Kyle and I went to George L. Smith State Park in Twin City up near Statesboro last week. It was the first time for either of us going and we wanted to see if we could catch the fall leaf colors.
W e arrived about 4 p.m., Monday evening. We had already planned on spending the night in a tent under the stars being the temperature was only going to be in the middle 40s so we could get a real early start Tuesday morning and hopefully catch fog on the water.
We had a nice campfire. We were in Camp 8 while a family with three kids were in Camp 10. They were rather noisy already and it was not even dark yet.
About once or twice a year, I get these chills. It has been like this for many, many years and I have never been able to get diagnosed on what causes it.
I cannot get warm and it does not matter what I pile on — blankets, jackets. or coats. Monday night may have been the worst I have ever had them.
Normally they only last about four hours, but that night I knew something was not right. After sitting by the fire for a little while, I crawled in the tent.
I had to listen to the screaming kids until about 1 a.m., and also deal with my teeth chattering. My knees and ankles felt like they were knocking together.
This whole time Kyle was warm. I finally got into my truck and fired up the heater wide open to make it through the night. I really was in bad shape and by morning I was back to normal, other than being sore from shaking and lack of sleep.
Kyle and I got some really good pictures of the Cypress with fall colors and the fog. Afterwards, we headed back to Southeast Georgia.
There are two things I know I’ll take next time that I didn’t take with me this time — gloves to keep my hands warm and ear plugs to block out the screaming kids sounds from just a campsite or two away.
• Wayne Morgan is freelance wildlife photographer and author.
