Crooked River State Park

Crooked River State Park, like so many Georgia parks, is lovingly designed with spacious campsites, well maintained facilities and sensible reservation policies. Near the lovely village of St Mary's and the launch point for a visit to Cumberland Island NS, it has been a regular stop for us.

 

Daytrip to Cumberland Island National Seashore.

Waiting for the "Queen" to board for the 45 minute ferry ride to the island.

There were the over-prepared....it was breezy all day and the bugs were NO problem. Is that suspenders AND belt, headnet AND bug spray..?

 

...and today's prize for inappropriate footwear goes to....the fashionista with the Huge handbag AND the lavishly stylish messenger bag.

On earlier trips, we counted ourselves fortunate to see two, maybe three, of the wild horses. Today we were greeted by a small herd right at the ferry landing --and BONUS, a new foal just minutes old. We watched for nearly a hour until Patty was sure he/she was wandering about unsteadily and had located lunch.

ANXIOUS MOMENTS....

ANXIOUS MOMENTS

 

 

...for everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINALLY! LUNCH!!

 

 

 

 

The long and convoluted story of Cumberland is fascinating and ties together so many threads of our history. It is a tale best told quietly on a walk among the ruins and landmarks, along tree shaded paths...best told by a native, a scholar, an old school ranger with a gift for engaging tourist and historian alike. We have had this experience and relished it. So it was doubly disappointing to find it replaced by cell phone recordings of dry, lifeless WiKi intoned by a bored automaton.

Soulless administrative decisions aside, the beauty of this place cannot be so easily diminished.

 

 

 

There are the big views..

 

The LONG walks looking for, not finding, shells...

 

 

A pleasant stroll through the quietest, most artfully shaded campground we've seen and a little fun "...washing that man right out of my hair.."

 

 

And finally, a little time in the rockers at Sea Camp porch waiting for the "Queen" and exchanging tales with new friends.

 

Our new friend Carol joined us at Lang's Seafood for a laugh-filled dinner with sunset over the marsh and capped a lovely day.

 

Thanks for following along.....Al & Pattty