American Locations 33 - Okefenokee

The trip is from New River, West Virginia, to Stinking Creek, Tennessee, by way of Long Key, Florida.

Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia

Early the next morning we drove south from Savannah on Hwy. 17 to Midway. Here we turned inland away from the coast on Hwy. 84. We continued southwest to Waycross, where we turned southeast on Hwy. 23. We turned south onto Rte. 177, which took us to the northern entrance to Okefenokee Swamp.

Where we saw several alligators.

I really didn't get this close, I zoomed. I've got better sense than that. Most of the time.

We hiked into the swamp.

Lily pads in bloom are a pretty sight.

An even prettier sight was this sleeping alligator. I didn't zoom in for this shot. You can see in the bottom left corner of the photo the edge of the boardwalk. He had curled up right next to the boardwalk to snooze.

So I had to pose with him.

We walked by other alligators who were wide awake.

In this one pond there were four cruising around, although I could only get 2 of them in the same photo.

The boardwalk led to an observation tower that gave a good view of the swamp.

Finished with the hike, we drove off to see more of the swamp.

Next Location - Okefenokee 2

American Locations 32 - Savannah

The trip is from New River, West Virginia, to Stinking Creek, Tennessee, by way of Long Key, Florida.

Savannah, Georgia

While staying at Skidaway Island State Park we spent a day in Savannah. We used the Hop On - Hop Off tour bus line. They are such a joy to use, I highly recommend them. We parked in their lot, then didn't have to worry about driving our motor home in heavy traffic on unfamiliar streets, or about finding sights we wanted to see, or about discovering interesting sights we hadn't heard of, or about parking a 23 foot long vehicle. You buy a day pass. Their buses circle through a route that has stops at all the major sights in the city. You can get off at any of these stops, spend as much time there as you want, then catch the next bus. They come by every half-hour. While you are on the bus the driver tells you all about Savannah. A relaxing and enjoyable way to see a city. We rode the bus through the entire circuit once to decide what we wanted to see. On the second go around our first stop was the waterfront.

See how the waterfront is below street level, with stairs giving access to the lower level? There are warning signs on them that you are using them at your own risk. Apparently very risky.

There are several interesting statues.

Unfortunately, the most famous one, Bird Girl, which was on the cover of the novel 'Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil', has been moved inside to protect it, so we didn't get to see that one. So here is an image I found on the Internet.

We spent most of our time at the waterfront. We ate lunch at a seafood restaurant with an interesting light made of clam shells.

We also got off at several city squares. These little parks are spread all over Savannah.

There are many interesting old buildings. The tour guides on the bus will tell you the stories behind each.

And several churches.

This was where Robert Louis Stevenson lived while writing 'Treasure Island'.

And the inn next door he frequented. Note the pirate flag.

After a long day touring Savannah we drove back to Skidaway Island to crash.

Next Location - Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia

American Locations 31 - Skidaway Island State Park, Savannah, Georgia

The trip is from New River, West Virginia, to Stinking Creek, Tennessee, by way of Long Key, Florida.

 Skidaway Island State Park

 We found a beautiful place to camp outside of Savannah - Skidaway Island State Park.

We took a short hike.

We saw this area had taken a hit from the recent hurricane, just not as bad as Hunting Island.

The bridge over the Skidaway River.

After resting at our campsite, later that afternoon I took a much longer hike around the park.

I found these piles of clam shells at several different places.

I saw more hurricane damage.

Like most state parks, there was the opportunity for primitive backcountry camping.

I came across an observation tower.

It gave a good view from its three-story height.

I climbed back down and continued my hike.

There was a tree with impressive roots.

And a bridge with a natural arch.

I came across several clam middens that had been piled up by native Americans.

And the remnants of a still.

There were also earthworks from the Civil War where canons had been emplaced to defend this approach to Savannah.

After several miles the trail wound its way back to the campground, where I crashed for the rest of the day.

Next Location - Savannah, Georgia