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”
Hi, I do believe your web site might be having internet browser compatibility problems. When I look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in IE, it has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other than that, great website.
An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. I do think that you ought to write more about this topic, it may not be a taboo matter but typically people don’t discuss such topics. To the next! Many thanks!
Next time I read a blog, I hope that it does not disappoint me as much as this one. After all, Yes, it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I really thought you would have something helpful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something that you can fix if you weren’t too busy searching for attention.
I blog often and I seriously thank you for your information. The article has truly peaked my interest. I’m going to bookmark your blog and keep checking for new information about once a week. I opted in for your RSS feed too.
sapaturi fundatii Ilfov
This is a great tip especially to those new to the blogosphere. Short but very precise information… Thank you for sharing this one. A must read post.
I’m very happy to uncover this web site. I need to to thank you for ones time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely loved every part of it and i also have you book marked to look at new stuff in your site.
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon everyday. It will always be useful to read articles from other authors and practice a little something from other web sites.
Howdy! This blog post couldn’t be written much better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He constantly kept preaching about this. I’ll send this article to him. Pretty sure he’ll have a great read. Thanks for sharing!
Very good article. I absolutely appreciate this website. Keep it up!
Thank you so much!
bookmarked!!, I like your web site!
Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Thanks, However I am having problems with your RSS. I don’t understand why I can’t join it. Is there anyone else getting similar RSS issues? Anyone who knows the solution will you kindly respond? Thanx.
Excellent blog you have here.. It’s difficult to find high quality writing like yours these days. I honestly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
Thank you a lot for sharing this with all people you really realize what you are talking approximately! Bookmarked. Please also consult with my website =). We may have a link exchange arrangement among us!
Good article. I definitely appreciate this website. Stick with it!
You made some good points there. I looked on the net to learn more about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this site.
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon every day. It’s always interesting to read through articles from other writers and practice something from other websites.
Excellent web site. A lot of useful info here. I am sending it to a few buddies ans additionally sharing in delicious. And naturally, thank you for your effort!
Spot on with this write-up, I seriously feel this amazing site needs much more attention. I’ll probably be returning to see more, thanks for the advice.
Would you be occupied with exchanging links?
I’m very happy to read this. This is the kind of manual that needs to be given and not the random misinformation that is at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this best doc.
JustLend DAO
This web page is really a walk-by for all of the information you wished about this and didn?t know who to ask. Glimpse right here, and you?ll positively uncover it.
I?m not certain the place you are getting your info, but good topic. I needs to spend a while learning more or understanding more. Thanks for excellent information I was searching for this information for my mission.
I’ll immediately grasp your rss as I can’t in finding your email subscription hyperlink or e-newsletter service. Do you have any? Please let me recognize in order that I may just subscribe. Thanks.
thanks
Porn
Udintogel
This is without a doubt one of the greatest articles I’ve read on this topic! The author’s extensive knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject are apparent in every paragraph. I’m so grateful for finding this piece as it has enriched my knowledge and stimulated my curiosity even further. Thank you, author, for taking the time to produce such a remarkable article!
It?s onerous to search out educated individuals on this subject, however you sound like you know what you?re talking about! Thanks
Thanks for your ideas. One thing we’ve noticed is banks in addition to financial institutions have in mind the spending patterns of consumers and also understand that the majority of people max outside their real credit cards around the breaks. They correctly take advantage of this kind of fact and start flooding your own inbox and also snail-mail box by using hundreds of no interest APR card offers right after the holiday season comes to an end. Knowing that when you are like 98 of the American community, you’ll hop at the possible opportunity to consolidate credit card debt and shift balances to 0 annual percentage rates credit cards.
I have seen a lot of useful factors on your web site about computer systems. However, I’ve got the thoughts and opinions that laptops are still not quite powerful adequately to be a option if you typically do tasks that require loads of power, for instance video editing and enhancing. But for world-wide-web surfing, microsoft word processing, and quite a few other popular computer functions they are just fine, provided you do not mind your little friend screen size. Many thanks sharing your notions.
Your place is valueble for me. Thanks!?
I have been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this site. Thank you, I?ll try and check back more often. How frequently you update your web site?
Aw, this was an exceptionally nice post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to make a superb article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a whole lot and never manage to get nearly anything done.
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. thanks a lot
Some tips i have usually told people today is that when searching for a good online electronics retail store, there are a few issues that you have to consider. First and foremost, you want to make sure to look for a reputable and in addition, reliable shop that has picked up great assessments and rankings from other customers and business sector advisors. This will ensure you are handling a well-known store that provides good services and help to its patrons. Many thanks sharing your thinking on this website.
Yesterday, while I was at work, my cousin stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a 30 foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now destroyed and she has 83 views. I know this is totally off topic but I had to share it with someone!
I want to to thank you for this very good read!! I absolutely loved every bit of it. I have you book-marked to look at new stuff you post…
Heya i am for the primary time here. I came across this board and I find It really helpful & it helped me out a lot. I hope to give something again and aid others like you helped me.
Good article. I certainly appreciate this site. Stick with it!
I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your site. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Outstanding work!
Many thanks for this article. I would also like to mention that it can end up being hard when you find yourself in school and simply starting out to create a long history of credit. There are many scholars who are just simply trying to make it through and have a good or beneficial credit history is often a difficult matter to have.
My brother suggested I may like this web site. He was once totally right. This put up actually made my day. You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!
This site truly has all of the information and facts I wanted about this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
I am so happy to read this. This is the kind of manual that needs to be given and not the random misinformation that is at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this greatest doc.
We’re a bunch of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your web site provided us with useful info to work on. You’ve done a formidable process and our whole group will be thankful to you.
Good post. I am facing a few of these issues as well..
Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the issues. It was truly informative. Your website is extremely helpful. Thanks for sharing!