There are several places near Waverly out in the woods on dirt roads that my father would take me and my siblings to for fun as children. I wanted to find those places again and see what they looked like and to go exploring. My great aunt takes long naps in the afternoon and that gave me ample time to go adventuring.
Sliding rock…….
This is a place I remembered from my childhood. I endeavored to find it this past week one afternoon. I remember it being off a dirt road that is now private near the railroad trestle that the army put up about ten years ago when the old wooden bridge over the rail line burned down.
It had been maybe twenty years since I had been there but I had a good idea of the location. I sat out to look for it and did find it. The road had almost grown up with pine trees and underbrush and the area around it used to be a local swimming hole and the underbrush had grown dense from lack of use. I had to park the car and finish my trek on foot. After walking what seeming like an hour, I heard the rush of water growing ever louder and that was my cue and I narrowed in on it. I finally broke out of the brush and sliding rock lay before me.
It was as I remember it. It is a large area of bedrock exposed with a large creek cascading down into a deep dark pool at the bottom. It was maybe a 100 foot 45 degree drop to the bottom. The rocks were covered with algae and mosses and it made for tricky footing. I almost busted my ass several times as I slowly made my way across the slick rocks and swift water to the middle of the water fall. The water was cool and comforting to my bare feet.
As a kid my father would take us and we would slide down these rocks at great speed into the waiting pool below. I, my brother and sister would have a great time doing this. He would always bring a picnic basket full of picnic foods such as pimento cheese sandwiches, potato salad, and such. It brought back a lot of memories me sitting there next to the falls to the sound of roaring water. I sat for the longest time in the shade of an old loblolly pine with my feet immersed in the cool water.
Snail creek…….
This was another favorite spot to visit when I was a child in Waverly. I remember it was a creek bed off a dirt road not too far from my great grandmother’s and great grandfather’s old farmstead. I drove out the old dirt road kicking up great clouds of dust behind my truck as I went. I almost missed it but remembered that small wooden narrow bridge with no rails that went over the creek. The old bridge was still there and serviceable. I put my truck in 4 wheel drive and eased out onto the rocks next to the creek and slowly drove down into the basin next to the falls.
My father said that when he was a child, the black folks would all drive there cars down here to wash them on hot summer days as you could still get a regular cars onto the rocks next to the creek back then. I could imagine old 1930 and 1940 era vehicles sitting out here as there owners used buckets of water from the creek to wash them.
The creek was as I remembered it. It is full of little conical, unicorn horn like snails that give it its name. They clung to the rocks in the swift water grazing on the algae that grew there. These snails fascinated me as a child and I loved to see how many I could gather before we had to leave and father made us put them back.
There is also a small waterfall on down the creek bed and I walked down the rocks with bare feet ever mindful of water moccasins to view it. An old fallen tree had lodged itself near the falls that you could walk across to the other side. A big pool formed at the bottom and you could see minnows and small fish swimming about. I ambled about for a long time and then headed back to get supper started. I plan to camp out here soon in the next few weeks.
Well, that was my two big adventures this week. I had fun finding these memories from my youth again. If I ever have kids I hope to bring them to these places and let them appreciate the beauty and the fun I had as a child. I wish my digital camera was not broken and I could have taken pictures. I will try to save up enough funds to buy a new camera soon.
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