Hiking near Columbia

Recently a friend asked where to go hiking near Columbia. My first question was: How far do you want to travel? If you want to drive around two hours, you can hike in the mountains or along the coast. But if you are in need of a quick nature fix with less drive time, there are a number of under appreciated local trails within 20 miles.

Picnicking with friends at Harbison State Forest

View from the Stewardship Trail

Harbison State Forest is one of the closest. It is a gem just off Broad River Road not far from Columbiana Centre and Harbison Blvd. There are picnic shelters for fun cookouts with friends and a number of trails that will get you into the woods. The Firebreak Trail is the main loop that connects all of the trails. The Stewardship, Midlands Mountain and Spiderwoman Trails all provide glimpses of the Broad River. The Midlands is one of the most fun on mountain bike with a number of whoopty doos. The Spiderwoman Trail provides a short technical mountain bike ride or a nice hike. Lost Creek Trail, as one the longest trail at 7 miles, is one of my favorite trails (except in the summer when it is hot and buggy). If you are looking for a day hike or want to try mountain biking, Harbison is a great place to start. Buy an annual pass or don't forget your $5 for parking.

Hiking Congaree

Picnicking at Sesquicentennial State Park

Sesquicentennial State Park is a CCC-era park located just off Two Notch Road. It is another great place for hiking or biking; you can also canoe or camp. Situated in the Sandhills, there are a number of trails that circle a lake, but my regular hike/bike is the Mountain Bike Trail. It is a sandy, fun, 6 miles.


Congaree National Park is a bit more of a drive, but well worth the trip. It is the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States. Check in for the mosquito meter before heading out for a beautiful hike through the swamp.

Getting out of the French Quarter in New Orleans

On a recent whirl-wind trip to New Orleans, Rachel Breunlin with The Neighborhood Story Project gave me a fantastic tour of New Orleans. The Neighborhood Story Project is a documentary book-making project in which writers create portraits of places through writing, interviews and photography. I have been to New Orleans a number of times, but Rachel took me out of the French Quarter to see parts of the Crescent City I had not seen before.

The annual Congo Square Festival

Our first stop was Congo Square. Congo Square is in the vicinity of the sacred ground of the Houmas Indians. Before the arrival of the French, the space was used for celebrating the annual corn harvest. As early as 1740, enslaved African vendors began gathering in the square. The square became famous for the gatherings of enslaved Africans who drummed, danced, sang and traded on Sunday afternoons. Today, it is home to the Congo Square Festival (which I missed by a couple of days).

Louis Armstrong Park

Right next to the Square is the Louis Armstrong Park. The park, formerly known as Beauregard Square, is located in the Treme neighborhood (of HBO fame) just across Rampart Street from the French Quarter. The rolling hills of the park are appealing to the eye, but not natural to New Orleans. It exists as a stark reminder of the fact that blocks of Treme, one of the oldest Black neighborhoods (the birthplace of jazz as well as being influential in the Southern Civil Rights Movement) were bull dozed during urban renewal. Today the park promotes the jazz heritage of the city, but the rolling hills and fence surrounding it, do not invite the children who live in the surrounding neighborhoods to play soccer or .

Ronald Lewis at the house of dance and feathers.

I fought back tears after visiting the house of dance and feathers. Maybe it was the stress of the two day trip. Maybe it was the reminder of how large Katrina still remains in people's lives. Ronald W. Lewis founded the museum in his backyard shed, which also acted as a barber shop and gathering place for family and friends. The museum, which was filled with the cultural objects Ronald had collected over the years through his involvement with the cultural traditions of the Mardi Gras Indians and Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs of New Orleans was destroyed during Katrina. After the flood, Ronald partnered with a number of organizations to rebuild. Today, the museum is a single room filled with photographs, bead and feather costumes, and other cultural objects. It is also filled with memorabilia from Katrina - newspaper clippings, cans of water, and reminders of the devastation to the Lower Ninth Ward.

On my visit, Ronald's presence felt like a warm hug, like the spirit of New Orleans. I also got a glimpse of how Katrina still impacts the lives of people living in the Lower Ninth Ward, when Robert's wife came in for a quick conversation with Rachel. As I looked around the museum, they discussed the plans for a bicycle trail along the river. Why were they building bicycle path when the infrastructure needed in the Lower Ninth Ward is still lacking. The area is a food desert. And there is still not a road out of the ward in case of another storm.

Old U.S. Mint

One of our last stops was the Old U.S. Mint on Esplanade Avenue. The building, that served both as a U.S. and Confederate Mint, is home to the Louisiana Historical Center. This is a must stop for anyone doing research in New Orleans since it houses the maps and manuscripts, sheet music, microfilm, scrapbooks, pamphlets, and newspapers from the Louisiana State Museum's collections. The building also houses the state of the art Old U.S. Mint Performance Hall. The Performance Hall, located on the third floor, is the result of an innovative partnership between the National Park Service and the Louisiana State Museum to bring a world class music venue to the birthplace of jazz.

The Rampart Food (Orange) Store

A tour of New Orleans would not be complete without food. For dinner, a group of us dined at Mondo, a neighborhood restaurant, located on Harrison Drive in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans. The restaurant is owned by Chef Susan Spicer, who is also the chef and co-owner of Bayona, in the French Quarter. I started with a Bayou Teche LA-31 Bière Pâle or a or Louisiana Pale Ale. The malty hoppiness went well with the spicy shrimp and cauliflower curry. For breakfast, I ate at the Ruby Slipper Cafe on Magazine Street. I had eaten here on a previous trip to the Crescent City, so I knew a yummy breakfast was in store. I had the shrimp and cheddar omelet (with added spinach), rosemary potatoes, biscuit and coffee. It was delicious. For lunch, Rachel took me to the Orange Store, as it is popularly known, or the Rampart Food Store for a po'boy. The corner store has a kitchen that sells asian cuisine and sandwiches.

Po' boy from the Orange Store

I opted for the shrimp po' boy on a bun (rather than a larger sandwich on french bread). I took it to go and ate it at the airport -- and got a lot of hungry stares from my surrounding passengers.

There are so many places to see and things to do in New Orleans. On your next trip, get out of the French Quarter and see some new sites. For other fun, out of the ordinary places to visit in New Orleans check out Campbell Robertson's story, 36 Hours: New Orleans in the New York Times.

Visiting archaeology

I am an archaeologist. As part of my job, I get to visit archaeological sites throughout South Carolina. The location of archaeological sites is often not made public to protect these non-renewable resources. But there are a number of ways to visit archaeology in South Carolina.

Excavating at the Kolb Site

A number of state parks such as Charles Town Landing and Hampton Plantation State Historic Sites have conducted archaeology or have on-going archaeology projects that you can check out. Historic plantations also conduct archaeology. For instance, archaeologists at Drayton Hall are studying the material culture of the generations of Drayton families who have lived on the property. Archaeology is also providing information about the lives of Historic Native Americans and 20th century freedmen.  The Johannes Kolb Archaeology Project has an annual spring dig in which volunteers are encouraged to participate and visitors are encouraged to check out the site on their public day.

In Columbia, Jake Crockett, with Historic Columbia Foundation, has been conducting research at Mann-Simons on Richland Street. Mann-Simons was a collection of commercial and domestic spaces owned and operated by the same African-American family from at least 1843 until 1970. Following extensive archaeological investigation at the site, the landscape is currently being renovated to reflect the late 19th- and early 20th-century use of the site by the entrepreneurial Mann and Simons families. Interpretation will include the location and use of multiple structures that once stood adjacent to the cottage through the installation of skeleton structures and wayside interpretative signage highlighting the multifunctional use of this African-American garden. So go out and check it out.

Firing Pots at Fall Field Day 2011

Fall Field Day 2011

Another way to visit archaeology is Archaeology Field Day. The Archaeological Society of South Carolina (ASSC) is an association of professional and avocational archaeologists and concerned citizens uniting together in a cooperative effort to understand the prehistory and history of South Carolina. There are a number of chapters who do regional activities as well as society-wide activities such as the annual conference and Fall Field Day. Field Day is a fun way for families to learn about archaeology in South Carolina. From activities such as sand box digs, living history demonstrations making stone tools and firing pottery, an artifact ID tent, and lectures. 

Now that I've encouraged you to visit archaeological sites, I have to say: don't forget to respect the site. Don't remove stones or pottery sherds that you may find. The pieces that are in an archaeological site are an integral part of that site and as insignificant as they may seem, the information they provide may be invaluable.