Of a Moses in Berkeley County

This is Lake Moultrie, the last link in the Catawba Chain, a series of seven lakes formed and controlled by hydroelectric electric plants along the way. On the other end of this chain is the Catawba River which begins in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. The Catawba finds its way to South Carolina through Lake Wylie on the border with North Carolina. It takes a circuitous route to find its way into Lake Moultrie in Berkeley County, South Carolina It has run through 9 sub-basins and 3,000 stream miles by the time it arrives. This time it did not arrive.

In the first photo we were at Lyons Beach viewing a critical drought. Not since 1951 had the lake level been this low. We called it a Martian Landscape, but scampering across the dry lake beds had been an assortment of Earthlings as astonished as if they had just landed upon Mars. We were told by a lady at the landing that there had been considerable mischief visited upon the land where the lake usually lived. She said that it had been necessary to call in the authorities to dispatch the troublemakers. From the foot prints and All Terrain Vehicle tire tracks we could pretty well determine the paths of the troublesome ones. Without our Lake Bed Tires we were unable to follow those tracks to our own mischief making. We later found that would not wish to follow each footstep.

In the second photo it is clear that the drought has passed. Those who had scampered about the dry lake bed buggering around with things which Lake Moultrie had once revealed now skim upon its surface with abandon. The lady at the landing had also alleged that there had been some tampering with grave sites accessible during the drought. This act we remove from the category of mischief and place it in dark hole of dirty deeds. We figure that if you don't get your share of bothering a person while they are above ground, you may not further trouble them once they are below. With this in mind we day dreamed that perhaps some Berkeley County Moses came upon their crimes and bid the lake to return with a vengeance.