Carl Sandburg & Reedy Branch Falls

This post will wrap up my recent trip its always good to have these self published memories to graze through when our memory fades In fact I needed to recall some info from last years travel and I looked it up on my blog GOSH what will we do if Blogger should ever close? I always try to tag my post as this is 'my diary"

We headed to Greenville but along the way I wanted to see the Carl Sandburg House. To be honest I had never really know that much about Carl Sandburg...or his works. He was from Illinois and his first claim to fame was his biographies about Abe Lincoln, he was known as a poet of the people and he also was a folk singer.  

web photo

 I swear he reminds me of John Denver in this photo!! Or Maybe Denver fashioned his look after Sandburg? He purchased this 248 acre estate, Connemara,  in 1945 for $45,000!  His wife established an award winning herd of goats she called Chickaming after her home town! Sandburg won a Pulitzer in 1951 for his poetry,  was named International  Poet Laureate 1963, and passed here at this estate in Flat Rock NC in 1967.  

Grass

BY CARL SANDBURG

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.

Shovel them under and let me work—

                                          I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg

And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.

Shovel them under and let me work.

Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:

                                          What place is this?

                                          Where are we now?

                                          I am the grass.

                                          Let me work

The estate is quiet lush and green it has several ponds and many types of plants and trees.  Sandburg was know to enjoy sitting near these fields and ponds to do his writings..

The house is typical Southern Mansion style built of wood  and stone, with 3 stories.  We did not take the tour since Casey had to stay in the van, we limited our time on the campus to 20 mins...Once again I had windows open and fans on for him..I don't have to see every detail of a place to enjoy it...we walked up the steep path and enjoyed the grounds and the gift shop in the basement level and that was enough for me.  While in the gift shop I got my N.P. Passport cancellation stamped and picked up the 2015 release of stamp sets! 

the house is going to undergo a restoration and all the furnishings and the library collection  of more  than 16,000 books will be packed up and held for  safe keeping off site while the work is done..

It was an interesting place to visit run by the National Parks Service...

It was about a 2 hr ride to my sisters home where we had a great pizza dinner and played 2 games of Sorry I won the first game and finished last in the second;o/ On Saturday we planned a picnic and water fall hike...

Well it wasnt really much of a hike only 600 ft.  Due to threatening storms I changed up the venue from the planned 2 hr hike to Opossum Creek Falls,  to this falls just off Long Creek ...Reedy Branch Falls..in Oconee Co. SC

CASEY

a 30 ft falls in a very pretty setting...

Because of the  system of "reserving"and having to pay for all the sheltered picnic tables (WHICH Is stupid..what about handicapped access to covered tables)...we had set up in a covered table, and were told by State Park staff it was reserved and we had to leave so by the time we found another spot, got mom out to it which took 2 of us, and set up the storm was upon us!
Thank you unkind staff of LAKE HARTWELL S.P. ;o(

The shelter DID NOT have a reserved sing on it and that was our second attempt at finding a handicapped access picnic table under shelter! We should have done the picnic first because right after I took this photo below the bottom fell out we all got soaked to the skin the wind blew the lightening struck the thunder boomed it came up so FAST  our plates of sandwiches blew away in the wind!! LOL Im sure if we had returned to the falls after the storm it would have had twice the flow as it did up there!!  We were drenched!! 

L-R Mom, My Friend Cyndi, and in red my Sister Marsha. 

Mom said "I told you we could have a picnic right at home"...
Later on we ended up eating our picnic at home...
and another game of Sorry I finished 2nd. 

I've been back home a week now and can't wait for my next adventure...meanwhile this week I've been back on the bathroom work! 

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.