An added note - see the bottom of this page about an update to the Battle of Olustee.
And for those of you who know and respect Charlie Eyer as I do, please see the web link he sent me at the bottom of this page. It should be a real eye-opener.
On Saturday 9/16/06, Dot and I joined Charlie Bear and his daughter Donna for a one-way downstream run on the St. Mary's River from Rte. 121 above MacClenny up to Stokes bridge. I said 'up' because that part of the river heads north and we go 'up' north and 'down' south, right? The water level was around 1.9 feet and the flow was about 44 cu.ft. per second, which means the water level was very low. We encountered numerous obstacles and sandbars. The scariest ones are the unseen, submerged logs that the bow of the boat tends to ride up onto. More than a few times, Dot and I in the tandem rode up onto things that made the boat teeter back and forth sideways. Cheap thrill to say the least.
At the start of our run the current was practically non-existent. The river was deep enough and wide enough to 'kill' the current. Further downstream when the river got shallow enough to walk across and only yards wide, the current really picks up. All that said, it took us over 6 hours to go about 11 1/2 miles, less than 2 mph. And that was going downstream. Dot and I both made the mistake of not putting on any sunscreen because it was so overcast when we started out. Bad mistake. The insides of both of my legs got toasted and Dot 'got it' on her bare shoulders. We shoulda known better.
So, on with the show. Last week I mentioned I would take a picture of the put-in/take-out at Stokes bridge. Here is that high bank I was talking about pulling the boat up. The red dots indicate the path up the bank. Charlie and Donna use another way down to the river here. It may be a 'bit' better but there is still a steep hill to negotiate.
This is looking on the other side of Stokes Bridge looking downstream. This part heads toward C.R. 2.
This is down at the Rte. 121 bridge. Here's Charlie getting it together. Donna got a call from the zoo where she works and was up on the bridge talking on her cell.
Heading downstream.
As I'm sure all of you have noticed by now, the character of this river seems to change at every other bend. From wide to narrow . . deep to shallow. Which is one of the magnets that keeps pulling us back here. We always say we could do one section of the river for four straight weekends and see or notice something different every weekend. That and as the water level changes, the scenery changes.
Like I said we had a LOT of obstacles to deal with. We 'scraped' over as many trees as we had to go under it seemed. This was one of the 'unders'.
Now here's a very rare sight. Charlie has his camera out. That can only mean one thing . . there must be a bird nearby. Unlike me, Charlie doesn't 'do' scenery or vistas, just birds. And gators if they are around. I have gotten 'tired' of berating him for not taking scenery shots and don't even bother anymore. To each his own.
I like taking the scenery shots not only so I can go back and look at them, but because I like to share my nature experience with others. Very, very few people have seen what we have been able to see. In three years or so when I retire, that may change a bit. Charlie is still very serious about the two of us starting up an eco-adventure kayaking business. And the St. Mary's river will be one of our main areas to visit. Charlie and I have done all of the St. Mary's from near where it 'origins' in the Okeefenokee swamp, down around the 'loop' up to Rte. 1 near Folkston. That area alone covers everything from extreme (Okeefenokee) Okeefenokee to Moniac to easy (Rte. 1).
I hope this gives a small idea of the size of some of the cypress trees that grow in this section of the river. Charlie's kayak is 14 feet long.
This was pretty cool. These kids had swam across the river from the boat ramp at Steel Bridge Road. Does this look like fun or what? If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this short series is work a novelette.
Did you notice the dog in the previous photo? When the kids swam across the river . . some freestyling . . others using floatation rings . . this little dog swam the whole thing on its own. He is as much a part of this fun as the kids are.
We did see a few birds along the way. Charlie has been trying to get a good picture of a kingfisher for a while now. I told him and I some good ones, but he didn't want to hear about that, he wanted his own.
Here is a hawk we saw.
I think this is the same one. We heard quite a few of them.
This is a limpkin.
Okay, no it's not. Donna has informed that this is a young ibis. The bill gave it away.
And a mallard.
And the limpkin again.
No, an ibis.
I wish I had taken more pictures toward the end of the trip . . but the truth is I was gettin' tired. And if I stopped paddling to take pictures that would have left Dot to paddle and she was just as tired as I was.
All in all, it was another beautiful day on the St. Mary's River. Charlie and Donna are good kayaking companions. Now if we can just get Charlie to stop more often . . . and take some scenery shots . . . we may have a chance to teach him what retirement is all about. Anybody have any ideas on how to change a Type A personality into a Type B ?? All good things in good time I guess.
P.S.
Here is an interesting side note. I've recently had a person email me concerning one of my photos of the Civil War Reenactment at Olustee.
His issue was with the traveling forge used for blacksmithing. It is pretty obvious that Mr. Einhorn is very correct in saying the 'traveling forge' we saw at Olustee is indeed NOT a 'period' forge. The following is the note I received from Mr. Einhorn.
Jack,
If everything there is supposed to be correct, then the "smith" definitely does not have a clue. Military specifications were exact
right down to the specifications for the nails and bolts used with equipment. I keep a copy of the 1863 Ordinance Manual handy and
other books handy, in case someone questions me. The Ordinance Manual specifies what supplies will be packed in the Traveling Forge
and how it will be packed; the same information is available for the Battery Wagon, and all other military supplies. The Federal
Government went to great extremes to document and standardize its equipment during the Civil War, and to make parts interchangeable so
as to make storage, supply and repair of equipment efficient. The various rolling stock including the Traveling Forge was designed to
have the same maneuverability as a number 1 cannon carriage. The photo of the wagon at
Olustee is a mockery of the level of sophistication of the equipment of the mid 1800s, and an insult to
all reenactors and blacksmiths.
I can prove my case with extensive documentation, period books and official specifications. Here are some web sites you can check if
you wish:
http://www.oldsouthblacksmiths.com/fw/fw.htm
http://travelingforge.home.comcast.net/
http://caew-boces.wnyric.org/applications/news/popNews.asp?Action=ShowNews&NewsId=1047
http://www.museumandcollector.com/catalog.html
http://www.batteryg.org/batteryg/gcannons/bforge.jpg
Mr. Einhorn goes on to say:
I have researched this topic extensively, have known two people who built Traveling Forges (Tom Alexander, and Mr. Reikert) and am
myself in the process of building a Traveling Forge. I know what I am talking about. I have been doing and studying blacksmithing as a
hobby for over 33 years.
So, it goes without saying that when Dot and I go to Olustee in February as planned, we will indeed check out the traveling forge if it is there again and to 'confront' those in charge with our new knowledge.
My thanks to David Einhorn on this.
Enjoy !!
For the 1% to 2% of you who actually read this stuff, please be enlightened by the link which my dear friend Charlie Eyer sent me. It should be an eye-opener.
http://users.gazinter.net/melan/Warn/Warnenu.htm
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