Blogging every day challenge again

So this month's topic is swimming, and the prompt is about where would I like to swim. Firstly, I am happy that I can swim, and consider myself a decent swimmer. I am not fast at all, but I am a champion floater- light bones and a high fat content help me there. But, this week I've had Paris Mountain on the mind, so I'm going to say I'd like to swim there- and yes, at the State Park there is a stream fed lake that allows swimming, and for many years, it was the only swimming pool around.
My understanding of the past leads me to picture this swimming hole as one of about a dozen in the northern part of the county. There were a few springs that had been developed as commercial swimming areas- Chick Springs and Dreamland being two I have heard of. In the time after everyone moved in to town from their farms, and the time before they moved into subdivisions with air-conditioning and concrete pools, the natural swimming holes were your best option for humid Southern afternoons. Sure, there were ponds on farms, but anyone who has ever watched cows cool themselves off in a farm pond is well aware of the need for moving water to help redistribute some of their bovine productions. The algae and bacteria that come along with livestock wading in still water will give you pause before jumping in, no matter how hot it may get. So, there was a need for cool moving water spots with enough depth to allow for belly flops and cannon balls.
Some places that got used were natural swimming spots, but a good number were human engineered- dammed mountain streams, watersheds and gristmill ponds. They were usually stream fed and had rocky or sandy bottoms- making for cool clean swimming conditions. Such was the case at Paris Mountain. When the CCC came in to make an old military camp and waterworks into a State Park, they found a ready made lake already at their disposal. The need for clean water in the nearby growing city of Greenville had left a series of small lakes with pipes and spillways included. While Greenville has long since given up on Paris Mtn. as its water supply, you can still see evidence of its aqueous efforts throughout the park. The largest lake is Lake Placid, sitting near the lower border of the park- in fact the ubiquitously named State Park Road runs right by the waterfall over the spillway on the dam of the lake. It is interestingly named, considering it is the hub of activity at the park; a trail encircles it, there are multiple picnic tables and a large recently retored stone bathhouse sits guard by its enclosed swimming area. On the surrounding trail are kiosks with photos of bathers in years gone by- from the 1920's onward it was a space for swimming and escaping the South Carolina summer heat.
Since the park has been established, they've continued to allow swimming in the upper portion of the lake. There is a fenced off grassy shore, with a small fleet of canoes and paddle boats for rent. There is a small strip of sandy beach, but mostly a dock the extends out into the water to give one access to a cooling plunge. A matching floating structure provides a diving board and a destination for the purpose driven swimmer. There are really no large hazards- no stinging jellyfish or rocky outcrops, no man-eating fish or underwater monsters. But there is the quiet lurking truth that due to mismanagement upstream, fecal coliform bacteria from local wastewater finds its way into the lake routinely. Too many days without a flushing (sorry for the pun) rain and with warm, still waters and a simple skinned knee could turn into your ticket for a hopsital visit; or a small unintentional gulp of water could be the beginning of a fast and entirely unpleasant weight loss program. This is not widely known or advertised of course, but I still check the water flow before considering a trip there.
Of course as much as I know about all of this, I have yet to partake. I have not so much as dipped my toes in the lake. I have hiked around it numerous times, pointed out rare and interesting trees and plants, watched turtles sunbathing on logs, charted the progress of the local beavers, and skipped stones across the still surface. But I haven't gone swimming. My family has done so- riding paddleboats and even participating in the New Year's Day "Polar Bear Plunge." And I have had intentions to do so that have been thwarted by summer afternoon storms and toddler meltdowns. But sometime soon, on some unbearably hot and humid day, after I've been to the U-pick peach place or berry farm and had sweat drip off every inch of skin, I intend to take a cool, refreshing swim in Lake Placid at Paris Mountain State Park- provided it has rained in the week before!