Blue Goose ~ Day 256

February 7, 2015 ~ Tuscaloosa, AL to Columbus, MS

Late morning I went in search of another small refuge, Cahaba River NWR. I did find this one easily, passing a gigantic Mercedes Benz plant on the way. It was Saturday morning, sunny and warm. 

"The river currently supports 64 rare and imperiled plant and animal species, 13 of which are found nowhere else in the world. The river has more fish species at 131 than any other river it's size in North America." (USFWS)

The refuge is relatively new (2002) and has acquisition right to seven miles of this 200-mile river, the longest "free-flowing" stream in Alabama. It also is home to the beautiful white Shoals Lily or Cahaba Lily that blooms in May from clefts in the rocky shoals of swift-current streams. 

I met a family with their three young daughters who live in the neighborhood. They told me all about the lily and showed me photos on their smart phones, gorgeous white flowers blooming from the long exposed rock shelves in the river. I would almost return here just to see that. The young parents were healthy with beautiful skin and a sweetness that seemed extraordinary to me. The young girls were wearing jackets, all with some pink in the fabric, their blond hair tucked up. The mom told me that before the refuge was established, they used to go "4-wheelin' in here...I have pictures of me holding a bouquet of lilies....we didn't know they were rare.." speaking in the soft southern accent with that slight question mark inflection at the end of sentences. They had been married "tin" years and she pronounced bouquet with the accent on the first syllable. The little girls were in the back of the pickup. Lovely little sandy beaches and swimming holes lined the banks just off the now-improved road. Yes, she told me, people do kayak and canoe down the river but it "gets dangerous." I don't know, but seeing and talking to them, even so briefly, seeing an intact working-class family with young parents attentive to their kids...enjoying this sunny day in a simple way...for a few moments, all seemed right with the world. 

Cahaba River NWR- AL

A couple of guys were fishing from lawn chairs at the end of the road, their red truck with Montana license plates parked nearby. An attractive middle-aged couple on motorcycles told me about the river road, how far it went, how it was definitely worth taking to the end. I felt I was in the West with pine hills on the other side of the river, the swift current running over the rock shelves. 

I got gas in the nearest town of West Blockton and sat off to the side looking at maps and choosing my route. Finally, a man came up to the window, "Are ya lost?" No. I explained I was just looking for  where to go next and he said, "Ya know this is West Blockton, right?" Yup, I did and thanked him. 

What was truly shocking to me was the litter - so bad, it was almost comical in a weird way. Often, every foot of ditch had either white plastic bags, dirty pale styrofoam, beer bottles, soda cans and a miscellany of lesser trash...various containers, colored broken plastic, old pieces of appliances or furniture, random wood, disintegrating paper bags.... I think all local TV and radio stations should start a public service campaign stating simply "Who Litters?" and go from there....

I was driving through Tuscaloosa proper when I saw a sign for Amtrak and decided to print out tickets for our trip to Arizona. The station master said I didn't need to do that and to just show the emailed "travel document...we don't call them tickets anymore...they're travel documents...that's why we email them to you...." 

After getting directionally oriented again, I was at a stop light on the west of town and noticed a pickup truck loaded with furniture, including several chairs, in the lane next to me. I loosely thought the chairs didn't seem secured well but barely paid attention and went on down the four-lane into the country when all at once there was a chair bouncing along on the shoulder to my right. Sure enough, it had come from the pickup. The car between me and the truck slowly immediately and moved to the other lane but the pickup was going fast. I stayed far enough behind to be able to maneuver should more chairs come tumbling out and then forgot about it. But at least ten more miles down the road, there were two more chairs in the left lane on my side of the divided four-lane. I didn't even see the truck ahead but sort of watched the vehicles coming from the opposite direction to see if the driver was aware that his chairs were flinging themselves out on the road but didn't see him until another five to ten miles down the road when he was pulling off to the shoulder and a fourth chair was dangling from his truck bed, almost hitting the road. 

I worked again so stayed in another nice Best Western in Columbus. I am the minority nowadays, with African Americans working in all the McDonalds and motels and gas stations. I think often about the not very distant Civil Rights era (and before) and am struck over and over at what it must have been like for Blacks and how much has changed and how much still simmers in the hearts and minds of both races. 

I don't see families like I did in the Hispanic areas. The young wait staff in the McDonalds are sometimes surly, but the managers efficient and pleasant. I love the cadence of Southern voices. 

Cahaba River NWR - AL