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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, and we'll do our best to make you (locally) famous!
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LAYERS OF TIME
Mudstone, laid bare by the restless water of the lake that covers Jocassee Valley. The earth is reshaping here, right in front of my wondering eyes. Sediment from eroding mudstone once again obeys the Law of Original Horizontality, patiently laying a wide shelf just below the highwater line. Bulldozers have not sullied these layers. This is just as the earth is, here. There’s a story in
this colorful book, but I don’t know how to properly read the chapters. Across the lake, which means across two rivers, wind and rain have whipped bare a face of rock that today is unfazed by the erosive waves and wakes of Lake Jocassee. Was this rock bare when ferns were morphing into trees? Was this mudstone ridge once a swamp? Usually Earth’s mysteries are hidden under asphalt and top soil and foliage. This one is right in front of us.~K
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SPECIAL EVENTS
WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS
Fridays, June 30 - August 4
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
A kid-focused day for the entire family! Learn a little water and wildlife ecology and have a WHOLE LOT of fun doing it!
July 9: 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Tuesdays, July 11 - Aug. 1
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
PRIVATE TOURS ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE!
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WEEKLY EVENTS
WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS
EVERY WEDNESDAY TOUR - Guide's Choice!
June 28: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM (Book Now)
EVERY SATURDAY TOUR - Lower Lake
July 1: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM (Book Now)
SATURDAY SUNSET TOUR
EVERY SUNDAY TOUR - Upper Lake
PLEASE CALL 864-280-5501 TO RESERVE YOUR SEATS!
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THIS WEEK!
JUNE 26
STATE PARK EVENTS
Two historic buildings are located on the grounds of Oconee Station State Historic Site. The oldest is a stone blockhouse that was built in 1792. The brick house at Oconee Station was built in 1805 and served as the residence of a merchant who ran a trading post on the site.
Oconee State Park
Every Friday: June - September
8:00 - 10:00 PM
It's Friday night and it's time to dance! Grab your partner and two-step to Oconee State Park's barn for a night of fun, music and square dancing. No experience necessary to have a grand ole time. Bluegrass music is performed by the Dixie Bluegrass Boys, led by Georgia Music Hall of Famer Curtis Blackwell.
Table Rock State Park
June 30: 10:00 AM
A presentation about the traits of a fascinating and most misunderstood reptile during a live critter encounter. Meet at the Nature Center. (1/2 hr.)
MEETUP EVENTS WHAT IS A MEETUP?
Blue Ridge Backpackers
June 30: 8:00 AM
This will be a five day event with base camp close enough to the trailhead for you to come and go as you please. We'll do a series of exploration day hikes with numerous waterfalls, swimming holes and plenty of trails to explore.
GNHA
July 1: 8:30 AM
Begin at Bad Creek parking lot. Rest at Thompson River, then resume Foothills Trail to Glenn Hilliard Falls on Bear Camp Creek where we’ll have lunch. On return we’ll stop again at Thompson River.
Tri-County Adventure Group
July 1: 9:30 AM
GNHA
July 2: 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Hike Tom Miller Trail to Jones Gap Falls, looping back on Cold Springs Branch trail to parking. Hike will be a moderate pace with several wet crossings.
GNHA
July 2: 12:00 - 6:00 PM
Take East Fork Trail to the river, then turn downstream on the Chattooga River Trail to a sandy beach area for our break and to enjoy the views. Some may wish to wade in the river.
OTHER OUTDOOR EVENTS
SC Botanical Garden
June 26: 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In this camp, children will explore the various ecosystems of South Carolina. Using the Natural Heritage Garden as our guide, we’ll take a journey from the mountains to the sea, and we’ll discover the interesting plants, animals and people who have called these spaces home throughout our state’s history.
Tri-County Adventure Group
July 1: 9:30 AM
SC Botanical Garden
July 1: 1:00 - 4:00 PM
In this open house, we’ll take a deeper look at the duck pond and its inhabitants. We’ll meet the many frogs, fish, birds and insects that rely on the pond and discover how important the pond is to them.
Jocassee Lake Tours
July 1 6:00 - 9:00 PM
We’ll visit some waterfalls, drift up some wild rivers, and then settle in to watch the sun set. The speed range for this event: dawdle to pokey. Ever watch the sunset while floating in a calm, cool mountain lake? Perhaps with your favorite end-of-day beverage in hand? Join us!
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COMING SOON!
JULY
STATE PARK EVENTS
Oconee State Park
July 4
Table Rock State Park
July 8: 2:00 - 6:00 PM
MEETUP EVENTS WHAT IS A MEETUP?
GNHA
July 8: 8:00 AM
GNHA
July 8: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Upstate Hiking & Outdoor Adventures
July 8: 7:00 PM
Outdoor Club South
July 9: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
GNHA
July 9: 1:30 AM - 6:00 PM
GNHA
July 15: 8:30 AM
Blue Ridge Backpackers
July 15: 9:00 AM
GNHA
July 16: 1:30 - 4:00 PM
SC Botanical Garden
SC Botanical Garden
July 7: 3:30 PM - 5:30
Mushroom Mountain
July 8: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Jocassee Lake Tours
July 8: 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Jocassee Lake Tours
July 9: 7:00 - 9:30 PM
SC Botanical Garden
July 9: 9:00 - 10:30 PM
Mushroom Mountain
July 12: 2:00 - 3:30
Lake Conestee Nature Park
July 15: 9:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Hagood Mill
July 15: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Mushroom Mountain
July 15-16
Jocassee Lake Tours
July 16: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Brooks' Adventure Sundays - Upper Lake Expedition (Book Now)
SC Botanical Garden
July 17 - 21: 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
SC Native Plant Society
July 18: 6:30 - 9:00 PM
World of Energy
July 19: 10:00 AM & 11:00 AM
Friends of Jocassee
July 20: 10:00 AM
SC Botanical Garden
July 22: 9:00 - 11:00 AM
Jocassee Lake Tours
July 23: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
THIS WEEK ON LAKE JOCASSEE
June 26, 2017
RAIN AND ROOSTS. It has rained most every day this week, but not for long. Long enough, though, to keep the lake quiet and the temperatures mild. The skies have been gorgeous, the lake at its most mystically beautiful. It is days like this that mesmerized me on our first visit to Lake Jocassee, and quickly had us move our entire lives to its shore. One of my favorite things to do after a hard rain is to look for vulture roosts, where dozens of vultures can be found spreading their wings to dry. One common roost that is easily found and observed is along the shore and in the trees between the main dock at Devils Fork State Park and the Villas, the lovely cabins rented by the park. Wander quietly over there sometime, just after a bounding summer rain. It’s an eerie and beautiful sight.
EAGLE REPORT. The young’uns are up, they’re out, but they’re not gone. Both mature and immature eagles can be predictably seen on the upper reaches of the Toxaway River. It is clear that the resident population of our ‘mountain eagles’ is increasing!~B
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DID YOU KNOW?
Mudstones are made up of fine grains of silt or clay which settle in low energy areas such as swamps or lakes. Because of Steno’s Law of Original Horizontality, we know that sedimentary rocks such as mudstone that are not horizontal either were formed in special ways or, more often, were moved from their horizontal position by later events, such as tilting during episodes of mountain building.
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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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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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Mountain Lakes Convention and Visitors Bureau
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Your Portal to Paradise!
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Home Away From Home
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