Went along on the Friends of Chat Bend hike this weekend. Showed them a few of the cultural artifacts I had found and some of the terrain down to the tip of the big bend. Laurie also went along, and made a nice photo album.
We also got an update from the board of the friends group. Construction contracts will begin Dec 1st and last for 18 months. These will include the extension of the new park road west, a maintenance shed, visitor center, and campground. Projected opening date to be June of 2011.
If I'm lucky the map will be finished by then!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Nasty Smelly Water
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| From Chattahoochee Bend |
Over a month after the flood and there is still water standing down in the floodplain. I might could deal with the standing water (it's only a few inches deep), but it stinks. Smells like sewage, which is not surprising. Millions of gallons of raw sewage got swept downstream from Atlanta in the flood.
I plan to take a week of vacation from my real job next month and work on the map. Hopefully the water will drain off or soak in before then.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
From Summer to Winter
A sudden change in the weather to cool and windy had me wearing a coat and blowing on my hands this morning. I'm still working the forest in the bend of the river, holding off on the flood plain. It's still wet down there, with plenty of standing water.
Here's another photo of the bathtub ring left by the flood. It runs right across the middle of the photo through the cane.
The hardwood forest in the bend of the river is beautiful, with lots of impressive beech trees. This is their preferred habitat, the beech bottoms.
Sometime next month I plan to take a week off from my real job and finish the northern half of the map - I hope.
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| From Chattahoochee Bend |
Here's another photo of the bathtub ring left by the flood. It runs right across the middle of the photo through the cane.
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| From Chattahoochee Bend |
The hardwood forest in the bend of the river is beautiful, with lots of impressive beech trees. This is their preferred habitat, the beech bottoms.
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| From Chattahoochee Bend |
Sometime next month I plan to take a week off from my real job and finish the northern half of the map - I hope.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
More Tractor Tires Than Any Orienteering Map?
Or maybe more tractor tires per square kilometer than any orienteering map in the USA.
What happens two weeks after the 500 year flood? The mosquitoes go wild. They're everywhere, they're everywhere! They haven't been a problem since early Spring, but today they were whining around my ears. It was cool enough to wear a coat, so at least I didn't get bit.
Here's another view of the flood bathtub ring, this time over on the west side of the big bend. You can see the mud coated leaves partway up this small tree. There was a lot of water down in here.
You might think there aren't any woods down in the bend of the river, but there's plenty. I spent my time today wandering about in the flat trees. It can be tough to orienteer in deep woods without contour lines. Plenty of ditches and gullies.
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| From Chattahoochee Bend |
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| From Chattahoochee Bend |
What happens two weeks after the 500 year flood? The mosquitoes go wild. They're everywhere, they're everywhere! They haven't been a problem since early Spring, but today they were whining around my ears. It was cool enough to wear a coat, so at least I didn't get bit.
Here's another view of the flood bathtub ring, this time over on the west side of the big bend. You can see the mud coated leaves partway up this small tree. There was a lot of water down in here.
 |
| From Chattahoochee Bend |
You might think there aren't any woods down in the bend of the river, but there's plenty. I spent my time today wandering about in the flat trees. It can be tough to orienteer in deep woods without contour lines. Plenty of ditches and gullies.
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