Going back.

[pastorp]

I believe all of us have special places in our memory from our youth.  sometimes we live out our lives never seeing those places again. But if we have opportunity we should indulge ourselves and take a trip down memory lane. 
One of those places, for me is turner fish camp, located on the Withlacouchee river in centeral Florida. Like most people that lived through the Great Depression, my father worked as much as possible when I was growing up. Fortunately I had a special mother that realized my love of wild places so she & I fished & hunted when I was a child, while my dad ran his business & made the money we needed to pursue my interests.
When I was too small to operate the outboard, many a Saturday found us at Turner fish camp loading up the flat bottom Woden rowboat with our outboard, tackle,& food. Mother would run us upriver and we would tie the half gallon glass milk jug to the gunnel and begin drifting down the river for a day of fishing. Usually we set out a couple of bait casters with shiners on for bass. And fished the little pockets with cane poles & worms for panfish.
Wow what memories, as I grew I took over the job of operating the outboard. But we continued to fish together. And when my dad retired he joined us. Then my wife and the kids as they came along.
Now after moving back myself, I decided to fine my old memory yesterday. One thing I have noticed is that everything that seemed so big to me as a kid has shrunk. The Withlacochee shrank after running the Yukon and some other places I've been. But it was still a special afternoon. I net a new friend, who was fishing off the dock. Bob retired and moved down from NJ about 7 years ago. The camp was smaller & the river was too but to Bob it was all normal.
Funny how our life experiences change our outlook. But overall I'm glad to be home. 

[thumper113]

Thanks for sharing.  For a bit you took me back to a simpler, happier time.

[gcrank1]

Ain't it so!
For me, the sand county farm I grew up on is only about a half hour drive from my home. Its an old oak woods, once burned over and planted to white and red pine at the advice of the County Forester who said the surviving oaks would die off over time from the damage. He was right, but its been 45+ years and still is a mixed forest on rolling Wisconsin hills. Cover is fairly tight and  'a long shot' is typically about 50yd., though now some spots can reach 75 as the lower branches have died off or trimmed by us. We go there to 'regenerate' now more than hunt, and the cabin we hand built from the old 1896 barn wood has been there some 30yrs. A fire in the woodstove, no phone, elec. or running water (unless you count running out and running down to the farm to get another jug) the woods is just off the step and life is good.
Ive been thinking of late that Ive been runnin' that woods for close to 53yrs. now, and most of that with the same Ithaca .22 'Saddlegun' my dad gave me for the Christmas after passing Wi. Hunter Safety when it was first instituted (I passed the BB gun test before by not shooting my eye out). Ive been ever so fortunate to always have it there, ready and waiting, for me to 'return'. Though the character of the land has somewhat changed, it is still very much the same, and somehow I dont feel 'pushin' 60' when Im there.

[Sourdough]

Ya know, here I sit in the place I always wanted to be in.  I've loved being here off and on for the last 40 years.  In the past the winters were what I lived for, so much to do in the winter.  Hunt, Ice Fish, Trap, Snow Machine, Ski, All kinds of things.  Go places while the land is frozen, that you can't go to during the summer when it's all swamp.  Run down rivers that are too fast for floating during the summer.  Cross frozen lakes, that are too windy during the summer.  Ah, the beautiful wintery things to do.

Then arthritis came along.  Now when the joints hurt so bad I can hardly move, I sit and think about growing up in Tennessee.  Hunting with my Ben Pearson solid glass bow.  Killing Rabbitts, Squirrells, Pheasent, Ducks and Geese, all with target arrows, cause that's all I had.  Mom thought broadheads were too dangerous, I'd kill someone, or cut myself.  Now when I go visit I see nothing but houses, Subdivision after subdivision, on what was farm land.  The shores of Old Hickory Lake where I used to walk around looking for Ducks and Geese, and anything else to hunt in the cow pastures that went down to the water.  All those areas are now crowded with boat docks, and houses sit in the cow pastures.  One of my brothers is a contractor, he is building houses on all those farms as soon as he can get his hands on the farms.

I go back to see the farm my Grand Parents owned, where I have so many fond memories.  Mom had it subdivided and sold off as small lots.  The fields where my Grandfather grew corn, are full of house trailers, and trash.  The Hay Field has three homes sitting on it.  The hillside where he ran his cattle has driveways going up to new homes.  I go over to my Uncles place, where Dad and I always went Deer Hunting.  Uncle Bradley died a few years back.  His Daughter and her husband moved in to take care of my Aunt.  Her Husband won't let nobody hunt on the place except his brothers. 

I think about New Mexico, and Arizona, how I enjoyed it there.  I went by a few years back, everything has changed.  The ranch where we kept our horses is now a trailer park.  Acres and acres of house trailers.  The house my wife grew up in, and that we lived in when we lived in Alamogordo is still there and looks pretty much like it did when we lived there.  The area where the house is looks like s small island in the middle of the Ghetto.  New houses were built while we living there in the surrounding area.  Today all those brick homes are nothing but trashy places.  Just house after house all ran down and junk cars sitting every where.

So I am looking for an entirely new place to move to so I can get away from the cold.  the place I lived in when I lived in Florida was totally wiped out by Andrew.  But the Ocala area is looking better.  Two of the wife's cousins live in the Villages, they are trying to get us to move there.  I think it's a bit too spendy for us, living on a golf course, and in such a trendy retirement community.  I'm looking at going just north of Ocala and try to find a small place where we can have a few horses, and a small house.  I don't want a large place, just enough to be comfortable. 
 

[pastorp]

I always wanted to go to Alaka too Sourdough, but when you get old & your health begins to fail Alaska is not the best place for me. I'm only about 25 miles from Ocala. You should look me up when you get down here ill PM you my phone #.

Regards,

[gcrank1]

Wow! What a 'coincidence', or shall we say, 'Divine Appointment'!
I would have liked to have gone to Alaska too, but some 20 years ago when I thought I still had it in me my first of four heart attacks gave me a wake up call. Now I struggle through a Wisconsin winter with much appreciated help from my SIL and two grown G-sons. I promise that if I find the winning lottery ticket I'll take my wife on that Inside Passage trip  (and if I head down toward Ocala I'll warn ya  ).

[williamlayton]

YUP! YUP! & YUP!
Blessings

[powderman]

Thanks for sharing guys. When I visit ILL most of my ol stomping grounds are full of houses, entire woods gone. No trespassing signs everywhere. Like  PASTORP said, the creeks and rivers shrunk. I still enjoy driving around and remembering what once was though. I looked at a creek and pool and remembered all the catfish, bullheads, we used to get from there, wondering if there were still any fish there. Today of course ILL is one of the biggest anti gun states there is, I could never live there again. I miss those simpler quieter days. POWDERMAN.