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.
4,918 responses to “A Sheltered Cove”
Good post. I am experiencing some of these issues as well..
Pornstar
Buy Drugs
In accordance with my study, after a property foreclosure home is sold at an auction, it is common for your borrower to be able to still have some sort ofthat remaining unpaid debt on the bank loan. There are many loan merchants who try and have all service fees and liens paid off by the following buyer. Nevertheless, depending on selected programs, restrictions, and state regulations there may be a number of loans that are not easily handled through the transfer of lending options. Therefore, the obligation still remains on the lender that has received his or her property foreclosed on. Many thanks sharing your ideas on this blog.
Thanks for your post. I like your work you can also check mine anchor text
Next time I read a blog, I hope that it does not disappoint me just as much as this one. I mean, Yes, it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I actually thought you’d have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something that you can fix if you were not too busy looking for attention.
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a coworker who has been doing a little research on this. And he in fact ordered me breakfast simply because I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to discuss this topic here on your site.
totocc
login totocc
Saved as a favorite, I love your site!
The very next time I read a blog, I hope that it won’t disappoint me as much as this particular one. After all, I know it was my choice to read through, but I really believed you would have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of moaning about something you could fix if you weren’t too busy searching for attention.
I seriously love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you build this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m trying to create my own personal blog and would like to learn where you got this from or exactly what the theme is called. Cheers!
May I just say what a relief to discover somebody who truly knows what they’re discussing on the internet. You certainly realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people have to read this and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you are not more popular since you surely have the gift.
you are really a good webmaster. The website loading speed is incredible. It seems that you’re doing any unique trick. Also, The contents are masterwork. you’ve done a excellent job on this topic!
You are so awesome! I don’t believe I’ve read through a single thing like that before. So nice to discover another person with genuine thoughts on this issue. Really.. thanks for starting this up. This web site is one thing that’s needed on the web, someone with a little originality.
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this outstanding blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to new updates and will share this blog with my Facebook group. Chat soon!
I need to to thank you for this fantastic read!! I absolutely enjoyed every bit of it. I have you saved as a favorite to check out new stuff you post…
Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all people you really understand what you are speaking approximately! Bookmarked. Please additionally consult with my website =). We can have a link trade arrangement between us!
I could not refrain from commenting. Perfectly written!
Good web site you have here.. It’s difficult to find excellent writing like yours nowadays. I really appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
Hi are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you require any html coding expertise to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I want to to thank you for this very good read!! I certainly loved every bit of it. I’ve got you saved as a favorite to look at new things you post…
Good post! We are linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the good writing.
I like it when folks come together and share ideas. Great site, stick with it.
Heya are using WordPress for your site platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you require any html coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Saved as a favorite, I really like your site!
Hello there! This blog post could not be written much better! Going through this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He constantly kept preaching about this. I will send this post to him. Fairly certain he’s going to have a great read. Thanks for sharing!
You could definitely see your enthusiasm in the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always follow your heart.
Great article. I’m experiencing many of these issues as well..
I have seen a great deal of useful elements on your web site about computer systems. However, I have the thoughts and opinions that laptops are still more or less not powerful more than enough to be a option if you generally do things that require plenty of power, just like video editing. But for net surfing, statement processing, and a lot other typical computer functions they are okay, provided you do not mind small screen size. Thank you for sharing your thinking.
Excellent post. I certainly love this site. Stick with it!
Right now it looks like Drupal is the preferred blogging platform available right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you are using on your blog?
I love looking through an article that can make men and women think. Also, thanks for permitting me to comment.
I am very happy to read this. This is the kind of manual that needs to be given and not the accidental misinformation that’s at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this best doc.
Your style is so unique compared to other people I have read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I will just bookmark this web site.
There’s certainly a great deal to find out about this issue. I like all the points you made.
Good web site you’ve got here.. It’s difficult to find high quality writing like yours these days. I honestly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
I was excited to find this web site. I want to to thank you for ones time due to this fantastic read!! I definitely appreciated every part of it and i also have you saved to fav to check out new stuff in your site.
I could not resist commenting. Well written!
Buy Drugs
Buy Drugs
Pretty! This has been a really wonderful article. Thanks for supplying these details.
Pornstar
Porn site
Porn
Scam
An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you should write more about this subject matter, it may not be a taboo subject but generally people do not speak about such topics. To the next! Cheers!
F*ckin? tremendous things here. I?m very satisfied to peer your post. Thank you so much and i am looking ahead to touch you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?
Porn
This actually answered my problem, thank you!