Clarks Hill Lake, Georgia
April 17, 2024
It was time to say goodbye to the coast for a while, after several months of living relatively close to the ocean. We had a beautiful travel day, and arrived at our campground on Clarks Hill Lake without incident.
Cows are not the most common sight in Georgia
At the corner of Main and Main in Swainsboro, Georgia
Hills--haven't seen them in a while!
We'd kept quite busy over the last few weeks getting ready to leave Florida, visiting with guests, seeing the sights, and doing fun things. That was wonderful, but our new location was all about sitting still and doing nothing but enjoying our new lakeside home for the next few days.
Clarks Hill Lake is also known as Thurmond Lake, due to some interesting political intrigue. (Depending on who you ask, it could be said that Thurmond Lake is also known as Clarks Hill Lake.) According to Wikipedia:
Up until 1987, the lake was called Clarks Hill Lake after the nearby South Carolina town of Clarks Hill named for Augusta businessman John Mulford Clark (1813-1880). On December 3, 1987, two days before long-time South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond's 85th birthday, Representative Butler Derrick of South Carolina introduced a bill before Congress to rename the lake after Thurmond. The bill quickly passed through Congress and was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on December 23, 1987. Many residents of both states were upset by the sudden change of name of the lake and the dam, which had not been open to public comment. In response, a group of Georgia legislators, led by Representative Doug Barnard, Jr. (who was the only Georgia co-sponsor of the original 1987 bill) introduced a federal bill to rename the lake as "Clarks Hill" once again. That bill, however, was unsuccessful, and the name remained unchanged. On April 4, 1989, the State of Georgia legislature passed House Resolution No. 115 making "Clarks Hill" the official state name for both the dam and associated reservoir. Accordingly, Georgia's state map still refers to the lake as Clarks Hill. Many residents of Georgia as well as South Carolina still refer to the lake by its original name.
We only stayed at this location three nights, and it was very relaxing. Julie booked some future campsites, and Rick did a little puttering: wiping down the window and door screens with permethrin in an attempt to dissuade noseeums and other insects, and spending some time under the camper (doing something important to keep our camper from self-destructing, no doubt).
Looks like permethrin really does something. This was the carnage outside our patio door screen the next morning.
Unbeknownst to us, our campsite seemed to have been the personal property of one lone goose whom we named Gustav. Rick was getting tools out of the truck the first morning, and Gustav very deliberately walked toward him, expecting some kind of handout. Rick ignored Gustav, but Gustav was quite persistent and proceeded to follow him around. It wasn't until Rick got on a ladder to access the window screens for the permethrin application that Gustav freaked out and flew away in a panic. Regaining composure, Gustav later returned and ended up stalking us several times a day during our stay.
He's watching us again
Rick didn't actually feed Gustav--he was only teasing (Yes, Rick is mean like that) (Sorry - I didn't have any goose chow handy😀 -Rick)
After playing all cute, Gustav changed tactics and attempted to intimidate us with hissing
The goose was the biggest thing to happen to us during our stay here. The next biggest thing was walking the campground loop. Most people come here for the boating and/or fishing, but we were happy to just sit on our deck and watch other people do that.
Sunrise over Clarks Hill Lake
First cicada sighting of the season!
Rick finally broke down and offered a healthy cauliflower leaf to Gustav. After a hiss of displeasure, Gustav nibbled on the leaf and then ungratefully spit it out. (Afterward he came back and ate it--go figure)
Fun fact: It is not illegal to feed the wildlife in the state of Georgia. Except for alligators and bears--you need a permit for those.
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