Free State Of Winston - Civil War Memorial - Double Springs , AL

We were in Double Springs, Alabama today and took a few minutes to visit the "Dual Destiny" Civil War monument located there.  Double Springs is the county seat for Winston County, Alabama which gained quite a bit of notoriety during the Civil War for refusing to join the Confederacy.  They never formally seceded from Alabama but they did provide 259 soldiers to the Union and 112 to the Confederacy.  This area of Alabama was primarily made up of subsistence farmers who did not have slaves and a majority of its residents were philosophically more aligned with the North than the South.  

Although it doesn't show clearly in the picture, the statue depicts a soldier wearing a Union uniform on his left side and a Confederate uniform on his right side.

The county court house

A few miles out of town we ran across this old barn with a reference to "The Free State Of Winston" - apparently the spirit is still alive 

Sipsey Wilderness Area - Borden Creek - Pre-Columbian Temple Ruins

Today, (Thursday - we didn't do much Wednesday as there were severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings for the area which turned out to be just heavy winds) we hiked what we thought was the Borden Creek Trail in the Sipsey Wilderness Area. We took the wrong trail but still enjoyed the hike - we will go back and do the trail we intended to do.   The Sipsey Wilderness is a natural area known for its untouched rivers, cliffs, caves and waterfalls.  

Borden Creek Photos

We did, however, run across Pre-Columbian temple ruins that archaeologists date back to the 1300 to 1400 AD period. The ruins were built by the Wehdahekahwee who were known for their extensive use of  natural stone in their structures.  Little is known about the Wehdahekahwee who were believed to be native only to northern Alabama but it is believed that they were an offshoot of the Hekowie nation.

More ruins

Tower or platform about 12 feet high - archaeologists are unsure of its purpose

Another section of the temple

Heh, heh - belated April fool - these are all natural formations - the Hekowies were a fictional nation on F-Troop (1965-1967) if anyone is old enough to remember that.

Corinth Recreation Area In Bankhead National Forest - Double Springs, Alabama

We had an uneventful trip from Eufaula, Alabama to the Bankhead National Forest in Double Springs, Alabama on Tuesday.  We are staying at the Corinth Recreation Area in the National Forest.

Tuesday's Trip

Our Campsite - the sites are fairly large and spaced quite a ways apart from each other.   The campground is nearly empty so far so it has been very private and peaceful.

The boat landing

The beach area from the boat landing

Part of Lewis Smith Lake - the lake covers 33 sq. mi. and has 500+ miles of shoreline

Darby at the beach - the water is quite high - the rows of blocks would normally be on dry land

Darby after getting in deeper than he had planned

One of many caves in the area

The only wildlife we have seen so far - he was on a tree beside our campsite - some type of Gecko - probably a Common House Gecko or possibly a Indo-Pacific Gecko - not sure

Eufaula Wildlife Refuge #3 - Ospreys - Alligators

We went to the 3rd section of the Eufaula Wildlife Refuge Friday and liked it so much we went back Saturday.  The first four photos are of a mating pair of ospreys that didn't want us near their nest (which was on top of a 60 ft. pole) and circled us the whole time we were in the area.  The female finally went back to the nest when we got about 75 yards away.

There are about a dozen birds and a couple alligators (way down the road)  in this photo (unfortunately I had the telephoto lens on the camera instead of the regular kit lens so the background is blurred) but this gives you an idea of the abundance of wildlife here

Typical road through the refuge

Common Egret

Common Egret

This guy was huge - I would estimate 13 to 14 feet - I got uncomfortably close to get this photo - this is probably the biggest alligator we have seen - we saw him again on the way out of the refuge

A flock of American Coots that decided to leave when we got near

Baby alligator with its characteristic yellow stripes

About an 8 footer

Common Egret - these birds are quite large - they are about 32" tall with a 55" wingspan

About a 6 footer

A group of egrets

More egrets facing into the wind prepared for takeoff if we got too close

Another alligator

A different view - head from the rear

This is often all you see

White Ibis

Cottontail rabbit hiding from us

10 foot alligator hiding under a lily pad

Great Blue Heron from the rear - I tried to get a good picture of one of these (there were lots of them) but they are very skittish and getting a photo is difficult - they are quite large - they average 38" tall with a 70" wingspan

The entrance to the refuge and our truck under the Spanish moss

Sunrise This AM - Verizon Unlimited Plan

Sunrise from our campsite at about 6:30 this morning

Verizon Unlimited Plan - We upgraded our Verizon data plan last week from a 2 Gigabyte data plan to the new unlimited data plan so we would have internet most everywhere we go.  It works great so far using the phone as a hotspot - of course we have 4G service where we are right now - we'll see when we get to more remote locations.  With the new plan they no longer offer the senior citizen discount which was 10%.  They have gotten rid of this and most other discounts but the one discount they do offer is military which I was qualified for.  It is 15% so we ended up with a net of about $12./Mo. increase to go to the unlimited plan. 

Now as for the unlimited plan - it is not truly unlimited.  They do tell you up front that when you go over 22 Gigabytes/month you will be subject to throttling depending on the traffic  on the tower you are using.  This does not bother me too much.  What they don't make real clear upfront is that you are subject to throttling after 10 Gigabytes of hotspot or tethering use in any given month. Again we will have to see how this works out.

Now for the big issue I have with them so far.  I am 100% convinced that their data usage measurements are not accurate.  I have a pretty good idea how much data a typical You Tube Video or a typical 90 minute movie uses and their numbers are coming in about twice what I would expect. I may be a little off but I don't think I am that far off.  I am going to continue to monitor this to see if I can prove that their data usage figures aren't right.

Kolomoki Indian Mounds, Blakely, GA - Misc. Photos

Today we visited the Kolomoki Indian Mounds in Blakely, Georgia, about 30 miles from where we are staying.  The mounds date back to 250 to 950 AD and the area was believed to be a center of population and activity in North America.  The second picture below is of the largest mound which is the temple mound that was used for ceremonies.  It measures 325 feet by 200 feet at the base and is 56 feet high.  The smaller mound that you can see in the distance in the fourth picture is one of several burial mounds.  

Temple Mound

View of the top of the temple mound

View from the top of the temple mound showing one of the burial mounds in the distance and the plaza area where the village once stood.

The museum is built into the side of one of the burial mounds that was excavated in 1956.  The two following photos are from inside the museum of the excavated mound as it was left in 1956.  According to radio carbon dating results this mound dates from the 170 B.C. to 150 C.E. period.

The following images are of some of the pottery that was excavated at the site - all dating from the 250 to 950 CE period  

Waterlily (taken at Kolomoki Mounds State Park)

This is a duck that swims past our campsite most every morning and evening - happened to catch him one evening when the light was good for a photo.