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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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SOURWOOD HONEY
Subtle scent hangs in summer air, carried over and down a ridge on a refreshingly cool June breeze. Sourwoods are blooming. Their tiny, cream-colored flower bells fill the air with a smell sweet as honey, and if you’re lucky enough to find sourwood honey, you’ll know just how sweet that is. Sourwood honey is golden, and precious as gold, and bees have freely shared this bounty for thousands of years. If you find someone who works with bees and collects this precious nectar, and if said person is willing to part with this gift for mere money, buy. Heck, you should probably even pay them double.~K
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Sourwood blossoms
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SPECIAL EVENTS
WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS
FIRST SUNDAY EXPEDITIONS WITH PATRICK MCMILLAN!
Don't miss this rare opportunity to see the Jocassee Gorges through the eyes of South Carolina's Naturalist, Dr. Patrick McMillan!
JOCASSEE HISTORY TOURS! Life Before the Lake with CLAUDIA WHITMIRE HEMBREE!
'JOCASSEE WILD' GUIDED KAYAK TOUR
PRIVATE TOURS ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE!
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WITH JOCASSEE LAKE TOURS
EVERY WEDNESDAY TOUR
EVERY SATURDAY TOUR
June 30: 10:00 AM--2:00 PM Book Now!
EVERY SUNDAY TOUR
EVERY SUNDAY AFTERNOON TOUR
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Snorkeling sights.
JUNE 25
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, Oconee Station State Historic Site offers both recreational opportunities and a unique look at 18th and 19th century South Carolina. Oconee Station, a stone blockhouse used as an outpost by the S.C. State Militia from about 1792 to 1799, and the William Richards House, are the only two structures that remain today.
Gorges State Park
June, July and August
Wednesdays 10:00 AM--12:00 PM
Oconee State Park
June 22--August 21: 8:00--10:00 PM
Oconee State Park invites you to spend your summer nights enjoying live music by the Dixie Bluegrass Boys and lots of family fun! Come on out to the barn and make some memories!
Gorges State Park
June 30: 11:00 AM
Join us on a guided hike to one of the most popular waterfalls in the state, Rainbow Falls. Learn about the area’s history, its trees and plants, and waterfall safety all while enjoying the Horsepasture River, a nationally designated wild and scenic river.
Gorges State Park
June 30: 4:30 PM
Join us on a guided hike down to Upper Bearwallow Falls. Learn about the area’s trees, flowers and the scoop on the name “bearwallow” on this hike to one of the most accessible waterfalls in the park.
GHNA
June 30: 8:30 AM--3:30 PM
From Laurel Valley Access, hike follows the FHT beneath a canopy of mature hardwoods and Catawba rhododendrons as it meanders along the rolling hillsides.
OTHER OUTDOOR EVENTS
Duke Energy
June 27: 10:00 AM
All About Water
A Clemson Extension water resource agent will conduct water quality experiments with children. Get your hands wet and test different parameters to learn what’s in our water with this fun, interactive activity! Please register for this event.
SC Botanical Garden
In this camp creativity reigns! The garden is our palette and provides our media - we will craft, paint and explore many dimensions of our creative spirit through garden-based activities. Learn about famous artists who were inspired by the natural world. Create unique art works and enjoy the Garden too!
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THIS WEEK ON LAKE JOCASSEE
June 25, 2018
SNORKEL SEASON! First of all, welcome to summer everyone. The summer solstice has passed and summer is surely here, in all its hot and stormy glory. Actually, we’ve been relatively storm free the last few evenings, which is a nice repose, but such calmness comes at a cost - no rainbows! Oh well, can’t have it all, now can we. What we do have now is crystal clear waters again, after the late May deluge filled the mountain rivers and watershed to overflowing. After nearly three weeks of an unusually opaque lake, Lake Jo has returned to its famous, near-Bahamian clarity. So bring your snorkels, for pete’s sake! Sure the lake is nearly 400 feet deep, but the edges are riddled with rock outcroppings that small fish seem to love. It’s an unexpected wonder down there. And remember - no sharks!
LOON FIX. I know, I know, I promised I wouldn’t write about loons until next fall, but I just can’t help myself. I’ve been watching a loon cam on a small lake in New Hampshire, and have watched loons hatching, taking their first rides on dad’s back, and witnessed the temporary but lengthy disappearance of mom. It’s pretty compelling stuff. Here’s the link, in case you need your loon fix too before next fall.~B
STATE PARK EVENTS
Oconee State Park
July 5th
Table Rock State Park
July 14: 2:00--6:00 PM
Table Rock State Park
July 20: 10:00 AM--1:00 PM
Table Rock State Park
July 21: 9:00 AM--12:00 PM
GHNA
July 1: 10:00 AM--6:00 PM
GHNA
July 1: 12:00--3:00 PM
GHNA
July 1: 12:00--4:00 PM
Asheville Hiking Group
July: 14: 7:45 AM--5:00 PM
Outdoor Club South
July 14 - 15: 9:00 AM--3:00 PM
Greenville Sea Kayakers Club
July 14: 5:00--8:00 PM
Outdoor Club South
July 21: 10:00 AM--4:00 PM
GHNA
July 21: 10:00 AM--5:00 PM
GHNA
July 22: 12:30--5:00 PM
Conestee Nature Park
July 7: 8:30--11:30 AM
Mushroom Mountain
July 11: 2:00 PM
SC Native Plant Society
July 17: 7:00--9:00 PM
Mushroom Mountain
July 13--15
SC Botanical Garden Events:
July 6: 7:00 AM
BORROWED GLIMPSES
 Paddling 'Jocassee Wild' style.
 Thompson River waterfall, as seen on a
'Jocassee Wild' River Adventure.
Photo by Kenny Brower
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DID YOU KNOW?
The largest known sourwood in North America is in Robbinsville, N.C. It is 118 feet tall with a 2-foot trunk.
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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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