I awoke on this morning to a surprisingly warm temperature. It drew moisture off of everything on the ground and stuffed it into the air as fog. I got up after hearing a few people jog by below me.
I wanted to get some shots of this bank area before leaving, so you could see what it was like...
The triangular pond, with the big jumping fish.
The bank where I'd slept. Not very wide.
Pretty dark, dingy, and damp, huh?
Hoped to see a fish jump.
This is how close I was to trail users. They never thought to look up.
Climbing down the bank, I took this shot of the sleep spot from the trail...
It was time to follow the trail back down town. I was determined on this day to see how far the trail actually went into the city. The day before, I'd climbed up on to Highway 138 to walk in. Why not use the trail; a way with no cars? ...
A view of the direction away from town.
A view of the hikers who had just passed. I would be following them.
Occasionally, these dirt roads jutted off to the side. But they were deceptive.
What looks solid is actually and area punctuated with grassy quicksand.
The sign right before crossing over Blue Ridge Drive to the next section of the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
Perhaps anticipating that a texting-distracted driver might hit a hiker?
OK, maybe that's just me projecting. Ha!
Not too bad. Only three miles. Walking, it would take about an hour.
Look! There he is, the Swamp Rabbit himself, in all his recycled glory!
Having just visited my friend Fay the week before, and having gotten used to her humor, I thought maybe these signs could have been written by her. They warn of the train crossing to come...
Ha!
Then, this was interesting. Bronze running shoes as a sculpture. Be nice to have something honoring we walkers, and I think the "Caution" tape took away from it a bit, but whatever...
An old bridge off to the side. No idea where it led.
Train graffiti.
Finally, I got into town. The sun was trying desperately to burn through the fog. Everything was lightening up. I decided to keep following the trail under a bridge rather than take the road up to Main Street...
And there, I stumbled across a little children's story land...
Continuing on, I reached the lower falls area of the Reedy River Park...
I climbed the stairs up to the right and found myself right at the Starbucks I had used when I first got into town two days before. There, I worked to get a post up. The sun was out by the time I finished.
The plan for the rest of the day was to take more pictures of the city, have some lunch, and then march out of town on Route 29, northeast toward Spartanburg.
First came the pictures. I'd start by crossing the street and exploring the other end of the Reedy River Park...
Anyone want to venture a guess why? I have no idea.
Alcohol is not permitted in the park.
This suspension bridge is quite an architectural feat. I would go across it shortly.
But, I wanted to see the grassy area first.
This was such a gorgeous park! A true wonder of unique designs and multilevel pathways. The asymmetry is what really makes it a joy to walk around. One can only imagine how beautiful it must be in the summertime...
A panorama, looking back up from where I'd come. The poor woman in the
foreground had her head and right shoulder sliced off by the camera's blending effect.
Nice place for a wedding ceremony.
It was as if each stone had been placed intentionally (and that might have been the case).
This was the sandy portion under the small walker's bridge.
I got pretty far up the trail and then decided to walk back into town via the suspension bridge...
These hammocks were hung in certain places.
College students trying unsuccessfully to cross a small
waterfall under the gaze of we bridge walkers.
Looking back at the bridge.
That crescent moon from a couple nights before, was steadily waxing
into a half moon--now visible in the daytime sky.
Crossing under Main Street I saw the old mill building; now, just a curiosity on the other side of the river...
Beyond it, was a small stage and amphitheater. This town had no end to its many angles, waterfalls, fountains, glass-walled buildings, steps, stainless steel railings and stonework. It really was a joy to photograph. And, I could have spent a week here doing just that...
The Marriott was quite grand. I could imagine being wealthy and visiting Greenville in style...
I loved these two musical statues. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said that
"Music is liquid architecture; Architecture is frozen music."
These sculptures in front of the majestic Marriott, and representing
the Arts Center, sum up this expression in grand style and appropriately garnish the
Main Street Square on the north side of the river.
The year-round skating rink next to the Marriott.
The temperature was nearly 70° F.
A bronze replica of someone's suitcase; can't remember whom.
But where is the reflection of the photographer?
I was overly conscious of the hours passing by and wanted to reach Taylors by nightfall (seven miles away). So, photographing time had to now feather into departure time. But, first came lunch.
Being not overly picky, nor creative with my eating choices on this day, I simply went to the closest place I could find, Grill Mark's. It was swanky looking, and packed to the gills with Saturday tourists. Yet, one nice thing about being a single guest is that there is usually one place setting somewhere. I walked in asked for a seat outside, and the host immediately sent me to their patio bar situated right on Main Street...
View from my seat.
Notice how the sun reflects off of City Hall and onto the backside of the Marriott. Neat!
It took a good fifteen minutes for the server to recognize my presence. But, she blushingly took my order--my long wait being spent figuring out exactly what I wanted. It didn't take very long at all to receive it. I ordered one of their 1/3 pound burgers ($6.95), called the "All Dressed Up," because you are then able to choose the toppings ($1.25/each) from a long list. I chose bleu cheese, bacon, and avocado, with a small side of "Fat Fries" (lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle came for free)...
Yummy--to the extreme.
Now full (with the last night's pizza in reserve for the hike to come), I left and made my way to Washington Avenue...
I couldn't help myself. This is quite simply the coolest design for a car
I've ever seen; understated, yet, ballsy!
The Lotus Evora--72,000 Euros (nearly $80,000)
I may be idealistic to a fault sometimes. And, yes, of course, Iwallk, but the eighteen year old in me still taps on my testosterone covered dreams, saying, "Can't you see yourself crossing the nation in one of these?" I could imagine throwing Saggy in the passenger's seat and putting the pedal to the metal... Ah... The things that will never be. And, it is just as well. Still, fantasy can be a wonderful drug if taken in moderation...
It had been a long day. I'd already walked a good ten miles since leaving my sleep spot. And, now I had another seven to go. The pack felt heavy. My heel though, was feeling much better. I believe that I simply have not done enough real long distance walking in the last couple of months. This Journey - before the Homecoming phase - was based around bus trips every week for eight weeks, with walking only being done around the cities I'd land in. Now that I was going "old school" again, my body had to adjust. And after some initial discomfort, it was adjusting.
Route 29 - at least this stretch - had a nice wide breakdown lane in which to walk. It was as populated by chain restaurants, box stores, and mini malls as any stretch of highway I've ever traversed--maybe more so, or maybe more regularly spaced. Always, it's the same businesses, a sprinkling of local enterprises mixed in for good measure, with a few other sites as well...
Love it! Nothing tougher for a hockey team name than the "Swamp Rabbits"! Ha!
Once again, as we saw last week, cemeteries mean plastic flowers...
I stopped at a McDonald's just south of Taylors and rested, getting online briefly to touch base and transfer the photos you're seeing today. I tried unsuccessfully to locate a sleep spot up the road. But in good ole' fashion slow-poke, Wi-Fi mode, it just wasn't happening for me. It was time to simply rely on the guidance of the Spark. Things really were reverting back to the Manifest Destiny style of Journeying.
I went until I really needed to stop and then let my insight illuminate where I would camp. I passed many potential spots, but they just didn't feel right. I passed several densely packed trees flanking the entrance to the Country View Subdivision (a neighborhood located behind the town's Post Office, and serviced by Wood River Way). The trees were really just for decoration. And, behind them was a large, grassy, empty reservoir. It didn't seem like a likely spot. However, once past the Post Office, I couldn't help thinking there was a place for me behind those trees.
I waited until traffic was absent both ways and then scooted back to the area, and behind the trees. I nearly fell down the steep embankment, but worked my way to the corner of the tree arrangement, seeing a very dark spot there. Climbing up all the way into that spot, I saw a level place about five feet wide by eight feet long. On the ground were piles of soft fallen fir branches. It was PERFECT.
In fact, it's security profile was the best of any spot in the last two Journeys. The density of the branches totally obscured the view by traffic, which was only about twenty feet away. At the same time, the steep bank was a perfect deterrent for animals, and frankly, made a nice little view out my "front door."
I was pleased as punch to have located this. Rain was expected overnight and into the morning. It was especially nice to know I could sleep in and wait for the rain to end before resuming my walk. Furthermore, the massive amount of branches above the tent would channel the rain away from it...
These pictures were taken standing down the bank aways,
so my head was at the tent's ground level.
I climbed in, ate the rest of my carefully packed pizza, and fell asleep highly satisfied and completely free of anxiety about the night, the rain, and my need to stay there through the midmorning hours of the next day.
Taylors Sleep Spot.
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I LOVE the pictures!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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