Upstate South Carolina is full of old textile towns and I think they’re so fun to explore. Even though it’s much hotter down there, I could spend a while wandering around those old towns. Unfortunately, my daughter decided we weren’t safe at this old cotton mill. After walking around for only a few minutes happily finding “ancient parts” (LoZ fans here), she was pretty convinced that cannibals were going to crawl out of the depths to feast on our flesh. We ended up being just fine, though.
Just some pics from February. The flowers have started to pop up, so this will be my last gloomy post for a while.
Pics from Catawba Falls. This place sure has changed. They’ve added a gravel parking lot and two bridges. I preferred it when you had to get out there at sunrise in order to find parking and reaching he falls meant rock hopping across the creek.
Earlier in February I started a photography workshop.. The theme of the workshop is storytelling – finding or communicating narrative through photography. For the first prompt I submitted these photos, along with some others, and talked (very briefly) about my experience with therapy and finding compassion for self and all of the parts that make self up. We also talked about different technical elements, and how I use them in in photos like this. Photography has become a really beautiful outlet for reflection and walking in the woods with my camera is the most meaningful way I’m nourishing myself these days. I’m really enjoying the workshop and I love seeing how other people practice creativity. Signing up for workshops is definitely going to be an ongoing thing, I think.
Photos taken east of Asheville, NC
The photos below were taken at a Clinchfield Mill in Marion, NC. It burned down a few years ago.
I found some backup and went back to explore the inside of the old Newry cotton mill. Once you’re inside it isn’t as spooky as I thought it would be. It’s actually pretty peaceful. The mill closed its doors in 1975 and it has been vacant since then. There isn’t a patch of the entire place that isn’t covered in graffiti, even in the dark bowels of the mill. There are multiple floors and each one seems a little more dilapidated than the last. You have to be very mindful of where you’re walking. Especially as you get closer to the roof.
The town itself is really nice to walk around in, too, and people still live in the old homes that were originally built for the first mill workers in the late 1800s. There’s still a dam there and it’s a pretty lovely spot to catch a nice sunset on the river.
An unexpected day off last week led to exploring an abandoned mill in South Carolina. I was alone, and it was too spooky to go inside, but hopefully I’ll go back soon on a sunny day to check out the inside.
Tootling around Canton, NC, which is known for its smelly old paper mill. Here are some photos of the paper mill behind Blue Ridge Southern Railroad tracks. Since we can’t travel right now, I’m having a lot of fun going to different parts of WNC. There is definitely something charming about these crumbly old towns.
Tootling around Asheville, NC.
just bees and things and flowers 