Hi, I'm Eric.

I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.

I help implement the Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe.

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Southeastern US Day 9: A Swamp Walk and Some Bluegrass Music

26 March 2023 • 105 km / 65 mi (map)

Some local friends suggested that we visit the Caw Caw Interpretive Center, a county-maintained wildlife preserve just outside of Charleston. We did and enjoyed a walk through a cypress swamp and former rice plantation.

A dense marsh field of cattails with fluffy, seed-bursting brown heads fills the foreground, backed by a line of green trees under a cloudy sky.
Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel, South Carolina
Wispy strands of silvery-gray Spanish moss hang from tree branches in soft focus, set against a blurred green background of foliage.
Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel, South Carolina
A cypress swamp with a network of pointed cypress knees rising from murky still water in the foreground, surrounded by tall bare and moss-covered tree trunks and lush green spring foliage. A large trunk with orange-green lichen stands prominently on the right.
Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel, South Carolina
A wooden boardwalk with railings curves through a swampy forest, passing over dark standing water on the left where cypress knees and fallen logs rise from the surface, surrounded by tall trees with fresh green spring foliage under an overcast white sky.
Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel, South Carolina
Looking straight up the trunks of tall trees into their spreading canopy against a pale, overcast gray sky, with dark silhouetted branches and sparse green foliage radiating outward.
Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel, South Carolina
Close-up of a weathered dead tree trunk with peeling bark, riddled with numerous oval and round holes made by woodpeckers foraging for insects, against a soft, out-of-focus green background.
Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel, South Carolina

I haven’t done infrared photography in a very long time, but the contrasts of a hot and humid swamp were too good to pass up.

A black-and-white infrared photograph of a dense hardwood forest with tall slender tree trunks rising from a floor scattered with fan-shaped palmetto plants that glow bright white against the darker ground and foliage.
Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel, South Carolina
A black-and-white infrared photograph of a swampy forest, with tall slender trees, palmetto fronds, and pale glowing foliage rising above a still, dark pool of water that mirrors the trunks. A tuft of grass sits on a small bank at the water’s edge in the middle distance.
Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel, South Carolina

On a whim, we decided to drive to the coastal town of Rockville, just to see what it was about. Short answer: a very good place to go and be quietly forgotten if that is your wish. Here is the view from where the road ends at the water’s edge:

A quiet two-lane country road with a faded yellow centerline runs through a Southern town, lined with large oak and cedar trees draped in Spanish moss. White clapboard houses with dark shutters sit among the greenery, and fallen leaves scatter across the pavement and roadside under a partly cloudy sky.
Rockville, South Carolina

On our way back to Charleston, got what felt like an authentic South Carolina experience. Stopped in for a bite to eat and found live bluegrass/country music on the back patio. Lots of pickle-y things which Lisa enjoyed. Lots of meaty goodness that we both enjoyed.

Moose Rules · Tattooed Moose, Johns Island, South Carolina
Tattooed Moose, Johns Island, South Carolina
Circus Mutt · Tattooed Moose, Johns Island, South Carolina
Charleston to Rockville, South Carolina, and back · 105 km / 65 mi
(Mouse over or tap on the markers to see the photos there. Use the button to adjust the map’s position and zoom.)

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