Sweetgrass Baskets

Highway 17 has been designated the Sweetgrass Basket Makers Highway. This road takes us from Charleston to Bulls Landing Road where we are parked for the summer.

All along the road are these little places where the Gullah Geechee set up the baskets to sell.

This is Julia...it was time to get my basket and she was kind enough to let me get this photo. My basket was priced at $40.00 but you can go as high as $500.00. This custom was started by one little lady who sat out a chair and sold them...then one by one it turned into this.

This is Julia's stand. You can see another on down the road.

She was in the process of making another basket that she is holding.

There is a historical plaque...click on the picture to enlarge.

This craft was brought over from West Africa where the baskets were used in winnowing rice.

The basket sewing is viewed as a gift from God.

These people, the Gullah Geechee, have made a good business for themselves. It has given them a sense of purpose, meaning and belonging.

I love my basket!!!

Until next time...

Lighthouse Island

Tricia, volunteer  coordinator, is back and we spent some time working with her on Lighthouse Island.

This picture was taken inside the tall lighthouse after our work was finished. She was giving us more information about the refuge and its surroundings.

There are two lighthouses on the island as you will see.

There were 9 of us working together with loppers, weed eaters, brush hog etc.

A really neat place with a lot of history.

Here are the two lighthouses in this photo.

After disembarking from our boat, the guys start weed eating the trail.

We docked the boat at low tide, causing us to walk on oyster beds and through the muck, I almost came out of one of my boots.

Did you notice...the tall lighthouse is leaning. It tilts several degrees out of plumb.

The shorter one to the right was built first. It was too short, thus being ineffective.

The tall one (the second one) was built in 1857 with 212 steps to the top, and it is 154' tall.

Tricia showed us this old buoy that was used during the Civil War. She is the one who discovered it. What a find!!!

You can see the condition of the metal stairs. For this reason we can not venture up to the top.

Work is being done to replace all those 212 steps!!!

I can only imagine the beautiful view from the top.

Our first three years out, we gave tours of a lighthouse in Winchester Bay, Oregon.

You can see the work we got done. The grass was up to our knees.

How about that old ceramic sign!!!

It was a really HOT day, but we all pitched in and gotter done!!! Lighthouse Island is in the Wilderness Area where all motorized tools are off limits, but in this case it has been approved.

There will be lighthouse tours coming up done by concessionaires. We have done our part to spruce it up for the public.

I need to correct a mistake on the last post...there have been over 2000 Loggerhead turtles nesting on Cape Romain this year.

Until next time...