Laura S. Walker State Park

"This is nice!" Michael said when we got to our site #17.  He said it no less than three more times before the day was over.  All of us agree that this was one of our favorite sites. 

Michael loved that had great internet.  He could work right at the picnic table outside with no problems.

The kids really loved a great climbing tree, fun playground and wonderful biking and hiking trails around a nice lake with a boardwalk too. 

I loved my discoveries... Naturalists: David Jordan and Doug Todd.  They loved sharing their knowledge with us!  

It started when I went to the office to learn as much as I could about the park, get a map and get Junior Ranger books for the kids.  I remembered seeing a pitcher plant on a plaque or pamphlet or map somewhere and asked them if they could tell me where I could find them.  David circled the place by the lake behind the Staff Residence Houses.  I had a feeling that I would miss them and well, I felt weird wandering around behind houses that aren't mine.  That led me to ask if he could talk to us about them.  He let me name the time.  I just threw out 30 minutes. Now, I have three children and we were going to bike on trails to get there. Asher stopped me and hesitated.  I humbled myself knowing that I am very weak in the area of time and planning. I asked him what time he thought and he said an hour.  It was settled. We took off on our bikes around nice trails with great weather!  Right before we arrived, David drove down the driveway.  Perfect timing!  I am so proud of Asher!  I am also proud of myself for being humble, because if it had been my way, we would have been late and frustrated.  David showed us four carnivorous plants, the hooded, yellow, and parrot pitcher plants and sundews, He brought out papers and talked about each of them as he pointed them out. 

 He also shared with us that if we drive 15 minutes before and after sunset toward the gate of the Okefenokee Swamp, we could see snakes coming to warm themselves on the road. I was very excited!  We left that night and slowly drove trying to see something.  About 20 minutes after sunset, we saw three small snakes and a bullfrog on the road alive. The kids got out to catch the frog and released it safely in the grass. 

Earlier at the office, I had asked if they had any events for homeschoolers. They said that they had none scheduled, which did not surprise me since I had heard that many times due to Covid-19. What did surprise me was that they had me write down my name and number and the dates that I would be staying here.

That night I had a knock on the RV door and the park officer, Doug told me that I had poop from my dog on the ground. Humility! I am a rule follower. I said I would get that right away. He continued to talk. He said that he could do a talk on turtles in the morning if we were interested.  "YES!" I said without skipping a beat.

In the morning, we walked to the Interpretive Center. Doug had the kids feed the turtles and do a turtle craft. They enjoyed coloring and making turtles, so much!  Doug talked to us about turtles, especially Gopher Tortoises. We had our own private class.  It was a homeschool mom's dream! Next, we went on a nature walk. He showed us Gopher Tortoise burrows and we got to see the back half of one! (Later, we saw the front half.) He mentioned that it was hard to see the tail so it was probably a female (males have much larger tails.)  We learned that these tortoises love wire grass and that wire grass looks exactly like baby long leaf pine trees. He also showed us that you can take new leaves from palm trees and pull them off and eat the white bit at the end, because it is part of the heart. (We got a can of heart of palm at the store, and tried them. They taste a lot like artichokes.) We were given a wonderful free and private two hour class!

Doug stopped by our RV that night and showed us the pine trees a few feet from our RV. There with his black light, we could see a glowing, 1 inch long... scorpion!  He showed us a couple more.  We would have missed them if he had not shown them to us. It was really cool.  Doug asked if we wanted to talk about owls in the morning. "Yes please!" we cried.

We were back for class in the morning! Doug brought very nice printed pictures of owls.  They have four in the park, Barred, Screech, Barn and Great Horned Owls.  Doug was so passionate about these animals (really about anything he was talking about!)

Next he talked about the historic Gum Rosin Industry that used to take place right in the park. The workers scratched into the trees, making it look like cat faces with whiskers. We saw many of these cat faces on the trails. The park is getting ready to open up a small museum. He let us go inside and see the pictures and tools that were used.  He even gave us a big piece of gum resin. 

Our last lecture of the day was one that I specifically asked for.  I found out that he had been a missionary and I wanted him to share with us what God had done in his life.  He used to travel all over the world to places like Guatemala, Thailand, Africa, and Mississippi after Katrina. Now, God has worked it out so that he gets to preach right at the park on Sundays and Wednesdays. I was able to pray for him.  He prayed for us, too that our Light would shine wherever we go.  

 

We went home and the kids made cards for David and Doug. The next day, we dropped them off at the office and the kids got their Junior Ranger badges.  As we packed up the RV, I asked the park hosts to give Doug a book we had finished on the life of William Carry.  

We got ready to go and Asher climbed way, way up in his favorite climbing tree (29 ft to be exact).

Then we headed over to the playground before we headed out.  While we were there Doug drove over!  He had his card and book with him. Doug told Asher that he was a very good artist and not to forget where that talent comes from. No not me, but God. Doug seemed like family. I pray that we were an encouragement to him because he was such a joy to us. 

We left and headed straight for the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to go to this refuge.  I think it is because I grew up in GA and I have always enjoyed reptiles and amphibians.  There are four locations. We went to the less touristy entrance at the Folkston location, recommended by Doug.  Here we took the 7 mile scenic drive. We saw gators, some pitcher plants and an orchid. Next, we saw the Chesser Island Homestead. Then we took a walk on the Chesser Island Boardwalk to the Owls Roost Tower where we saw red-winged blackbirds.  I think we came at the wrong time for cool nesting water birds. Don't get me wrong, red winged black birds are one of my favorites, but we have seen so, so many on this RV journey.  On the boardwalk itself we saw frogs, a black snake eating a dead black snake, and a Bittern. Before we left, Asher, Michael, Fiji and I went on a short trail by the river and saw an alligator. When we reached the pavilion at the end, we heard a big splash that must have been a gator. 

Overall, I am glad that we came, however, coming here after the Everglades and while it was sprinkling, made it just Okayfenokay. I am still happy that we were able to come and explore, I would have hated missing this refuge.