And the rains came

From a rainy
Site #11

Crooked River State Park

Georgia

Winona’s darkened windows make it tough to see when it is light enough to get out running so I wasn’t out as early as I would like to have been. I'm updating the time for Wednesday. But out I was and around the park I went for 4.5 miles in very nice temperatures but also VERY humid.  

Had a great breakfast on our picnic table over looking the crooked river.  Check out this river front diner.  Want to join me?

What a fabulous spot.  I looked up the tide charts and figured out from the kayak trail information what time we’d have to go out in order to do them at the recommended times before or after high or low tide each day.  Turns out our only options were about 20 minutes from when I got the information figured out or at about 11:30 tomorrow.  We are really only capable of “moderately difficult” certainly not "difficult" which one of the 3 trails is.   So of the 3 mapped trails, we will be doing one and have to save the other for next time.  Hmmmmm   another "next time".

Since we’d just missed the latest put in time not to get grounded by low tide in the Crooked River (which is a tidal river), we thought we’d take on one of the 4 hiking trails.  The Sempervirens Trail (Latin for “ever living”) introduces you to a Coastal Shell Midden Forest which is a hardwood forest growing on the decayed remains of oyster shells left by Native Americans. The oyster mound is called a midden. The calcium in the rich soil allows plants to grow here that are unusual in south Georgia.  The huge oak, cherry and hickories in the midden forest are the oldest trees in the park.  The trail also boasts five Georgia Champion Trees.  David is a forest man while I am an ocean girl so this was his big excitement although I do love stately big trees.  But it was so dark in the forest and the trees so big that we couldn't get any pictures that were worth posting.

Also along this trail we were told there was a possibility we might see the gopher tortoise, the only tortoise found east of the Mississippi.

                                         

                                                    The Salt Marsh on the trail 

We’d done about half or maybe even ¾ of the trail when the rains came.  They were wonderful in this almost jungle like atmosphere of a hardwood forest like we are used to seeing in Virginia with the understory being largely palms.   Very unusual. 

We continued on in the rain and it got more and more steady and insistent.  Sadly we didn’t see the tortoise and missed the burrow that was supposed to be toward the end of the trail.  Maybe another reason to return  J   It’s beginning to sound like we should just turn around after the birthday party and retrace our route and spend the amount of time we wish we could have spent in the first place.

We had biked to the trail head and the rains let up just as we got back to the bikes and long enough for us to bike home.  Then they came with a vengeance and kept us inside the rest of the day.   Still I had the dinette view of the river and David had chores he wanted to take care of.  So we were quite happy listening to the rain on the roof.

It’s supposed to clear up in time for our kayak trail trip tomorrow.   Aren’t we the lucky ones???