Parks – Page 11 – Wandering Dawgs

A return to the Mississippi Delta

September 21, 2016March 15, 2025Posted in Arkansas, Birds, Restaurants, State Parks, SunsetTagged cotton, cypress trees, Doe's Eat Place, Greenville, Hot tamales, Lake Chicot State Park, Lake Village, Mississippi Delta8 Comments

Two years ago we traveled through the Mississippi Delta area of Arkansas and fell in love with the area. So naturally when we began planning our trip to Oxford we decided to cross the Mississippi River into Arkansas and return to two of the places we enjoyed back then. When we told our friends we were going to Mississippi by way of Arkansas they looked at us like we were crazy.

Our first stop in Arkansas was Lake Chicot State Park. I posted about our first visit here. After a long day driving through part of Alabama and all across the state of Mississippi, we crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas and arrived at the campground hot and tired.

We got set up in time to watch a beautiful sunset over Lake Chicot.

The lake was beautiful in the early mornings.

Lake Chicot is the largest natural lake in Arkansas and the largest natural oxbow lake in the United States. It is a popular fishing destination and many varieties of birds can be seen here.

On our first visit here we had our first taste of delicious Mississippi Delta hot tamales so of course getting some more was on the top of our to do list. One day we took a drive back across the Mississippi River to Greenville, Mississippi to pick up three dozen hot tamales to go from Doe’s Eat Place. We were in heaven as we ate some of those spicy tamales for dinner. The rest are in our freezer to take home. I posted about our first visit to Doe’s Eat Place here.

Doe's Eat Place in Greenville, Mississippi — Doe’s Eat Place in Greenville, Mississippi

Three dozen Mississippi Delta hot tamales

One day we took a self guided driving tour along the levee which runs along the Mississippi River to protect the area from flooding. A gravel road runs on top of the levee and the scenery changes from borrow pits to farms to woods as you go along.

Egrets flocked to the trees beside the borrow pits

Cattle with Cattle Egrets beside the levee

Cotton is the number one crop in this part of the Mississippi Delta and we passed many fields on both sides of the river. Soybeans and sorghum are also big crops in the area.

Fields of cotton as far as the eye can see

Cotton is the number one crop in the Mississippi Delta

Next up: A return to another favorite Arkansas State Park in the Mississippi Delta with some scenic drives, a museum, and award winning barbecue.

First stop on our Fall Football Road Trip

September 18, 2016Posted in Alabama, Nature, RVing, State ParksTagged Birmingham, Georgia Bulldogs Football, Oak Mountain State Park, Peavine Falls Road, Pelham, Scenic Drive13 Comments

After enjoying a relaxing summer at home, we are once again on a fall road trip to watch the Georgia Bulldogs play an away football game. This year we are on our way to Oxford, Mississippi to see the Dawgs play the Ole Miss Rebels. But in true Wandering Dawgs fashion, we are not taking a direct route to get there.

We started the trip in Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, Alabama, a few miles south of Birmingham. This is Alabama’s largest state park and it has something for everyone – mountain bike trails, golf course, lake with a beach, hiking trails, a scenic drive, a beautiful campground and more.

Wandering Dawgs in Oak Mountain State Park Site A28

Every day Blondie and I walked on the trails around our campground loop.

Moccasin Nature Trail behind our campsite

One day we drove to the dead end of Peavine Falls Road on Double Oak Mountain. As we wound our way up the narrow road I was reminded of some of the drives we have made in the Great Smoky Mountains.

This sign was at the parking lot at the dead end at the top of the road

We had a picnic at the Peavine Falls Overlook

We enjoyed our stay and were even able to do a little shopping in nearby Pelham and Birmingham before continuing our journey west to our next destination.

Celebrating 100 years of the National Park Service

September 1, 2016August 14, 2017Posted in National Parks, Nature, Tourist AttractionsTagged National Park Service Centennial Celebration, photo essay19 Comments

Our wandering has taken us to many of our wonderful national parks across the United States. We loved each one of the parks that we visited.

The national parks, national monuments, national historic sites, and other national areas are managed by the National Park Service which celebrated it’s 100th anniversary in August, 2016. To celebrate this anniversary I am sharing pictures of the national parks we have visited throughout the years.

Arches National Park Landscape Arch — Arches National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon Hoodoos — Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)

Moose beside the road in Denali National Park, Alaska

Pa-Hay-Otee Overlook in Everglades National Park, Florida

Grand Canyon North Rim Cape Royal, Arizona

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

Cataloochee Valley Overlook Great Smoky Mountains — Cataloochee Valley Overlook in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina

Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington

The Big Tree, Redwoods National Park, California

Lower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)

Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California

The Tree Patriarchs in Zion National Park, Utah — The Three Patriarchs in Zion National Park, Utah

Thanks to Travel with the Slowensky’s for giving me the idea for this post.

Nesting Birds at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

April 25, 2016February 24, 2018Posted in Birds, Georgia, National Wildlife Refuge, Nature, WildlifeTagged day trip, geocaching, Georgia birding, Great Egret, Harris Neck, roadside attractions, Smallest Church in America, tri colored heron, wood stork, Wood Stork Nesting9 Comments

Wood storks, egrets, and herons build their nests every spring in the trees of Woody Pond at the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. Located in Georgia just a few miles from I 95 in between Savannah and Brunswick, it is a great day trip from our home.

Woody Pond at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

Wood storks were placed on the Endangered Species list in 1984. After almost 30 years of conservation efforts to increase the wood stork population, their status was upgraded to Threatened in June, 2014.

A path along the dike beside Woody Pond provides a great place to view the birds. The wood storks and egrets shared the trees.

Nesting Wood Storks and Great Egrets at Woody Pond

Many of the wood storks were working on their nests. None of their eggs had hatched yet.

As I took photos, Henry used the spotting scope and pointed out a mother egret with chicks that I would have never seen. The nests were a long way from where we were so the picture isn’t the best but it gives you an idea of the size of the baby egret.

In the shallow water at the edge of the pond a tri-colored heron entertained us as he searched for food.

Tri colored heron

Tri Colored Heron gets his catch

After leaving the refuge we stopped at the Smallest Church in America to take a look and do a little geocaching.

An arsonist burned this church in November, 2015. The church is being rebuilt through the efforts of volunteers and the work is almost complete.

Smallest Church in America, Townsend, Georgia

Smallest Church in America

After finding the geocache hidden near the church we headed for home.

Into the Okefenokee Swamp

April 22, 2016February 24, 2018Posted in Birds, Georgia, National Wildlife Refuge, Nature, RVing, WildlifeTagged Alligators, cypress trees, Okeenokee Swamp, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Snowy Egret, Stephen C. Foster State Park6 Comments

We enjoyed walking around the marina and going on the nature trail at Stephen C. Foster State Park in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge but we wanted to be in a boat to really experience the swamp. On one of our visits a few years ago we rented a canoe to paddle into the swamp and another time we rented a boat to venture even farther into the swamp. On our most recent trip in early spring we decided to take a ranger guided boat tour.

As we glided through the man made canal our guide pointed out the baby alligators and their mother Sophie who was keeping a close watch on her babies. Her mate Zeke was no where to be found.

As the boat exited the canal we entered the big water of Billy’s Lake where we were about six miles from the headwaters of the Suwanee River. The water here gets up to six feet deep, much deeper than the average depth of two feet.

It was a beautiful day to be on the water and we saw a few other people out on the water.

A kayaker goes around the bend deeper into the swamp

Our guide took us through the narrow waterway toward Minnie’s Lake. In some places the water was barely wide enough for the 24 foot Carolina Skiff. As we ventured farther into the swamp it was as if we had stepped back in time to a prehistoric age. We were miles from civilization in this incredibly wild place.

Boats had to navigate around this cypress tree

It is estimated that the alligator population in the swamp is about 20,000. We saw quite a few as we went along. It was mating season and I wondered if this gator was trying to attract a mate.

Another gator was behind a huge cypress tree.

Do you see the alligator behind the Cypress tree?

And there were young ones sunning on a log.

There are many species of wildlife besides alligators. While we didn’t see any raccoons, opossums, turtles, or bears, we did see a few birds out searching for food.