What a day and night in a bed. It almost felt weird, almost. We had a sketchy internet signal so our photographer Jeff moved outside to the hog butchering station and we were able to e-mail photos!
In the morning, everyone took it easy, exploring Brama Island. Hiker Beth Kelso, let us photograph an outdoorswoman’s secret—duct tape will stop your toes from rubbing together in your boot. We had all our gear out on the front porch ready for transport- that’s just the documentary crew’s stuff.
Our hosts, the Lightseys, planned a catfish dinner for us. While the cooks cooked, we got an air boat ride around the island. No loss for wildlife, we saw snail kites, they’re endangered, and of course, alligators.
Back at the camp, we had our catfish and grits meal and went on a jeep tour to look at this 400-year old oak. It’s been knocked over by hurricanes eight times and still thrives. Next we saw more bald eagle’s nests than I have ever seen in my whole life.
We saw a 5-week old fledgling bald eagle too and then the mom and dad flying around the trees. The mom was squawking. it’s a unique sound and one I will remember. The family, the Lightseys, were so kind to us. It was great.
We finally got to Shady Oaks campsite and it’s primitive, with all that entails. (I was given an orange shovel at the beginning of this trip and started laughing) We have had to improvise a lot here. Jeff, our photog, is using empty recordable CD packaging as a bowl for snack mix. Being out here makes you realize how easy and convenient we have here in our country. And finally tonight, our first lake bath, that’s Dale Allen embracing nature. The next three days will be just like this, no water, no electricity, no bathrooms.
Yesterday was the first time I noticed people beginning to reach their toleration limits. It’s just everything. To get up in the morning and make coffee, you have to boil water, so you have to find the water in your stuff, dig your stove and fuel out of another ruck sack, find your pots and set up your stove. Then you have to put your stove together, pump the fuel pump, open up another toggle of some sort and light it- and pray it’s primed enough.
You have to lay down this heavy aluminum foil under it and around it because it creates this big flame, which eventually turns into sort of a tiny jet-engine sounding fire. Then you have to fill the pot and put it on your cams stove and cover it. Oh yeah, and you gotta find some coffee too. Then it boils and you have to use some ratchet looking handle to grip it and then you gotta pour into some camp cup without scalding yourself and then you got some powdered milk for it. Forget sugar, I have no idea where any is at this point. It’s like you need a cup of coffee to tolerate making coffee. That’s not even counting putting up and breaking down your tent after you get stuff out of the boat and the support vehicle.
On night four, I lost a bag with my hair and bathing supplies in it, and had an internal breakdown. Of course the little Camp Mack store had everything but hair gel, and so I was all happy again. Then I got to the showers and realized I had nothing to dry off with but the paper towels in the bathroom, so I went back to my tent pouting and took a wet wipe bath.
I laid down in my tent and it was on this incline by a boat ramp, so I immediately slid off my little air mattress. (It was the only spot we could get) So I had to sleep sort of diagonally. Then I heard some blast Sweet Home Alabama at the RV site and a dude yelling at his dog to stop barking. Oh yeah, and he was beating on his fence too. So I finally drift off to sleep after what seemed an eternity, only to be woken up at five in the morning with the loudest scariest sound ever- an air boat that sounded like it was in my tent. Nice tent placement, huh? Then this boat died and this dude was yelling, “Hey Doug- I’ll go get that tool, hang on!” It was really funny in the morning when we all recounted the adventure that was our night.