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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2013 13:27:07 GMT
What a nice place to spend a vacation. You must have some really good memories of the area, htmp? Would you say it's an expensive place to live though? Seems like it would be.
The trees look like they are just made for climbing. So much of the East coast is very similar in some ways. Nova Scotia comes to mind when I view the photos.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2013 15:00:26 GMT
Even though the people in the photos are wearing jackets, I just went through the whole thread again to warm up, especially admiring the first sunny pictures.
I would imagine that the Carnegie family was a bit eccentric to choose such an isolated place to live until economic sense caused them to leave.
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Post by htmb on Jan 22, 2013 22:54:14 GMT
Thank you all for the positive feedback. I appreciate hearing your comments very much. It also give me an idea of some information to add here, and later, as I finish up this report.
Just to give you an idea of the area, St. Mary's is a fairly rural Georgia town and I would imagine their economy is pretty sluggish. The nice houses you see in the historic district are now, for the most part, Bed and Breakfast establishments catering to the tourist trade. There are also a few nice vacation homes on the river, but I'm guessing the economy is driven by the tourist trade in the historic area (which is very small), and the submarine base at Kings Bay.
While there are still a few private owners on Cumberland, the island is owned by the federal government for the most part. I will get into a more detailed explanation of this later. There is no bridge to the island and everything must be brought over by boat, including the few existing private vehicles. This also explains much of the island construction. Builders used what was available to them, such as the abundance of trees and the mixture of sand, lime, and oysters that made up the material they called "Tabby." Red brick used in the construction of Dungeness was an usual building material for the island.
As I mentioned earlier, only 300 visitors are allowed on the island per day and it is mostly a wilderness area. Many years ago the trees were harvested and used for ship building until there were relatively few trees left. There were years when crops such as cotton and some vegetables were grown, but eventually the trees were allowed to grow back and cover the farm areas.
The people, such the Carnegies, who built homes on the island were looking for warmer weather in the middle of winter. I am sure they were happy to escape the cold for the milder climate of a maritime forest.
I have to say that, while the beach might have looked cold, it was only uncomfortable due to the very strong winds and blowing sand. I was warm enough with just a few light layers.
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Post by htmb on Jan 22, 2013 23:10:48 GMT
What a nice place to spend a vacation. You must have some really good memories of the area, htmp? Would you say it's an expensive place to live though? Seems like it would be. The trees look like they are just made for climbing. So much of the East coast is very similar in some ways. Nova Scotia comes to mind when I view the photos. Yes, Deyana, I have mostly great memories of this place, though a few bittersweet moments, as well. One of my children has never been able to camp there, and it would be very nice in the future to plan another camping weekend. Perhaps next year. I realized, on my solo trip, that what makes the island even more magical for me is the camaderie of family and friends working together, hunting for firewood, building the fire, preparing food over the camp stoves, telling stories in the dark, and working together to break camp on the last day. Some of our camp stories, such as the night a determined and very mean raccoon tried to break into one of our coolers, have become family legends.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2013 23:14:20 GMT
Sounds wonderful, htmb. Those are the moments and memories that always stay with us. I have similar ones of the many camping trips I've done with my family in the past.
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Post by htmb on Jan 23, 2013 0:22:33 GMT
I have to say that my favorite thing in the report are the wonderful pictures of the salt marshes and also your fabulous egret shots.
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Bixa, I have to agree with you. The first egret shot was purely by chance. I came out from behind some trees in a place not frequented by visitors. As soon as the egrets saw me they took off, even though I was a good distance away.
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Post by htmb on Jan 23, 2013 1:00:55 GMT
Walking back to Sea Camp... The camp is centered around a couple of small buildings containing bathrooms and an area for washing dishes. Campers may haul gear from the docks to Sea Camp using these carts. Camp sites are spread out under the leaf canopy and separated by palmettos and tree trunks. Each site contains a picnic table, or two, fire ring, a pole for hanging items up off the ground, and lockable cages for food storage. Raccoons run rampant on the island and it's important to keep all food secured. There are no garbage bins, except for a compost area for food scraps. All refuse must be transported off the island when you leave.
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Post by htmb on Jan 23, 2013 3:32:13 GMT
Your second contrail picture is a real winner, with the duplicated stripes on the ground and in the air. Bixa, I was actually distracted by the car......a 1967ish GTO or Roadrunner.
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Post by htmb on Jan 23, 2013 23:40:01 GMT
Leaving Sea Camp, I traveled north a ways up the center road. A glimpse of another private home could be seen through the trees. Up from Sea Camp lies another Carnegie home, but this one has been restored and is still privately owned. It is operated as a very nice guest establishment known as the Greyfield Inn. I rode into the property a ways and could see the intercoastal waterway through the trees. Here's an archival photo of the Greyfield from the Ice House Museum. I have stayed at the Greyfield on a couple of special weekends and found it to be a real treat. It was certainly different from camping at Sea Camp. I rode north up the road another mile or so, but decided I'd better turn around and head back to the docks. It was getting close to the time to catch my boat off the island, and if the chain were to break on my one-speed bike I could be in some serious trouble. Heading south again, I encountered my first ever island deer.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2013 23:51:30 GMT
The pictures keep getting better and better. I think the last photo in #37 is absolutely astoundingly beautiful because of the writhing oaks and of course the first 3 photos of the island deer, which look like they are in an absolutely magical place, which of course they are.
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Post by htmb on Jan 23, 2013 23:52:34 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jan 24, 2013 0:02:18 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jan 24, 2013 0:22:33 GMT
The pictures keep getting better and better. I think the last photo in #37 is absolutely astoundingly beautiful because of the writhing oaks and of course the first 3 photos of the island deer, which look like they are in an absolutely magical place, which of course they are. Thank you very much, Kerouac. Funny thing about those deer. I was a long distance to the north, but the people to the south were much closer. They never looked north, and thus completely missed seeing the deer.
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Post by htmb on Jan 24, 2013 3:50:00 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jan 24, 2013 4:08:31 GMT
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Post by bjd on Jan 24, 2013 7:59:45 GMT
Thanks for this report, htmb. The vegetation and scenery is so completely different from anywhere I have ever been. It all looks so neat and tidy!
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Post by mossie on Jan 24, 2013 8:15:10 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 24, 2013 15:48:44 GMT
Those last sequences are just wonderful, Htmb, making an already interesting thread absolutely fascinating. That picture looking over the railing of the boat as you head back to the main land is fabulous.
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Post by htmb on Jan 24, 2013 20:59:00 GMT
Thank you all very much!
BJD, you are right. The southern end of the island , the maritime forest part, does look very orderly. From what I reminder from a trip to the north end several years ago, there are other sections, some with swamp land and lots of tall pines, that look very different.
Mossie, I'm not so sure about Johnny Depp, but as least he could probably help me with my French.
Bixa, it's funny how some of the most simple photos can be so interesting. I almost didn't include that photo over the bow.
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Post by htmb on Jan 26, 2013 15:26:12 GMT
More information about the wrecked ship found buried on the beach at Cumberland Island may be found in this Atlanta Journal Constitution article with a few nice photos. The mystery ship is potentially one of Georgia’s most significant maritime finds in years.
“It’s pretty uncommon,” Michael Seibert, an archaeologist with the National Park Service, told The Atlanta Journal Constitution in an exclusive interview.
“It’s not uncommon for a known shipwreck to be uncovered,” said Seibert, who investigated the wreck this week. “That happens all the time in Florida and Mississippi, especially with strong storms coming through. But this one has never been recorded. This makes it the first time anybody living has seen it.”
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Post by lugg on Jan 26, 2013 19:06:55 GMT
Just caught up with your final posts - outstanding . Thank you htmb
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Post by nycgirl on Feb 10, 2013 16:15:51 GMT
I love your beautifully spooky photos of the trees. What a lovely place.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2013 22:28:07 GMT
Naturally, clicking on this thread to see what the latest comments were made me see most of the photos again, and I just must say this this photo stops me in my tracks every time.
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Post by htmb on Feb 10, 2013 22:37:19 GMT
Thank you lugg and nycgirl. And, yes, Kerouac. It does the same to me. I really like that picture. I was probably as far from the deer as the group walking in the opposite direction (and they never turned around). It was just one of those serendipitous moments. I'm learning that, for the most part, my really good photos seem to be taken in that manner. I was in the right place at the right time, and had my camera in my hand ready to snap. A few more seconds and the deer had disappeared into the palmettos.
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