Bray's Island; SC
Back to Bray's Island today. There are many dimensions to this place that cannot just be summed up in a day or so.
This neighborhood is 5,500 acres with 325 home-sites. When you buy a lot here, it is one acre and is circular in shape. Thus, no two lots touch, and the vast majority of the island is shared common ground. Over half of the island - 3,500 acres - is untouched.
The old house pictured above is about a half mile down the "avenue of oaks" entryway, and is dedicated to the history and natural resources of the island. Charts cover the walls, showing the fresh water and salt water fish populations, indigenous animals and birds. There are also numerous displays of prehistoric items such as arrow-heads and pottery found on the grounds, terrariums and aquariums with live specimens of a few of the creatures and an impressive collection of fossils, stuffed animals, pelts, skins and skeletons.
Bobcat
Armadillo
Albino Raccoon
Fox with a pheasant
Bobcat catching a bird
I met Tristan, who is visiting his grandpa and grandma on the island. He had been out on a petrified shark tooth hunting expedition with "Captain Brian," and scored pretty big with numerous teeth he sifted out of a mud bank. He is showing them on top of a display case filled with petrified teeth from the prehistoric Megaladon Shark - one that was bigger than a bus - about ten to twelve times the size of our modern day Great White sharks.
About a mile up the dirt road beside the museum brings one to the island's hunt club.
I met Nick Harriott, who was busily taking care of appointments and maintaining members guns. Specimens hang all over the walls, some from this land and some from other parts of the world.
Gravel trails lead through the woods, where there are 15 shooting practice stations that shoot clay pigeons into the air. (A clay pigeon is simply a disc designed to shatter if it is hit by shot.) The shooter then attempts to hit them mid-air - closely mimicking the skill required when duck or quail hunting.
Each station is set up to mimic a different shooting situation. Some throw the clay pigeon into the air from beside the shooter.
This next one launches them from underneath.
There is even one that launches them from high atop a cherry-picker. Look to the top right hand side of the photograph and you will see the clay pigeon thrower.
And in the last photo, Gail Bates and Jan Keough pull up to one that throws them from the side. I photographed Gail shooting twice, and she hit each pigeon once and me zero times. That's way better than Dick Cheney.
The club has numerous events all year 'round, with their tenth annual Outdoor and Shooter Exposition coming up in May.
Remember the hunt club up at White Hall, where they brought in quail from New England every year to hunt? Well here at Bray's they raise their ow. Another half mile down the road from the hunt club is the quail barns, where they breed and raise quail for the hunting season.
And another half mile beyond this is the barns where they house dogs and horses used for hunting.
But this doesn't even scratch the surface of the equestrian facilities at Bray's Island. Join me tomorrow and we will take a look at them. Until then, have a
Happy Friday !
David
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