I got up early but Bob slept until 9:00. I think he was tuckered out and needed to catch up on some sleep. It was another steamy, sunny day. We all took a walk this morning to look at the dam and the other end of the park.
I got a clearer view of the dam and the George P. Cossar State Park across the bay.
I only saw one camper leave this morning, but there were reservation slips on many posts telling me that more campers would be arriving today. We got back to the bus and got ready to leave. This is the view out of our side window of the bus of the campground’s pine forest.
We left about 10:30 to do a little exploring around the area on Scenic Route 32.
Our destination was George P. Cossar State Park. We could see it just across the bay, but we would have to drive around the arm of the lake to get there. It took us about 20 minutes to get to the park.
It was $2.00 per person to get in. They were on the honor system, so we paid our fee to look around.
It was a beautiful wooded park and I had read from the reviews that it was full of deer. We drove through the park with our eyes open hoping to spot some deer, but we saw none. They have rental cabins and 2 campgrounds.
We drove around Yocona Ridge Campground first. It was not very full, but had some great sites with views of the lake.
The other campground was Jones Creek Campground with fewer occupied sites.
The park is well-kept and very scenic. Returning on the interstate from the park, we got off at the same exit as yesterday and went the other direction over the dam and past the Fish Hatchery.
They weren’t open and we were curious about what kinds of fish they stock the lake with. We stopped and talked to some fishermen at the boat launch who said the lake is known for their crappie fishing.
In fact, the world record white crappie was caught in this lake. It weighed in at 5 lbs. 3 oz. The lake also holds the Mississippi state record shortnose gar at 5.83 lbs. They told us there are other fish in the lake like largemouth bass, bream, and catfish, but it’s mostly crappie they’re after. We noticed that quite a few people have their pontoon and fishing boats at anchor right near their campsite. That’s what’s so nice about this lake and campground. You can bring your boat right up to the shore.
As we crossed the outflow, we could see the white watermark on the rocks when the lake was much higher.
The water would have to be pretty high to go over this spillway.
We followed the road to Wallace Creek COE Campground.
It was set up a lot like the campground we’re in with the same amenities and the same gorgeous views.
Crossing back over the dam, we got a better look at the park on the other side of the dam which had a lot of nice amenities and provides handicapped access to fishermen and women.
We returned to the campground after our drive and Auggie and I sat outside on the hillside behind the bus overlooking the lake. We wanted to take advantage of the nice breeze. He was on “squirrel lookout”.
Bob worked on rebooting the GPS in the bus with the help of a tech from Magnadyne, the manufacturer of the radio, who told him where to find the software for the GPS that was installed in the radio. They have been very helpful in circumstances like this. They got it working again for tomorrow’s drive. Then Bob found a shady site to wash the Jeep and he was in his happy place. Auggie and I enjoyed the solitude of the area overlooking the lake. For as many pontoon and fishing boats as we’ve seen in the campground around here, we’ve only seen two boats actually fishing on the lake since we’ve been here. I could really stay at this location for another week. It’s so peaceful and quiet except for the songbirds, and such a beautiful setting, but we must move on tomorrow. (Auggie’s beginning to wonder if he’ll ever see geckos again.) Bob returned from washing the Jeep and we enjoyed happy hour while sitting outside overlooking the lake. We saw this heron hunting along the shoreline and it reminded us of Florida. We haven’t seen one in over two months since we left home.
We enjoyed watching all the campers arrive around dinnertime. Bob cooked burgers on the grill and after dinner, we took our walk around the campground to see all the new campers that had arrived. We decided that sites #48 and #50 would be prime sites to have with the best view overlooking the lake if we ever returned to this campground. We went to sit on the swing at the water’s edge as the sun was going down. We returned to the bus to watch a movie on the outside TV. There were no bugs to speak of and lots of fireflies. Tomorrow we leave for Louisiana for an overnight stay in Amite City at the Natalbany Creek Campground.