A few days before leaving DeFuniak Springs, FL, the item to the left mysteriously appeared outside our door. At first we weren't sure what to make of it or who left it, but then the note attached made it all clear. It read:"This is "Speedy Snake"
He's just visiting with you...
Someone was thoughtful enough to leave him with you for the day. Please write your site number around the white bottom and pass him along to the next person, and so on. He wants to make everyone laugh, but for only one day at a time.... then he likes to move on to someone new. Surprise someone with Speedy."
He's just visiting with you...
Someone was thoughtful enough to leave him with you for the day. Please write your site number around the white bottom and pass him along to the next person, and so on. He wants to make everyone laugh, but for only one day at a time.... then he likes to move on to someone new. Surprise someone with Speedy."
He sure did bring a smile to our faces. Made out of a gourd, the whole thing was surprisingly light. We left him outside on the picnic table for the day, brought him inside at night (so he wouldn't get cold and wet...or stolen!), then promptly delivered him to our friend, Scott, the next day!
Monday morning our two rig caravan left DeFuniak Springs to head for the King George RV Resort in Woodbine, GA. Place has about 40 sites and is nothing fancy, but the price is right, and it's close to the world famous Okefenokee Swamp! Some of you might be old enough to remember it from the comic strip Pogo, then again some of you won't. :-)
On Wed. Scott, Russ, and I drove to the nearby town of Folkston, which is the entrance to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which is under the Department of the Interior. We
decided to take the 90-minute boat ride which takes you about 5 miles directly into the swamp. Okefenokee Swamp is approximately 700 square miles, over half the size of the state of Rhode Island. Our guide, Joey, is a 7th generation swamper and could answer any question asked and had many stories to tell. The Okefenokee Swamp derives its name from Choctaw Indian words meaning "Land of the Trembling Earth."The Refuge was established in 1937, and all folks living on the islands in the swamp at the time were forced to leave. The swamp remains one of the oldest and most well preserved freshwater areas in America and extends 38 miles north to south and 25 miles east to west. The water in the swamp is provided solely by rainfall, and drains into the Suwanee R
iver and the St. Marys River. Now I'm sure many of you have heard the term "black water", and the water in the swamp is exactly that! The swamp is actually a vast peat-filled bog inside a huge, saucer-shaped depression that was once part of the ocean floor, and the dark color of the swamp water is due to tannic acid, derived from dissolved vegetative material and the peat. Because the water doesn't actually flow and the darkness of it, everything on the shores reflects into the water. Russ commented that if you didn't concentrate on the images, you couldn't tell where the water began and the vegetation ended, and he's right. The glass-like, mirror quality of the water was spectacular.Throughout the swamp are untimbered areas known as prairies. About halfway into the boat ride, in the Chase Prairie section, Joey shut off the motor for about 10 minutes so we could just listen to natur
e and enjoy the view. Wow! It was so still except for the many varieties of frogs "talking" to one another (and a question or two from one of the other riders), and the view was breathtaking. The predominant vegetation is water lily, golden club, paintroot, bladderwort, maidencane, and a variety of sedges and grasses.
On the trip we heard a number of birds but saw none other than a blue heron as we were heading back. But we did see three alligators! Good thing Joey was there to point them out because they blended so well into the trees and marsh that had we been by ourselves, we would have surely gone right past with
out seeing them. Russ had asked if the people who were canoeing or kayaking the waterways in the swamp were in any danger. Joey said that alligators are actually more afraid of us than we are of them, and if you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. But as he said, like any wild animal, if you stick your hand in its mouth, it's going to bite it! He said he's canoed the waters many times over the years, camped overnight, fallen into the water, and never had any problem with the gators. He said there's plenty of other things you should be afraid of more than alligators.
out seeing them. Russ had asked if the people who were canoeing or kayaking the waterways in the swamp were in any danger. Joey said that alligators are actually more afraid of us than we are of them, and if you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. But as he said, like any wild animal, if you stick your hand in its mouth, it's going to bite it! He said he's canoed the waters many times over the years, camped overnight, fallen into the water, and never had any problem with the gators. He said there's plenty of other things you should be afraid of more than alligators.
After the boat ride, we drove along the 9-mile Swamp Island Drive, which showed a
little more of Okefenokee Swamp, and the variety of vegetation and trees. Prescribed burns are done periodically because this region has one of the highest rates of lightning strikes in the country. But there was one tree we passed that defied belief. The bottom half was totally charred while the upper half was intact and looked normal! And then right alongside the road was this little 4 foot long alligator! Oh, yeah, and we also saw this tortoise who was trying to cross the road and looked ticked cause he had to wait for us! LOL
On the way back to the campground we stopped at the Okefenokee Restaurant in Folkston for what turned out to be a buffet lunch of fried chicken, fried fish, fried fatback, and lots of sides. Yep, you read that right...fatback. We were told it was kind of like bacon but very salty. We all tried a piece (cause you know, when in Rome....) but don't understand it. It was breaded and was so tough you couldn't chew it! I had always thought fatback was used to flavor beans and such, not as an item on a buffet! Must be a southern thing.
When we arrived back at the campground, we checked at the office because we had seen a sign on our way out that there was a spaghetti dinner that night but didn't have any other details. Well, for $4 you could get a plate of spaghetti and a couple pieces of garlic bread. Bring your own plates, utensils, and beverages. We decided to sign up for it, and the meal was ok. These things are generally more designed as a social event than great quality food, but by the time we got there (right when it was supposed to start), nearly everyone was already seated and eating, so the three of us sat at a table by ourselves. Guess we learned nothing at Sunset King about arriving early to events!
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