Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge - More Alligators

We went back to one of the other sections of the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge.  This section is across the lake in Georgetown, Georgia.  We saw quite a bit of waterfowl but didn't get any pictures. The place was just full of alligators - I lost count at 20 but we probably saw 40 or 50 in a four mile hike.   I had one jump in the water about 5 or 6 feet from me - he was at the edge of the shore and I didn't see him and I guess he didn't see me until the last second - not sure who scared who the most - didn't know I could still move that fast. 

The refuge was a series of impoundments (large square areas contained by dikes - probably 1/2 to 3/4 mi. square.

They are sometimes hard to see - the lower long black object in the picture is a log - the upper long black object is an alligator.

This is a baby - about 2 feet long

This one was not jumpy at all - we walked by him within a few feet and he didn't move.

There were quite a few sunning themselves on the banks of the impoundments - there are two in this picture

This was about a 10 footer

Providence Canyon, Lumpkin Georgia

We visited Providence Canyon in Lumpkin, Georgia on Saturday.  It is just over the Alabama border from where we are.  It is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia.   Providence Canyon actually is not a purely natural feature — the massive gullies were caused by erosion of the clay and sandstone due to poor farming practices in the 19th century. It is a fairly impressive place, not on the scale of the Grand Canyon but still worth a trip if you are in the area. We were able to hike several miles of the trails on the canyon floor and around the rim.  

Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge

We spent several hours Thursday at the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge just a few miles from the campground. This was a very interesting place and we saw a lot more wildlife than is depicted in the images below - just didn't get photos of everything - it was overcast and not a good day for photography.  The refuge has 3 main sections a few miles apart from each other - these photos are from one of the sections - we hope to visit the other two in the next week or so.

Entrance

 Black vultures enjoying a meal of opossum.

Black Vulture - similar to turkey vulture but with black head and shorter tail

Snowy Egret

 Snowy Egret

Huge alligator - probably about 12 feet long - we watched him and his buddies stalk and take out 3 or 4 black ducks in a mater of about 30 minutes -  when they were fairly close to their prey they would go under and a little while later there would be a big splash and one less duck

The same guy - closing in on a duck

These are some of the ducks they were after

White Oak Creek Campground - Eufaula, Alabama

We arrived at White Oak Creek campground on Tuesday afternoon with no problems.  The campground is located on Walter F. George Lake (aka Lake Eufaula) which is an 85 mile long reservoir with 640 miles of shoreline that was created by the Army Corps Of Engineers in the 1960's.  We feel fortunate that we have a campsite right on the water on the main lake (many of the campsites are on the adjacent White Oak Creek).  The campground is just gorgeous, very clean, well maintained and well designed - it is our favorite place that we have stayed so far.   Our RV is about 20 feet from the water  between a common area and a beach.

Start of the common area

The beach

The common area - there is another similar common area on the other side of the beach

View of our campsite from the common area

The bath house

Lots of hiking trails throughout this very large campground

 The dog park (2 enclosures side by side)

Darby going after a stick at the dog park

Darby returning with the stick at the dog park