Zirkle Dam Nature Walk

A lot has gone on since Easter, so I'll split it between here and the Little Pond blog.

For here, Dh's kidney disease (PKD) continues. He's at 18% GFR right now and holding,
is on the Mayo transplant list, and doing pretty good. Not always, though. He's been admitted
to the hospital via ER twice since Easter, once by ambulance, for severe pain on both sides
that radiate up into his chest. Other than heavy pain meds, they cannot do anything for him
at this time. He just has to live with it until transplant.

Prayers are appreciated.

In happier news, and the real focus of this post, today we took a trip to find the Zirkle dam,
on the Little Satilla River, here in Georgia. The LSR forms the boundary on one side of
our county, and eventually flows into the Satilla River, which finds it way to the Atlantic.

It, the LSR, is a sluggish little waterway (I've posted pics of it before) most of the year, but
early spring will find it flowing full. Right now, it's very low, but that makes for great views
of the alabaster sand bars, and shows off the gorgeous tannin-stained water, known as black
water.

The Zirkle dam was used, from what I can gather, to help with floating logs down this river
way back when Zirkle was a real town. There were around 300 folks working the sawmill
and making up the community, from around 1900-1926,  but all that's gone now. Only the dam and a few piers in the river remain. Still, it made for a lovely evening walk.

Here, you see the piers that made up a, well, Pier, I guess. This was at the old boat ramp, which has been replaced with a new, concrete ramp.

You can definitely see the low water volume  in the above pic! This also gives you an

idea of the tea color the water boasts. In real life, it's truly beautiful.

And here we have the drop on the dam. You'll have to look closely to see it. It looks like jagged teeth across the river. This dam was made of steel, hence it's durability. Still, I don't think it will last another hundred years, sadly.

A 'back view' of the dam. Again, you can see the white sandbar in the background.

I wish you could really see the texture on this tree, it was amazing. Alas, my little phone camera just could not catch it. Still, this is a nice look at this wild, little river.

A hollow cypress along the riverbank. This was such a peaceful, quiet place. The water barely moved, and made no sound, save for near and at the dam. There were bird calls galore, and the weather late in the evening (around 6pm) was perfect. The gnats and skeeters weren't too bad,

so we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in this small 'step back in time'.

A river bottom is a truly entrancing place to explore!

For better pics of this dam, just google Zirkle dam, little Satilla river, Georgia, in one fashion or another. There are photos of the water falling over that will take your breath away with their clarity and color.

Hope you enjoyed!