Tag Archives: LAKE

Banks Lake Full Frost Moon Paddle, 2022-11-08

Update 2022-11-18: Pictures: Banks Lake Full Frost Moon paddle 2022-11-08.

Leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle on our mini-Okefenokee, Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge, just west of Lakeland, Georgia. There may also still be bats.

This Outing is honoring Veterans, who get free entry.

When: Gather 4:30 PM, launch 5 PM, moonrise 5:52 PM, sunset 5:39 PM, end 7 PM, Tuesday, November 8, 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

[Sunset and Moonrise, 2022-10-09, jsq & EB]
Sunset and Moonrise, 2022-10-09, jsq & EB

Continue reading →

Video: Summary of water quality testing at Lowndes County Commission 2022-10-11

Most of the Lowndes County Commissioners were not familiar with the water quality testing WWALS is doing, and now they are.

[Summary of WWALS water quality testing @ LCC 2022-10-11]
Summary of WWALS water quality testing @ LCC 2022-10-11

Here’s the video: Continue reading →

Pictures: Banks Lake Full Hunters Moon 2022-10-09

Bonus Jupiter above and to the right of the full moon, at Banks Lake Saturday.

[Banners, paddlers, sunset, moonrise]
Banners, paddlers, sunset, moonrise

This expedition was honoring Farmers and First Responders, got in free. Phil Royce spoke up for First Responders, but he’s a WWALS member, so he got in free anyway. I’m a Farmer, but I had relatives back at the farm, so I didn’t paddle.

Thanks to novice expedition leaders Scotti Jay and Nic Cole for leading this one. And to Elizabeth Brunner for mentoring them.

Special thanks to Nic Cole for paddling back in with the key to get gear for three latecomers. Everybody please remember to show up on time. Continue reading →

Pictures: Banks Lake Full Hunters Moon paddle –Bobby McKenzie 2019-10-13

Three years ago on the Banks Lake Full Hunters Moon paddle.

[Sunset and Moonrise]
Sunset and Moonrise

Thanks, Bobby McKenzie for leading and for the pictures.

Banks Lake, our watery living room, our mini-Okefenokee, is part of the Alapaha River Water Trail.

For more WWALS outings, see:
https://wwals.net/outings/ Continue reading →

Personnel and trash at Valdosta City Council 2022-08-11

It wasn’t us this time.

Council Sandra Tooley brought up trash, Click ‘n’ Fix, and Valdosta’s favorite excuse for not doing much: “we’re short on staff“ and “A lot of people have a lot of things going on in their departments.” This was in the last five minutes of the August 11, 2022, Valdosta City Council meeting.

[Council Sandra Tooley requests Executive Session about personnel and trash]
Council Sandra Tooley requests Executive Session about personnel and trash

The Mayor said they had a request for an Executive Session, and asked for a motion. Council Tim Carroll wondered why.

Council Sandra Tooley explained, “Citizens have come to me, and they have this thing they like to say, that we do not have enough staff, that we’re short on staff, that we’re not getting things done.”

See for yourself in this excerpt of Valdosta’s own facebook live video of the meeting. Continue reading →

Pictures: Banks Lake Full Strawberry Moon 2022-06-14

Many different paddlers and boats all had a fine time at the Banks Lake Full Strawberry Moon Paddle 2022-06-14.

Thanks to Elizabeth Brunner for leading that one.

[Banners, paddlers, gator, sunset, moonrise]
Banners, paddlers, gator, sunset, moonrise

The next one is: Continue reading →

Valdosta says it has fixed Baytree Road trash trap sewer leak 2022-07-10

Update 2022-07-27: Valdosta Sewage Spill, Sheri Run, Springhill Drive 2022-07-27.

Update 2022-07-15: Withlacoochee River OK, Cat Creek bad 2022-07-14.

Compliments to Valdosta Utilities for a speedy fix to the Sewer spill at Baytree Road trash trap 2022-07-09. If it really was only 200 gallons, probably very little of it got through Lake Sheri into the Withlacoochee River.

I commend the Valdosta PIO for getting a press release out on a Sunday. WWALS received the press release below at 10:14 PM yesterday, Sunday, July 10, 2022. That’s about 29 hours after Valdosta Utilities got the report of the sewage spill. And about 3 hours after Valdosta City Council Andy Gibbs replied to my tag of him on a facebook picture with the text of this PR. Still, it’s only the day after the spill, so pretty good. Nobody probably liked working on a weekend; I know I had to bump back some other stuff to deal with this spill, including getting up at 3AM to finish preparations for a board meeting. But weather and sewage spills don’t wait on weekends or vacations.

Meanwhile, this PR is still not on the city’s website, facebook, or twitter. Update 2022-07-12 Council Andy Gibbs points out it is on the city’s website; turns out you can find it from the front page by drilling down on Recent News; I had tried the front page and the Utilities page. As the location it gives only vague “2000 block of Baytree Road”, even though it’s pretty hard to miss that decade-old fancy-model trash trap on Sheri Run above Lake Sheri, at 2133 Baytree Road, Valdosta, GA 31602.

[More-sewage-across-baytree-road-trash-trap]
More sewage across Baytree Road trash trap; Photo: Bobby McKenzie, July 9, 2022.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
DATE: Friday[sic], July 10, 2022
CONTACT: Sharah Denton, Community Relations & Marketing Manager
Telephone: (229) 259-3548
sdenton@valdostacity.com Continue reading →

Banks Lake Full Strawberry Moon Paddle 2022-06-14

Update 2022-07-11: Pictures.

Leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle, probably with bats.

When: Gather 7:30 PM, launch 8 PM, moonrise 9:19 PM, sunset 8:37 PM, end 10 PM, Tuesday, June 14, 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

[bm-0-boats-in-cypress-204040291_10221770130814864_9203863038532809013_n]
Boats in Cypreas, Photo: Bobby McKenzie 2021-06-24

Continue reading →

Juneteenth Water Works at Reed Bingham State Park 2022-06-18

Update 2022-06-18: Outing cancelled due to thunderstorms.

Children (and adults) are invited to paddle in boats at Reed Bingham State Park Swim Area for Juneteenth, in the the Water Works festival by Jenard S. Asthma Foundation and Macedonia Community Foundation. Once again, WWALS will provide boats and stunt adults to get children and others on the water.

[Brown]

A stunt adult goes with a child 16 or under so they can boat, in case their parents don’t want to paddle.

When: Gather 12 PM, end 5 PM, Sunday Saturday, June 19 18, 2022

Put In: Reed Bingham State Park Swim Area

GPS: 31.162563, -83.548506

Free: This outing is free to everyone. There is a $5 entrance park fee.

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

Event: facebook, meetup Continue reading →

Banks Lake Full Pink Moon Paddle 2022-04-16

Come see the sun set and the full pink moon rise, on our leisurely paddle on our mini-Okefenokee, Banks Lake National Wildlife Reserve, just west of Lakeland, Georgia.

When: Gather 7 PM, launch 7:30 PM, moonrise 8:10 PM, sunset 8:01 PM, end 9:30 PM, Saturday, April 16, 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 and Moonrise 2021-04-26; Photos: Bobby McKenzie]
Sunset and Moonrise 2021-04-26; Photos: Bobby McKenzie.

Continue reading →