I think I’ve figured out that the best place to write out a post for this blog is while driving.  I had a nice long drive back from the southeast corner of Georgia that took over 6 hours and the ideas that flew through my brain were impressive.  However, by the time I get home, park the Aliner and get laundry running and unpack, most of those thoughts have evaporated.  I have a voice recorder I have used in the past to “jot down” notes of ideas.  But it never seems to work as good as I expected.  Missing parts of the ideas, small snips of the ideas, or just babbling seems to make it painful to go through the recordings.  So I guess I should really stick to the video I posted and the memories of the trips!!

We booked an overnight stay at Magnolia Springs State Park in Georgia on our way to spend Thanksgiving at the Okefenokee Swamp and Stephen Foster State park.  I booked it because it was on the way, about half way, and did not really think it would be more than a quick overnight.  Well, I was wrong.

The park seems quaint and unassuming, the campground is rather small and quiet.  There is just one bathhouse serving 26 RV campsites, plus 3 walk in tent sites.  However, they do have electric and water on all the sites but the tent sites. Though the tent sites have individual water spigots.  There is also a collection of 9 cottages that are much more like vacation homes than my experience with camp cottages.  My original assessment of the park was that it was a small park with a middle-sized pond with a very muddy shoreline.  While it is that too, it is much more. 

The actual spring was not easily recognized by this outsider.  The signs and information in the park point to the “Woodpecker Trail”.  This leads you to the observation platform over the spring and the very impressive spring.  Flowing 7 million gallons per day of crystal clear water from the bottom of a small pond is very impressive.  Pair that with the incredible amount of fish and wildlife in and around the spring triples the experience.   Unlike many Florida springs that are clean “sanitized” pools, the Magnolia spring has a lot of floating algae and vegetation, making it much better habitat for turtles, fish, snakes, dragonflies, and birds.   Alligators roam the area too, though I did not see any on the cold November day I was there.

And if the spring and camping were not enough to impress you, the park is an historic site of a civil war prisoner of war camp, known as “Camp Lawton”.  There is a nice historic site preserved and a special museum to the details.  The prison camp was built to house 40,000, but was never filled with more than 10,000. According to the materials in the museum. The camp was burned to the ground a month after it was completed when “Sherman’s March to the Sea” came through the area.  There have been archaeological digs and some artifacts are in the museum.  Very interesting things that the confederate soldier and the Union prisoners had in their personal goods.

And lastly, my highlight of the our stay at the park was seeing two otters playing on the dam along the pond. These two silly little rascals surprised me so much I forget to grab the camera.  As I got closer they went for the water and effectively swam out of sight.  Popping up occasionally to laugh at me for missing some great photos.  The asst. park manager told me that they are regulars and are frequently frolicking around the pond or the spring.   However, they need to avoid the alligators or be eaten.  So cold days are the best times to see them.

I would easily rate Magnolia Springs State park a high five for fun and activities, facilities and adventures.  Akela and I recommend Magnolia Springs State Park in Georgia to travelers looking for a fun camping experience. (just watch out for large groups of vultures perched in tree tops).

Rick & Akela
GoingNoWhereFast