The Best of Alabama

Hmmmm. 10 days. Sorry about that, I must have dosed off for a while, but I’m back.  And thanks for the weather updates, Looks like  we may need to “chill” a little longer.

We spent a week at Wind Creek State Park in Alabama. They required a week minimum stay in order to get a waterfront campsite. I'm so glad we opted for the waterfront, and the one week wasn't nearly enough.

This may be the nicest state park  we have visited yet. It's the flagship of Alabama's State Parks. The park is situated on Lake Martin, a reservoir which was created  in 1926, by damming  the Tallapoosa River. This created the 41000 acre Lake Martin. In an area which is about 15 miles square, its many bays and inlets give it over 700 miles of shoreline.The lake is home to numerous bass tournaments. Wind Creek State park has a large marina with parking for over 100 trucks/trailers which makes the hosting of large tournaments possible.

It seems that high powered bass boats are the weapon of choice here. Pontoon boats are also popular with the party crowd. Conspicuous by their complete absence are the “Lund” type aluminum fishing boats. We were a novelty in our 6 HP inflatable canoe (which we finally got to use for the first time of the trip). We got a lot of “isn’t that cute” smiles and waves.

Oddly, for a lake this size, there are no seagulls here, but vultures are plentiful. Perhaps too much competition for the gulls.

Lake Martin has numerous small beaches. It reminds me a lot of Lake Temagami in Northern Ontario where we camped when we were kids. Ironically Lake Martin got it’s beaches as a result of hydro electric dams and Lake Temagami lost its beaches to the same activity.

Here is one of the typical beaches. Just add a tent, a sleeping bag , a campfire and a tin of beans. Take me back….

I found myself near one of these beaches just about nap time, maybe 2 in the afternoon. (Darlene was in town picking up a few things). What are ya gonna do...

After my "rest" I loaded the boat with driftwood for our campfire that night...just like we used to do at Lake Temagami.

For the past few days we have been in Milledgeville GA. It is a nice small town with an amazing history. 

Milledgeville was the capital of Georgia, from 1804 until 1868, a period, the end of which included the Civil War

In January 1861, Georgia convention delegates passed the Ordinance of Secession, and on February 4, 1861, the "Republic of Georgia" joined the Confederate States of America. They knew at the time that secession would lead to war.  All of this took place right here in Milledgeville.

In 1864 General Sherman marched through the town with an army of 30,000 and burned most government buildings but left most residences intact. 

In the next few days we'll reach the East Coast. Edisto Beach, near Charleston SC, will be our last beach stop before we switch to "Camp Walmart" mode for the final stretch home.