By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
APRIL 25, 2023 | Most of us don’t spend enough time in the great outdoors, enjoying nature.
Instead, we laze so often that we spend too much time in front of the television, while complaining that our kids watch too much television, or while away time on their phones.
How about if you could turn that around, and it does not cost you much, or possibly anything, in the great outdoors?
Would that entice you?
Here’s the suggestion. Enjoy the 23 miles of the Chattahoochee River waters that form Gwinnett’s western border.
You might:
- Go fishing in the cold waters of the river. There could be trout out there with your name on it. (Be sure to obtain your fishing license if you try this.) And except for the license and tackle, it’s inexpensive. And you might catch supper.
- Or go boating on the river. You might want a motor boat, which could help with fishing. Or perhaps you just want to jump into a canoe or kayak and lazily paddle around. Yes, it’s much easier to head south rather than to face the current headed north!
- If you have kids, and they like to play in the water and what kid doesn’t, sit them in some eddy of the river. They can be wet until their heart’s content. In most places the water is ankle to knee deep, but be careful: deeper areas are possible. The water’s still a little cold now; this might wait until warmer weather.
- With this one, you’ll have to be patient until May 20. That’s when Chattahoochee River Tubing will take you up river from Abbots Bridge to Rogers Bridge and let you float back in about two hours. Expect water temperature of about 50 degrees!
- Or just go visit one of our river parks: they’re in several places up and down the river. Just sit and watch the river go by. How soothing! Your mind will soon rid itself of many cares, as the steady quiet gurgling of the water against the rocks or shoreline relaxes you. Watch it: you might even nod a bit.
That’s what we did one day last week, visiting Jones Bridge Park. We walked down the shoreline pathway, and found a spread of what looked like Stone Mountain Granite steps in a semi-circle facing the river. There were nearby picnic tables, where someone was grilling. Others were sitting on rocks with their feet in the waters. This is the place where the river runs so low you can nearly walk (carefully) on rocks across the river, as the Indians did.
It was so calm, so distinctly peaceful.
At Jones Bridge Park, the river must be about 150-200 feet wide. And it flows by at about one to two miles an hour. But just quietly sitting by the river, it was so serene. We spent about 45 minutes listening and watching its quiet flow.
Eventually came a single yellow kayak with two paddlers, on the far side of the river, gently moving along. And in the southern distance we could see one fisherman in high wader boots standing and casting.
So here’s a suggestion for you to enjoy this wonder of nature, right at our back door.
We’ll add a caution: Ever so often, the Corps of Engineers releases water out of Lake Lanier at Buford Dam, and the river can become more dangerous, rise and flow swiftly. So enjoy the river, but always be alert.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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