2014 marked my first full year living in Upstate SC. I had visited and camped at Table Rock as a child (about 20 years prior), and was eager to see that iconic rock face again. It now also represents a number of milestones I hope to achieve in my personal quest to get back into shape. The trail leading to the top of the mountain is strenuous, and the park is also connected to the lengthy Foothills Trail, which stretches across South Carolina’s portion of the lower Appalachians, wandering only briefly into North Carolina.
I had known for some time that South Carolina is home to a number of nonvenemous water snakes (I should add, here, that I have no fear of snakes to begin with). 2015 marked my first encounter with a Northern Water Snake. I also got much better pictures of a few of Carrick Creek’s spectacular water features, on this trip. The last picture is from 2017, because I only had one other good picture from that year, and they don’t go together well.
Carrick Creek Falls, Table Rock, SC 
Carrick Creek Falls, Table Rock, SC 
Carrick Creek, Table Rock, SC 
Carrick Creek, Table Rock, SC 
Northern Water Snake, Table Rock, SC 
Northern Water Snake, Table Rock, SC 
Carrick Creek, Table Rock, SC 
Carrick Creek Trail Loop, Table Rock, SC 
Gray Squirrel, Table Rock, SC 
Flowers (Rhododendron?), Table Rock, SC 
Carrick Creek, Table Rock, SC
2016 was a long and eventful year in my personal life, with a lot of ups and downs. We didn’t visit again until 2017. This was the year I got my boyfriend out on a paddleboat, and got a spectacular view of the mountain face from Pinnacle Lake. (It marks one of the precious few times I have ever gotten my lover out on a boat, as he does not swim well.)
Taladay Arts 