Last weekend, my sister and I went to Cumberland Island. I told her to brace herself for a magnificent scenery of palmetto thickets, a windswept beach, gnarling massive oaks draped with spanish moss, wildlife, and crumblings ruins. What a peaceful setting and natural wonder that we will remember, forever.
It was no cool day as we docked on the island. In fact, it was 100 degrees on Friday, so we were quite warmed up even before our scenic hike.
No tour guide for us, we took the off beaten path direct to The Cottage and their it lay. I thought a daily jog got my heart pumping. Well, seeing this view below for the first time was worth every penny of any oxygen debt that I had. This concrete ruin was the duck pond at the site of The Cottage.
Below is a link to an old photo of the duck pond at The Cottage Site.
Below is a link for The Cottage which burned down in the 1950's.
The views of the two photos are from the Georgia Archives Collection - Vanishing Georgia Series. They are actually copies taken from a Carnegie photo album now located online at the Georgia's Virtual Vault - Carnegie Family Collection website.
Check them out on page twenty: http://content.sos.state.ga.us/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/carnegie&CISOPTR=475&REC=2
The Tour Begins!
I'm not gonna bore people with the typical photos of the Dungeness ruins and pergola. You'll find plenty on the web.
The Cottage Site
Dungeness Estate Support Structures
Another Oxygen Debt Moment
While we were checking out the west side of the kitchen building, I noticed a construction dumpster next to the woods. I knew in an instant why it was placed there. My sister and I were about to be going into the woods to a site that almost every tourist knows not a thing about, notta, no clue what so ever. At the edge, as we peered into the sunlight filtered and diffused forest, I was excited to see that the NPS had started clearing out a former site that I wanted to show her. See Below!!!
Rikart House and Play House Sites
Check Page 3, lower right, for a photo of an early view of the Rikart House:
Check Pages 16,17, & 18 for photos of the Play House:
Miles of undisturbed sand dunes,
a quiet white beach,
and a lot of dead horseshoe crabs?
Wildlife
I guess on this sweltering day, all other wildlife were smart
and napped in the shade. All we saw were wild horses that ignored us and not to smart turkeys.
You'll see it a lot better in the winter, the pond area. There are still daffodils and various bulbs that come up. There are remnanat of the fountains in the centre. Haven't gone and looked at the old photos yet, but I'm sure swans are swimming... Yes, those old playhouses are being torn down. Glad you did this for me so that I dont' have to go back and get tick infested. lol I picked up a few porcelian elec. light sockets and you can still see the toilets. The park is on at least their 4th dumpster from that one by the KITCHEN, and it took several for the one nearnest the house.
ReplyDeleteEverything is seasonal/cyclical here on the beach. right now it's the horseshoe crabs. sometimes it's olives, sandollars, sargaso seaweed, conch, it's ever changing and alwasy a BUNCH of whatever is "in season" washign up.
Yeah, the park is always clearing out stuff. Well, they want to give as much "ruins" and make a "walkign trail" on the south end and creat as much to do down there as they can, so that nobody will want to go up north...
I forgot to hunt down the remnants of the olive trees. Never have seen one. Yeah, got 4 red bug bites and one tick from that site!
ReplyDeleteREALLY, really great photos Dawson! Things have been so busy here, I"m getting back over to take a look at all of your posts again. Great work! :)
ReplyDeleteGrate photos
ReplyDelete