It’s the time of year for sandbank camping so Jeromie and I headed for the Tallapoosa River below Tallassee in Alabama. We put in at Tuckabatchee Road next to the old timers bridge. There’s a decent dirt road leading down to the river but no parking so I pulled the car off to the side and left it. To get down on the water we had to wrestle with a dicey 15 to 20 foot drop over lose boulders.

We paddled against the current for 5 miles, past rusting old junk cars, to the mouth of Uphapee creek and set up camp on a sandbank formed by a sharp bend in the river. This spot gave access to a few other destinations worth a looksee. Course, the sand bank alone is destination enough but I free-hiked to inspect a near by pump station and next followed a dirt road to a railroad track. Lining the track were ancient abandoned telephone poles with multi-colored bell-shaped glass conductors. I cut into the woods. The forestscape was deeply pitted with intersecting stream beds. After crossing a deer field I dropped down into the Uphapee and waded leisurely back to camp.

There was still daylight left so I paddled around the bend of the Tallapoosa and inspected a freshly planted cotton field as the sun was setting. Back at camp, a fire pit was dug in the soft sand and we had steak for dinner. Sleeping was accompanied by the sound of passing trains in the night.