Bridging the gap...
Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:13 pm
Most of the time (hurricane season the notable exception) I am very pleased to be living in coastal South Carolina. It's an area known as the "lowcountry", which covers an area bounded by the ocean to the southeast, and the piedmont plateau to the northwest. One of the lowcountry's dominant attributes is water - salt, to brackish, to fresh.
I live on the largest of SC's 'sea islands', Johns Island, located ten or so miles southwest of Charleston. Johns Island is separated from the barrier islands and from the mainland by tidal marshes and creeks. These estuarine waterways and marshes are some of the most productive ecosystems found in temperate latitudes. They teem with abundant life.
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=32. ... yer=DRG250
My daily commute to work runs from the northwest corner of Johns Island to the northeast corner of James Island. Living in this estuarine area, I do a lot of bridges. I worked bridge construction down in the Keys in the mid seventies, and I continue to be fascinated by 'em. I love my ride in to work and thought maybe you'd like to see some of why I love it so much. I did this Picture taking version of my commute on Sunday the 18th of September. I got away from the house about 7:30 or so.
My first bridge is a little bitty one, and it's a brand new one as well. It has no name, nor, to the best of my knowledge does the creek it crosses.
But the saltmarsh is beautiful in the morning mist.
When I shot these pics, we were close to a full moon. High tides are always in the mornings near a full moon. Our tidal amplitude hereabouts averages around 5 and a half feet. We're probably about 3/4 full at this point. At low tide there's just a trickle of water under this bridge. During spring tides, tidal amplitude can get to around 8 feet +7' highs and -1' lows - a lot of water moving around.
The flower here is a wildflower that is quick to grow up in disturbed areas. Its common name is "rattlebox". The pods dry and the seeds inside rattle, hence the name.
James is separated from Johns Island by the Stono river. We've just recently gotten a new bridge here too.
It runs high (sorta) over the marsh for about a mile, and then jumps up (See the hump in the distance?) over the deep water channel. This bridge replaces an old swing bridge that would periodically but unpredictably jam open, snarling traffic sometimes for hours at a time. The long flat section over the marsh affords some stunning vistas.
I shot several of these pictures earlier this Spring. The green marsh grass is saltmarsh cordgrass, Spartina alternaflora. Its annual biomass production is only exceeded by sugarcane, so I hear. The darker stuff, isn't dead, it's black needlerush, Juncus roemarius. All of this stuff is growing in mud that ranges from fairly firm underfoot to somewhat squishy, to suck the boots right off of you, soft.
There's a marina at the foot of this bridge and an off ramp down to it. It offered some interesting perspectives of the bridge.
The last bridge I cross before I get to work, is the Ellis Creek bridge. I couldn't get a shot of it from the bridge itself, so I found a vacant lot (probably the only one left on James Island) with a view of the bridge. Note the state tree.
The egret was a freebie. Just happened by.
I'm definitely cheating now, 'cause this next one is not a bridge I travel no matter how I go to or from work. I do, however, see this view from work every day.
Pretty cool, huh?
It looks like this from the bridge itself.
The big cable stayed job in the foreground (of the first pic), replaces the two cantilever bridges in the background. They're taking them apart piece by piece.
I'll head home now a different way and the first bridge homeward bound is this.
It's called the "James Island connector" as it connects the island with the city of Charleston. The humped up part crosses the intracoastal waterway at Wappoo Creek.
This next shot looks back toward James Island, ...
...and the next, towards Charleston. Note the off-ramps. Good grip. Good fun. (Ya takes yer twistys where ya find 'em.)
Sorry about the color on these next two. It was a hazy morning, and I'm shooting into the sun. (O.K., I screwed up auto white balance too.) They show Charleston in the distance. I'll just skirt the edge of the peninsula on this ride.
Just about the only old bridge on my ride this morning was the old Ashley River bridge. They don't build 'em like this anymore.
Beside the bridge, was an Osprey.
What a cool bird! When I was a kid, they were almost extinct, having been adversely affected by eggshell thinning due to DDT exposure. They've made a remarkable comeback. Now they're faced with habitat loss. It's always something.
The last big bridge going home is the Limehouse Bridge going from the mainland back over to Johns Island.
Obviously another new one. This one also bridges the Intracoastal Waterway. In the days of the old swing bridges (last year), if you lived seaward of the ICCW, you had to add at least 15 or 20 minutes to your travel time in case one of the bridges was open. In the Fall, the yachts all go South for the winter, and in Spring, they all head back North. Used to be a major PITA for the commuter.
Looks like this from below.
Back on Johns Island now, I'm on a nice little country road with little bitty bridges.
Note how high the tide has gotten. It's about at full flood now.
I like the view from this little bridge a lot.
Just one more bridge between me and home now.
And as you can see, some nice curvey bits coming up too.
Well, that's it. Hope you enjoyed my "Bridges of Charleston County".
George
I live on the largest of SC's 'sea islands', Johns Island, located ten or so miles southwest of Charleston. Johns Island is separated from the barrier islands and from the mainland by tidal marshes and creeks. These estuarine waterways and marshes are some of the most productive ecosystems found in temperate latitudes. They teem with abundant life.
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=32. ... yer=DRG250
My daily commute to work runs from the northwest corner of Johns Island to the northeast corner of James Island. Living in this estuarine area, I do a lot of bridges. I worked bridge construction down in the Keys in the mid seventies, and I continue to be fascinated by 'em. I love my ride in to work and thought maybe you'd like to see some of why I love it so much. I did this Picture taking version of my commute on Sunday the 18th of September. I got away from the house about 7:30 or so.
My first bridge is a little bitty one, and it's a brand new one as well. It has no name, nor, to the best of my knowledge does the creek it crosses.
But the saltmarsh is beautiful in the morning mist.
When I shot these pics, we were close to a full moon. High tides are always in the mornings near a full moon. Our tidal amplitude hereabouts averages around 5 and a half feet. We're probably about 3/4 full at this point. At low tide there's just a trickle of water under this bridge. During spring tides, tidal amplitude can get to around 8 feet +7' highs and -1' lows - a lot of water moving around.
The flower here is a wildflower that is quick to grow up in disturbed areas. Its common name is "rattlebox". The pods dry and the seeds inside rattle, hence the name.
James is separated from Johns Island by the Stono river. We've just recently gotten a new bridge here too.
It runs high (sorta) over the marsh for about a mile, and then jumps up (See the hump in the distance?) over the deep water channel. This bridge replaces an old swing bridge that would periodically but unpredictably jam open, snarling traffic sometimes for hours at a time. The long flat section over the marsh affords some stunning vistas.
I shot several of these pictures earlier this Spring. The green marsh grass is saltmarsh cordgrass, Spartina alternaflora. Its annual biomass production is only exceeded by sugarcane, so I hear. The darker stuff, isn't dead, it's black needlerush, Juncus roemarius. All of this stuff is growing in mud that ranges from fairly firm underfoot to somewhat squishy, to suck the boots right off of you, soft.
There's a marina at the foot of this bridge and an off ramp down to it. It offered some interesting perspectives of the bridge.
The last bridge I cross before I get to work, is the Ellis Creek bridge. I couldn't get a shot of it from the bridge itself, so I found a vacant lot (probably the only one left on James Island) with a view of the bridge. Note the state tree.
The egret was a freebie. Just happened by.
I'm definitely cheating now, 'cause this next one is not a bridge I travel no matter how I go to or from work. I do, however, see this view from work every day.
Pretty cool, huh?
It looks like this from the bridge itself.
The big cable stayed job in the foreground (of the first pic), replaces the two cantilever bridges in the background. They're taking them apart piece by piece.
I'll head home now a different way and the first bridge homeward bound is this.
It's called the "James Island connector" as it connects the island with the city of Charleston. The humped up part crosses the intracoastal waterway at Wappoo Creek.
This next shot looks back toward James Island, ...
...and the next, towards Charleston. Note the off-ramps. Good grip. Good fun. (Ya takes yer twistys where ya find 'em.)
Sorry about the color on these next two. It was a hazy morning, and I'm shooting into the sun. (O.K., I screwed up auto white balance too.) They show Charleston in the distance. I'll just skirt the edge of the peninsula on this ride.
Just about the only old bridge on my ride this morning was the old Ashley River bridge. They don't build 'em like this anymore.
Beside the bridge, was an Osprey.
What a cool bird! When I was a kid, they were almost extinct, having been adversely affected by eggshell thinning due to DDT exposure. They've made a remarkable comeback. Now they're faced with habitat loss. It's always something.
The last big bridge going home is the Limehouse Bridge going from the mainland back over to Johns Island.
Obviously another new one. This one also bridges the Intracoastal Waterway. In the days of the old swing bridges (last year), if you lived seaward of the ICCW, you had to add at least 15 or 20 minutes to your travel time in case one of the bridges was open. In the Fall, the yachts all go South for the winter, and in Spring, they all head back North. Used to be a major PITA for the commuter.
Looks like this from below.
Back on Johns Island now, I'm on a nice little country road with little bitty bridges.
Note how high the tide has gotten. It's about at full flood now.
I like the view from this little bridge a lot.
Just one more bridge between me and home now.
And as you can see, some nice curvey bits coming up too.
Well, that's it. Hope you enjoyed my "Bridges of Charleston County".
George
.........kidding.. 
...thanks for posting it.