Daily Archives: June 22, 2023

Pictures: WWALS on The Rocks between Lakeland and Hotchkiss, Alapaha River 2015-07-11

Update 2023-06-24: Work in progress at Lakeland Boat Ramp 2023-06-20.

A good trip for experienced adult paddlers: deadfalls to paddle around or climb over, the famous rapids, The Rocks, plenty of sandy beaches for lunching or swimming beside, a mysterious platform that may be the remains of a very narrow bridge, all in a fine summer day on the Alapaha River, July 11, 2015.

[Collage, Lakeland to Naylor 08:30:00, 31.0458222, -83.0433889]
Collage, Lakeland to Naylor 08:30:00, 31.0458222, -83.0433889

It took us seven hours to paddle the fourteen river miles from Lakeland Boat Ramp, on GA 122 east of Lakeland, to Hotchkiss Road Landing. We were all experienced paddlers with plenty of supplies, especially water.

If you are a family with small children, please do not try this: it’s too far. There have been cases of such families calling 911 and having to be rescued.

A much more reasonable family paddle is Lakeland to Burnt Church Landing. That’s about two miles, and can be done in an hour. Or make it a leisurely paddle and still it should be doable.

FYI, Paffords Landing, just downstream from Lakeland Boat Ramp, is closed for the forseeable future. This is because too many people left trash and shot up things.

All these distances are in the WWALS web page for the Continue reading →

South Georgia Entertainers 2023-06-13

South Georgia Entertainers (SGE) is “Local musicians who desire to be part of a supportive community with other like-minded musicians are invited to join South Georgia Entertainers. The Turner Center hosts musicians of all genres on the second Tuesday of each month from 6-8 p.m. Led by local musicians Lloyd Carter and Aaron Strickland, the group encourages the gathering of local and regional entertainers to discuss personal and professional concerns relating to the entertainment industry. South Georgia Entertainers is for entertainers only.

[South Georgia Entertainers, GuitarKord.com 2023-06-13]
South Georgia Entertainers, GuitarKord.com 2023-06-13

I heard they were having a meeting, so I went. I’m not a musician, but WWALS has the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, so I guess I’m an entertainer.

[right to left: Aaron Strickland, Robert Mason (GuitarKord.com), Sementha Mathews (Turner Center for the Arts), Kevin Stephenson*, and far left Tom Hochschild* *finalist at Songwriting2022]
right to left: Aaron Strickland, Robert Mason (GuitarKord.com), Sementha Mathews (Turner Center for the Arts), Kevin Stephenson*, and far left Tom Hochschild* *finalist at Songwriting2022

Aaron invited me to speak after the listed guest speaker, and I invited him to come speak about SGE at the WWALS River Revue, September 22, 2023, including the fifth sixth annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. Aaron said he or Lloyd or Sementha would do that.

You, too, can send in your song, to compete for the $300 First Prize, and the two $50 prizes, one for best song submitted from inside the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia, and the other for best song from outside. Here’s the entry form:
https://forms.gle/ZPbfnnLj5ruum5xk6 Continue reading →