King of the Swamp

On our way to Woodbine Ga, we decided to stop over in Waycross (so named because so many ways/routes cross here) at a WalMart. Since we arrived so early in the day....  around 1:30PM... and Waycross is so close to Okeefenokee Swamp, we thought we would do some sight seeing. The closest stop was the homestead of the an 1800's pioneer, Obediah Barber. He was a "legend" in these here parts and know as the king of the swamps. His homestead is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It appears Obediah was a hugh gentleman in them there times at 6 feet 6 inches and weighing over 300 pounds. He lived on the edge of the swamp, owned land, raised cattle and other farm animals and basically lived off the land. Being in the swamp and not having modern conveniences he had 20 children from 3 different wives...  one after t'other, not consecutively. Here is a picture of the outside of his abode.. the attachment at the back is the kitchen.

The kitchen interior....

The house interior.....

Needless to say there were lots of beds scattered throughout. The laundry was done on the back porch

He was considered a rich man by standards of his time. John and I both enjoyed meandering around the place. We were the only ones there, so it was like a personnal tour. You had to walk several hundred yards of boardwalk through the swamps to get there.

As we were returning to the Walmart I asked the GPS to take us back the quickest way. Don't think I'll do that again. Here is a picture of one of the better roads....

It was a sandy path through the woods that boardered the swamp. When Kit, our GPS (named after Kit the computer in Knight Rider), told us to turn right and there was only more forest, not even a path, we turned around and went back. Do you see a road on the right?

Thank goodness for our mantracking courses when we did Search and Rescue....several times John had to get out of the Jeep and check for our tire tracks to see which way we had come from so we could return. We both remembered the Gatoraide bottle in the bush and the Adelaide Road sign when the GPS said it was Swamp Perimeter Road.

Of course it was all my fault. When we initially turned off the blacktop onto a sandy road John said he wasn't going to go that way. I, of course said..."Isn't this type of road the reason we HAD to have a Jeep?",,,,,"Where's your sense of adventure?". But even I had to admit, as the sun was setting and we had no idea where we were, that turning around was the best decision. We both agreed it would have been pretty embarassing to have to call 911 and initiate a search for 2 lost yankee, former SAR people. Since you are reading this you know all ended well.