forests is that they are "fireforests". Their survival depends upon the removal of loblolly pines and others that encroach the land through annual low-intensity fires. Following germination of the seeds, the fire-resistant grass stage endures the fire. The longleafs  nurse a stunning diversity of wildlife comparable to that found in the Amazon. Unfortunately, it is one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America. What once stretched from southern Virginia to East Texas covering 90 million acres of land now remains in only about 3 million acres. These forests were replaced by loblollies and other pulp producing pine for obtaining hardwood and paper. They were also hampered by the southern people who did not think of fire as a useful tool in forestry.

Summer Paintings

Another madhubani painting on handmade paper.

Back on Blogger

I completed my senior thesis and graduated from college with a bachelor's degree. So this summer is supposed to be one of a kind. And indeed, there has been time for much thought and action, the sort that was not possible earlier due to lack of time and maturity.

A great irony lies at this stage of life. Realization of one's maturity, capacities, and accomplishments during the four years of college makes one realize how unaware, weak, and incompetent one really is. While there is much joy and relief at at least accomplishing the former, there is a deep sense of vagueness about the direction and identity of self.

On a more cheerful note, there was much time to sleep and invest in activities that I love. I share many common interests with my mother. One of them is gardening. I was able to help her construct two plots of land in the backyard - for herbs and vegetables. In the herb garden, we have thyme, coriander, basil, fenugreek, dill, rosemary, oregano, and mint.

The vegetable patch has tomatoes, bell peppers, chilli peppers, brinjal/eggplant, okra/ ladyfinger, garlic, zucchini, potatoes, and cucumbers. The tomato and okra plants have started bearing fruits. Zucchini grows and spreads more than expected. If you look closely, the stem below the flowers develops into the fruit!
We planted a couple of marigold flowers as we learned that they act as natural insect repellents! And we built a low "fence", of sorts, to keep our daily evening visitors - hares - from hopping into the patch :) .

Contrary to what one would expect, toiling in the sun, tending to baby plants, was much pleasurable. And a much needed respite from the world of academia and computers...