tangle with nature

We went camping at Lake Eufala, on the GA side. While going to the water of a feeding creek, we saw a sign warning of gators. Then we actually saw some as we start looking around. The channel has concrete sides, but the end is sloped and there are boat ramps. So before bedtime, I'm reviewing everything I know about gators...not much...Do they only feed in the water. Do they hunt by sight, or smell, or both? These questions haunted me as I restlessly fell in and out of sleep. Well the night was so black, that you couldn't see ANYthing. A curdling scream from a dog woke me with a start. Screaming continued, then ended horrifyingly abruptly. I lay there not able to see my hand in front of my face (I checked). Presently, while laying there, I realized my head had worked to the corner of the tent. As I lay there in my black fear, some creature came and sniffed all over and around my head through the tent. I stayed motionless till it moved on. Then I crept to the bottom of my sleeping bag and slept till morning. I can only guess- opossum, skunk, armadillo, whatever it was it scared me to death.

Another time something batted the sides of my tent in the middle of the night. I'm nearly sure that was a coon. NC Hanging Dog

Finally, once an owl woke me, but the dog was sitting next to me, stiff and motionless. She began a low growl that continued as she turned her head to track whatever was walking around our tent. Didn't relax till she finally laid down and dozed off. The rest of the story involves a manhunt for Eric Robert Rudolph, crows' flight, and feds, but its too much to go into. Lake Winifield Scott, N GA

Then there is the time we camped right where a duffle bag of cocaine was dropped from a downed plane. The feds were in the woods, watching to see if we were going to the drop. That means they watched us do everything else, pit stops and all... Armed GBI agents checked us out as we left the forest on a dirt road. Had a helicopter over my house, that afternoon when we returned home. Didn't know what was going on till we got to the fisheries and asked what the heck was going on! N GA mts