Category Archives: Blueway

Banks Lake Full Worm Moon Paddle, 2022-03-18

Update 2022-03-18: Canceled due to thunderstorms.

Leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle on Banks Lake, our mini-Okefenokee, just west of Lakeland, Georgia, on GA 122.

When: Gather 6:45 PM, launch 7:15 PM, moonrise 8:19 PM, sunset 7:43 PM, end 9:30 PM, Friday, March 18, 2022

Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).

GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725

Take Out: Banks Lake Boat Ramp

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. Mosquitoes can be bad at dusk so come prepared.

Safety: Each person in a boat, no matter how young or old, must wear a PFD.
You must have a light for your boat or some type of light to have on yourself (glow sticks work well, or head lamp, flashlight, etc.) so other boaters can see you in the dark. It will be totally dark after sunset. A whistle is not required, but it’s a good idea in the dark.

Boats: Bring your own if you have it.
Thanks to Banks Lake Outdoors for free boat rental for these WWALS Full Moon Paddles.
Please ask for boats at least 2 days prior to the event: on the web form on https://wwals.net/outings, or on the facebook event, the meetup, or call 850-290-2350.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. You can pay the $10 at the outing, or online:
https://wwals.net/outings

We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/#join

Event: facebook, meetup

[Sunset, Moonrise at Banks Lake 2022-02-18]
Sunset, Moonrise at Banks Lake 2022-02-18

Continue reading →

WWALS at Azalea Festival, Drexel Park, Valdosta, GA 2022-03-12-13

Update March 10, 2022; 5:00p.m.
Attention Azalea Festival Vendors and Patrons,
Severe Weather Statement:
There is a cold front expected to come through between the hours of 6am and 10am on Saturday, and wind gusts of 60-70 mph are expected to push that front through during those hours. The worst of the rain and wind is expected to move out of Lowndes County by 10am. With that being said, after consulting with local officials, arts & crafts vendor setup will be moved to 10am-12:30pm on Saturday. The Festival will open to patrons at noon on Saturday. Because of the late start, the Festival hours will be extended to 7:30pm Saturday evening.

Come to Drexel Park in Valdosta to help WWALS celebrate spring with 30,000 of our south Georgia and north Florida friends, at the Azalea Festival.

[WWALS Booth, One Mile Branch, Azalea Festival]
WWALS Booth, One Mile Branch, Azalea Festival

Come talk to us about our outings and advocacy (yes, including Valdosta trash and wastewater), our Water Trails, the pictures for sale Gretchen took of our rivers, notecards, stickers, hats, t-shirts, plus a kayak raffle.

Help everyone out by reporting any trash or litter problem you see with Valdosta’s Click ‘n’ Fix smartphone app.

Like last year, “The Azalea Festival is a 100% all outdoor event. Patrons are encouraged to socially distance and wear masks.”

When: 10AM-6PM 12PM-7:30PM Saturday 12 March 2022
10AM-3:30PM 10AM-5PM Sunday 13 March 2022

Volunteer: If you are a WWALS member and you have had both vaccinations against COVID-19, we could use some help at the WWALS booth.

Where: Drexel Park, 1401 North Patterson Street, Valdosta, GA, 31601
30.846771, -83.285066
That’s east across Patterson from VSU and north of Brookwood Drive.
It is on One Mile Branch, which flows into Sugar Creek, then the Withlacoochee River, the Suwannee River, to the Gulf of Mexico.
Fortunately, Valdosta has not had any significant sewage spills for several years. WWALS is discussing with the City the trash that washes down these creeks. You can help with cleanups or water quality testing, and by using Click ‘n’ Fix.

Event: facebook, meetup

Schedule: Continue reading →

Pictures: Azalea Festival 2021-03-13-14

It was a fine sunny weekend last year at Azalea Festival, in Valdosta, in Drexel Park, across Patterson Street from Valdosta State University. WWALS will be back there this rainy weekend.

[Booth, One Mile Branch, Azalea Festival 2021]
Booth, One Mile Branch, Azalea Festival 2021

We’ve got a great location, at the entrance from E. Brookwood Drive. Continue reading →

Trash beyond fence not finished at Flying J, I-75 exit 2 2022-02-26

Update 2022-03-21: Boxes down into the water at Flying J, Exit 2, I-75 2022-03-19.

Well, they never finished the fence behind the Flying J at I-75 Exit 2, after Lowndes County Code Enforcement made them and Dennys clean up back there in 2019. The trash is not as bad as it was, but definitely room for further improvement.

[Trash in water, No Dumping sign, trash where no fence]
Trash in water, No Dumping sign, trash where no fence

That’s Flying J Travel Center #631, 7001 Lake Park Bellville Road, Lake Park, GA 31636.

As near as I can tell, that containment pond eventually drains into Deese Tract Creek that runs into the Withlacoochee River just upstream from Sullivan Launch.

I will mention this to Lowndes County Code Enforcement. Continue reading →

Pictures: Banks Lake Full Snow Moon Paddle 2022-02-16

A bunch of lucky paddlers caught perfect weather for the Banks Lake Full Snow Moon paddle. No snow, just a warm breeze.

[Paddlers, banners, sunset, moonrise]
Paddlers, banners, sunset, moonrise

I was dogsitting, so did not paddle. Continue reading →

Bridge to Bridge Suwannee River paddle for White Springs Wild Azalea Festival 2022-03-19

Update 2022-03-15: Due to high water, replaced by Hike: Bell Springs to Big Shoals, Suwannee River 2022-03-19.

Join us for a geologic education paddle through millions of years, on a scenic two-mile stretch of the Suwannee River. Led by Practicing Geologist Dennis J. Price of Hamilton County, Florida, we will pass White Sulphur Spring, the first Floridan Aquifer Spring encountered on the Suwannee River.

Once you land, you can go on up to the Wild Azalea Festival! The festival is conveniently located at the corner of Spring and Bridge Street, 10499 Spring St, White Springs, FL 32096.

[US 41 Bridge past FL 136 Bridge, Suwannee River, White Springs, Florida]
US 41 Bridge past FL 136 Bridge, Suwannee River, White Springs, Florida

Dennis Price explains, “For millions of years, Florida was a limestone platform not connected to the now North American continent. For eons the limestone bed would emerge, the bed surface would erode then sink again, several times. Each time the limestone would build again with a different set of fossils. The last limestone bed to deposit was the Suwannee Limestone. Florida thru this time was separated from the continent by the Suwannee Straits, similar to the Florida straits separating Florida from Cuba. Erosional sediments from the continent was slowly filling the Straits and when finally filled, sediments began covering the limestone that was Florida. These sediments are known as the Hawthorne formation today.”

When: Gather 8 AM, launch 8:30 AM, end 10 AM, Saturday, March 19, 2022

Put In: Suwannee River Wayside Park Ramp @ US 41. From White Springs, travel south on US 41 to the river; the ramp is on the south side in the town park, in Hamilton County.
This is where the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail officially starts, although the WWALS web pages and map include the entire river up into Georgia and the Okefenokee Swamp.

GPS: 30.3255, -82.739167 ,

Take Out: Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park Launch, 11016 Lillian Saunders Drive/U.S. Highway 41, White Springs FL 32096.
$5.00 per vehicle (up to 8 people) State Park entry fee.

White Sulphur Springs is after the second bridge but before the takeout. It was one of the first tourist attractions in Florida. Nowadays you can visit the empty bathhouse, see the trickle of water coming out, and read what Dennis wrote: The NFRWSP’s job is to figure out how to increase water levels in the aquifer. –Dennis J. Price 2016-12-12.

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. Mosquitoes can be bad at dusk so come prepared.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. You can pay the $10 at the outing, or online:
https://wwals.net/outings

We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/#join

Continue reading →

Pictures: Last stretch, Alapaha River 2022-02-05

Update 2022-02-07: Little Alapaha River, Swallet, Bridges, Source, Mouth 2022-02-07.

Cold but well worth it, said the nineteen paddlers let by Shirley Kokidko on the WWALS paddle from US 41 on the Alapaha River to the Suwannee River. Plus a distributary that turns out to be the Little Alapaha River. And the Alapaha River Rise, where Alapaha River water from the Dead River Sink comes back up 20 miles and three days later, slightly upstream on the Suwannee River.

[US 41 Bridge, Little Alapaha River, Suwannee River, Alapaha River Rise]
US 41 Bridge, Little Alapaha River, Suwannee River, Alapaha River Rise

Here are 360-degree views every 10 seconds, taken with a GOPRO 360. Continue reading →

Sprawl in an aquifer recharge zone back on the Lowndes County Commission agenda 2022-02-08

The same proposed rezoning in Lowndes County that WWALS E.D. Gretchen Quarterman spoke against in November will be back on the Lowndes County Commission agenda for a decision at 5:30 PM February 8, 2022.

That’s 5:30 PM, Tuesday, February 8, 2022, on the second floor at 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, GA 31601.

Remember, this is upstream on the Little River from Florida and Brooks County Georgia, as well as Lowndes County. Because it’s a rezoning, anybody from anywhere can speak during the public hearing at that meeting. However, they will only allow a few people to speak for a few minutes.

So even better would be to send a written objection before the meeting to commissioner@lowndescounty.com. You can also try emailing the Commissioners individually, https://lowndescounty.com/directory.aspx?did=19 Beware that some of the Commissioners do not read their county email addresses, so best to also copy the County Clerk, belinda@lowndescounty.com.

Gretchen spoke against the new version of this rezoning (bigger lots) again Monday at the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission, this time pointing out that when community wells fail, their owners hand them over to the county, which puts the taxpayers on the hook for fixing them, so we don’t need any more community wells. A room full of opponents raised their hands at that meeting, and more than 300 signed a petition against the rezoning.

[Gretchen Quarterman at Planning Commission, aquifer recharge zone, sinkholes]
Gretchen Quarterman at Planning Commission, aquifer recharge zone, sinkholes

The subject property is also near some notorious sinkholes, the Myers Bluff Sinkhole on the Little River, and the Shiloh Road Sinkhole that fortunately did not take down that road or a nearby house. The Snake Nation Road Sinkhole, a bit farther south, forced the county to reroute that road to the tune of about half a million dollars. Continue reading →

Banks Lake Full Snow Moon Paddle, 2022-02-16

Update 2022-02-18: Pictures.

Leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle on our mini-Okefenokee, Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Maybe it will be warm enough for the bats to be back out.

When: Gather 5:30 PM, launch 6 PM, moonrise 6:28 PM, sunset 6:21 PM, end 8 PM, Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, in front of Banks Lake Outdoors, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).

GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725

Take Out: Banks Lake Boat Ramp

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. Mosquitoes can be bad at dusk so come prepared.

Safety: Each person in a boat, no matter how young or old, must wear a PFD. You must have a light for your boat or some type of light to have on yourself (glow sticks work well, or head lamp, flashlight, etc.) so other boaters can see you in the dark. It will be totally dark after sunset. A whistle is not required, but it’s a good idea in the dark.

Boats: Bring your own if you have it.
Thanks to Banks Lake Outdoors for free boat rental for these WWALS Full Moon Paddles.
Please ask for boats at least 2 days prior to the event: on the web form on https://wwals.net/outings, or on the facebook event, the meetup, or call 850-290-2350.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. You can pay the $10 at the outing, or online:
https://wwals.net/outings

We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/#join

Event: facebook, meetup

[Moonrise --Shirley Kokidko]
Moonrise –Shirley Kokidko, 2021-12-18.

Continue reading →

Video: Turner Bridge to FL 6, Suwannee River 2021-12-16

Here’s a video of the mid-December 2021 Ken Sulak Suwannee River paddle, the part from Turner Bridge to Cypress Creek South Launch at FL 6.

FL 6 bridge, Suwannee River 2021-12-16

The images are ten seconds apart. You can see Mike Byerly’s canoe parked over one of the Lally columns of Turner Bridge in the river. You can see Ken Sulak drop a magnet to confirm that it is metal. Continue reading →