Our Only Kind Of Terrifying Visit to Cumberland Island

It's a New Year and a new season of Parklandia! To kick it off, we're doing our first episode on a National Seashore, Cumberland Island off of Georgia's southwestern coast. Things got pretty dramatic for us there, with torrential downpours and a terrifying lightning storm, but it wasn't all terror! We has a pretty great time exploring this beautiful island which is truly unique among all the national parks we've visited, with its wild horses and ruined mansions. Grab an umbrella and join us!

Follow Parklandia on Instagram @parklandiapod, join the Parklandia Rangers Facebook Group and Like our Facebook page!

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to season two Parklandia. We decided to start things
off with a bang for this season, and by bang,
I mean a loud, thunderous, deafening bang A bank is
allowed that we wound up calling nine one one. Literally
we really did. Today we're kicking off our second season
with an episode on Cumberland Island, National Seashore in southeastern Georgia.

(00:23):
It's our first episode about a national seashore in fact,
yeah it is, and our first episode where we called
nine one one, So a lot to look forward to
this episode in this season. Um, of course our nine
one one call was frivolous because we are forty five
minutes from the mainland on an island only accessible by ferry,
and of course there's no service. But we were trapped. Yeah,

(00:45):
Cumberland Island isn't actually as terrifying as it may seem though. Yeah,
not really. We just I guess how to unfortunate, terrifying
little afternoon. Um, but we're here today talking about it,
so clearly everything works out just fine. It did get
a little dicey there for a while. We will say
that I remember thinking while we were caught in that
lightning storm on the beach that this would make for

(01:07):
a great episode one day, a terrific episode. Yeah. True.
I love that you were thinking about that while I
was mostly just distracted and focused on not getting struck
by lightning. But you're right, that experience did make for
a great fodder for an episode. And I'm really super
excited to recount the craziest day we've ever experienced in
a national park. Hi, I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This

(01:30):
is park Landia. Well, you packed up our stuff in Chicago,
sold our loft, and now we're traveling in the country
with our dog Fin in an r V, visiting America's
national parks. Today we're talking about Cumberland Island National Seashore
in Georgia. Yeah. So clearly things got pretty dramatic and

(01:52):
crazy on Cumberland Island, but our day in the park
was an all terror. It was only about a fifteen
to five minutes bam of the stormy weather, and besides this,
we really had a great time on this barrier island
of Georgia's southwestern coast. Yeah, we don't want to like
make this fifteen minute period like this dark mark and

(02:13):
the whole day or the whole park by any means,
but it was a napping experience and mostly really positive
and wonderful. Carmelin Island was beautiful and truly unique among
all the National Park sites we've visited so far. So
let's start with a little bit of background with what
led us to Carmeland Island in the first place. Getting
there right, We're actually making our way down to Florida

(02:37):
after wrapping up recording Season one of park Landing in Atlanta,
and we had a bit of time before we needed
to be in Orlando, so we wanted to explore more
of Georgia. Yeah, we really didn't do a lot of that.
We had been to Atlanta a few times and little
pockets here and there, but we were excited to see
more of the state. And we started with a couple
of days in Savannah, which was gorgeous and I think

(02:59):
a huge bucket list city for both of us, so
that was awesome. And then from there we visited Fort
Pulaski National Monument, which you'll hear about in a future episode,
I'm sure, definitely, definitely, And our big side trip was
this one to Cumberland Island. When we say big because
it requires so much more planning than any typical national park,
especially ones in this part of the country. Yeah, exactly.

(03:21):
So any park that's entirely an island off the mainland
is bound to require some ex sense of planning, especially
if you have an RV, and especially if you have
a dog in the r V like we do, So
it requires some extra logistics and we needed to figure
out how we would handle that, where we could park,
where we could camp, and then of course time it

(03:41):
all out so that we could catch the ferry for
the day as well. So there's a lot of things
to maneuver and juggle, but it is it. Honestly, it's
really well well worth it. Yeah, Initially we're going to
skip that because, like it was just we're on such
a time crunch, and then going on to an island
which takes a ferry or just a boat with people
or anything like that was just a little too much.

(04:01):
But I'm really glad that we decided to do this. Yeah,
it was a little intimidating because I remember when we're
initially researching it and looking on their website and it
had all this information about like these extra steps who
had to take and what to be prepared for in
terms of timing and fairy schedules and stuff like that,
And since we were kind of hustling down Georgia into Florida,

(04:22):
I'm like, I don't know if we can do it.
I think we should maybe just do something easier and
more straightforward. But as with most things, when you invest
the extra energy and effort, it pays off. It really does.
That extra effort like makes a huge, huge difference. And
we had such an epic time here, so it all
worked out. We were able to time as that we

(04:43):
could drive down from Savannah earlier enough in the morning
to park our RV at a k O a campground nearby.
That way, we didn't have to worry about it or
like leave it parked somewhere precarious. We could just settle
for the day and Finn is comfortable and set with
food and water and a c and and so forth.
Then what we did from there was we just called
lift to the campground and drove to carmerlind Islands headquarters

(05:06):
in a town called St. Mary's, And it was very doable.
The drive was like twenty five minutes. The driver was
really charismatic and talking about breakfast foods, which is my favorite.
He was like, so the dinners to go to, and
you know I love diners. Oh yeah, I know. He
was barking up the right tree, that's for sure. We
had no time. We were just like, we're not able
to eat at this restaurants, but Douly noted. Yeah. But St.

(05:27):
Mary's that was such a like little really quaint town. Um,
it was still recovering from damage done by Hurricane Irma,
so large parts of the roads were in a construction
and some of the businesses were still closed, and there
was still plenty of charming little restaurants in Shopstokes floor,
plus the main visitor center. Yeah, it was. It was cute.
It was very clearly like damaged and still recovering, which

(05:48):
was unsettling and sad, but you know, we were able
to like wander through and make the most of it.
There wasn't much to do because of that on the
mainland in terms of the park most of that is
on the island, But per usual, the National Park Service
really delivers with another fantastic visitors center here on the mainland.
It's in this really pretty pastel Clard building and you

(06:12):
go you have to go here anyway to check in
for your ferry reservations. So once you do that and
you get your tickets, we highly recommend perusing the exhibits
and just kind of drinking it in and it's a
good primer you kind of get ready and learn about
what to expect, what you could potentially see, and then
the like island ecology, wildlife, the human history on the

(06:32):
island all the way from native Native peoples to the
Carnegie's who seem to have used Curmberland Island the same
way that Great Gats we use Long Island. So that
was that was insane. I had no idea of like
the mark that they made on Cumberland Island. Yeah, that
little like incredible museum has hundreds of years worth of history,
ranging from the Native to Moquin tis right culture in

(06:58):
the US, to the colonial period to the plantation slavery
area to world the War of eighteen twelve. Yeah, there's
a lot there which is kind of mind boggling for
such a relatively smallish island. It's it's not like tiny
by any means, but like they really um pack it
all in there and there's a lot to take in

(07:18):
because of it, this area has gone through a ton
of change in a ton of history, and as always,
the best way to take it all in is by
immersing yourself in that environment and seeing it for yourself,
which is why you got a buck ferry tickets and
explore the island. That's requisite of course. Yeah, as we mentioned,
the only way to get to the park itself is

(07:39):
the actual island is by ferry, which departs from a
nearby dock. But like, because there's construction, we had like
walk all the way right half the town, which was
cute and it was a fun little stroll. But um,
there are very clear directions from the visitor center to
where you have to walk to to get there, and
this will take you out to Cumberland Island, which is
the largest southernmost your island in Georgia. Um, it's also

(08:02):
the most bio diverse in all of Georgia's islands. Um,
because there's like I want to say, there was twenty
different like ecological areas. It's a lot. Yeah, there's a
lot of diversity out there and just all stunning. And
again they really it's it was a sight to see. Yeah,
it was a sight to see and like we only
saw like a slaver of it. Like when you think

(08:24):
about it, because we were terrified from half through basically
sprinting off the island and diving into the ferry by
the end of the day. But lots of history, lots
of culture. I mean, it's I want to go back.
I do too, Yeah, and hopefully we'll walk out better
with the weather. But Carmelin Island was an estabolished as
a National Sea Store in nineteen seventy two and gets

(08:46):
about forty annual visitors, which doesn't sound like a lot,
but seating on the ferry is super limited and the
National Park Service only allows three people on the island
at a time, so it's highly advised that you make
advanced reservations, which we did, although I would say like
advanced reservations are suggested, but it's not something that you

(09:06):
should worry too much about. I think we booked on
like a day in advance, so nothing too But then
like if it's like peak season, I want to make
sure that you have there and peak like camping season.
We were kind of just after right, Yeah, there was
a couple of campers on our ferry who we're planning
to spend a few days out there, I think, But yeah,

(09:27):
that that was not the prime time for that, and
then once you have your tickets booked, be sure and
arrive at least one hour before you schedule departure time
so that you have time to orient yourself and such,
because it could be potentially confusing. Like we we wind
up being fine and pretty straightforward ultimately, but like there's
all these extra steps and you have to like follow

(09:48):
the signs to the dock and collect your tickets and
potentially park if you drove. So it's nice to have
lots of extra times that you're not like scurrying through
in a panic, are going to miss the boat or
anything like that. Yeah, And most of the year, the
ferry departs like twice a day, once in the morning,
and then it makes a return trip three times a
day from mid morning through late afternoon. Um. In the winter,

(10:11):
fairy trips are limited to two departures and two returns,
but they give you enough options to take out you know,
at least have a couple of hours on the island, yeah,
which is really awesome, and you can actually do and
see a lot in that span of time. Of course,
like we mentioned, you could camp on the island. That's allowed.
You just got to make reservations for that. Specifically and
have a permit, yes, and also remember some essentials for

(10:34):
your trip on the island, especially water, food, sunscreen, protection
from rain, things like that, because it's really important to
stay dry when you're camping. But those are a whole
like camping one on one essentials. It's a whole discussion
of its own. But you could purchase a lot of
items on the ferry or just some but it's really Yeah,

(10:54):
they had a pretty limited selections to the last. I
think we just got like some extra water just in case,
and then maybe some like jerky beef jerky snack of
some sort, so like you know, slim pickings. But yeah,
and you definitely want to bring like a change of clothes,
and like your bathing suits are really good ideas, and
swimming is on the island is so much fun and
so beautiful. Yeah, so much fun in the water so

(11:16):
warm and pristine, and the beaches are lovely. But also
remember to flee the water if a lightning storm rolls
in abruptly. More on that later. You know it's coming,
and you know what else is coming. Details on our
arrival to Cumberland Island right after this quick break. Hi,

(11:53):
I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This is park Landia and
today we're talking about Carmberland Island National she Shore in
Georgia Island. So starting our trip out to the island,
the ferry ride to Curmberland Island takes about forty five minutes.
It's a pretty no fail's ferry with just the top
deck and then a bunch of inside seating with tables

(12:14):
and benches and stuff like that, and it gets the
job done. Nothing fancy, but you know, drops you right
off at the Sea Camp Dock on the southern portion
of the island. By far the most popular and most
visit section of Comboina for sure, because it's so walkable
and accessible. You can also bike, you can it seems
like it's the parm of the area for biking, and

(12:35):
this is where most people stay when they visit because
of all this, and it's super easy to explore. And
then also it's really loaded with some of the island's
most iconic sites. Yeah, things like immediately got off with
the wet star for us, because soon after we docked
it started to like downpour, and so we're like meeting
and trying to get under into dry areas and wait

(12:56):
for this rain, but it was beautiful, Like I mean,
it felt like I was jumping right into like a movie. Yeah,
it felt like rainforest or something, because it was really raining,
like torrentially, and neither of us were really expecting this.
The forecast for the day did not show that that
was likely to happen at all. And then when we're
on the dock on the mainland, the park service ranger

(13:18):
was saying, she was like, nothing to worry about it,
it's not supposed to rain today. If it does, it
will be like a drizzle. And then as soon as
we like pull up to the dock and come of
an island, it's immediate downpour. So we're like, we're not
we don't have the equipment for this. No, No, it
was definitely something ominous foreshadowing. It was ominous foreshadowing for sure,

(13:41):
I think, and super frustrating because the forecast, like we said,
didn't call for that, so we didn't have like rain
jackets or umbrellas or the proper footwear. Really, so considering
I think we both look like John Rats at the
end of the day, I'd say drizzle wind up being
a serious understatement. Yeah, normally this is a part of
the episode where had how Matt Days being dramatic, but

(14:01):
Cumberland Island is the one place that actually lived up
to the drama. Yeah, definitely. And you might say Cumberland
Island and I are both drama queens in this instance,
which now that I think about, it's kind of alarming
because I think Cumberland Island might be my spirit park.
Whether I want it to be or not, I think
it might, you know, whether you like, Yeah, definitely, whether
you want it or not. I know I can't. I can't. Definitely.

(14:23):
It's just me um, because it was a super aggressive,
partly so pretty, but the weather was aggressive, the landscaping
was aggressive, and just like a lot, it was overwhelming,
but ultimately still very pretty. So for that alone, I'll
accept the spirit park thing because you know, that's what matters.

(14:46):
But anyway, let's um talk about how we decided to
make a run through the dunport to get off the
boat and into the little cottage. Yeah, we're kind of
out of options. Yeah, Like we decided to eat our
lunch there because we're like, well, we want to stay
dry is because we were already a little too wet,
and you know, we're just hanging out out of there,
and it's like right now, like the people are getting

(15:08):
checked in for like their camping, the people that were
like also on this ferry, and like I felt like
it was like the beginning of like a clue a game,
you know, like of characters, this whole cast of characters,
and you're like building it out and just like you like,
this is gonna be a really dramatic day. Okay, got it,
and we're all in this together for sure. And yeah,

(15:28):
so we just had a huddle underneath that like overhang
at that little cabin, and I think we both wanted
to eat our sandwiches because they were in the backpack
the potential to get wet. I didn't want to have
like a mushy soup or whatever later, and there wasn't
a bunch of food on the island. Sound like there
was a restaurant then yeah, no, So we just did

(15:49):
it and then waited and then unfortunately, the sun came
out pretty quickly and we were able to get started.
But again, like this this weather was so er ratic,
and I feel like the sunshine was ultimately really misleading
because I felt looking back, I felt like it almost
lured us into this false sense of safety that is

(16:09):
hitting the like that's right, you get it right on
the head there. Yeah, And it was sunny just long
enough to like ultimately screw us over. Later trails, we
embarked on this trail called the South End Loop Trail,

(16:32):
which is about four point three miles. It goes right
from the Sea Camp main dock here and then we
started heading south and then goes east to the coast
to like the ocean and then forms a big loop
which is beautiful and amazing and there's so much you
see along the way. Um, just keep your fingers crossed
that the weather doesn't take a drastic turn, yeah, because

(16:55):
it will again later, you know. Again. Setting this for
like that Clue theme, it's like, okay, it's all downpouring,
and then it's beautiful and you're like, okay, we're going
we're gonna do this. It's gonna be really fun. And
then you're just waiting for the next like dramatic turn
to come. And it came. But I'm really glad we
got to do this trail and see through it to
the end because it's absolutely beautiful and stunning and diverse.

(17:18):
There's so many different sections and environments you walk through
along the way, from the dense like maritime forest that
actually looked like actual rainforest to old like castle ruins,
to sandy beach dunes and beaches and pathways lined with
like Spanish moss. It's just a gorgeous stunning there's a
lot to take it. It's it's really gorgeous. And Spanish

(17:39):
moss trees, by the way, are I think my favorite trees.
I got swapped up to them when we're in Savannah, Georgia,
which is like Spanish moss heaven. There's so moody looking
and especially when the sun is kind of like trickling through,
it's great. And also like it kind of speaks to
like our Kremblin Island might be my spirit park because
I'm also a very moody person. So these moody trees
and they make really great photos too. Yeah again, just

(18:02):
like you, I got some nice photos of you actually
wandering through the Spanish moss. Oh you did. Yeah, it's
really nice, even the ones like coming out of the storm,
like yeah, well, I'll have to talk more on that,
like yeah, yeah, freshly glazed with rain water. It was.
It was really lovely after the fact, actually, but yeah,
so the South End Loop trail was sensational and totally

(18:25):
worth all the drama that we wound up like surrounded by.
So when we were leaving south from the sea camp,
the trail weaves through some like dark forest and along
the western shore of the island. The landscape is just
so vivid and so green. It's incredibly lush, and that
sun isn't too bright because basically the trees are like
tall enough to block out most of the direct rays

(18:45):
um and it's just so perfect. I know, it felt
like it was almost glowing, like the forest was glowing
because of like this halo effect from the sun above
the tree line, and it's really ideal. The temperature was great,
This portion of the day was great, And this part
of the trail it's also where you and I got
into a very serious conversation about me starting to write
like murder mystery novels that take place in different natural

(19:08):
settings like this, because I really just want to be
the modern day Arthur Christie. I think that's what I'm realizing.
A full circle. Is it that we're referencing Agatha Christie
on episode one of season two, since we also Menstor
on episode one of season one. I mean, kaa valley
episode on the Murder Mystery Train. That's just crazy. Yeah,
I don't know, It's it's like getting the game back together.

(19:31):
It's like Parkly, India season two. It's you, Me, finn Acatha, Christie. Yeah,
gangs all here, Yeah, we're all here. Yes, that's just
that's like the vibe that I think I was I
was feeling. I mean, it was totally felt like the
type of place for a murder mystery because like even
more than the Murdering Mystery Train ride in Kayahoga Valley,

(19:51):
Like I just love seeing the ruins and then I
just imagine like ghost building the walls, like you know,
like huh, and then like people walking around. Like as
I was walking through this, I was imagining what it
would look like in a movie or in a murder
history esque environment. It's very cinematic, very very cinematic. The
whole places surreal, super inspiring. Yeah for sure. And like

(20:12):
you because you mentioned earlier when like we're all like
gathering off of the boat underneath the cabin for to
get out of the rain, it felt like the cast
of characters like a clue thing or whatever, and so
that kind of That's what also triggered this idea, was like, oh,
there's like I don't know, ten random strangers on this island.
Like you know, there was a group of like four

(20:33):
or five friends. There was a couple, there was us,
another couple. There was like a solo person, the solo
person trust where they work out look out for them. Absolutely,
I know. So Carmelin Island would really be a prime
setting for something like this like this juicy who done it?
Except the culprit I think would inevitably turn out to
just be lightning, so kind of anti climactic, but especially

(20:58):
perfect because this island and this trail actually has remnants
of like an old mansion like I was talking about,
and it's like when you think about the lightning, and
I mean, it's just it was. It was perfect. Like
I cannot explain enough that it's like the perfect murder mystery.
S Yeah, because of course it has the remnants of
an old mansion. Why not. And this place is called
Dungeoness or Dungeoness, like it's like the Crab and nowadays

(21:22):
it's just ruins from the old Carnegie Dungeness mansion and
it's surrounded by these gardens plus fittingly increepily enough, also
a cemetery because again, of course, yeah, there has serious
like great Gatsby vibes. Yeah, like a post apocalyptic Gatsby mansion,
I think, where the humans are long gone and all
that's left are these ruins. And then weirdly wild horses. Yeah. Surprisingly,

(21:46):
some of the only wildlife we noticed on the island
was that pack of wild horses behind the mansion. So
so random that the horses are on this island, Yeah,
very random, and they were just like convened in this
big group behind the mansion, were walking by. They look
like a like a gang posse. And there were murderous horses.
Yeah probably. I think they're prime suspects in the murder

(22:09):
mystery too, very suspicious of them. History. Yeah, we could
actually probably spend a whole episode talking about the Dungeness
area because it's crazy and there's just a lot here
to unpack. Um. The mansion itself was designated as a
National Historic District in nine two, not long after comer
Than Island National Seashores. That's designation. Yes, we could easily

(22:33):
just like doing the whole episode because it's, like you said,
it's so fascinating and insane, but I think we can
also keep it brief and sum it up for you.
So Dungeness was first built by this man, James Oglethorpe
in seventeen thirty six as this kind of like grandiose
hunting lodge, and he named it after Dungeness in England.

(22:54):
And like I said, not the crab like I initially assumed,
which is good because I actually hate dungeness crabs. They're
like I don't. There's not a lot of food I hate,
but where ly Dungeoness crap is one of them. Yeah.
I got Dungeoness crab cakes like a few years ago,
and I'll never you'll never never get over that. Yeah. Yeah.
The next person to gain ownership, though, of Dungeness was

(23:14):
Nathaniel Greene and his wife Katherine Um. They actually had
the four four story mansion added, you know, just supercoup
because the one mansion wasn't enough, so let's just add
another fourth story house then, yeah. Right. Then, during the
War of eighteen twelve, British soldiers occupied the mansion and
used it as their headquarters, which seems oddly lavish for

(23:39):
like soldiers. And if all that wasn't crazy enough, the
mansion was then occupied by Henry Lee, the father of
Robert Ealey, who stayed here until he died in eighteen
eighteen and was buried in the cemetery out back, again
staging for a perfect murder mystery, like ghost reunion, like yeah, sorry,
it's like years and years E see occupants and like

(24:01):
wild horses and like intense what it's I don't know
what's going on here, but it's it's ominous to the least.
And after all this, the mansion actually wound up burning
in a fire in eighteen sixty six, again a little
bit of foreshadowing or something. But then Thomas M. Carnegie
bought the property in the eighteen eighties and he built
a new mansion as a winter home, primarily kind of

(24:25):
like a fancy phoenix rising from the ashes, I guess.
And the new Dungeness two point oh had fifty nine rooms,
so I think it's basically like the built more Mansion
of Cumberland Island. And Carnegie's wife, Lucy, who continued to
live on the island long after her husband's death, had
other properties built on the island for children, like the
Plumb or jard for George Carnegie and gray Field for

(24:47):
Margaret Carnegie, yeah, which is like how sweet? What a
what a like relatable birthday gift? Like for me, like
I got like Star Wars gift cards, but for the
Carnegiees they get their own mansions, which is so relatable.
They're like very yeah, yeah, so relatable. But this is
like the New Dungeon is a it actually burned down
as well, and this time it was suspected to be

(25:12):
an act of arson. I mean, I don't gasp in
real life a lot, but this is like the part
of the episode where a gasping sound effect would be
well placed or just me, you know, literally gasping because
didn't we tell you this place had like actual murder
mystery vibes written all over it. And then you know
you're throwing these like wild horses and this legacy of

(25:33):
like Henry Lee and soldiers and like arson, which is
at this point looks like the horses may have done
in the Pyromaniac courses. Today the place looks like a
haunted house. It's just falling hard and it's in rubbles,
but it's just so beautiful. I know, it's wild. It's
got these really intimidating main gates. And then just huge

(25:54):
de crapt remnants of brick and stone walls that are
mostly kind of falling apart. It reminded me actually of
the Honey of Hill house Buck and now Netflix show
that I am obsessed with it had that look, except
like more their crepit, I guess, but the same kind
of vibe in size and dark like motif. Yeah. And

(26:15):
in case you thought you could get a more possibly
dramatic than Dungeoness, stay tuned and hear more about this
epic island after this break. Hi, I'm Matt and I'm Brad.

(26:49):
This is park Landia and today's episode is about Carmerland
Island National Seashore in Georgia Beach. So, continuing on our
loop trail on the island, we are leaving from Dungeness
and the trail from there it turned east and it
takes you across to the beach portion of the island

(27:11):
through these Spanish monasteries that we talked about, and then
pass some marshland and then eventually through some dunes to
get to some of the prettiest, prettiest beach landscape I
think we've ever seen that's so peaceful there, I mean,
Cumberland island has seventeen miles of uninterrupted beach with no
structures of any kind, and it's so pure, so natural.

(27:31):
And then we were there. We were like literally only
saw one other couple in the distance. In the distance, yes,
I know they were but other than that, it was
just us the ocean and a bunch of birds. But
they minded their own business and we just swam. Yeah.
I know. It really was really really nice and perfect
and serene, And this was the part of the trip

(27:54):
I think I was most looking forward to. We just
dropped our stuff, put a couple of towels down, and
then pretty much just ran right into the water, which
was so warm and comfortable. It was no problem, perfect
place to swim and float like I mean, just enjoy
these like gentle waves. I mean, I just really loved it.
I mean we had to be mindful of the tides

(28:16):
and the fact that you're in the wilderness, so like
there are animals like sea turtles and sharks to exist
true there. I mean, this is a while open. I mean,
this is the ocean, so you never know. But as
long as you're not reckless, you'll be fine. Especially, I
think the greatest thing to be wary of it is
the tide, and when we went it was low tide,
it was the waves were pretty docile, and I wind

(28:39):
up just being perfect. I think, really the thing is
the main worry here is the ever greater chance of
being struck by lightning than being bit by a shark.
And we can personally attest to that. I mean, we
weren't sting real right now to real right. So while
we're out here swimming having a peaceful, calm little afternoon,
it all to a screeching halt when I saw these

(29:02):
terrifyingly dark clouds start to quickly roll in. I remember
looking at you, bobbing the water, looking at you, and
my heart's starting to race, and I say, like, are
those clouds coming this way? I don't remember seeing those
For Some'm like, no, it's not that big of a deal.
But then I like quickly making clear that they were. Um.
They were moving like so fast. I mean, the other

(29:23):
cup on the beach had left, so it's just us, right,
and they were like my safety blanket. Like. I was
looking at them, like as long as they're here, we're fine,
and then all of a sudden they're gone. I'm like,
oh no, things were starting to get scary and legitimately
very dark, which was like the most terrifying things, Like,
these clouds are it's like nighttime dark. Well not, you know,
the clouds are really dark. And we got out of

(29:45):
the water, collected our things, and started to speed walk
up the beach with the intent to complete the loop trail,
knowing that at some point ahead the trail would reconnect
and to be able to cross back west across the
island towards the docks. Yeah, and then I like the
rain was starting to like fall harder and harder until
it was like a torrential downpour. And I was worried

(30:06):
because I had like my backpack with my laptop in it.
Who brings a laptop to an island? I don't know
who you're thinking. What was I thinking, Like, I bring
a GoPro, not a laptop. But it was just like
but I mean, this rain was just heavy, heavy, as
the clouds were like closing in behind us, and we're like,
I mean it was just enveloping us in the darkness
and the water, and you also had our phones in

(30:28):
your backpack, so I'm like, our lives are in your hands,
And I was just so worried and it's weird. I mean,
my parties are a little askew. I'm I'm worried, messy
about the phones, but not really caring about what happens
to my body. Like yeah, I mean, and then that's

(30:50):
when that that's when that lightning and thunder started to
increase and get louder and brighter and closer and closer
and closer and closer, and it just like you were
just like, what is going on? Like I was at
this point in this like journey, in this trip. Then
I'm like it switched to me. I was trying to
remain calming. I was like screaming because I was like,

(31:14):
this is getting really freaky really fast. Yeah, I was,
And I needed some levity from you because I was
having a full blown Belton. I was so nervous. The
lightning was so close at one point that the ground
was shaking, but not as much as I was shaking
because I was just like a complete, complete like terror.
I was. Yeah. I just kept on trying to make

(31:42):
like these like jokes, like these little nervous jokes and
comments that would make us feel better, but you were
not having it, no, not at all that I was
just like this is not this is beyond the point.
And this was the part of the day where I'm
pretty sure like I was probably sobbing out of fear,
but I couldn't really tell because there was just so
much rain covering my entire face that like I couldn't
tell what was tears and what was rain, Like this

(32:05):
is this is where I am like in my life,
I'm just so so with water and tears are all
mixing with rain. It was terrifying. I mean I remember
creating some videos of us walking on my phone and
you were like and it was raining, and I know
it wouldn't have my phone up. I'm like, well, if
it's in my backpack and getting soaked, what's the difference.
But we were just like quietly speed walking and with

(32:27):
one of the towels like wrapped around you. And I
was just making like a bunch of like horrible commentary,
which isn't helping at this point, and I was trying
to be very helpful, and I think I did the opposite.
This is like a scary movie right now, And I mean,
like we are literally terrified, and I am nervously laughing
because this like storm is like coming in at us,

(32:48):
so fast that it literally feels like we're being chased,
like from the bad guy and Lord of the Rings
like or something crazy like that. So this is our
last message. So I all of you, we love you.
And that's really pissed because I'm doing this right now.
Oh god. Yeah. So I have that towel wrapped around

(33:09):
me because I was cold, it was windy, and like
the rain all of it, so I was desperate to
like shield myself with something or anything, even though a
wet towel was absolutely not going to do anything to
wore me up or protect me from a lightning strike. Yeah,
I mean what I was saying. It was getting closer
and close and closer. Eventually it got so close that
and so consistent that I like literally said, like, cover

(33:31):
us with your towel so I can call nine one one.
Literally started to dial nine one one. Yeah. We curled
up on the ground and this little ball put my
towel over both of us as best I could, because
my phone screen was too wet to like use my
thumbs like it was just like trying to kind of
even it was like trying to drive off on my shirt,
which was also soaked. And then I'm like let's show
the back back. It's also so I mean, there was

(33:52):
like nothing and it was just really difficult. I was
like just slipping on sliding. But I'm like it was
conflucting because I'm were getting under this towel and you
had your phone out, and I was like thinking, like,
oh my god, what are you doing. I thought you
might be calling it out on one, and like part
of me was just like terrified at that idea. I'm like,
the notional calling anyone. It's just so scary and drastic.

(34:14):
But then also I'm thinking, like, yes, we need someone
place can save us. Like it was that there. They
were just that close and there was no no like
seventeen miles of no right that structures, like there was
nothing we could hide from this lightning and no trees,
no nothing. It was just a lot of water being wet,
too much water, and like I remember, like when we

(34:36):
were walking down the beach, like the sand was still
like drifting over it as it was in this trenchl downpourt,
like it just like this double eerie nous where like
there's too many of sand and winds s faint shelter,

(35:05):
like there's a closing end and the crazy part about
all this, like this scenery, like fifteen minutes prior, like

(35:26):
all of this stuff, the serenity and like the isolation
of it all was a great thing, like we love this,
like how awesome, But now it was the worst part,
like we can't be here and surprisingly when we tried
to do this, there was no service, so we couldn't
even make a call. And I'm not sure like anyone
would be able to do for us anyway, like maybe

(35:47):
they could come out in a vehicle and get us
quicker or anything. We're in the middle of this remote
beach on the island, forty five minutes from shore, in
the middle of a storm. I mean, it was just crazy,
I know, Like even if that call went through, I
don't know, like what what would they have told us
to do? Just like okay, stay right, don't die. Yeah,
Like if ZEUS wants to strike us down, no nine

(36:09):
one operator can stop it. Frankly, And for me, I've
always had this weird thing with fire and lightning, like
ever since my childhood home burned down in two thousand two.
It was from a lightning strike, So I've always had
this like lingering, haunted fear that lightning and fire have
been out to get me the rest of my life
and finish the job, sort of like one of those

(36:29):
final destination movies were like, I evaded, you know, demise,
I have made it. I evaded lightning demise in two
thousand two. But then ever since, it's been looking for
opportunities to take me down. And here we are out
on comer Land and I was like, Okay, this is
the final showdown. This is We're a lightning, you know,
comes back to get me. This is that. But thankfully

(36:51):
the rain and lightning started to slow down and stop
and we're able to keep walking and we got off
the beach. The trail wasn't too far ahead, as we
had been walking for a while. I was so worried
because I remember I started to question. I was like,
should we just turned back, Like I don't know how
far I had the trail is. I was like, screwed.
It was like nothing to hide back there, I know.
So I was traumatized and cold and soaking wet, and

(37:15):
just really really wanted to get back to the ferry
and back to the mainland and then ultimately into the
fetal position somewhere warm. That's like all I wanted to
do now we meanted when we managed to find that
trail and we were speed walking back through it, and
I remember before we even got to the ferry that
like there was some restrooms and like a camping site,
and I have never been so happy to see a shelter. Yeah. Like,

(37:38):
and I we go up on the ground to this
water fountain and then there's like these things plugged in
but nobody around, like electronics and stuff, and I'm like,
somebody's a long. Electronics are like plugged in. There's nobody
around here, and I'm like, oh god, here it is.
Let's continue this murder mystery. We're going to die. I
know they've already gotten killed obviously and dragged away and

(38:00):
so like first, but then like I tried to go
use the restroom and then they just locked. There was
like a little kid in there or something like open
the door. I'm like, who are you? And then he
like shut it, like he like opened it up, like hey,
and then he shut it and I'm like, okay, well,
at least the people are still alive. I couldn't use
the restroom, so I had to hold that at least
of our worries. Yeah. So well, we were able to

(38:24):
get out of that, and then like the rain had
mostly stopped and we were just like kind of walking
through the lingering like droplets falling off the trees and stuff.
But there were some pretty deep puddles in the middle
of the trail, and they're like we were just like,
screw it, I don't even care anymore. Like I'm wearing shoes,
but we're just gonna walk through this ankle deep puddle.
It doesn't even matter. We like managed to catch that ferry,
the one that was like two hours before we were

(38:46):
supposed to leave, but we just caught it, and we're like,
we're done. Miracle because I was I didn't think that
was gonna be a possibility. I thought like we would
get back there and just have to sit around for
like an additional two hours or something. But it I
was so relieved, and we're able to kind of dart
back onto the boat just in time, and then I'll
never forget it, and I kind of now I love it.

(39:08):
At the time, I was just like shaken up. But
you got this photo of me once we're back in
the ferry, and my glasses are off and I'm just
staring completely blankly ahead with this look of like complete
trauma and shock and motionless and frozen. I felt like, um,
those kids from their original Drastic Park when they're all

(39:28):
in the helicopter at the end of the movie right
after like narrowly escaping death from Veloso raptors and two
racks and stuff. But also a nice little silver lying
out of all this is you got me a customized
bracelet with sand that you sneakly scooped up from that
beach that we almost died on. So now I have
this memory with me every where I go. That's yeah,

(39:51):
from Dune. Jewelry are friends there, They're so great and yeah,
I just sent them some of the sand that I
scooped up and they put it in that like great
lava beated bracelet of yours. I know. Yeah, I only
get to Jewelry surrounded by trauma, and I mean it's beautiful.
It is. It's slower lining and I love that bracelet. Ecology.

(40:18):
You're listening to park Landia. Today's episode is about Cumberland
Island National Sheets or in Georgia, and one of the
concepts behind that is like this introduction of invasive species
so that it's like particular two islands. Um islands have
their own special ecology, but Cumberland Island is a little
too close to the mainland to exhibit many of the

(40:39):
special ecologic juggle traits of true island species like gigantis
um or dwarf is um, flightlessness of birds, the absence
of defense mechanisms, et cetera. But however, Cumberland has one
thing that threatens island ecosystems worldwide. Invasive species. Yes, that's right,
and probably the most it's element of Carmelan Island wildlife.

(41:02):
It's two hundred feral horses. Like we mentioned earlier, this
this posse turns out their feral The forebears of these
horses were brought to the island, possibly as early as
the fifteen hundreds by the people who built the Spanish missions,
but the earliest historical account of them is from seventeen
forty two. For much of their time on the island,
the horses were considered free ranching livestock, not feral initially,

(41:23):
which means they live in the wild without assistance from people,
but come from domesticated stock. Yeah. During the Civil War,
some of those horses were sold or otherwise taken off
the island. But then when the Carnegies moved to Comber
Island in the eighteen eighties, they brought in new horses,
which then interbred with the stock that was already there. Yeah,
so they were kept as livestock until this nineteen sixties,

(41:47):
but by nineteen seventy two, when the park was established,
the horses were entirely feral at that point, surviving on
the island without any human support. Yeah, there was like
many studies conducted since the nineteen eighties that have suggested
that the ecology of the island has been damaged by
horses and pigs because they overgraze on the island, increasing
their erosion and destabilized sand dunes, displaced need of species.

(42:11):
They disturbed turtles and like shore birds that are nesting,
they degrade the water quality. And the feral pigs have
even learned to root up the nest of federally protected
loggerhead sea turtles and they eat the eggs. They're basically
treating carmelin ion like an all you can eat buffet
like not on undeterred. The kind of goes into that

(42:31):
circle of life, I mean, at this point really messes
it up and it changes things. Right, So since the
horses have existed in Carmelin for so long, and let's
face it, they add the amates of the park because
as we can attast like we're here talking about them,
the Park Service now lets them room freely and unmanaged,
although some studies have suggested the ecosystem would benefit from
a seventy reduction in the herd. The wild hawks of

(42:55):
their hand are are managed and can be hunted from
October to January. Crazy, right, and go hunt some pigs
and coming out island. But the beauty of wildlife in
national parks is just one of those things that like
you've got to realize, like you can introduce wrong things.
There's a lot of invasive species, invasive animals, and you

(43:16):
know there's good and bad to them. You know, at
this point there is something we can do. Um they
are doing some of that for the feral pigs when
they are able to be hunted from October to January.
But like horses, you know a lot of people are
very protective of horses, which is understandable, but we also
need to take care of the island and like is
it okay for them to be there or is it not?

(43:37):
You know, they've been there for so many years. Is
that their land are like our land or the islands land? Like,
how do we do this? We don't have answers. I'm
not going to come here and say that we are
like trying to do anything one way or another, but
we just want to understand it. So we're really excited
to dig more into that during this season of park Landia. Yeah,

(43:58):
very true. So another popular animal that results on the
island is called the oyster catcher. An oyster catcher is
a shore bird that lives in cremlent On year round.
They're these striking black and white birds that have bright orange,
almost knife like beaks that they uses blades to open
up oysters and other bivalves by cutting the abductor muscle

(44:20):
and playing at the meat, which is kind of hardcore.
And yeah, that's like, yeah, that's a lot. I mean,
I can't even like chuck oysters to save my life
with like total equipments. Yeah, and they can just like
pluck them out like it's no problem. Another beautiful like
animal that's on this island are the island glass lizards.

(44:40):
Now we didn't get to see these on our trip,
but we had a lot of other like dramatic things happening,
so we were a little distracted with trying to survive.
Yeah exactly. But these glass liverards are reptiles that look
like snakes, but they're not. They're actually lizards. Yeah, so
they're lackless, which is I didn't even know lizards came
in like liss form but or like less. And they
live on many of the Barrier Islands in Georgia, this

(45:03):
obviously being one of them. And you can distinguish a
glass lizard from a snake by looking to see if
they have eyelids in large air holes in the sides
of their head like some other lizard species. They can
regenerate sections of their tails too, and they're called glass
lizards because they seem to shatter when you try to
pick them up, which is what amazing. Yeah, I mean
there's times where I'm like with my nephews, um Brock

(45:25):
and Judah at their place, and these are four legged lizards,
but we're like in the backyard standards, you know, they
try to pick them up, and I remember one time
Brock that one and the tail fell off and like
Judah like started freaking out and like it was really
upset that this tail fell off, and like that's when
we had to actually get into discussion, like this is

(45:46):
actually happens. You'll grow back. It's okay, we didn't break it.
So if you're I'm coming on and keep an eye
out for all this stuff, you'll probably I think horses
are like the animals will most likely see which is
exciting and just really different. But then also keep an
eye out for oyster catchers and island class lizards and

(46:08):
all of it. Feral hogs. If you want to go
hunt some pigs and make some coming around bacon, feel free.
But like October to January only that's a neat a time.
If you make some bacon, let us know send it, Yeah,
let us know, send it to us. I do want
to mention that it's really important that we do not
like mess with wildlife. Like I know we were talking
about picking up lizards and things like that, but like
we did not do that at this National park. We

(46:30):
don't want to get close to feral hogs because they
can kill you. I mean, there are news rangers animal
in different states where like they have literally killed people.
So you just don't want to risk your life, your
safety or anything. Like that. You know, the way that
I would capture a animal in a national park is

(46:50):
by photograph, and that's why I would definitely bring a
really good quality like camera or a like go pro
in case it rains and you get washed out and
you don't want to ruin everything. So this actually leads
into our favorite things, which, um, I think for me
it was like actually being able to capture everything because
it was a very dramatic park for us, and mine

(47:12):
was like, even though it scary as heck, like going
down that beach, experiencing that together after we just built
up this whole murder mystery idea in the background, So
like capturing some of that because I took a lot
of notes and everything. Look at that on my phone
audio notes to physical notes and that, so I'll definitely
remember to bring my phone. My favorite Yeah, totally. So

(47:37):
I think my favorite thing about Kerminlin Island is pretty simple.
I think it's just that I lived through it and
I had this really wild, bizarre, terrifying experience that I'm
able to talk about and looking back, it's true. It
is one of those things where like, yeah, in the moment,
it was very unsettling to the least, but like what

(48:01):
what a memory and like what a crazy day and
we're able to share our experienced at this National Park
site from that unique, you know perspective just one day
of sixty and so there's three sixty four more days
that you can go and explore it and not die.
I'm sure it's gonna be a great thing to go

(48:21):
bad too. And I think there's a lot of things
that I would bring, but definitely like rain gear because
when you're off the coast, there's a lot of like
little tropical storms that come through. Like they're not big,
they're not you know, huge storms. You're gonna survive through it,
but you don't want everything soaked. So make sure you
feel like your waterproofing gear and your raincoats. And don't

(48:43):
bring a laptop because you just don't read it. And
don't be stupid like I was. This isn't Starbucks. You
don't need your laptop. Um. The three things that I
would suggest bring it to Carminlin Island. I think either
bring a bathing suit or just like wear it there.
I think you and I both just like war a
bathing suits there so we didn't have to change while
we were on the island, although that is an option.

(49:04):
There are changing rooms and restrooms and so forth, but
you're gonna want to swim like that was up until
like the storm like came through. Swimming was so much
fun at the beach, and I can only assume and
imagine like on a sunny, pristine day it would be
you know, absolute bliss, and so do that and then

(49:25):
all this stuff that goes with that, like beach towel, sunscreen,
all that stuff, and then we also have um like
some goggles and like snorkel equipment. I'm not sure the
storm Clan would be ideal because it's obviously waves and
kicking up sand and stuff, so you won't people to
see much. But you know, if you want to have goggles,
which I like to have goggles because I like to
open my y, and if it's colder, you want a

(49:46):
wet suit because you still want to go swim, but
bring some sort of swimming attire. And then I would
also suggest bringing like a some sort of like satellite
phone because eat like worst case scenario you need if
you need to call a nuber one, which we didn't
do that like on our own. You know, we didn't
just come up with that idea, like while we're on

(50:07):
the mainland, the park rangers told us to do that,
like if you're in a tricky situation where the weather
gets scary Connor and one. So we're like, okay, good advice.
That would it would be helpful of there was service,
but yeah, and there would have been. But the clouds
are so dark that they covered up everything. Like it
just got really dark, like Lord or surrounding on the

(50:28):
Lord of the Rings, like it was just it was
that urie and crazy. Yeah, it definitely was. And then
also pack this is like such a beautiful place to
have some sort of picnic or like pack alone. She
can be as light or as hard easy one we
brought sandwiches and snacks and chips and like um beef
jerky on the ferry but whatever. And the beach would

(50:49):
be ideal for that too, because it's it's just so
lovely and spacious and like we said, you have seventeen
miles of uninterrupted, purely natural beach with like no life,
it's no building, it's no construction of any sort, and
it just is wonderful and would be a really lovely
place to kick back and relax with like a p

(51:11):
b and J or something that would make a little
grocery bag. Bring it with you so that way you
can pack out your trash because of it's not places
to like throw it away there, like you need to
pack out your own trash because they don't really have that. Yeah,
for sure, But all in all, Cumberland Island was this
wild adventure. It was this saga for sure. I mean,

(51:33):
it makes for one hell of a story. It really didn't.
I'm just so glad that we're we live there and
we're able to talk about it and share with you
are epic, crazy, wild adventure and to come to an island.
Thanks so much for listening to the first episode of
season two of Parklandia. We have so much in store

(51:56):
from you that is different from season one that we're
going into Matt. They are going to have our own
miniseries um and bonus episodes, and we're going to talk
about boon docking. We're gonna talk about the essentials. We're
talking about buying an RV for the first time and
finding the one that's right for you. Um my miniseries
will be boondocking with Bread. And then we have Mats,

(52:16):
which is gonna be traveling eats with Matt and what
are you gonna be talking about. Yeah, So while we're
traveling with Country in the r V, we spend a
lot of time in like in cities and towns in
areas where they have these robust food scenes and food culture.
And I'm excited to dig a little bit more into
that and highlight these places, whether it's a city known
for a certain cuisine or it's like a region, and

(52:40):
we'll be able to like hate for more of that,
which I'm so excited about because that's always like one
of our favorite things to do when we were traveling
and we have a few extra days and we're like,
let's go here and like go to all these iconic
restaurants or iconic bars or whatever. Just get a taste
of local flavor from across the country. There's a lot
of absolutely and speaking of like explore ring, we're not

(53:01):
the only people that explore national parks. We're gonna have
interviews on. We're gonna have the National Park Patch lady
on and she's going to talk about her love for
national parks. We're going to have uh Tim Burton of
Burton's Maplewood Farm coming on and talking about beginning our
journey and how we've traveled together to national parks while

(53:22):
on the Maple Trail. There's so much in store here
in season two, so please stay tuned and as always,
thank you for listening. You've been listening to park Landia,
a show about national parks. Parklandia is a production of
My Heart Radio, created by Matt Carouac, Brad Krouac and

(53:45):
Christopher has the otis producer and edited by Mike Johns.
Our executive producer is. Christopher hasiotis our researcher. It's jeff
Lynn shield. A special things goes out to Gabrielle Collins,
Cristal Waters and the rest of the Parklandia crew. And
hey listeners, if you're enjoying the show, leave us a
review on Apple Podcasts. It helps other people like you
find our show. You can keep up with us on
social media as well. Check out our photos from our

(54:08):
travels on Instagram at Parklndia pod and join in on
the conversation and our Facebook group parkl India Rangers from
our podcast My Heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
and as always, thank you for listening,