Entry: The SC Lunatic Asylum

I forgot to post these a few weeks ago.  These are shots of the old SC Lunatic Asylum in Columbia.  This institution was established ~175 years ago.  You can read the history of the grounds here.

 Sorry...these are all external shots.  Internal photography done by talented individuals can be found here, here, and here.

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Entry: Camping in the Nantahala National Forest

Sean, Betsy, John, and my self, spent the last three days up in the Nantahala National Forest.  Talk about fun (not to mention a much-needed break from life).

The campsite.  Slightly bigger than last year's.

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My hammock.  It looks like there's a person in it but it's just my twin-sized sleeping bag that LOOK like a person.  We ended up calling it the "bear rape tamale" (because of the bear population and its resemblance to a giant tamale).

My usual throne.

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Betsy caught, yes, actually smiling.

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Reading about bear rape.  

"Bear rape is a real problem in this country.  If you ignore the signs, you could be the next victim."

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I dubbed this the "ol' cursed indian fence". I mean...if there was ever a cursed fence, it'd probably be this one, right?

They take garbage collection at the camp site VERY seriously.

Sean and I debated what would happen if we turned the valve.  I theorized that it fed the executive bathroom in the white  house and thus should probably be left alone.

I like their choice of symbols.  I took this to mean "more difficult calculus ahead" (due to the presence of a sine wave).

Ok...my math was never very good.  We should probably turn back.

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The king on his throne.

Taking a picture of the king on his throne.

The breakfast of champions.

Some of the best chili ever!  (Thanks, Betsy!)

Try to guess what they're doing here.  They aren't looking over a map or some instructions for some random piece of camping gear.  They're watching a WORM crawl across the table.  Boys.

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Bridge of death ahead.

Actually, the bridge of death goes right over the bog of eternal stench.  That's all.

Neat sign.

"Hmmm...left turn... Albuquerque."  

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Beaver den?  That's what the others thought.  I've never seen one, though.

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Dry river bed.  Kinda neat.

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Crossing the stream.

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This was a neat area.  It was an intersection of paths in the middle of the forest and of old logging roads (presumably).  

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"Left turn...maybe right turn?  Man...gotta pee."

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Good shot of Sean and Betsy.

Conquering heroes at the end of the day.