Square Bottom Adventures: South Carolina

Showing posts with label South Carolina. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Square Bottom Retrospective

Square Bottom I

So why Square Bottom Adventures? The 'Adventures' part is self explanatory, but what about the rest? Having been asked many times, it's time to disclose - both the derivation and history of the Square Bottom...

It turns out that there have actually been numerous Square Bottom campers - six total Square Bottoms counting the original namesake, which was a canoe. May I present the original Square Bottom:

In 2011 we acquired this wonderful old 17' Gruman aluminum canoe for exploring around the shorelines of Lake Champlain. Living right on the lake, in Burlington VT, it was the perfect vehicle, and went from plain to fancy in a short time. You might notice the squared stern with a 2hp outboard? Well for some reason, Lainie always referred to it as a 'square bottom boat'- it stuck and Square Bottom was born.

The following year, some forty years after camping around the country for 3 months (see Square Bottom III below), we purchased another - to see if we'd enjoy it as much as we did in those early days together. Looking to name the RV, and still constantly delighted by the name Square Bottom, it became official Square Bottom = camper/RV! But in retrospect, our 2011 acquisition was actually Square Bottom V...

Square Bottom II

The year was 1969, the place Boston. Without realizing it, I'd started down the Square Bottom path when I acquired this lovely VW camper bus. Others can probably tell more about it than I can remember, but I believe it was a 1965 model.

Wintering in Somerville


Me, somewhere in Quebec

It came with the front mounted spare, to which added the tasteful duct tape peace sign. After all, it was the 1970s. From what I recall, there was a sink, icebox, bed and cabinets - but no pop top, or fancy stove, a/c, heater. SB-II was sold in 1970, and replaced with a Norton Commando750cc motorcycle.

Square Bottom III

In 1972, it was time to 'go west young man' - with a plan to depart MA for the West Coast and parts unknown. To that end, the Norton was traded for a trailered 21' wooden cabin cruiser, which was then sold to acquire Square Bottom III. SB-III was a 1955 Ford Step Van with a former life as a Snap On Tools mobile showroom. A 'conversion' had been started, which I completed (loosely speaking).

Somewhere in Virginia

Pacific Coast Highway

Story time at a marina in Seattle

It had '3 on the tree', no remaining synchromesh, a pnuematic driver's seat. There was an icebox, water tank and sink, 6" b/w TV, and 8-track tape player with the height of technological innovation - an adapter for cassette tapes with a built in FM radio! We spent three months circumnavigating the US, down into Mexico, up the West Coast to Vancouver, and back across Canada - 12k miles in all.

Square Bottom IIIa, in the Florida Keys, 1976

SB-III was sold around 1975, and replaced with a Saab 95 wagon (or SB-IIIa) - which also made numerous winter camping trips away from New England.

Square Bottom IV

Sometime around 1977, it was time to move from the Boston area to Galveston Texas, via a cross-country tour. Times called for Square Bottom IV - an early 1970s Dodge Van. Again, a minimal conversion Square Bottom, with only a couch/bed and icebox, but lots of storage and passenger room.


Wonderful sign, location unknown. 1978


Arroyo Seco, NM. 1978

Square Bottom V

Fast forward through careers, moves, and lives to late 2011 - back to the beginning of the tale. To recapture the excitement of our earlier adventures, but in high style, we acquired a brand spanking new 2011 Damon Avanti. It came heavily discounted from an EOY sale at MSHRV - the largest RV dealer in Texas. A 28' Class A beauty with full wall slide, front deisel, Freightliner custom chassis, Allison 6 speed transmission, and all the bells and whistles.

On the lot in Alverado, TX @ MHSRV

So we packed up Roxy (our Leonberger) and what we'd need, rented a one-way van, and drove down to Texas to move into our new Square Bottom and begin a new generation of camping. Some of the other Square Bottom Adventure posts on this blog are from travels in this SB-V, and his successor SB-VI (below).

SB-V was sold on-line in 2014 to a gentleman from OR. He flew out to VT, and drove home to the West Coast singlehandedly, in three days.

Square Bottom VI

Square Bottom V was a hit, and rekindled the spirit of the road, but had one downside - Lainie was not comfortable driving him, given the traditional 'Class A' seats and driving position. To that end, we began the search for the perfect Sprinter based replacement - which was what we were originally hunting for, unsuccessfully, when we found the Avanti.

Now, a few years later, there were many more Sprinter offerings and floorplans - and we found the perfect blend in a 2015.5 Leisure Travel Van Unity MB (murphy bed) model, bought it at the Hershey RV Show, took the Amtrak up from Beaufort (SC) - our new home - to pick him up at a dealer in PA.

Picking up SB-VI at Fretz RV in PA, June 2015.

St. George Island, FL. Winter 2015

Agip the toad added, 2015

When not traveling, Square Bottom VI and his companion Agip (2016 Jeep Patriot) live comfortably in our yard in Beaufort, SC.

Square Bottom VII

Square Bottom VI and Agip found new homes in June of 2019 - one in Charlotte, NC and the other traded in toward a 2015 BMW X35d. Capable of towing 6500 pounds with the addition of a (Georgia made) Stealth Hitch, SB VII is now a 23' Winnebago Micro Winnie with murphy bed and all the bells and whistles!

Square Bottom VII and her X5 tow care were sold to a couple of intrepid women from Minnesota in early 2021. Is it the end of the Square Bottom Line... ?

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Pearl Fryer Topiary Garden

A place that is alternately beautiful, whimsical, educational, and inspiring...

On our 2015 Square Bottom Adventure tour, this was one of our first stops. We didn't get a chance to meet Mr. Fryar in person, but perhaps next time.

Since the early 1980s, Pearl Fryar has created fantastic topiary at his garden in Bishopville, South Carolina - The Pearl Fryer Topiary Garden. Living sculptures, Pearl’s topiary are astounding feats of artistry and horticulture. Many of the plants in Pearl’s garden were rescued from the compost pile at local nurseries.

With Pearl’s patience and skilled hands, these “throw aways” have thrived and have been transformed into wonderful abstract shapes. Pearl Fryar and his garden are now internationally recognized and have been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles, television shows, and even a documentary, A Man Named Pearl. Today, the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden draws visitors from around the globe.

A delightful and fanciful place. Should you make it to Bishopville, SC don't forget that the South Carolina Cotton Museum is right down the street.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Edisto Beach Fossils

Along the way, we heard that Edisto Beach (SC) was a well known area for finding fossils...

Archaeologists have known about the paleontological fossil site at the north end of Edisto Island at Jeremy Inlet since at least the 1960s. The Charleston Museum has fossils from this place dating back to at least the 1820s and possibly earlier. The inlet is just over a mile walk along the beach, North from the Edisto Beach State Park.

Looking South at low tide from Jeremy Inslet

Approximately 47,000 years ago, the Laurentide glacier began expanding over what’s now Canada. Much of the water that existed in the atmosphere became trapped in this growing sheet of ice. As a result of decreasing precipitation, the Atlantic Ocean receded many miles to the east of what today is the coast of South Carolina and other ocean-bordering states. Somewhere to the east of what would become Edisto Beach 40,000 years later, grass, shrubs, and finally trees colonized the new top soil that had formed from sea bird guano, plant detritus, pulverized shells, sand, and river deposited mud. This soil built up on top of a fossiliferous geological formation dating to the early Miocene when the area was deep under the ocean.

The later Pliocene and early Pleistocene strata washed away, creating what geologists refer to as an unconformity where the late Pleistocene strata overlay the Miocene – strata from the ages in between are missing here. Conditions were favorable for fossilization here, and many Pleistocene age vertebrate fossils became preserved over thousands of years.

Now, the glacier has melted and the Atlantic Ocean has once again advanced. Strong currents blast through both the Pleistocene strata, and the Miocene formation, eroding slabs of fossils into the sea where the waves carry them to the shore. Edisto Island is a productive fossil site, albeit the fossils are from three different ages and are totally mixed, so that Miocene and Holocene marine fossils are found right next to Pleistocene land vertebrate specimens. Shark’s teeth, including those of the giant great white shark, Carcharodon megalodon, as well as an impressive the list of Pleistocene mammals.

Outflow from Jeremy Inlet at Edisto Beach

The fossil deposit has yielded a rich assortment of Pliocene and Pleistocene fossils. These include both land and marine creatures both big and small. The land animals include mammoth, mastadon, giant sloth, bison, horse, camel, capybara, deer, elk, large cats, various turtles, and numerous small mammals. The marine animals include whales, dolphins, manatees, many species of sharks and rays, drum fish, and numerous other species.