Tag: Georgia

Lowcountry Unfiltered Does Ebenezer Creek

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Paddling

LCU on Ebenezer Creek

For our April Second Saturday Lowcountry Unfiltered trip, the group decided to head back to Ebenezer Creek. The last time our group had paddled this tributary of the Savannah River was a snowy February in 2010. I had planned to go on that trip, but a rare snowstorm prevented my joining them. I heard tales and saw photos of a cold snow-covered paddle through beautiful cypress cathedrals. I hated missing the first trip, and was really looking forward to this one.

Ebenezer Creek flows into the Savannah River at Ebenezer Landing, about 10 miles above where I-95 crosses the Savannah. The area is overflowing with history, as the site of one of the earliest settlements in Georgia, and the location of one of the worst betrayals of the Civil War.

Ebenezer Creek GPS Track

Our plan was to put in at Log Landing and paddle down to Ebenezer Landing for a 10.4 mile trip. This added about 3 miles to the group’s previous trip.

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Port Wentworth Friday Nights

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Port Wentworth Friday Nights
Restaurants, Travel, Weirdness

For these lowcountry kayaking trips I often come down on Friday night so that I don’t have to get up so early on Saturday.  Wherever I am I like to find some place quirky and local for dinner, and this trip was no exception.

I checked at the front desk of the motel on I-95, and was informed that there were two good restaurants just up the street.  I scooted round the corner to the first, Silverado’s.

DSCN6955

The van, radio station banner, and balloons should have alerted me to trouble.  I walked in the door and was greeted by a plume of smoke, and a boozy greeting from a woman with stringy hair and fewer teeth than I have.

Well, howdy, you sharp-dressed man, and welcome to Silverado’s!  Have a seat on this here bar stool and buy me a drink!

No, thank you.  I had just driven all the way down straight from the office, and my slacks and white shirt stood out from the jeans and cowboy boots.  I glanced around.  Even if I had wanted to stay, none of the sparse tables between the pool tables and dance floor were available.

I guess the sign advertising Lingerie Lunch today should have also tipped me off.  I’d already missed it, and the smoke was more than I could bear, so I left.  I was after quirky, not hazardous.

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Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

Posted on By Tom 4 Comments on Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge
Travel

Woods Pond Trail

It was a second Saturday, and the Lowcountry Unfiltered group had another trip planned.  This time it would be a bicycle trek to the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge on the Georgia coast south of Savannah.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to join them.  We were making a quick trip to Florida to pick up Laura’s mother.  However, since we would be driving right past, we decided to stop on the way down.  We liked it so much that we also decided to stop on the way back to break up the trip.  It turned out to be a great discovery.

Sometime between 1929 and 1932 this area was developed as an airfield, and served as an emergency landing strip for air routes along the Eastern coast.  In WWII it was redeveloped as an Army airfield and was used to train both fighters and bombers.  In 1946 there was an attempt to transform the Army base into a commercial airfield, but that ultimately failed.  In 1962 the area was designated as a wildlife area.

The runways of the old airfield are in an unusual triangular pattern.  The old tarmac remains, and this serves as an excellent base for hiking or biking.  There is also a wildlife drive that loops through the area, using part of the old runways and taxiways.

On our first stop it had just started raining, but we decided to do the wildlife loop anyway.  We first stopped at Woods Pond, and were amazed at the number of storks and green herons.  The whole place was covered with birds.

The road continued through pine, live oaks, and hanging Spanish moss…

…then crossed several of the old runways.

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