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.
10,331 responses to “A Sheltered Cove”
The root of your writing whilst sounding agreeable at first, did not really settle well with me after some time. Somewhere within the sentences you actually were able to make me a believer unfortunately just for a short while. I however have a problem with your leaps in logic and one would do nicely to fill in those gaps. If you actually can accomplish that, I will definitely be impressed.
This is really interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your magnificent post. Also, I have shared your website in my social networks!
One other issue is that if you are in a circumstance where you do not possess a co-signer then you may really want to try to wear out all of your school funding options. You can get many awards and other scholarship grants that will give you finances to assist with university expenses. Thx for the post.
now-goal.xyz t? l? c??c bóng ?á c?nh tranh, d? trúng th??ng l?n
Thanks for your article. I also feel that laptop computers are becoming more and more popular lately, and now are sometimes the only kind of computer employed in a household. This is due to the fact that at the same time actually becoming more and more very affordable, their processing power keeps growing to the point where they can be as highly effective as desktop through just a few in years past.
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Perfectly written!
This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something that helped me. Thank you!
Can I simply say what a relief to find someone who really is aware of what theyre talking about on the internet. You positively know methods to bring a difficulty to mild and make it important. Extra people need to read this and perceive this aspect of the story. I cant imagine youre no more fashionable because you undoubtedly have the gift.
Great blog you’ve got here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
I blog frequently and I seriously thank you for your content. Your article has truly peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your blog and keep checking for new information about once per week. I opted in for your RSS feed as well.
Hi, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam feedback? If so how do you prevent it, any plugin or anything you can suggest? I get so much lately it’s driving me insane so any support is very much appreciated.
I’m curious to find out what blog system you’re working with? I’m experiencing some small security issues with my latest site and I would like to find something more safe. Do you have any recommendations?
Excellent site you have got here.. It’s hard to find excellent writing like yours these days. I honestly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
I could not resist commenting. Exceptionally well written!
I’m curious to find out what blog platform you’re working with? I’m experiencing some minor security problems with my latest website and I’d like to find something more safeguarded. Do you have any recommendations?
Spot on with this write-up, I honestly feel this amazing site needs a lot more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read through more, thanks for the info.
Good write-up. I definitely love this website. Stick with it!
This excellent website definitely has all the info I needed concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
mantcha swap tokenomics
Excellent web site you’ve got here.. It’s difficult to find high quality writing like yours these days. I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
DefiLlama how to claim airdrop
Many thanks for sharing these wonderful discussions. In addition, an excellent travel in addition to medical insurance program can often reduce those problems that come with vacationing abroad. A new medical emergency can soon become costly and that’s likely to quickly decide to put a financial burden on the family finances. Putting in place the best travel insurance deal prior to leaving is definitely worth the time and effort. Thank you
frax swap cross chain
I’m not sure why but this site is loading extremely slow for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a issue on my end? I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.
I used to be more than happy to seek out this internet-site.I needed to thanks in your time for this glorious read!! I definitely having fun with each little little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you blog post.
DefiLlama best features
tron staking smart contracts
Sbototo
bookmarked!!, I love your site!
Having read this I believed it was extremely informative. I appreciate you finding the time and effort to put this information together. I once again find myself spending a significant amount of time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!
jonitogel
gengtoto login
I’m very pleased to find this web site. I want to to thank you for your time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely liked every part of it and I have you bookmarked to see new stuff in your blog.
I was pretty pleased to find this web site. I want to to thank you for ones time due to this wonderful read!! I definitely appreciated every little bit of it and I have you saved as a favorite to check out new information in your site.
This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something which helped me. Appreciate it.
Your style is very unique in comparison to other people I’ve read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this page.
You’re so interesting! I do not believe I have read through something like this before. So great to discover another person with a few original thoughts on this subject. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This site is one thing that is needed on the internet, someone with a little originality.
Great information. Lucky me I recently found your site by chance (stumbleupon). I have book-marked it for later.
Great article. I will be going through many of these issues as well..
I was very pleased to discover this page. I need to to thank you for your time for this fantastic read!! I definitely enjoyed every part of it and i also have you bookmarked to check out new stuff in your blog.
This is a topic that’s close to my heart… Many thanks! Where are your contact details though?
Kepritogel
barcatoto
Bosstoto
udintogel
Hometogel
batman138 login
singlesnight.uk.com không ?áp ?ng ???c mong ??i c?a ng??i dùng
Hi my friend! I want to say that this post is amazing, nice written and include approximately all important infos. I?d like to see more posts like this.
I?m not sure where you’re getting your info, however good topic. I needs to spend a while studying more or figuring out more. Thank you for great info I used to be looking for this info for my mission.