My friend Buddy took this picture of me on the Sabine River in 2009. I hadn’t seen it in years, but I found it yesterday when going through files on my old computer. Here’s the story behind the photo—one of the weirder episodes from my first book, Running the River: Secrets of the Sabine.
About a mile from the boat ramp, we came upon a waterfall gurgling over a rocky ledge, into a sheltered green pool beside the river. The cavelike walls of the cove were painted green with moss. Sunlight reflected off the water and danced like currents of electricity through the shadows. I had never seen anything so pretty on the Sabine.
“We might have to go swimming later,” Buddy said, and I agreed.
Not far beyond the cove we came to a strange scene: an unmanned boat floating in the middle of the water. It sounded like the engine was running. When we came closer, we saw a long, white hose extending from the boat into the river. At one spot a few feet away, we noticed air steadily bubbling to the surface. Just then a man’s head bobbed up from the brown water, wearing a scuba mask, goggles, and a breathing apparatus.
“Looking for mussels?” I asked.
The man affirmed my question by lifting his bag of shells out of the water. But my camera and questions aroused his suspicion. “Are y’all from the FBI?”
We said no, and when we boated past, the diver sank beneath the water. We eased a little farther downriver, through frequent rapids where the flow quickened and the boat scraped over rocks and gravel, and we passed the many abandoned concrete and wooden oilfield structures that I had marveled at during my earlier trip with Jacob. I watched the shoreline for signs of hogs, but my attention soon began to wander, and I started to imagine the view of the riverbanks from two hundred years ago, when the first settlers arrived.
Today, East Texas is scrub country. What land has not been paved or plowed is choked with thorn vines and brush. But at one time, the forest canopy was so thick it blocked the sunlight from the undergrowth, and the smaller plants that did manage to survive in the dark forests were cleared by occasional fires, leaving trees so large and well established that early travelers called this place the Pine Barrens.
“They say the pine trees used to be so tall in East Texas, you could ride a horse for miles, fall asleep in the saddle, and never hit a tree limb,” I said to Buddy as we drifted downriver. “There used to be huge trees here on the river, too. Just think how much prettier all this would be if we hadn’t cut everything down.”
Buddy glanced up from the trolling motor and studied the brush on the bank. “You can’t think about it that way,” he said. “It’s still pretty. East Texas is still pretty. Just be thankful you get to see it the way it is, because someday all of this will be gone, too.” He had a point, but I hoped he was wrong. Growing up, I had never given a second thought to this wild river running through my hometown. Now that I had spent some time on the Sabine, I didn’t want to lose what remained.
Buddy and I never saw the hogs, so we turned back. The flow that had seemed so calm when we floated downstream was now a force we hadn’t reckoned with, and we spent most of the journey trudging through the water and fighting the current as we dragged the boat upstream. At times the water came only to my hips, sometimes up to my chest, but then I would step off a precipice and fall into a deeper channel. I learned to use my foot to feel for the firmness of the riverbed before committing my weight to a step forward. Before long, I forgot about my fear of being swept away by the river. As long as I stayed alert and moved slowly, I didn’t have to worry so much about drowning after all.
When we returned to the waterfall and the pretty little cove, we parked on some boulders at the entrance and jumped in. The water was cold and deep here and stunningly clear: I could see the bottom some eight feet below. Above us, the clearwater creek had worn the ground away to the eroded rock, cascading through a series of precipices, before tumbling into the cove. Buddy swam over to the waterfall and let it pound his back and shoulders. “It feels just like a back massage,” he said with glee. “You gotta try this.”
I did. It felt great. “Man, I could even bring a woman here,” I said.
This was the discovery of a lifetime, the kind of place that Buddy could enjoy with his wife and kids for years to come. We swam for a long while, then waded out of the cove and into the river. The water was much warmer here, around waist deep, brown, and muddy. Our toes sank into the silt.
When we returned to the cove a few minutes later, something had changed. “Wasn’t the waterfall a lot bigger when we first got here?” I asked. Instead of gushing over the ledge, the water had narrowed to a trickle. Then, as we watched with increasing horror, it began to grow again. Within minutes, the waterfall was surging at full strength. It was like someone had flushed an enormous toilet. Oh no, that was it! We were swimming in sewage—the discharge from the wastewater plant in Gladewater. No wonder the cove was so cool and clear. No wonder we kept smelling that faint odor of chlorine. I spit what I could out of my mouth.
We climbed out of the cove and then ascended a steep, grassy bank to see where the creek led. We came to an even bigger waterfall and then a series of smaller ones. We walked as far as we could through a leafy forest to a barbed-wire fence, then returned to the river and stood for a moment on the big gray rocks beside the beautiful cove.
“I don’t even care,” Buddy said. “It might be sewage, but they treated it first.”
We jumped back in. At one point, Buddy even swam under the waterfall, where he indulged in another back massage.
Excerpted from Running the River: Secrets of the Sabine by Wes Ferguson and Jacob Botter and published by Texas A&M University Press.
1,589 responses to “A Sheltered Cove”
Your place is valueble for me. Thanks!?
Today, I went to the beachfront with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely off topic but I had to tell someone!
Great goods from you, man. I’ve have in mind your stuff prior to and you’re simply too magnificent. I actually like what you’ve acquired here, really like what you’re stating and the best way in which you assert it. You are making it entertaining and you still care for to keep it sensible. I cant wait to read much more from you. That is actually a great website.
I’m usually to running a blog and i really appreciate your content. The article has really peaks my interest. I’m going to bookmark your site and hold checking for new information.
I think other website proprietors should take this site as an model, very clean and excellent user friendly style and design, as well as the content. You’re an expert in this topic!
Good web site! I really love how it is simple on my eyes and the data are well written. I’m wondering how I could be notified whenever a new post has been made. I’ve subscribed to your feed which must do the trick! Have a great day!
My spouse and I stumbled over here from a different page and thought I may as well check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to going over your web page yet again.
I had a similar experience with [topic], and your article helped me understand it better
Many thanks to you for sharing all these wonderful content. In addition, the right travel in addition to medical insurance approach can often reduce those problems that come with traveling abroad. A medical crisis can quickly become costly and that’s absolute to quickly decide to put a financial problem on the family’s finances. Having in place the excellent travel insurance package deal prior to leaving is worth the time and effort. Thanks
Hi there, I think your site could possibly be having browser compatibility problems. When I take a look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in I.E., it has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Besides that, wonderful blog!
Your writing always leaves me feeling inspired. Looking forward to your next post!
I think other web site proprietors should take this web site as an model, very clean and magnificent user genial style and design, let alone the content. You are an expert in this topic!
Thanks for the something totally new you have revealed in your blog post. One thing I’d prefer to discuss is that FSBO human relationships are built as time passes. By releasing yourself to the owners the first end of the week their FSBO is actually announced, ahead of masses commence calling on Friday, you develop a good relationship. By mailing them tools, educational supplies, free records, and forms, you become an ally. Through a personal curiosity about them and also their scenario, you produce a solid connection that, oftentimes, pays off when the owners opt with an agent they know plus trust — preferably you.
Hello there I am so delighted I found your web site, I really found you by accident, while I was researching on Aol for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say kudos for a tremendous post and a all round entertaining blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to look over it all at the minute but I have bookmarked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a lot more, Please do keep up the excellent job.
Hello, i think that i saw you visited my website so i came to ?return the favor?.I’m trying to find things to enhance my website!I suppose its ok to use a few of your ideas!!
I do not even know how I stopped up right here, but I assumed this post used to be good. I don’t recognise who you are however certainly you’re going to a famous blogger in case you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!
Thanks for your article. I have usually noticed that most people are desperate to lose weight as they wish to show up slim and also attractive. Nevertheless, they do not constantly realize that there are other benefits for you to losing weight additionally. Doctors assert that obese people are afflicted by a variety of conditions that can be directly attributed to their excess weight. The great thing is that people who definitely are overweight along with suffering from a variety of diseases are able to reduce the severity of their illnesses by way of losing weight. You are able to see a continuous but marked improvement with health if even a bit of a amount of weight-loss is achieved.
Definitely imagine that that you stated. Your favourite justification appeared to be at the internet the easiest thing to take note of. I say to you, I certainly get irked at the same time as folks consider worries that they plainly do not know about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the top and also outlined out the entire thing without having side-effects , people can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thank you
With every little thing which appears to be building throughout this particular subject matter, all your opinions happen to be quite stimulating. Having said that, I beg your pardon, because I can not subscribe to your whole theory, all be it radical none the less. It would seem to me that your commentary are actually not entirely rationalized and in reality you are generally your self not completely convinced of your assertion. In any case I did appreciate looking at it.
Howdy, I believe your blog might be having web browser compatibility issues. Whenever I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however, when opening in I.E., it has some overlapping issues. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Aside from that, excellent website.
This is the best weblog for anybody who desires to search out out about this topic. You realize so much its nearly laborious to argue with you (not that I truly would need?HaHa). You positively put a new spin on a subject thats been written about for years. Great stuff, simply nice!
Something else is that when looking for a good internet electronics shop, look for web shops that are frequently updated, preserving up-to-date with the most current products, the best deals, along with helpful information on services. This will ensure you are doing business with a shop that stays on top of the competition and provide you what you should need to make knowledgeable, well-informed electronics expenditures. Thanks for the significant tips I have learned from your blog.
In this grand scheme of things you’ll receive an A+ with regard to effort. Exactly where you confused us was in all the particulars. You know, as the maxim goes, details make or break the argument.. And it couldn’t be more correct at this point. Having said that, permit me reveal to you what exactly did give good results. Your text is actually quite convincing which is most likely the reason why I am taking an effort in order to opine. I do not make it a regular habit of doing that. 2nd, even though I can notice a jumps in reason you make, I am definitely not confident of just how you appear to connect your points that help to make the final result. For right now I will yield to your point however wish in the near future you actually link the facts better.
This web page is known as a stroll-by for the entire information you wished about this and didn?t know who to ask. Glimpse right here, and also you?ll undoubtedly uncover it.
Good day! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could locate a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having problems finding one? Thanks a lot!
Good article. I’m experiencing many of these issues as well..
I like the valuable info you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your blog and check once more here frequently. I’m slightly sure I will learn many new stuff proper here! Good luck for the next!
Pretty! This was an incredibly wonderful post. Thanks for supplying this info.
Everything is very open with a precise description of the issues. It was truly informative. Your site is very useful. Thank you for sharing!
Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve visited this blog before but after going through many of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Regardless, I’m definitely delighted I stumbled upon it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back frequently!
This site really has all the info I wanted concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
Excellent write-up. I definitely appreciate this site. Continue the good work!
This site was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me. Cheers!
May I simply just say what a relief to find somebody who really understands what they’re talking about over the internet. You actually understand how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More people really need to check this out and understand this side of your story. I was surprised you aren’t more popular since you certainly possess the gift.
When I originally commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is a means you are able to remove me from that service? Thank you.
Almanya’n?n En iyi medyum olarak bir dan??man için medyum haluk hocay? seçin en iyi medyum hocalardan bir tanesidir.
Excellent site you’ve got here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
Thanks for your posting. What I want to point out is that while searching for a good on the internet electronics go shopping, look for a website with full information on critical indicators such as the level of privacy statement, basic safety details, any payment methods, as well as other terms along with policies. Continually take time to look at help plus FAQ sections to get a far better idea of what sort of shop operates, what they can perform for you, and ways in which you can use the features.
I like the valuable information you provide to your articles. I?ll bookmark your weblog and test again here frequently. I’m slightly certain I will be told a lot of new stuff right right here! Good luck for the following!