Bogue Chitto Camp Host - First Few Days, AKA First Impressions

We ended our gig at the Mississippi Sandhill Crane Refuge on May 31st.  We came home and spruced up the house, thinking we weren’t going anywhere for a while.  That all changed when we made a visit to see the Gill’s at Bogue Chitto State Park where they are camp hosts.  Our visit turned into a camp host position for us.  We have some wonderful friends!!

When we took the ride on Amber last week, it was unusual cooler temperatures for the month of June. As we were riding in on Bogue Chitto Drive, a Swallow-tailed Kite circled low above us. The Swallow-tailed Kite is one of our favorite birds, (of course, our favorite species of birds are the elusive Mississippi Sandhill Cranes). 

Our thoughts when we left the closed down, (because of Covid,) wildlife refuge, was we would go home, get new tires on the camper, and hopefully head Northwest about August.  At this time, it doesn’t look like we will be traveling any time soon.  It is so great to have other options.

Ferny Kat gave an OK approval the first evening we were here.  The next morning when Lauren got up at 6 am and headed out the door for some alone birding time, Ferny Kat beat him out the door.  I raised the shade of the bedroom window at 7 am thinking I might see a bird or something, and there was Lauren being led around by Ferny Kat.  We definitely have a Ferny Kat approved site.

We put bird seed and nectar out on our first day here.  The Cardinals started frequenting the feeder shortly after we put it up.  The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds found the nectar the next day.  The second morning that we were here, one of the Hummingbirds hovered within a couple of feet from my head and looked me eye to eye.  After checking me out she hovered at the window looking at Lauren at his computer before sipping on her nectar.  This must be her way of letting me know that she is enjoying her nectar and we have Hummingbird approval for this camp host position.

Friday afternoon, we went to the gravel pits near the splash pad and found some cool plants, birds, bullfrogs, a wild boar, and a speckled king snake.  This is definitely our kind of place.

We weren’t going to start hiking until the weekend crowd left.  What started out as a short stroll  to check out the Lower Gorge Trail on Saturday morning, lead into a hike to the Upper Gorge Trail. We got in a couple of miles of hiking and 19 flights.  Let’s just say, us flatlanders are not use to all these hills.  

The Gorge Trail is a beautiful, woodsy, kind of trail with lots of cool plants, birds, and insects.  The trail meanders on the ridge of the gorge then has a boardwalk to walk on at the bottom of the gorge.  We are definitely going to spend some more time exploring this trail!

Saturday afternoon we got to spend time with Anita, Jackie, Randy, Marsha and family.  We rode around late afternoon and showed Anita around.  The beach looks like it has been a happening place today.

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