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Most often, one of the first stops on our tours is out at Mt. Carmel Church Buoy where we share a bit of history with you. 138’ below that buoy lies the remnants of the old church cemetery. Mt. Carmel church was the largest church in the valley. When there was a death in the…

I wait for rain with all the patience of a five-year-old waiting for Santa Claus. Lake Jocassee’s clear, cool water has dropped to a new low of 16’ below full pool; ancient gneiss rocks carrying old propeller scars now rise ten feet into open air. Familiar landmarks look familiar no more. Favorite talking points—the wintergreen…

Waking to mornings in the 50’s this week found us grabbing jackets, hoodies and leggings. With mugs of coffee or hot tea in hand, we headed towards the dock. The Fall Jocassee Wild Child program is in full swing, and these kids don’t seem to mind getting a little chilly as long as they get…

A Lake Made By Loving Hands by Levi Drake Where once the quiet earth lay bare, Kind hearts imagined beauty there. With patient toil and steadfast grace, They shaped a dream, a resting place. Each stone was set with hope and care, Each drop became a whispered prayer. The winds soon learned its gentle name,…

  ‍September is for spiders. On less humid days, the boat floats through gossamer strands carrying spiders to their next destination. Spiny back and marbled orb weavers’ carefully woven dinner plates cross the trails. Joro spiders’ three-dimensional golden webs are everywhere, high and low. I can’t help but admire their determination to live. Recently, while…

  Date Night In September, every night is date night. Brooks and I golfcart to the lake, eschewing television drama for gentle rhythms of lake life. Then we walk. Narrow lines of wrack outline recent drops of water level. We walk through a short stretch of woods where whitewash from a vultures’ roost has left…

‍AUGUST And just like that, it’s gone. The towering, impenetrable clouds, indescribably white. Until the storms come in the afternoon. Then almost suddenly the clouds and the sky turn grey. Angry grey. Intimidating grey. Humbling grey. There is a stiff burst of wind when these summer storms turn our way, and oh how the buzzards…

V.I.P. Day 2026   When sun has blistered for weeks on end, this overcast sky is a gift from gracious gods. Guides from Jocassee Lake Tours give silent, heartfelt thanks as we motor across a calm lake with V.I.P. Day volunteers, each boat intent on cleaning up a favorite area of Lake Jocassee. Our boat…

How often do you intentionally stop for a few minutes and lose yourself in the quiet? This week, as we sat in the shade, having lunch beside a no-named trickle slipping off the mountainside into the lake, that’s exactly what I asked a group of 4th grade JWC students to do.  To my surprise, they sat…

Wild Life   A juvenile bald eagle (first year?) swoops low beside our boat and tries to catch a fish along the shore. A little sanderling (bird) far from its migration route hops back and forth along the boat dock, picking at invisible morsels, quite undisturbed by boatloads of fourth graders tromping past. A mama…

The Future is WILD! Wonder. Inspire. Learn. Discover.   Wild Child season is officially underway! This week, Clemson Elementary helped us kick off a fall season that will bring nearly 2,000 local children into the Jocassee Gorges. For these children, Jocassee isn’t simply a beautiful place to visit. It’s a place to wonder, explore, get…

Day’s End Tip-top leaves of a chestnut oak down the hill are all a-flutter, waving like jazz hands in calm evening air. Nuthatches have returned to the bird feeders. Devils walking sticks, whose magenta panicles bent low last week under heavy loads of fruit, slowly rise back into their straight-limbed prickled glory as the blue-black…