March 23, 2022 Stormy and Alligators

As I was making reservations, I came upon the history of Magnolia Springs State Park:

“Magnolia Springs State Park encompasses over 1,000 acres between Perkins and Millen, Georgia. The park is named after, and built around, the crystal-clear spring water that flows through the area. During the Civil War, the area now encompassed by the park, was known as Camp Lawton. A stockade held Union soldiers captured as prisoners of war. The site was selected due to the abundant water supply. Between August and November 1864, Camp Lawton was planned, built, operated, and eventually abandoned. Despite its brief tenure, the prison held over 10,000 soldiers and was said to be the largest prison in the world at the time. The stockade was closed in November 1864, and its prisoners routed to other camps as General William T. Sherman’s army closed in during his infamous “March to the Sea.” In 2010, archaeology teams from nearby Georgia Southern University uncovered parts of the stockade wall and artifacts from prisoners. Several of these artifacts are interpreted at the Magnolia Springs History Center located inside the park. Presently, archaeologists and historians continue to study this historic property to uncover more details about the camp and its occupants.

After the Civil War, the springs became a popular recreation destination long before the park was established. This area was used for picnics, church gatherings, reunions, and swimming for local citizens. These same citizens pushed for the development of the area for years until the park was officially created in 1939. Like many early Georgia state parks, much of the infrastructure of Magnolia Springs was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, also known as the “CCC.” The CCC was responsible for damming the spring-fed stream to create a large swimming area for visitors, as well as building roads, a bathhouse, and other park buildings.”

So I made reservations hoping to do some of the trails and see some of the artifacts.  However, there were many warnings of high winds and severe thunderstorms so we watched the radar as our location was between the worst of it.  Thank God.  By mid afternoon, it started to clear up and we decided to do the Beaver Trail which was right behind us:

Lots of trees with no bark:

The trail led to the northern edge of Magnolia Lake:

A beautiful trail just as the leaves are beginning to sprout:

And back home again:

Since it was later in the day and there was still the threat of severe storms, we decided to take a ride around the park and check out some of the other sites.

Yes, we did see them – Yikees!!!

The southern edge of Magnolia Lake:

It was beautiful:

Look closely in the middle of the picture – Yep, that is an alligator:

From there we drove over to the Springs – Crystal clear water:

Lots of turtles:

A little more information on the springs:

One of the most interesting things for me is that this spring delivers almost 9 million gallons of water EVERY DAY – WOW!

See those little black dots on the water – all turtles.  They were so cute.

I walked over to the Spring Mill Branch of the river and found more alligators.  They were everywhere.

We did not get to see the Museum (closed) nor the Fort so we hope to stop here again one day.  Tomorrow we continue our journey north.

 

March 14, 2011 – The Creole Nature Trail

Follow along with us on the Creole Nature Trail main loop – LA-27.

First stop was the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge – the wetlands:

The bayous (water, water, everywhere):

And the birds – this is a birder’s paradise!:

And the houses on stilts:

Next stop was the Gulf of Mexico at Holly Beach – oh my!

 

 

Up and down the beach – yes, we were able to drive it and you can even camp there – :-))).

And the shells – another oh my!   I just had to take this picture – there were thousands of them!

So I picked up a few:

 

Aren’t nature’s colors and designs awesome – :-))):

    

And one of the houses – they are all on stilts:

We continued on our way along the coast – even crossed a waterway on a free ferry (sorry, no pictures – I could not get out of our car and the car was between two trucks.

And on to Rutherford Beach where we could also drive or camp on the beach.  Notice the oil rigs in the Gulf.   There were many rigs in all directions:

 

We had lunch in a small cafe in Creole – catfish sandwich that was yummy – :-)).  Then continued on our way.

Now one thing I have not talked about was the hurricane damage.  We saw a lot of rebuilding which is good.  We also saw many areas where there was a driveway that led to a concrete slab (where there had been a house).  We saw many areas where people are living in RV’s on their property.   We did not see a lot of debris in this area – an occasional car, or truck or building in the middle of a swampy area but that is all – which says a lot for these communities.   There is no pictures because I just can’t take them.   We see too much suffering on the daily news.  (With that said, please keep all those who are suffering in Japan.)

But there was one picture that says it all:

The sign says “Buffet Pizza”.

Our final stop was at the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge where we did the Pintail Loop.

This was another birder’s paradise – oh my!

 

But this loop had an added treat – gators, gators, everywhere:

 

 

 

This one was hiding:

This guy looks like he ate a lot of the ducks over the hill behind him:

 

This is what nightmares are made of:

Yikees!!!  

This is the first time we saw alligators in the wild – Amazing!!!

What a wonderful day!