|
Harvey-the-RV -
Roadtrip 2009
Georgia
19th - 23rd June 2009
|
|
We returned to sweltering heat in Florida after our trip to the UK and decided to hit the road as soon as possible.
So, two days after landing in Jacksonville, we were headed northwards towards Georgia, to spend our first weekend on the road at the Laura S. Walker State Park, near Waycross.
We'd previously stopped there and enjoyed some
great bass fishing on the lake. However, it turned out that Georgia just wasn't far enough north to be any cooler. We spent most of our weekend
hiding inside Harvey, making the most of his air conditioning, with only the occasional trip out on the lake in the canoe or a short spot of fishing from the banks. We certainly needed to move north
more quickly.
|
All ready to fish but its
just too hot!
|
|
Cooling off - Hippo style.
|
Next stop was Mistletoe State Park. This was a beautiful spot on the shores of the vast Clarks Hill Lake. Again we valiantly inflated
our canoe and set forth on the water. Once we rounded the shelter of the headland on which we were camped and hit the strong breeze on the open water, we were definitely making more progress sideways than forewards in our canoe. The size of the lake was intimidating, where to start searching for fish was a mystery to the fisherman.
We returned to shore a little dejected.
Our water excursion,
however, gave us a new idea. Instead of spending our time on the water, we would spend our time in the water, wallowing like hippo to cool off in the 103 degree temperatures. This turned out to be a pretty fantastic way to pass an afternoon, especially when we thought to don our canoeing buoyancy aids, allowing us to float in a totally lazy
fashion.
|
|
We quickly pushed on further north the next day into the mountains of north-eastern Georgia. We'd visited Black Rock Mountain State Park on our last trip and knew it was located high in the hills, offering the prospect of cooler temperatures. Harvey bravely struggled back up the steep, winding access road, he'd travelled before and we set up camp right in the same spot as last year.
|
|
The downhill bit to reach
the lake.
|
The lake's natives wonder
what he's up to.
|
|
Determined to get some value from the Georgia fishing licence, we set out on the several mile trek to the park's lake.
The several miles turned out to be all downhill on the outbound journey. After passing some very scenic waterfalls and pools on the way, we finally reached the lake. We waded through the mud, observed by the very curious population of geese and Phil began to cast in the hope of raising some interest amongst the fish.
Not longer afterwards, the thunder started.
Fly-fishing in a thunderstorm never being a good idea, we decided it would be prudent to begin the long and steep uphill hike back to the campsite. Luckily most of the path was tree covered, protecting us from the rain.
We staggered back to Harvey exhausted.
|
|