Tonight we decided to check out a ranger walk along the Chattahoochee not far from our house. We learned a little about some of the trees and flowers and the history of that section of the river. It was hot and humid but once we got near the water the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. The water is about 55 degrees year round and the breeze coming off of it was like natural air conditioning.
This bridge was built by the county in 1904 to replace ferries that were shuttling people back and forth across the river. The county decided to charge a toll so someone built a free bridge up-river a bit. At least some of the free bridge was built from pieces of the toll bridge as people were carrying off parts of the county bridge. The people who lived in the area saw that something was happening on the toll bridge but assumed it was work of some kind so nothing was ever said. The county just abandoned the bridge after that. So that’s why it only reaches halfway across the river. The boards just rotted away over time.
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| View of the bridge from downriver |
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| The combination of cold water, heat and humidity made for some serious mist coming off the river. |
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| Turkeytail fungus on a fallen tree |
If you live in the area and haven’t done any programs with the Chattahoochee River, a highly recommend them! Oh, and a correction from the last entry: the national recreation area is 48 miles long.
