Way Down Upon the Suwannee River

Apparently, the Suwannee River was used in the song because it fit the lyrics though Stephen Foster never visited the river. They misspelled the name and dropped a syllable to make it fit better. The Suwannee River State Park has some great hiking trails. None are very long (the longest is less than a mile), but they have some interesting things to see.

Old Columbus Cemetery (Columbus was the town name) is supposed to be one of Florida’s oldest cemeteries but the earliest date I saw was 1865. I’ve definitely seen earlier than that in Pensacola. But the cemetery had several unidentified gravestones that look like someone decided to mark graves where the stones were missing so those stones may be from an earlier time. This grave was unusual with conch shells lined up on the ground. In researching this, it appears to be a Southern folk custom to use shells like conch shells on a gravesite. The reasons seem to be many; a reminder that we all come from the sea, a way to keep the spirit within the grave, or simply as decoration.

This is a paddle-wheel shaft from a 19^th century steamboat along with a part of a sawmill that was located here.

Earthworks built during the Civil War to protect a railroad bridge.

All the rocks in this area are limestone. The limestone looks like a sponge in many places. There are also a lot of cedars in the area so the water is dark from cedar tannins while the edges of the water is light from white limestone underneath.

One of the trails takes you to Balanced Rock. Unfortunately, the rock fell during storms this year so now it is listed as the site where Balanced Rock used to be. The signs said the fallen rock can be seen when the river was low, but the water is too high now. Here's a picture of the rock from the internet along with what it looks like now.

This waterfall is from a spring beside the river. The flow was very strong. Besides the waterfall, the sound of jumping sturgeon could be heard. These fish were big (2-4 feet) and jumped high. When I first heard one jump, I thought another big rock and fallen into the river. Loud!

Panama City Beach

The waves were high at Panama City Beach with a red flag posted. We didn’t swim in those waves!

Panama City Beach is all about tourists. Ripley’s is in a building built to look like a ship. It is across from an indoor park built to look like an upside-down building. You walk into huge fake shark’s jaws at the T-shirt shops. And there are all kinds of water parks and go cart courses. This was the Goofy Golf (putt-putt golf) course that was near our RV park.

As I was finishing my hike to the beach, I passed a shop renting scooters. Suddenly, I hear sirens behind me and a police car pulls up beside me. I look at the shop owner and ask “Is this for you?” He nodded yes. Then two more police cars pull up with lights flashing and sirens screaming. I just kept walking, but was worried I’d be thrown down to the ground as a suspect. I’m assuming stealing a scooter is a big crime in Panama City Beach.

Sunrises and Plants

As you know, I love taking a hike or bike ride in the morning. We’re back in the Florida panhandle. Here are some pictures of a few sunrises along with flowers.

As I walked along the path, this osprey started screaming at me. As I got closer (the path runs right below the nest), the bird starting swooping down at me. I moved fast to get out of the way!

It’s been raining hard so we had to run through water over the road in several places. Wahoo!

Jack Daniels

We’ve been to several bourbon distilleries, but Jack Daniels wants you to know their liquor is not bourbon but a Tennessee sipping whisky (even though the ingredients and process are almost the same). They add a step where they ‘mellow’ the drink for 4-6 days through charcoal.

The distillery in Lynchburg Tennessee has been around since 1866. It is the oldest registered distillery in the U.S.

This stop is very popular on a Saturday. We circled the full parking lot three times before parking slightly illegally off in the grass. We waited probably 40 minutes before our tour was started. Luckily there were displays to see plus we talked to a young couple from Australia who was traveling the U.S. for 2 months seeing the sights. 

One part of the history I liked was that Jack Daniels was 5’2”. That makes him tall (to me)! The tour takes you to the spring where the water comes from, shows the distillation process, lets you smell the fumes during the charcoal filtering, and a glimpse of the storage. They also showed us where they make their own charcoal. Many of the places they didn't want us to take pictures saying that a spark could ignite fumes. That's kind of bizarre since I've taken pictures of the same processes in other distilleries. 

This is the original office. There’s a story that goes along with the safe. Jack got mad when he had problems opening the safe so he kicked it. The wound festered and eventually killed him.

It was interesting to hear how they dispose of the ‘waste’ mash (corn, rye, and malted barley). It all goes to the farmers in the area who are supposedly very ‘happy’. The charcoal is sold in stores. Given that it’s been soaking in alcohol for months, it’s easy to light (and fairly expensive).

Miscellaneous Pictures

Here are some pictures from campgrounds in Georgia and Tennessee.

I took a bike ride on one of the longer paths. Remember, we just got these bikes so I’m still learning how to handle paths. The problem (for me) is going downhill. The bike is going too fast but it’s difficult to brake as you’re going over roots. One minor crash, but no bruises.