Since Landon and Jordon were little boys, Melanie and I have taken them to this large sandbar on the upper Suwannee River. To get to this sandbar, you travel on US441 15 miles North from I-10. Cone bridge landing sign is on the left. This dirt road is about a mile to the river. From Cone Bridge, the sandbar is a mile of paddling upstream.
Knowing that the moon was going to be full, Jordon and I wanted to take the opportunity we have never done at the sandbar and camp out. Yesterday we loaded the vehicle with the tent, sleeping bags,beach chairs and a cooler with cokes and hotdogs. We were at the sandbar by 5pm, set up camp then went for a wade in the now shallow Suwannee. It has been awhile since the river has been as low as it was. It was quite a sight to see the many gnarled and twisting tupelo and cypress roots, which normally would be underwater.
We were even able to see the two bridge pylon's of Cone Bridge, which also are normally underwater. The limestone caverns with overhanging vegetation was spectacular to behold as well. We saw two small alligators, one ibis and one turtle. Creatures were not in abundance. We came upon a doe deer that had died from an arrow wound, the arrow laying next to the carcass where the vultures discarded it. And one preying mantis that crawled up to my head.
The evening was filled with fun as we hiked through the dry stream bed to the backside of the sandbar to photograph the rising full moon.
It was there we met the small alligator by seeing his red eyes in the dark water. We hiked back,gathering firewood along the way. Supper were hot dogs without any fixings and cokes. We then played around with werewolf poses before taking a moonlit canoe trip upstream.
After midnight, we decided to move the tent from under the trees out onto the open sandbar where we could look up at the moon. After a few hours of restlessness, adjusting to the lumps, we dozed off. The night sleep was constantly interrupted by a distant coyote, a nearby barred owl and other unidentified sounds. My dreams were prophetic, but as usual, forgotten by six o'clock rising.
We packed early, paddled upstream a ways, catching mornings first light, before heading back to the ramp. We again loaded the truck, tied the canoe as snug as possible, then
made our way back home. Our only loss, the cooler top and lots of blood from mosquito's and ants.
There were way too many photographs taken, as I was overcome by the thrill of being here and not having to be rushed to return home by nightfall.
I will post the efforts at Smug Mug, eventually. For now, I am simply savoring a good time spent with Jordon and the creatures of the nocturne.
Your descriptions and narration, give me a clear, beautiful picture of an adventure with your son. How wonderful is life when we can see all the little things and not let "stuff" get in the way. I can't wait for pictures to go along with you journey. Thanks for sharing this time with us. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteit is always a pleasure of have friends along, to share our adventures. We do cherish these times, as they indeed are fleeting. To live at the tip of the hat, at the moment of notice, with dawn breaking beside us our quest.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at this photograph, I think of Theron Gaulding, the artist who lived in White Springs and painted scenes of the Suwannee. It looks like one of his paintings, though I have never seen one of his paintings in person. I do believe some of them are still on display at the cafe in white springs, along with a Johnny Dame mural.
ReplyDeleteTheron had his ashes spread along the Suwannee, thus making the river mingled with the bones of artists, a mysterious, artistic body of water.