Traveling deeper into Mississippi, we visited the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge. Noxubee is the name of the county where the refuge is located. This diverse habitat has been a refuge and breeding ground since 1940 for migratory birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects and a wide variety of wildlife. The ranger at the Visitor Center provided us with maps and trail recommendations. We also toured the natural history museum which highlights the history and work of the refuge in protecting endangered species and the wetland / bottomland hardwood forests.
The trails were often boardwalks over ponds and marshes buzzing with dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, and, gratefully, very few mosquitoes.
We scoffed at the sign at the entrance of one of these wooden structures which warned of alligators. “Yeah, right? What are the chances?”
But, no sooner had we ventured a few hundred feet forward when we saw one resting on top of a log out in the middle of the swamp!
Farther into the refuge, we took a trail that led to the water’s edge.
While we were watching more dragonflies and looking for turtles, we were being watched by a banded water snake hiding among the floating sticks a few yards away.
The cypress trees were submerged in the mucky water and surrounded by small “knees” that resembled Japanese spirit kami.
At the next observation platform, we encountered wood ducks, snowy egret, mallard ducks, Canadian geese, heron, black vulture, and two bald eagles.
Along the trail were dogwoods, palmettos, and a long needled pine tree called the Loblolly Pine.
Trekking through some infrequently used paths left spiderweb pollen prints on our hiking pants.
As we were leaving the refuge, we saw a local fisherman wearing waders and moving slowly through the swampy river possibly setting limb lines or hand grappling. After our alligator and snake encounters, I don’t think I’d be in that water!
Wild Weather
We stayed at a KOA Campground near Starkville, MS. We enjoyed a beautiful view of the lake from our site. We watched ducks and several different species of birds from our camp chairs each morning.
The property contained palm trees and magnolia trees and had a large registration building and camp store.
We kept checking the weather app on our phone for the progress of some severe thunderstorms heading our way. We decided to extend our stay for a couple days until the storms passed instead of trying to travel in the strong winds. This proved to be a wise decision and gave me an excuse to do a little kitchen cabinet reorganizing.
We also took the chance to do a little grilling.
The day after our refuge visit, the storms hit our area with winds gusting at over 50 mph and tornado warnings for most of the evening.
At times the rain pounded so loudly on the roof that we could barely hear ourselves talk. The camp hosts opened the registration office building as a shelter for campers and texted us with the information. Aside from a little water getting in through the roof vent fan, we did not have any damage to Lil Sebastian. The next morning under sunny skies, we were on our way to Vicksburg.
Campground Review: Starkville, MS KOA
We stayed at Starkville, MS KOA for 5 nights. When we needed to extend our stay to wait out some severe weather, the office staff quickly took care of our request without any problem. We stayed in a full hookup site with picnic table and fire ring which faced the lake. The site was on a concrete pad and level. Hookups were near the rear of the site and we never lost power or water pressure. The shower facilities and bathrooms are older but in good working condition. (They are also a designated tornado shelter as is the registration building.) A small camp store is located inside the registration building. The fishing pier was not open during our stay. A few fishing boats were on the lake and the park was very quiet and peaceful. Entrance and exit were on a paved road with easy access to US 82.
Next up… Vicksburg, MS
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