Had a groovy time playing last night at the Dandelion Communitea Cafe… Thanks Bob Sanders for joining us …your awesome!!!….This is a hip place to hang and chill …I highly recommend it!!
Ya….. Well …..Einstien Was A Misfit Too!!!
In Einstein’s world gravity isn’t a force,..(I don’t know about that!… it looks like to me a lot of things are head south!!)….. space has hills and valleys (so does my body) and time is not absolute!.. (that means if I choose not to get old then I will remain young forever?!!!)
I love this guy!!!!
Tales From Turner Camp!!!
Caroline Argo and I decided we needed a little adventure on the river yesterday……It was a beautiful morning as we carried our kayaks down to the river’s edge and very quiet, .. not one boat in sight. As we started down river I spotted a limpkin floating down on an island made of an assortment of water plants….”Where is my camera when I need it”!!!
We pass Turner’s Fish Camp and wave to the local boys who seem rather curious about our method of travel…..after all “Who in their right mind would want to exert themselves paddling….when a motor boat will get you where your going in less than half the time and all without much effort!…. Besides .. where’s you’re fishing pole?”. We just wave and smile and keep on going…….
We are captivated by the delicate Hibiscus …The Halberd-leaved Marshmallow and The Rose Marshmallow….. a spectacular flower that grows up to seven feet high and may show fifteen to twenty blossoms at once. The flowers range in color from white to deep rose, with a creamy spike protruding from the center. These were of the purist white…. Bees and humming birds are greatly attracted to the showy blossoms for the easy-to-get-at nectar. High in a dead cypress, we spot an osprey perched on a branch….. Carefully scrutinizing our every move.
The Withlacoochee has many side waterways to explore and so we slip off to the right and paddle though a narrow path that opens up into a small tributary. We then paddle to the left for a short time before we happened upon a jam in the river made of small branches, hydrilla, duckweed and other debris. As I peer over my boat, I can see that it opens back up, just past the jam…. so we ponder a moment….. and decide to give it a try… and push through the jam…….. With much struggling and man handling our boats, we manage to get through most of the jam. Just about a half boat length left…..and we will be liberated!!…. I push forward and hit something in this weed patch that just won’t budge…. but I am determined to get through….. I really don’t want to turn back around!! So again…. I push forward with all I’ve got!. …still no budge ..and I am stuck on top of what ever it is…. under my boat … suddenly I begin to see little creatures crawling out from under my boat .. I take a closer look ….
“OH SHIT”!!!!! I said out loud…
Carolina says “what! What”!
” I just hit a gator nest!!”
Caroline says OH SHIT!!!
As we are madly trying to turn our boats around, paddles fly everywhere…..in this impossible veggie soup… the baby gators are grunting and cry for mama ….causing a commotion of their own…. I am pushing with my paddle hard against the weeds ..and dredge up all kinds of nasty smelling, fermented debris, that is now attached to my paddle…. and as I pull my paddle up ….this fowl concoction lands directly on my head…. I brush it off quickly along with several unidentifiable critters attached to the vegetation…..just keep moving I tell myself ….. don’t think about what’s crawling on you or the smell…yuck..the smell…. Not now….LATER….just keep paddling!!!
Once out of the fine mess we got ourselves into…. and cleaned up…. with out a spoken word, we decide…. that was enough adventure for one day! …Now it’s time to head back, …We both can’t wait to stop and grab a beer, tell the boys at Turner Camp our true life adventure, which is sure to beat any fish stories or tales they’ve EVER …Told!!!!!
If your significant other went through your personal things, what would you do?
All I have to say is….. he better be doing the laundry!!!!
“Soggy Bottom” is my name… kayak tours and rentals is my game
The Withlacoochee River is one of the most beautiful rivers in Florida! I live and work on this River, on Turner Camp Rd. just outside of Inverness, where I own a very small business of kayak rentals and tours “Soggy Bottom”
I love the peacefulness of this river. On any given morning , I can launch my kayak and never encounter one boat. Of course it’s not always like that! But for the most part …it is. Meandering down river, on the right is Half Moon Preserve, on the left Potts Preserve, This means no development for several miles…just a natural scenic view, sounds, and smell!
In the Fall I love to go out in early morning and watch the steam roll off the river and dissipate into the crisp blue sky above…while the wading birds sit quietly, content to stand in her water’s until the air temperature’s come together with the water’s of the tannic Withlacoochee and the steam slowly clears, blending late morning into clear blue skies of warm afternoon.
The Withlacoochee River Canoe Trail is officially designated as part of Florida’s Statewide System of Greenways and Trails. Located in West-Central Florida and covering approximately 2,100 square miles. The headwaters of the 157-mile long Withlacoochee River are located in the Green Swamp together with those of the Hillsborough, the Oklawaha and Peace rivers. The Withlacoochee River drains northwards from the Green Swamp before turning west through the Dunnellon Gap in the Brookesville Ridge to its estuary on the Gulf of Mexico, near Yankeetown. The Tsala Apopka Plain is part of the Withlacoochee River valley.
The sandy soils, allow rainfall to penetrate, providing a high recharge area that receives water for storage into the Floridian aquifer underlying Citrus County. In the northern part of the region the aquifer is often exposed at the surface as the first magnitude springs of Citrus and Hernando County (the Citrus, Homosassa, Chassahowitzka and Weeki Watchee spring systems).
For more information go to soggybottomtours.com
Adopt A Shore….Hosted By Soggy Bottom….
Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 8:00amWe invite you to participate in cleaning up the Withlacoochee River
Must register before Sept 13th
Call 352-419-4927 or email carla@soggybottomtours.com
Save Our Waters Committee and Citrus County will provide the following:
… A) Work Gloves, Caps, Garbage Bags, fluids (water and soda), and T-shirts.
B) Data cards for documenting statistical information about your project
Kayaks available upon request
Pontoon, john boats and air boats welcome! We are all in this together!!!
For this little prairie town of White River, population 550 or so , Frontier Days was the highlight of the year. As a kid, I remember everyone for miles around; including those who had moved away and started a new life else where, would come for the weekend and party like a rock star! It was a time to gather for family reunions and reminisce with old high school buddy’s! As a teen it was heaven… we were pretty much let on the loose!!! A time for flirting, and livin it up cowboy style!!! There was a small carnival set up on main street, complete with rides and cotton candy. A Rodeo on Sat and Sun, a Bowery Dance on Sat night…. and Cowboys Cowboys everywhere…….what else could a girl ask for!!!!!!
This Picture was taken at the Frontier Days Rodeo in my home town of White River SD. South Dakota boasts many Pro Rodeo World Champians according to Professional Cowboy Rodeo Association, prorodeo.com/champions
Earl Thode of Belvedere, S.D.,Casey Tibbs- Fort Pierre, Paul Tierney- Rapid City, Marvin Garrett- Belle Fourche, Mark Garrett- Nisland, Clint Johnson- Spearfish, Billy Etbauer- Ree Heights, Tom Reeves- Eagle Butte, Jeffery Willert- Belvidere, Pee Wee Morris- Custer, Bill McMacken- Trail City, Jack Buschbom- Mobridge. Some I’m sure I’ve over looked!!!