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Florida’s Big Bend is full of natural beauty from spring fed rivers to forests and a lot of lakes. The area of land is so vast, many of the waterways do not connect. Hence, getting from one boat ramp to the next in our family’s river roaming ensemble had us driving upwards of an hour each way from our first “homebase” of our 2024 big summer trip.
Scouts Lodge was another 15-minute drive from the freshly asphalted, Econfina River Road. Across a bridge and down some narrow, bumpy dirt roads you will find a 13 acres retreat, raised 30’ ft in the air atop of concrete pillars similar to what is used for bridges. Keith, the owner, lives in the front main up three flights of stairs. Behind their home and screened porch, are three small cabins. Each had its own loft, bathroom, kitchenette, porch, and air conditioner and the entire upstairs had a wrap around porch with many places to view the property; equipped with three different kinds of grills. Yet the best part of the property, was a few minute jaunt down the boardwalk where a screened-in, two-story hideout provides shade and views of the Ecofina River and boat dock. As always, we had questions about the waters of the rivers on the first leg of this mission. Thankfully, Keith was an experience boater and knew much about each of the four rivers on our list.
Day one on the water, we entered the Aucilla for our 121st river followed by the Wacissa for #122. The vivid fauna and archaeological dig team via pontoon had our complete attention as the massive rock below took off half a blade from our prop. Thus, it was a slow crawl out to the Gulf where a single Ramora (suction cup fish) was caught. Good news, we had a spare and was able to change the prop out under the shade of the concrete fortress back at the Scout Lodge.
Our hopes were high the next day that we would time the drastic tides right to make it into the Gulf and cut across for our 123rd River, the Ecofina to the Fenholloway for #124. However, after already losing a prop, we decided to play it safe and roam down one then drive to the other boat ramp, a mere 45 minutes away. Our plan worked and we saw beautiful savannahs and fished plenty without a single bite. That night, as we cooked up some Tillery Cheesesteaks on his flat top grill, we got to hear stories from our new friend about his time in the military ranging from the fall of the Berlin wall to anacondas in the Amazon; amazing!
Next morning, we were off to Apalachicola, a two hour drive due west, with a busy, historical downtown. There were many cute shops along the riverbank full of old northern Florida architecture complete with bricks and pine trees. The Bay City Lodge fish camp was our next stop. Found our name on the dry erase board upon arrival, we had been assigned an isolated cabin that had likely not been updated since it was built. Regardless, the property itself was quite charming with a working marina, plenty of boat docking, and icehouse. After settling into the cabin, knowing we would be utilizing our truck camper too, we hopped on the boat and headed into town for some sighting and dinner. A ten-minute walk from the Scipio Creek Marina where we planned to have supper at the end, we found the downtown district. This happy mom found two pairs of earrings, a long-sleeved shirt, painted oyster shell, and green tea shooter at the Up to No Good bar before sitting for dinner. Serving only oysters from Apalachicola, the Half Shell Dockside Oyster Bar & Grill, gave us water views that showcased a nice sized gator swimming in the river halfway through the meal which got every diner’s attention. It was clear that everything was fresh and made with love, from oysters two ways to dry rubbed wings with a sensational blue cheese dressing, we savored every moment.
Next day, rivers #125 through #128 were our goals, adorned with sand hill dunes taller than anywhere in the Treasure Coast. Thank you to the memories and calming, serene land views from onboard our boat to the: Jackson, Brothers, East River of the Panhandle, and Chipola Rivers. It is a hike but worth the journey to experience the Big Bend with an open heart for the special joy small towns and Florida country living can provide.
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