2017 12 17-22 Foscue Creek Park, Demopolis, Alabama

Tuesday, December 19, 2017 Foscue Creek Park

Built by the Army Corp of Engineers, the multiple locks and dams around Demopolis, Alabama also created inlets on which this park is situated. There are dozens of turtles, several Great Blue Herons and, allegedly there are the occasional alligators. So far, none of the latter have surfaced.

We were making good time towards camp when the GPS confounded us again by saying a half mile ahead we should turn right. Just then I noticed a sign saying we should turn now. We took the turn thinking sometimes the GPS does not keep up with new street improvements. At the fork in the road, the old abandoned gas station in the middle seemed a suitable cut through to get turned around. Lesson 5 - We are big enough that traffic in all directions will stop until we get out of the way. Alas, the gas station was lower than the road bed of the streets on either side. Now we are trying to back the rig onto the road behind us to angle back to the main road. I was looking under the rig to see if we were going to scrape on the raised roadbed when two young men pulled off the road and asked if they could help. I gratefully accepted and explained our predicament. Once they knew where we were going they explained that the road we were facing led directly to the Foscue Creek Park. Lucky us, facing the right way and on the receiving end of famed Southern hospitality. Once set up in camp we ended the day inside due to more rain.

     

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Walking around the park we noticed many log sculptures. We like this one, Mushroom Man. 

O-H! I-O! Several plots of restoration that had been cleared. 

Log o' turtles.

We are very sorry that all our friends and family in the northern reaches are seeing this. I am, in fact, quite comfortable in the 76 degree temperature but it's not all sunshine and rainbows. It is also about 80% humidity.  

Apparently our little pond needs more partially submerged logs for all the turtles wanting to catch some rays. 

After walking the dogs, we decided to take the bikes out to the Day Use section just to see what was over there. Behind us is a Coast Guard ship (not familiar enough to label what kind). 

White Egret fishing.

Submerged dam with part of the lock structure in the foreground. 

Over 600 feet of space for barges that ply this section of the Black Warrior River. 

Cormorant in flight. 

It's getting dark very quickly, Bob. Let's get home. 

Thursday, December 21, 2017

A few Christmas decorations just to get in the mood. First day of winter and it's in the mid-70s again. 

Found the perfect Christmas gift for Bob and got it on sale. It's a few days early but how am I suppose to wrap this.

2017 12 15-16 Sweetwater Creek State Park, Centennial Olympic Park and The Georgia Aquarium

Friday, December 15, 2017

Sweetwater Creek walk. Tori looks dejected because there are no access trails down to the water. 

There is still snow and ice even though we have had several days of 50 degree weather with sunshine. We did have to reroute off the trail to avoid fallen limbs from the snowfall. 

No Zombie Apocalypse here. Over 700 movie and television productions have been filmed in Douglas County and Douglasville. "The Hunger Games", "Stranger Things", "The Walking Dead", "The Founder", "The Have and Have Nots", "MacGuyver", lots of murderous and psychopathic thrillers, "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" and "The Young and The Restless".   

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Series of waterfalls in Centennial Park, downtown Atlanta. We thought maybe the traffic would be better on Saturday but still had several slowdowns. Once we found the Parking Garage the only issue was the low clearance. Our truck only had about 3 inches of clearance under the supporting crossbeams.  

This sculpture of three figures represent (from left to right) ancient Greek Olympics, the first modern Olympics and the Atlanta Games. 

Lots of water features in Centennial Park. The Georgia Dome/Atlanta Stadium, former home of the Falcons, was imploded recently but didn't all come down so they are trying again at 1am this coming Monday. Glad I don't live in that neighborhood. 

Our destination is the Georgia Aquarium.

Albino American alligator

Sea Dragon - one our favorite sea creatures. 

Sea horses

The rest of the pictures are from the 6.3 million gallon seawater tank. A green sea turtle. 

Several kinds of shark including this one who looks like he's not having a good day. 

One of the whale sharks and two manta rays.

Here's some perspective of the size of the green turtle yet so graceful. 

I am so fascinated by manta rays since we saw two of them while snorkeling in Hawaii. They are monster-size but gentle giants. 

Merry Christmas to all. 

Bob and a friend.

Bet you all have heard that the busiest airport in the world completely shut down on Sunday, December 17, 2017. A fire in an underground electrical area turned off all the lights throughout the entire airport. The FAA grounded all incoming and outgoing flights. The lights were out for 11 hours. The terminals were cleared but no reports indicated what happened to all the customers who were stranded except that some were transferred to a conference center. 

2017 12 11 Cowpens National Battlefield and Little Tallapoosa Park

Monday, December 11, 2017

Monument to American and British combatants who fought at the Cowpens, South Carolina. This is one of very few double envelopment maneuvers in history which was completed by the Patriot soldiers. 

The American side - Cavalry, militia, sharpshooters and Continental regulars. 

The girls enjoyed getting out to another new space for a long walk. 

This part of South Carolina received almost a foot of snow. The solar panels on the roof have warmed sufficiently but the eaves are still snow packed. 

A reconstructed cabin. Only one door on opposite sides, front and back, one window by the fireplace and tiny windows on the second floor.

A small garden caught Bob's attention.

Dragoons, Infantry, Artillery, Grenadiers and Highlanders

 

The American strategy

Still have plenty of snow to walk through so the dogs remember how much they loved it in Ohio. 

 Tuesday, December 12, 2017

We drove from South Carolina towards Atlanta, Georgia. I have never had much affinity for Atlanta and nothing has changed that opinion. Having lived in two cities with outer-belts that circumnavigated the city (St. Louis and Columbus) we felt reasonably sure that our traversal around the western edge of Atlanta would be easy and allow us to reach our camp early in the afternoon. All I can say is someone should be held accountable for the ridiculous amounts of traffic. This is an outer-belt, not a drive into downtown. Six lanes across, in both directions, plus every intersecting highway was packed and, if they were moving at all which sometimes we were not, barely moving at 20 mph. An hour and a half of mind-numbing creeping on some pretty narrow roads. Apparently, Atlantans start leaving their jobs at about 2pm. So there is never a good time to traverse this town. The lack of speed did give us plenty of time to see all the damage that was caused by the snow storm. All the beautiful, tall white pines are a soft wood. Good for growing fast and tall, but cannot handle the weight of a foot of wet snow. Hundreds of trees snapped with large heavy limbs strewn along the highways.  

On our walk along the Little Tallapoosa River and pond, this goose(?) was very friendly. We have not been able to identify it which we thought would be fairly easy considering the beautiful iridescent green wing and back feathers and distinctive facial mask. Maybe it's a hybrid. 

Such a "natural" looking tree line. 

With all the pine limbs down around camp, we picked up a couple of small boughs and Bob made us a Christmas wreath. I love it. 

2017 12 10 Ninety Six National Historic Site

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Early morning walk down by the bay with steam rising on the water. The temperature here was 27 degrees. Glad that didn't happen a few days ago when we had two days of rain. 

Frost on the window. 

Some days are better than others. Home made cinnamon rolls before we go out. 

There is some debate about why this area is called Ninety-Six. It is speculated that it was named for the distance from a local trading post here to the Cherokee village 96 miles away. Initially there was trade between the local Native Americans and white settlers until the 1750s when friction grew. The settlers built a stockade which became Fort Ninety Six. In 1760, the Cherokee attacked twice but failed to capture the fort. The British offered protection from the Cherokee and incentives of financial aid, free tools and free land in order to create loyalties to the Crown.  

There are several walking paths throughout the site. This is a 250 year old site. The ramparts and trenches are eroded but sufficient remaining to visualize. 

Bob consults with a fur trader on the safest path to the fort.  

One of the several historic roads used for commerce. Decades of travel by foot, horse and wagon cut the road to today's depth. We are heading towards the earthworks of Star Fort. 

The foreground is where the Patriot forces staged their attacks by digging zig-zag approach trenches and a 30 foot log rifle tower to shoot down into the Star Fort which is the raised area in the background.  

I am standing at the top of the Star Fort. The star shape allowed the Loyalists to cover every angle around the Fort. This backcountry garrison was the heart of British defenses in the area. General Nathalael Greene looked at the formidable defenses, along with his lack of heavy artillery, ruled out a quick, direct assault. Only a siege could bring it down, the first in the South. 

The Stockade Fort built to guard the town's water supply. Colonel Harry Light Horse Lee (father of General Robert E. Lee) captured the fort but only held it until General Greene ended the attack when 2000 additional British troops arrived. One month later, the British abandoned the village in a smoking ruin; they set fire to the buildings, filled in the siege-works, and tried to destroy the Star Fort.