Goodale State Park - May 15, 2004
Submitted by Pam Reutebuch on March 8, 2006 - 9:03pm.
By Kate Whitaker
SC ASSOCIATION OF NATURALISTS AND PALMETTO PADDLERS A GREAT PARTNERSHIP!!
May 15th was the day of our first annual joint trip with the South Carolina Association of Naturalists (SCAN). When Lynn Smith, President of SCAN, graciously shared her knowledge with us at one of our meetings last year, Brian and I hatched a plot with her - a joint venture combining her group and ours, providing the opportunity to share expertise out "in the field". From all appearances, it was a great success. Think everyone had fun and we all learned at least a little something - a great bonus on any trip.
The site was Goodale State Park, a wonderland of varied environments filled with an abundance of flora and fauna to see and experience. The day started at 10 with Lynn sharing her love of the insect world with a show and tell. And then we all "walked the walk" to find creatures to marvel at. Dragon and damsel flies (and guess who can now tell the difference?), katydids and grasshoppers, butterflies and spiders oh my! Little kids (and big) were all pointing out creatures and getting them identified by our experts. And one of their members, Jules, was a marvel at identifying the bird song that filled the air. Binoculars came out as we honed in on creatures great and small. After a shady break for lunch, the water portion of the day began at one. There is the pond with its marshy edges, the winding trip through the trees on fairly open water (thanks to the park ranger for providing a well-marked trail) and then a twisting creek to follow and hone paddling skills and explore lots of variety to paddle through.
Our first goal was to find the carnivorous pitcher plants along the edges of the pond where they like to grow. We were lucky to find so many, most in bloom and enjoyed the challenges of rather shallow water to reach them. Then we were off to the forest part of the adventure. Ellen was our leader here-it's practically her back yard and she really knows this area. She had also gone the week before and cut some brush to make the water path more inviting. So, our thanks go to her for a successful, rather easy paddle. And Brain was our sweep boat, keeping everyone as together as possible given the nature of the water, the people and the varied types of boats. There was one john boat (being paddled), a number of well-used canoes and then the kayaks. And the maiden voyage (almost) of the tandem kayak recently sold by the Club - a happy purchase for the new owner, he reports. He and his son seemed to have no trouble and a great time paddling with us.
Winding through the trees following a marked trail we discovered lots of interesting plants and animals. We did not see Elvis this trip, the big alligator is rather shy and we had 18 or so boats moving through the area. But the herons on their nest were wonderful to see and a lone goose was spotted floating about. There was a stand of purple iris we paddled by and some were lucky enough to see some prothonatary warblers. We also had a rather explicit lesson from Lynn about what those damselflies are doing when we watch them flying together through the air. Ah, the wonders of nature!
Some of our group rested and chatted while about 4 boats made the trek up to the
head waters of the creek - or as near as we could get to it. This is where the water narrows down and becomes a stream with some current and defined banks - a whole other type of environment. Lots of shade and ferns (and briars to content with). We scattered some on the trip back, everyone content to explore and enjoy the area at their own pace.
After getting back, we discovered we had had some tag-alongs - from Minnesota! Apparently they happened along as were launching on an obviously led trip and they decided to join us. Palmetto Paddlers thought they were SCAN and they thought they were us; turns out they were neither, just adventurers who, I think, lucked out. Very pleasant company, both them and all of us.
After the trip, we loaded up and some took off while the rest of us went to a Greek restaurant in Camden that Lynn recommended and had a great meal with great company and a good time talking about all we had in common. A very successful day; bugs and paddles and all. Thanks to Lynn Smith and Brian O'Cain for making this happen.
View Photo Album
SC ASSOCIATION OF NATURALISTS AND PALMETTO PADDLERS A GREAT PARTNERSHIP!!
May 15th was the day of our first annual joint trip with the South Carolina Association of Naturalists (SCAN). When Lynn Smith, President of SCAN, graciously shared her knowledge with us at one of our meetings last year, Brian and I hatched a plot with her - a joint venture combining her group and ours, providing the opportunity to share expertise out "in the field". From all appearances, it was a great success. Think everyone had fun and we all learned at least a little something - a great bonus on any trip.The site was Goodale State Park, a wonderland of varied environments filled with an abundance of flora and fauna to see and experience. The day started at 10 with Lynn sharing her love of the insect world with a show and tell. And then we all "walked the walk" to find creatures to marvel at. Dragon and damsel flies (and guess who can now tell the difference?), katydids and grasshoppers, butterflies and spiders oh my! Little kids (and big) were all pointing out creatures and getting them identified by our experts. And one of their members, Jules, was a marvel at identifying the bird song that filled the air. Binoculars came out as we honed in on creatures great and small. After a shady break for lunch, the water portion of the day began at one. There is the pond with its marshy edges, the winding trip through the trees on fairly open water (thanks to the park ranger for providing a well-marked trail) and then a twisting creek to follow and hone paddling skills and explore lots of variety to paddle through.
Our first goal was to find the carnivorous pitcher plants along the edges of the pond where they like to grow. We were lucky to find so many, most in bloom and enjoyed the challenges of rather shallow water to reach them. Then we were off to the forest part of the adventure. Ellen was our leader here-it's practically her back yard and she really knows this area. She had also gone the week before and cut some brush to make the water path more inviting. So, our thanks go to her for a successful, rather easy paddle. And Brain was our sweep boat, keeping everyone as together as possible given the nature of the water, the people and the varied types of boats. There was one john boat (being paddled), a number of well-used canoes and then the kayaks. And the maiden voyage (almost) of the tandem kayak recently sold by the Club - a happy purchase for the new owner, he reports. He and his son seemed to have no trouble and a great time paddling with us.Winding through the trees following a marked trail we discovered lots of interesting plants and animals. We did not see Elvis this trip, the big alligator is rather shy and we had 18 or so boats moving through the area. But the herons on their nest were wonderful to see and a lone goose was spotted floating about. There was a stand of purple iris we paddled by and some were lucky enough to see some prothonatary warblers. We also had a rather explicit lesson from Lynn about what those damselflies are doing when we watch them flying together through the air. Ah, the wonders of nature!Some of our group rested and chatted while about 4 boats made the trek up to the
head waters of the creek - or as near as we could get to it. This is where the water narrows down and becomes a stream with some current and defined banks - a whole other type of environment. Lots of shade and ferns (and briars to content with). We scattered some on the trip back, everyone content to explore and enjoy the area at their own pace. After getting back, we discovered we had had some tag-alongs - from Minnesota! Apparently they happened along as were launching on an obviously led trip and they decided to join us. Palmetto Paddlers thought they were SCAN and they thought they were us; turns out they were neither, just adventurers who, I think, lucked out. Very pleasant company, both them and all of us.
After the trip, we loaded up and some took off while the rest of us went to a Greek restaurant in Camden that Lynn recommended and had a great meal with great company and a good time talking about all we had in common. A very successful day; bugs and paddles and all. Thanks to Lynn Smith and Brian O'Cain for making this happen.
View Photo Album
