Woodruff Lock & Dam, GA - 03/10/14

Monday – March 10, 2014
Jim Woodruff Lock & Dam
Bainbridge, Georgia

We are enjoying our visit here at the Eastbank Campground. A cold front entered the area, producing rain throughout the day on Thursday and again Friday morning. The temperature dropped from the low seventies on Wednesday into the high fifties on Thursday and low sixties on Friday. On Saturday a clear blue, sunny sky returned with the temperature in the low seventies. The weather remained clear and in the mid-seventies through today.

The Eastbank Campground is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is located adjacent to Lake Seminole. The Lake Seminole reservoir, originally authorized as the Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam Project by the River and Harbor Act of 1946, was the first of three locks and dams constructed for navigation, hydropower, recreation, and other related purposes on the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint River system. Construction of this multi-purpose project began in 1947 and was completed in 1957.

There is an entrance road to the power plant that spans the length of the dam. A visitor parking lot is provided at the power plant to accommodate fishermen and others visiting the dam. The power plant area is restricted to employees only and surrounded by a barbwire fence. On the day we visited the dam, we were presented with a view of hundreds of turtles, basking in the sun on floating logs, in a marsh section of the lake close to the shoreline.

Lake Seminole lies within the borders of both Florida and Georgia and has 37,500 acres of water, 376 miles of shoreline, and over 22,000 acres of surrounding land. The area around Lake Seminole is rich in history, having been occupied by man for at least 10,000 years. Among other Native Americans, the Seminoles lived here until around 1825, and it is they for whom the lake is named. The Spanish and English have also occupied the land and fought battles, as described by the many historic markers found throughout the area. Steamboats once kept the ports busy, and the area is still known for its agricultural production.

The town of Chattahoochee, Florida is located two miles from the campground. There is a small grocery store, Chinese restaurant, Hardees, Sports Bar and gas station there.

Six miles west of the campground on US-90 is the town of Sneads. There is a fully stocked grocery store (McDaniel’s) and a Dollar General store.

The town of Marianna, Florida is located 26-miles west of the campground. It is quite a large town comprised of major retailers and fast-food restaurants. A popular tourist attraction to the area is a tour of the caverns located six miles west of the town on US-90. There is a Walmart on FL-71 located about a mile south of US-90.

We arrived back at the campground in time to capture the sunset just about to disappear over the lake.

Tomorrow another adventure begins.