“All
journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”
Martin Buber
We
have wanted to go canoeing on Betty's Branch for awhile, and today
was our chance as the weather was pretty and just a little toasty
where the water will feel refreshing. We loaded up our tiny canoe
and all our gear on our Jeep and went off on our new adventure. We
were thinking it should be really quiet today being it's Friday and
all the children are in school. When we pulled into Riverside Park
in Evans, we noticed we were not alone. There was a large group near
the boat ramp with all their gear and Kayaks ready to be put into the
water. We parked and unloaded our gear and noticed this was a
veterans organization that was helping paralyzed veterans go
kayaking. How blessed we were to meet these great people. Each
veteran had an assistant to help them if needed. They were all
laughing and enjoying themselves and looking forward to their
challenging and delightful day. We put our canoe into the water and
starting setting up our rig. Joe made an outrigger out of plastic
sewer pipes to make our canoe more stable. We strapped that on, put
on our umbrellas, trolling motor, battery, paddles, and drinks. The
group loved our rig and were very interested in how it was put
together and worked. We hopped in and bid them farewell.
We
pushed off and left the veterans behind as they continued loading up.
Betty's Branch is a tributary of the Savannah River that winds
around a lush forest and is very delightful in its beauty and
tranquility. It is a 6 mile loop with most of the river shaded by
the trees cascading over our heads. There is plenty of wildlife to
see. We saw hawks, cranes, loads of turtles, fish, quite a variety
of birds, and even a fox squirrel. No, that is not a misspelling.
There are fox squirrels which are a strange breed and much larger
than a typical squirrel. We saw an albino one when passing
Champion's Retreat and were told there are a lot of them there. The
turtles were sitting on logs sunning themselves and as we approached
they all dove into the water. They did that every time and all we
could think is how much effort it must take for them to drag
themselves back out of the water and get back on that log where they
were resting so comfortably before we disturbed them.
Floating
along, we came to a railroad trestle bridge. On the very top of the
trestle sat an osprey sitting in its large nest resting and but also
keeping an eye on us as we went by. The sparrows were frolicking
under the bridge making nests and finding food for there babies.
When I saw this trestle bridge it made my heart skip a beat as I
heard, years later, how our children and their friends used to come
here to jump off the trestle and swim in the water. I was told a
certain friend of theirs, not naming any names, would climb to the
very top and jump in. There are some things I'm glad I didn't know
about when we were raising them. How scary and dangerous.
Down a
ways, we saw a rope swing and a sand bar a little further down where
you can get out of your floating device and stretch. We stopped and
had a drink and listened to total quiet. What a nice spot. After
our break, we continued and came up on Champions Retreat, an
exclusive golf course. Everything looked so green and well kept and
at one point on the river you could look down in the water and see
golf balls that got away. We passed under a lower bridge that
belonged to the golf course. Just a little ways further, we saw the
Savannah River. It is so beautiful with not a boat in sight. After
going for a little ways, we turned back. You can do a loop where
you do not repeat any part of your trip but we chose to just go back
the same way.
Coming
back we did see many people heading out and they all commented on our
set up. We are quite the spectacle as we look so different. We
enjoyed our time on the water and didn't catch up to our Veteran
friends till we were back at Riverside Park. All were giddy after
their day on the water. We highly recommend this site as it is just a
little piece of heaven right on our door step. If you
do not have a kayak, paddle board, or canoe, you can rent one from
the Outdoor Augusta Rental which is located right near the boat ramp.
www.oariverside.com.
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