Georgia - Day 21 - to Magnolia Springs via Statesboro

Magnolia Springs State Park, Millen

Thursday, 13 April 2023

Today is my brother's birthday, so Happy Birthday!

It was absolutely pouring rain when Dext and I went out this morning, and when we got back, the rain stopped.  Dext hates walking in the rain, and I do wish I could figure out an indoor bathroom for him.

today's route

Leaving Crooked River, we passed through Kingsland again and got on I-95 northbound.  We had heavy rain for the first 25 miles, it let up, and then it started again.  We had rain as a companion for much of the entire day and evening; occasionally it'd stop for a bit, but then here it would come again - usually raining pretty hard.  Too much rain to be my idea of "April showers."

When we got on the road, Dext was still wet from our walk and, with this weather, he had trouble ever getting fully dry.

We passed a whole lot more rivers than towns; you can see the few towns on the map, but just as a sample of the many rivers: Little Satilla River, South Brunswick River, Turtle River, Altamaha River, and on and on it went.  One way or another, Georgia's got a lot of water.

Last night I didn't get to sleep until well after 9:00, and then I woke up at 2:10 and didn't get any more sleep.  So driving on the interstate today, I found it very hard not to fall asleep.  I'd blink my eyes, and then they'd shut of their own accord, and I'd instantly fall asleep for a second, and wake up again in a panic - only to start the cycle over again.  I slapped myself a few times, tried drinking coffee and water, tried listening to the radio - but there just wasn't any place to stop and get out for fresh air (which anyway would have included a lot of rain).  Sheer luck and will power kept me from having a whole lot of trouble.

I heard something on the radio about the movie Interstellar, though I don't remember what.  But I looked it up and have learned that it's so completely science fiction that I can't understand even the Wikipedia explanation.  Maybe it's clearer on the movie screen, but in the written word, it sounds pretty far out (so to speak).

At Savannah, we switched to the interstate running to Atlanta and then got off on GA-67 to head north.  We came to a town called Denmark Community (named for some people of the name Denmark), and then went on to Statesboro.  This name sounds very Civil War-ish, but I looked it up and learned that its only connection was that Gen. Sherman, on his March to the Sea, destroyed only the local courthouse but left other buildings alone.

We stopped at a grocery store in Statesboro, where I saw a bumper sticker advertising "Red Wine and Blue."  Online I learned that it's a group that works on getting suburban women to vote and become more actively involved in local politics.  They don't seem to push any specific political party or agenda other than getting people - women in particular - to be more active in civic affairs.  They sound so enthusiastic on their website that it made me want to join them.

Magnolia Springs has been known for many years for its clear-water spring that produces 4 million gallons of water a day.  I'd wanted to take Dext on a walk to the spring, but the rain never let up, all afternoon and all evening.  In fact, each time I wanted to take Dext out even to walk around the campground, the rain seemed to increase.  And about 7:15 we started getting thunder, which made all my critters worried.  A shame.

This state park was established to protect both the spring and the former prison camp that was located here.  There were 2 historical markers at the office that mentioned the camp.

I took both these photos Friday morning when the weather was better, but I'm inserting them here as being more appropriate.

The campground's brochure also explained that Camp Lawton was mostly ignored by archaeologists until in 2010 a graduate student found quite a few artifacts belonging to the former prisoners.  Since then, Georgia Southern University has been working here and located such items as pocket knives and coins, brick structures and prison stockade timbers.

Magnolia Springs State Park was built at the top of a hill, and my campsite was at the top of that, which meant anywhere Dext and I walked started out downhill but needed a stiff climb to get back home again.  I thought we needed the exercise but Dext wasn't happy about it.  More and more he's preferring level ground.

Our campsite was definitely sloped but, by parking almost on the roadway, I found us a relatively level place to spend the night.  I had to use the extra power cord I've been carrying around to reach the electric box, and I was sure glad I had it to give us that leveling ability.