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Greetings
Welcome to the Blue Wall Weekly, your source for what's going on outside along the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment. Feel free to share your own photos, videos, and adventures along the Blue Wall by sending them to the email address at the bottom of the page, and we'll do our best to make you (locally) famous!
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Lost and Found
The good news is… our stolen car has been found. The bad news is… it was found upside down on the bottom of Lake Jocassee. Oh, and what a spectacle for a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Firetrucks. Ambulances. Highway patrol cars, sheriff cars, and plenty of emergency medical personnel. Police boats, barges… they all came. (And thanks to you all.) Thankfully, the gas and oil we so dreaded spilling into this beautiful lake did not happen. Ironically, the car lay so close to the dock we have boated right over it for the past two months. It emerged slimed with algae, stinking, bream flopping in the floorboard. (We caught and released the fish back to the lake.) Well played, car thief. ~K
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Sad, but true. Hello and bye bye, little Subaru
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SPECIAL EVENTS
WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS
JOCASSEE VALLEY HISTORY TOUR ~ Life Before the Lake w/ Claudia Hembree
FIRST SUNDAY EXPEDITIONS BONUS DATE!
Sunday, October 20: 10:00 AM-2:00 PM
GUIDED KAYAK TOURS! Last one of the season!
Sunday, October 27: 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
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WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS
EVERY WEDNESDAY TOUR
EVERY SATURDAY TOUR
October 19: 10:00-2:00 PM Book Now!
SATURDAY SUNSET TOUR
EVERY SUNDAY AFTERNOON TOUR
BOOK A PRIVATE JOCASSEE LAKE TOUR TODAY!
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Sourwood beauty
STATE PARK EVENTS
Oconee Station State Historic Site
January 1-December 31
Saturdays & Sundays: 1:00-5:00 PM
Originally a military compound and later a trading post, this Historic Site offers both recreational opportunities and a unique look at 18th and 19th century South Carolina.
Table Rock State Park
October 19: 3:45-10:45 AM
Be an extra early riser and take a unique moonlit hike to Bald Knob overlook on Pinnacle Trail. After experiencing the nocturnal aspects of the forest we will enjoy the pre-dawn sky from the outcrop as we anticipate the beauty of a new sunrise.
Gorges State Park
October 19: 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Sponsored by Friends of Gorges, join us at Gorges State Park to enjoy the start of Fall; viewing the changing of leaves as they go from green to those brilliant reds, yellows and oranges.
Gorges State Park
October 20: 4:00-4:30 PM
Come learn about the importance of the Black Bear to Gorges State Park!
Ursus americanus, American Black Bear
GNHA
October 19: 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
We will start at the Bad Creek parking lot and follow a spur trail to the Foothills Trail. We will take the Foothills Trail to Bear Creek and climb to Hillard Falls and return by the same route.
Hilliard Falls, Photo by
hikingtheappalachians.com
Tri-County Adventure Group
October 19: 10:00 AM-1:00 PM
GNHA
October 20: 12:00-6:00 PM
Blue Ridge Backpackers
October 20: 1:00-4:00 PM
We have the White Oak Shelter reserved all day for a picnic and a clinic covering all the basics of backpacking.
OTHER OUTDOOR EVENTS
SCNPS & Friends of Jocassee
October 14: 12:00 PM
It's SC Native Plant Week! Bring your gloves, loppers or pruners and meet us at the Devils Fork State Park Office to help eradicate this invasive, non-native species from the park.
Oconee History Museum and Partners in Wine
October 15: 7:00-8:00 PM
Grab a drink and let’s wine about history! Jennifer Moss, Assistant Curator at OHM, will showcase the history of Oktoberfest from its beginnings in Germany to how we celebrate it right here in Walhalla, including the town's history and its German founders.
SCNPS
October 15: 7:00-8:30 PM
Jim Welch, co-host of the long-running TV program Nature Scene on PSB, will share experiences from his 20-year run creating Nature Scene along with Rudy Mancke.
Friends of Jocassee
October 17: 10:00 AM
Join FOJ and guest speaker Patrick McMillan for our annual meeting at the World of Energy. Patrick will speak on the Biodiversity of Jocassee. There will be a covered dish potluck picnic at the shelter following the program & business meeting.
TATT, TEN at the TOP
October 17: 11:30 AM-1:30 PM
The Oconee County Workshop topic will be Make the Connection: Oconee County Trails and Greenways. Speakers will be Ty Houck, Director of Greenways, Natural and Historic Resources for the Greenville County Recreation District, and Brandy Amidon, Mayor of Travelers Rest, and both will talk about the impact of the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center
October 18: 7:00-8:30 PM
Join us as we marry our evening of ghost stories with our Storytelling Festival.
Atlanta Outdoor Club
October 19: 6:30 AM-8:00 PM
Join us for a great hike in Jones Gap State Park. This 11,000-acre park is full of woodlands, waterfalls and excellent trails.
Greenville County Bird Club
October 19: 8:00-10:30 (Shorter Walk)
October 19: 8:00 AM-12:00 PM (Longer Walk)
Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center
October 19: 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
Each October, the hills and hollers around the HMHS&FC in Pickens, South Carolina, come alive with storytellers sharing the weird and wonderful, mountain funnies, memories of yesteryear, and tales of mystical places in Appalachia.
Earthwise Learning Center
October 19: 11:00 AM-2:00 PM
Join Robin McGee for this fun and informative plant ID walk to discover some of the autumn roots, nuts, barks, leaves, flowers & fungi that Nature provides for our health and sustenance.
Mushroom Mountain
October 19-20: 9:00 AM-4:30 PM
Taught by Stesha Parrish, a MM approved instructor, this 5 year mushroom foraging permit allows for sale of wild, foraged mushrooms.
SC Botanical Garden Events
October 17: 4:00-6:00 PM
This certificate is a pilot program for young people, based on the popular South Carolina Native Plant Certificate, a partnership between the SCBG and the SCNPS.
October 19: 9:00-11:00 AM
Join naturalist James Wilkins (and special guests!) each month as we explore a different area of the 17,500-acre CEF.
October 19: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Join Rick Huffman, landscape architect, and founder and past president of the SCNPS, to learn how to grow native.
October 19: 11:00 AM-4:00 PM
Let’s take a close up look at what makes vertebrates, well, vertebrates!
JOCASSEE WILD OUTDOOR EDUCATION
JOCASSEE WILD NATURALIST INTRODUCTORY CLASS
Sunday, Nov. 17: 10:00 AM-2:00 PM
Tuesday, Dec. 3: 11:00 AM-3:00 PM Book Now!
Have you ever wished to go further and deeper into the study of the Jocassee Gorges? This program allows you to do just that. Eight core courses and four elective recreational requirements are available, so study what interests you most, or take all eight core classes and one elective to become a certified Jocassee Naturalist. THE JOCASSEE GORGES INTRODUCTION CLASS IS A REQUIRED PREREQUISITE TO THE PROGRAM.
www.jocasseewild.org
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THIS WEEK ON LAKE JOCASSEE
OCTOBER 14, 2019
WONDER COMING. There are periods of pure wonder on Lake Jocassee, amidst the most wonder-filled place I have ever lived. The next few weeks is such a period. By mid-August, the forest is a solid, ubiquitous dark green, the color of nature at the deepest part of summer, then the slow progression to fall begins. At this point, mid-October, this diversified forest in which we live and work is getting ready to take one’s breath away. You can sense it coming around the bend on the Thompson River. You know the one, the one that make you feel like you’re entering Jurassic Park. At that bend, if the light is just right, every tree is just a little different in color than the one next to it. To the attentive eye, to the subtle observer, it is a palate of soft colors, not brilliant just yet, but oh so lovely and delicate. The explosion of fall is upon us, and yet it begins so quietly.
COLOR REPORT. Well, it’s everywhere, but look specifically at the sourwood trees, the yellow and green dotted poplars, and the red dappled black gums. The maples are started to turn, and the sweet gums too, and the sumac. I could go on and on.
LOON REPORT. Waiting, anxiously.
EAGLE REPORT. We’ve been spotting them every day this week, and it’s not even time for the fall migration of eagles to our shore yet! It should be a good eagle winter.
SWIMMER’S REPORT. Oh yeah, it’s still just right. Our days are numbered, though, for you die hard swimmers out there.~B
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER
STATE PARK EVENTS
Keowee-Toxaway State Park
October 25-27
Table Rock State Park
October 26: 9:00-11:00 AM
Women Trailblazing the Carolinas
October 26: 9:15 AM-3:00 PM
Tri-County Adventure Group
October 26: 9:30 AM-12:30 PM
GNHA
October 27: 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
GNHA
October 27: 12:00-6:00 PM
Women Trailblazing the Carolinas
November 2: 9:30 AM-12:00 PM
GNHA
November 3: 1:30-5:30 PM
GNHA
November 9: 8:30 AM-3:30 PM
Foothills Adventure Club
November 9-10: 8:00 AM-3:00 PM
GNHA
November 10: 12:00-3:00 PM
OTHER OUTDOOR EVENTS
Lake Conestee Nature Park
October 25: 9:30-11:00 AM
Oconee History Museum
October 25: 7:00-8:30 PM
Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center
October 26: 6:00-10:00 PM
Lake Conestee Nature Park
October 26: 6:30-8:30 PM
Greenville County Bird Club
October 28: 6:30-7:30 PM
Lake Conestee Nature Park
November 1: 9:30-11:00 AM
Foothills Trail Conservancy
November 1-3
Foothills Trail Conservancy
November 2
Greenville County Bird Club
November 4: 6:30 PM
Greenville County Bird Club
November 6: 6:30 PM
Mushroom Mountain
November 9: 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
SC Botanical Garden Events
October 22: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
October 24: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
November 1: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
November 9:00-11:00 AM
November 9: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
BORROWED GLIMPSES
Give JLT guides half a chance, and they will have some excellent adventures! Here goes Tricia and Zach...
It didn't take them long to find salamanders...
And bear tracks! Fresh ones, at that...
 Zach tries a bear den on for size, and 'bearly' fits.
And then there was a bobcat! Oh my!
 Here's another look at that bobcat.
And more salamanders!
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DID YOU KNOW?
JLT guides and guests have been counting monarch butterflies during their migration to Michoacan, Mexico this week. We're counting an average of over 50 butterflies per hour!
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ABOUT THE BLUE WALL
Spanning three states (North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia) and encompassing 859,000 acres, the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment, known as the 'Blue Wall' by Native Americans, contains some of the highest natural diversity of rare plants and animals found anywhere in the world.
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Phone: 864-280-5501
PLEASE CALL 864-280-5501 AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE TO RESERVE YOUR SEATS!
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Love Jocassee? Help protect and preserve the beauty of Lake Jocassee and the Jocassee Gorges by joining FOJ!
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.png) Mountain Lakes Convention and Visitors Bureau
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Your Portal to Paradise!
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Lake Jocassee
&
Lake Keowee
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73°F
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75°F
54°F
