If Mississippi was all about the skies, then Alabama was all about the water! We have loved that all of out campsites have been on lakes or rivers. It's strange to hear about low water and drought conditions back in California and most of the west when there is water EVERYWHERE here! So many storms and flooding. Seems Mother Nature is either dishing us feast or famine.
The barges were enormous. They carry mostly coal and grain. Some are over 400 feet long. They are very quiet and if you aren't looking they can drive right by and you wouldn't know they are there.
You have to always be watching the weather as the storms can be brutal here and come up quickly. We can always move and dodge some of them best we can. This particular storm kept building and was so big there was nowhere for us to go as it was moving dead east. We couldn't go south and we couldn't move east. Looks like we'll have to hunker down. The staff was great about giving us plenty of warning and reminding us that the bathroom would remain open as a shelter in case of tornados touching down as there are no sirens out here. We put everything away and filled our fresh water tank. This helps in case the power goes out we can pump from our fresh water tank and it also gives us a bit of weight for ballast. The winds hit us light a brick wall right on time and we brought our slides in. It was a bit nerve wracking for about a 1/2 hour then just like that, the storm tracked more NE and the worst of it skirted us. Whew. We've been really lucky with the storms this trip so far.
The next day was cooler and sunny. It was May 5th. We have fun wondering where we'll be on Cinco de Mayo when we plan our years trip. We always end up somewhere fun. This time we had to drive almost an hour north to get to the town of Butler. I should've drove north when I was looking for a grocery store. This is a much larger town and had 2 of them. It was very cute actually and we wish we had more time to explore. By time Steve was finished with work and we arrived here it was 7 o'clock. For a small town all closed down, this was the only Mexican restaurant and it was packed! We still had to wait almost an hour to get seated. It sure was good though! And it wasn't a dry county so we enjoyed margaritas. Well, just one margarita!
This large sign literally sits in front of the beach/swimming area. We did see some swimmers. Crazy as we did see an alligator not far from here. They say there is a net around it but what keeps the gators from walking around the shoreline and getting in that way? Crazy!
The only downside to some COE campgrounds is the late check-in times. The check-in time here is 4:00p! That's the latest I've seen. And they enforce it to the tee. Even though our site was empty, we had to wait. They were nice enough to let us drop our trailer in the parking lot and suggested we drive back, 20 minutes, to the town of Abbeville for dinner. Well, we just drove through it to get here but we went back to look around as it did look like a cute town.
It was cute, but mostly closed down. In all fairness, it was a Sunday. We walked around and looked at the County Courthouse, movie theater, churches, water tower etc. We hoped to get a drink and maybe an appetizer at a place called Huggin' Molly's, but it was also closed.
Some unique history here. The town of Abbeville gets it's name from an old Creek Indian adapted meaning.
This lake is known as the top Bass fishing lake of the world. There are many tournaments held here each weekend. We were here during the week and there were bass boats all over the place scoping out their favorite spots.
Eufala sits along the Chattahoochee River which flows into the Apalachicola River then the Gulf of Mexico. The town was ceded from the Creek Indians in the 1820s. It's also known as one of the last battles of the Civil War in 1865. It is home to many gorgeous old homes and businesses. The downtown is vibrant and busy. It does look like there are many other buildings falling into disrepair that look to have so much potential. Homes as well. Someone with some big bucks could really do well in this town.
On a sunny Eufaula Lake day in 1973, Tom Mann caught the bass that changed his life. “Dad knew something was different when the line yanked,” said his daughter, Sharon Mann Dixon. “Leroy weighed less than 2 pounds but fought hard because he was a king and knew it.”
Most fish caught in Eufaula – “Big Bass Capital of the World” – are destined either for the trophy case or a rendezvous with tartar sauce. In addition, the boisterous bass was not reeled in by an angling amateur. Tom Mann was an expert, owner of Mann’s Bait Company and Tom Mann’s Fish World, and a fishing lure inventor.
Typically, gamefish and fishermen are adversaries, but not this time. The little fish with the barracuda attitude went home with Mann and was placed in the family’s cement pond. Later, Leroy Brown was transferred to Mann’s Bait’s 18,000-gallon aquarium. Dixon noted, “He instantly owned the tank.”
The aqua-pet was hand-fed minnows. When Mann walked to another side of the massive aquarium, Leroy followed from the inside looking out.
“He was also a ladies’ man,” said Eufaula Mayor Jack Tibbs, who fondly recalled the fish’s life and times. “Leroy had several girlfriends and shielded his love interests from would-be suitors.”
But the gilled guy’s heart belonged to Big Bertha, a 12-pound female tankmate. “They were inseparable,” said Dixon, who relayed a bittersweet love story. “A critically ill fish typically floats near the water’s surface when it is dying. In her last days, Bertha floated near the top and Leroy continuously attempted to push her back down, deeper in the water.”
The Mann family named their pet after Jim Croce’s popular 1970s song, “Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown.” The name fit and word spread. Eufaula was seized by fish fame.
People came from everywhere to behold the bass. He received fan mail from around the world. Leroy made the front page of The Atlanta Constitution. He was featured in Southern Living magazine and in news stories as far away as Africa and Australia.
In August 1980, Tom Mann discovered his prized pet floating. Silence had seized the fish that roared. Leroy Brown died of natural causes.
Tom’s close friend Ray Scott, founder of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S), was consulted. They agreed that Leroy deserved a funeral. Approximately $4,000 was spent on a customized headstone. A casket was made from a satin-lined tackle box complete with strawberry jelly worms to accommodate Leroy in the hereafter.
At Lakepoint Lodge, about 800 people attended the funeral for a big mouth bass. Pallbearers included Roland Martin and other fishing celebrities. The Eufaula High School Marching Band played “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” and Alabama Gov. Fob James declared a Day of Mourning for the fallen fish.
But at nightfall, something fishy happened. Leroy’s casket was not buried the day of the funeral because of intense rain making the gravesite too wet. The casket was stored in a freezer. Thieves in the night stole the body and left a ransom note: 1 million jelly worms for Leroy’s return.
Weeks later the remains were found at the Tulsa, Oklahoma, airport’s lost baggage department. The fish carcass was never returned to Eufaula nor the grave-robbers ever found.
For years, Leroy’s monument lay idle, to be discovered by Tibbs. “I was fishing at Ray Scott’s fishing lodge in Pintlala and saw it on the property,” Tibbs said. “I thought, ‘Wow, that’s Leroy Brown!’”
Tibbs met with Dixon to ask Ray Scott’s permission to return the stone to Eufaula. Scott agreed.
Whew, you must be exhausted at hiking yet another high point! Love the story about LeRoy Brown and the sunset shots are outstanding!
ReplyDeleteYes, it was such a difficult hike! I'm glad someone liked the LeRoy story! I thought it was very cute.
DeleteBeautiful water sites! The late check-ins have kept us from COE parks since we usually arrive well before 2:00. But they sure are beautiful places! Love places with fun ghost and fish stories - adds such character to the town. Amazing sunset over the water, thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteThe sites really were fantastic! There are so many great sites in Alabama. Eufala is a great town.
DeleteI enjoyed reading about the leg of your trip through Alabama. Karen and I could not believe we spent something like 4 months in the state in the past year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the details, reading them make one feel like they are there. And thanks for the RV ant tip.
We are in north Indiana heading to Michigan by June 6
Thanks Mark. I hope we can catch up to ya but I think you'll be further up in MI before we get to Goshin, IN.
DeleteGreat post Debbie 😀, we were in Alabama until yesterday, now in Tennessee. Still wet here tho haha.
ReplyDeleteLoved our time there. Hope it dries out for you. We haven’t had rain since then. Big chance of it though the next week here in Jax, FL.
DeleteWe have cruised up and down the Tombigbee river in our sailboat last year. We are about ready to head up to Demopolis, Alabama in a few weeks for hurricane season. We go through the locks at Coffeeville. Those campgrounds are very nice along the river.
ReplyDeleteHope you miss the hurricanes! They always are very nice campgrounds. I only saw one of the locks at Coffeeville. It was stormy that day I was driving around. Hope that area clears up some. Looks like they've had a lot of rain even after we left.
DeleteGlad you're enjoying the COE campgrounds, we love them. Different projects have different check in times, ours here is 4pm but if you're site is empty you can go on it, only ran into a few that enforce the time.
ReplyDeleteCan you tell I'm catching up on my blog reading :)
Wow, 4p is so late. I like the 11 out, 12 in timeframe. Ha ha, ya sometimes it's a catchup!
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