Blue Goose ~ Day 278

March 1, 2015 ~ Blytheville, AR to Covington, TN

I made it to March! But my best laid plans are going awry as the weather (which was supposed to be 50 degrees by noon in my plan) is headed downhill. Today was drippy, chilly and grey as I left the motel and drove first to Chickasaw NWR, one more Mississippi floodplain refuge. I had to drive winding roads with names like Edith-Nankipoo and Hobe Webb following along on my iPhone. When I got to Sand Bluff Road, the directions said to turn right and "proceed to the bottom of the bluff." Which I did not do as the road went steeply downhill and was ice-covered.

Chickasaw NWR - TN
(the Headquarters road, which disappeared down an icy hill)

Like I might start sliding and land in the river. I have no experience driving the minivan on ice and snow, but might not have tried it even with a Subaru. The road along the bluff was trashed....amazing piles of random litter, lumber and discards along with the usual bottles and cans and white plastic bags. What is it with these southern states where the citizens consider the roadside their own personal dump? It was foggy and I couldn't see much, but it felt like the road was holding on somewhat precariously and in danger of slip-sliding away. There were large piles of sand intermittently at critical points. So that was my Chickasaw experience.

Lower Hatchie NWR was much more pleasant, downriver from Chickasaw about 20 miles though I had to drive twice that far to get there.

WWW.FWS.GOV

Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) sits along the lower 17 miles of the Hatchie River in western Tennessee. Unlike most Mississippi River tributaries that have been straightened and levees constructed for flood control, the Hatchie River remains the longest continuous stretch of naturally meandering river in the lower Mississippi River Valley. In result, wildlife and fisheries thrive in its almost pristine watershed ecosystems. The refuge helps protect and enhance the ever diminishing bottomland hardwood forests...

Isn't there something depressing about the idea of "straightening" a river?

I drove to a refuge boat-landing a few miles before the headquarters just to see the coffee-colored river, running high, before continuing on to the headquarters area, which overlooked flooded fields and open impoundments. A modest number of ducks and geese were paddling about, including Ring-necked Ducks and Northern Shovelers, mixed in with coots and Mallards.

Lower Hatchie NWR - TN

This refuge is very close to the old village of Fulton, where the road ends on a bluff above the river. I saw no sign of life, but there are probably a few people who relish the solitude of living at the end of the road. I could easily imagine how lovely it would be on a sunny spring day... Even today with the mist and fog, it was appealing, perched high above the Mississippi.

There were Eastern Bluebirds perched on dried corn stalks as I drove back to the highway, and Kestrels on the wires, along with the usual abundance of Cardinals, the state bird for seven states. And vultures, soaring or eating carrion, with occasional Red-tailed Hawks and American Crows...

The road to Lower Hatchie went by the State Penitentiary, an impressive collection of buildings and open ground for several miles. I also passed a field of Snow Geese which come down into certain fields by the thousands to feed. I am getting used to seeing these white "goose" blankets in distant fields as they forage in huge flocks.

There are numerous abandoned dwellings as I drive about, dilapidated and disappearing under vegetation, stark window frames, the glass long gone, many leaning at the corners, some sagging from the middle, a few flakes of weathered paint here and there on grey or dark brown boards.

By the time I got to Covington, it was raining hard. I intended to continue on but decided it was time to stop for the night.

Where the road ends, near Lower Hatchie NWR, on a bluff above the Great River