Georgia – The Wandering RVer

Georgia’s Waterfall Heaven

If there’s one item in nature I really enjoy photographing, it’s waterfalls. Big ones, little ones, roaring ones – I don’t care. During our visit to the Georgia coast, Steve picked up a tourist magazine with an ad for the Georgia mountains featuring, you guessed it, waterfalls.

As we made our travel plans for heading north, we decided to stay a week at the southern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia. A quick search on Google maps showed there were well over a dozen waterfalls we could visit. One of the determining factors for me was how strenuous was the hike? Anything over easy/moderate and I’m out. One review I read on a hiking forum stated “trail is difficult to follow, not well marked and dangerous”. Needless to say, we skipped that one!

On Monday, we headed out to Anna Ruby Falls, only to discover it is currently closed on Mondays. So we stopped at Fred’s Famous Peanuts to check out their store and waterwheel…

I may put that sign on Waldo!

Care for some TOE or FROG Jam?

We did skip the boiled peanut samples, they just aren’t my thing, but the store was a neat stop on the way to the next falls.

The trail to Dukes Creek Falls starts off with an easy boardwalk and switch backs several times, making it more like a 2 mile walk in the woods (round trip) than a hike…

Once we reached the viewing decks, we did come across a few other people, but it was still fairly peaceful. I’m a huge fan of long exposure shots of water…

But, sometimes, it can add a bit of weird…

Over the 2 1/2 seconds it took to take this image, the swirling bubbles in the water created a face. I didn’t see it until I downloaded the picture onto the computer. A lady there was kind enough to take a picture with my phone for us…

Since it was still early when we got back to the Jeep, we decided to try and get 2 waterfalls in one day. We headed to Horsetrough Falls, only to find the Forest Service road blocked off. On the way back to Waldo, we stopped off in the town of Helen. It seemed like a strange place to have an alpine Bavarian style town…

But it was fun to walk around. We found an outdoor bar/grill and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon just relaxing. River tubing is a big draw in Helen and shuttle buses run constantly…

Tuesday we headed back to Anna Ruby Falls. They are only allowing 65 cars in the parking lot at a time to help people keep socially distant, so I can’t imagine how crowed the trail would have been otherwise! The trail is paved the entire way, but, holy hell, it is steep! Thankfully, there are lots of benches along the way and interesting signs to read while you give your legs a rest. Anna Ruby is a double falls and it was difficult to get a good picture of them both with the sun shining on one and not the other…

So, I contented myself with individual shots of the falls…

The trail follows the river and I took quite a few pictures of the rushing water. These are some of my favorites…

My favorite hike was to Helton Creek Falls. 3 miles down a narrow dirt road you find the parking area. There are upper and lower falls and it is a pretty easy walk to them. People generally stop quickly at the lower falls, snap a few selfies then head up to the upper falls with its swimming area.

Since we didn’t plan on swimming, I liked the lower falls better.

We were running out of days, but definitely not waterfalls. We opted to spend our last day just driving around. The Russell–Brasstown Scenic Byway was twisty, turn-y and steep but definitely worth the drive. There is a scenic overlook at the top and you are treated to a stunning view of Hogpen Gap…

The list of places I’d like to return to some day keeps growing. I call it “Bucket List 2.0”

Have you ever visited northern Georgia? What was your favorite place?

Up next – New Hampshire bound

Horsing Around on Cumberland Island

Since nobody seemed to be a fan of kayaking with alligators, I thought I’d go with something cuter. Our last adventure in Georgia was one I had been waiting for for a very long time. Cumberland Island National Seashore has been on my list of “must visit” places for years. Every time I drove from New Hampshire to Florida I wanted to fit it in but just never could. Since we were already adventuring in Georgia, I would not be denied! Cumberland Island or Bust!

Cumberland is the largest and southern most of Georgia’s barrier islands. We would only have one day to explore and I was determined to make the most of it. We boarded the 9 am ferry in St. Mary’s and began our relaxing 45 minute journey to the island. Our fellow 148 passengers were quite a diverse group. There were cyclists, campers, hikers, fishermen and even a couple getting married.

After disembarking, we started out on the River Trail…

We stopped near the edge of the sound and watched as the Cumberland Queen II headed back to St. Mary’s…

The trail ends at the Ice House, this is where we got our first glimpse of the famed wild horses of Cumberland Island…

Horses were originally brought to the island in the 1700’s. Now, a herd of feral horses resides on the island. They are left to there own device with no help from the National Park Service. Some of the horses we saw seemed a bit thin, but overall looked to be in decent health. And obviously are healthy enough to mate and produce colts. Steve sat down to watch at one of the picnic tables and I noticed how huge the live oak tree next to him was. I had to back up so far to get most of the tree in, you can hardly see him…

You are warned to keep at least 50′ from the horses, after all, they are wild. But what do you do when you are taking a picture of the beautiful lane, lined with spanish moss laden trees…

And the horses suddenly decide to cross the road, right where you are standing?

You do what I did and hide behind a tree! We continued on towards the ruins of the Dungeness Mansion. Since it was nearly noon, we stopped at a picnic area and had our snacks. As I was reading the signs about the wildlife, another group of horses came by. This foal couldn’t have been more than 6 weeks old…

In 1736 James Oglethorpe built a hunting lodge he called Dungeness. In 1796 Phineas Miller and his wife built a 4 story mansion on the site and named it after the lodge. In 1884 Thomas Carnegie, brother of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, and his wife Lucy bought Dungeness and raised 9 children there. Today all that remains of Dungeness is a sprawling shell …

There was a time, it looked like this…

Some of the outbuildings remain, as well as some of the statues…

There are several other buildings from that era which are still in use. While we were walking around the mansion, I spied another family group of horses. I thought the colt was beautiful and spent lots of time taking pictures of it…

We were almost done checking out the mansion when an altercation broke out between the horses, I have to tell you, the horses scared me way more than the alligators!!!

We continued on to the Dungeness Beach boardwalk…

I watched as the fiddler crabs defended their territory in the marsh…

At the end of the boardwalk, sand dunes create a barrier to the interior of the island…

When we finally reached the beach, it seemed deserted. One of the benefits of limiting the number of visitors to the island each day is you get to see this…

Unspoiled, salty air bliss. We walked over a mile and a half on the beach and only saw a handful of other people. We did see a horseshoe crab skeleton…

And one of the few people we did see was kind enough to take this picture for me…

As we neared Seacamp Beach Campground, I stopped again to marvel at the gnarled live oaks and their spanish moss adornments…

Our day was nearly over, the 4:45pm ferry would soon take us back to the mainland. Cumberland Island was everything I had imagined and more. We had walked about 6 1/2 miles and taken countless pictures to go through later.

If you’ve been thinking about visiting Cumberland Island, all I can say is DO IT! Hopefully we will return again another time to see the north end of the island.

My friend Dawn, from Random Bits of Trial and Error wrote a lovely post about her adventures on Cumberland Island, read about it here.

Thank you for coming along.

I’m a couple weeks behind, we are currently at our summer job in Wisconsin. I can’t wait to tell you about it!

What are you more afraid of feral horses or alligators?

Kayaking with Aligators

We only had 2 days to explore the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, not nearly enough time considering it covers 630 sq miles. The swamp is only part of the Okefenokee experience, there are also vast wet prairies, pine uplands and cypress forests. This mosaic of habitats makes the Okefenokee a “Wetland of International Importance.” The swamp itself is 38 miles long and 25 miles wide and remains one of the most well preserved and intact freshwater ecosystems in the world.

Day One

We stopped at the visitors center and asked about the 120 miles of water trails. Like hiking trails, they range from easy to difficult. We wanted to plan an easy paddle, maybe 4 or 5 hours in total. A trip to the Cedar Hammock canoe shelter sounded just right.

With the next day’s kayaking plan in place, we had the rest of the afternoon to explore. We took the 7.5 mile Swamp Island Drive. The ranger told us to be on the lookout for several species of carnivorous plants and orchids blooming along the borrow ditch. She explained the ditch was created when workers “borrowed” the material to build the road.

We crossed onto Chesser Island, which was named after the family who settled there in 1858. A short path led us to the homestead…

It’s hard to imagine what life was like in 1927 when Tom and Iva Chesser built the homestead. The yard was kept free of vegetation to reduce the fire hazard and to increase the chance of seeing any snakes that might wander by. There are many remnants of family’s life on the island…

Our final stop on the Swamp Island Drive was the Chesser Island Boardwalk…

We kept our eyes open for wildlife. The ranger told us a bobcat had been hanging around the boardwalk, but alas, I had to settle for lizards…

We climbed the 40-foot Owl’s Roost Tower for a view of Seagrove Lake…

Day Two

Our first plan was to be at the refuge early, but when I woke up, it was a chilly 63 degrees. I decided I wasn’t in a hurry! It was almost 10am when we arrived warming up quickly. We signed the paddlers’ log, we began our adventure.

We followed the Suwanee Canal for about a mile and a half before finding the entrance to the Cedar Hammock trail. Along the way, I marveled at the reflections in the tannin rich waters…

We saw a few alligators in the canal. Despite being in a kayak, I did not feel threatened by their presence.

Although, one surfaced so close to the front of my kayak, I could see it’s eyes but not it’s snoot. A little too close.

We left the motorboats behind when we entered the trail. They had all been courteous, slowing down to no wake speed when they passed, but I was happy to head deeper into the swamp…

The trail was peaceful, with scores of water lilies blooming along the way…

At the end of the trail there is an overnight shelter and outhouse.

I got out to stretch and watch the alligator swimming by…

As we were leaving, I noticed a baby alligator among the lily pads…

Steve took the lead on the way back to the canal. I wonder if he saw this guy…

I loved every minute of our paddle! From the anhinga…

To the turtle…

It was amazing!

Would you kayak with the alligators? Do you think we’re nuts?

Bare Bones Beauty

We are heading to Wisconsin to work for the summer, but needed a few adventures first. There are quite a few places on the Georgia coast that have been on my “must see” list for, literally, years. We stayed at Walkabout Camp and RV, just south of Woodbine, Ga because 1) it is a Passport America park, saving us 50%, and 2) it is centrally located to so many great places.

Jekyll Island has been a destination for more than 3500 years. The Muskogian Tribes hunted and fished there, the Spanish and the English fought over it and the richest men in American played there. In 1886 it was purchased by the Jekyll Island Club.

Munsey’s Magazine called “the richest, the most exclusive, the most inaccessible club in the world. . . .” For those who represented 1/6 of the world’s wealth at the turn of the century, the Jekyll Island Club became an exclusive retreat. Families with names like Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt, Pulitzer, and Baker built the elegant Clubhouse and “cottages” in Victorian architectural styles. Read more history here

While the history is incredible, our destination was Driftwood Beach. Since it came so highly recommended by several people, I didn’t do any research before we went. What I pictured and what we found were worlds apart. I had conjured up images of little pieces of sun bleached wood scattered over the beach, brought in by the tide. Isn’t that what driftwood is? What we found can only be called a tree graveyard.

Near the north end of the island is a small parking area and a path leading to the beach. Walking along, I stopped to photograph a dead tree. I’ve always loved the bare bones beauty of skeletal trees. Their up-reaching branches naked for all to see…

When we reached the beach, I was shocked by what we found…

Skeletal trees, some standing, some fallen in tangled masses, littered the beach. I later learned this is due to the fact the north end of the island is slowly eroding. The uncharacteristically small waves have enough strength to carry grains of sand, but not enough to carry the mighty oaks and gnarly pines out to sea. What was once the tree line, is now the beach. Since trees can’t live in the salt water, they die, leaving behind twisted sculptures…

It was low tide when we arrived, but it was easy to see how far up the beach the water would be in a few hours. Several of the stumps were covered in barnacles…

And hiding in the hollows of many of the logs were critters waiting for the tides to return…

I was pleasantly surprised by how few people were on the beach, perhaps because tourist season hasn’t really begun yet. Between the lack of people and the otherworldly appearance of the trees, the beach has a lonely, haunted feeling…

When the returning shrimp trawlers appeared on the horizon, they could have been easily mistaken for winged leviathans coming to reclaim the beach…

There were a few people scattered along the beach. Some getting their morning exercise…

While others were planning a relaxing afternoon…

Along with the scattered tree, hundreds of washed up cannonball jellyfish lay dead or dying on the beach. I found a great website which allowed me to identify it and let me know what other jellyfish one could expect on Jekyll Island…

Not everything was dead, sign of life could also be seen, like the tiny common spider crab that scared the bejezzas out of me when I almost stepped on it…

And the nesting area for the Wilson’s plovers…

And atop a surviving (for now) oak , a woodpecker found some lunch…

The incoming tide swallowed the beach while sun baked seaweed waited to be drenched again…

And shorebirds scrambled for a last minute meal…

Across the inlet, the St. Simon’s lighthouse stands sentinel over the tides…

Walking back to the trailhead, I was mesmerized by the patterns of the tangled roots, imagining all sorts of images…

Steve was kind enough to go back to the parking lot and get my lensball before we walked on the southern end of the beach…

The main difference heading south is all the rocks strewn on the beach…

When we ran out of trails, we returned to the Jeep to continue our drive around the island. If we had more time, we might have stopped at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center or taken the tram through the historic district, but it was time to call it a day. Jekyll Island offered me one last photo op as we headed back to Waldo, a raccoon scurried into the marsh as we passed…

We really enjoyed our time on the island and have the picture to prove it…