Saturday, May 6, 2017

Breaking Out Of Florida (briefly)


Eastbank Campground (USACE)
Lake Seminole,GA
153 Eastbank Rd
Bainbridge, GA 39819
GPS: 30.718965, -84.852639
Elevation: 302 feet

Today our compass took us west. I-10 was our route of convenience and our desire for Corps of Engineer Campgrounds led us to Lake Seminole just a tad outside Florida into Georgia.

I-10 all the way (almost)


We traveled state routes 116/113/115 from Mayport to Jacksonville and got onto I-10 at it's very beginning in downtown Jacksonville. Downtown Jacksonville with the Cougar in tow was not a fun time – possibly a little easier because it was Saturday.

We traveled the 227 miles in six hours and forty-five minutes.

Lake Seminole


Lake Seminole has some interesting geopolitical trivia associated with it which could be very confusing if you are a fisherman.

Lake Seminole is a reservoir located in the southwest corner of Georgia along its border with Florida, maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The lake is fed from the north by two rivers. From the northeast, the Flint River flows southwest through Bainbridge, GA. From the northwest, the Chattahoochee River provides the second source and forms the border between Georgia and Alabama. Lake Seminole extends upstream along the Chattahoochee River for 30 miles and up the Flint River for 35 miles. The Apalachicola River runs south from the dam to the Gulf of Mexico, cutting the Florida panhandle in two as it is the boundary between the eastern and central time zones. So a person within a very small circle around the dam could be in either of two states and either of two time zones. Commuting to work could be confusing.

The lake, impounded by the Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam, contains 37,500 acres of water and has 376 miles of shoreline. Flowing out of the lake and heading south, the water becomes the Apalachicola River. The dam crosses the state line between Georgia and Florida, with the eastern end of the dam being located in Georgia. The dam is effectively the FL/GA border.
Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam, Lake Seminole, GA


The Jim Woodruff Dam, located about 1,000 feet south of the original confluence of the Chattahoochee River, Flint River and Spring Creek to form the Apalachicola River and with a spillway 2,224 feet wide, is a hydroelectric and navigational dam named in honor of James W. Woodruff, Sr., a Georgia businessman who spearheaded the development of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Project.

The dam has a single lock, 450 feet in length and 82 feet wide, that provides navigational access to the lake and the upstream rivers from the Apalachicola River and the Gulf of Mexico.

Aptly named, Eastbank Campground is located on the eastern shore of the lake with 65 campsites, most of which have both electric and water hookups. Flush toilets, showers, drinking water, laundry facilities and a dump station are provided.
A few shots of Lake Seminole and Eastbank Campground


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