For several weeks, I have been in contact with WYFF Channel 4 out of Greenville, South Carolina, about going to the Tugaloo Corridor. They contacted me after seeing pictures of Lake Hartwell on cocoasmiles.com. This is the lake’s 50th year celebration, and they were wanting to cover every aspect of the lake—electrical power, more water down stream, and recreational fun. Each spring, Kelly Vickers takes a group of people down the Corridor where we learn more about the various Indian groups that lived, hunted, and played along the river. (I’ve been friends with Kelly and his wonderful wife Brenna for years.) In this photo, Kim Hudgins, who is on the Corridor board, joins Kelly Vickers, and myself to talk with the news guys about the river and its importance to our area.

John, who is a camera man with WYFF, is attaching a “Go Pro” camera to the front of Kelly’s kayak. He was also “wired” for sound so he could be filmed and recorded while in the river telling about the history of the area and the Indians who lived here.

Here’s the way we began the day! Boats in the river. Kelly offshore talking about the Tugaloo River and me worrying about the water level of the river. We were so grateful for William Tucker (in the foreground) who provided a fairly large John Boat for the trip. Because water levels are low, we didn’t know if it would make it over a certain set of shoals that was near a very important part of the river but it did!

In this photo, Kelly is telling the story of the river while I’m noticing the increase of water flowing down river, which means only one thing: water is being released from nearby Yonah Dam!

These are not my usual Nikon photos. Remember I have promised myself never to take the larger cameras back out on the river. The reason these guys are in a John Boat was stability and a safer environment for their HD cameras.

WYFF reporter Tim took this photo with his iPhone. He sent almost 15 photos to me via my iPhone!

I just pulled up and waited while the guys decided what to do next. I loved being on the river and today especially since we found ourselves in the middle of another water release from Lake Yonah Dam, which means we moved down the river at a good pace.

Here are Tim and John. We are grateful that they chose to come to Stephens County and film this beautiful and well protected area. (Tim’s iPhone camera is responsible for the weird color on the faces.)