We got there and the swim beach was closed! They said Corinth was closed, too. There had been some flooding at Smith Lake and both beaches had damaged retaining walls and trees down. That would have been really nice to have posted on the website that I checked that morning...
Apparently, Alabama Power is supposed to take care of the lake debris and had not gotten started yet, so I imagine it will be the whole summer with only one of the 3 beaches in operation.
We stopped at the ranger station off 33 in Double Springs and got directions to Clear Creek, which I have only been to once before a few years back and Heather had never been to.
It was another 20 miles, but we decided to head on anyway. We got to the gate, paid our fees ($4 a car) and got parked. It was pretty crowded, but the 'beach' area is in a long inlet, so there was plenty of room to spread way out, we even got a spot under a big pine that kept us shaded all afternoon. The kids played and swam, Heather and I floated around in our chairs then got out and yacked a while. I swam across the inlet with Ben and Chan-they both did really well! I was surprised because I am a stronger swimmer and I was getting tired! I pushed Ben along a little ways, but he soon rested up and was back at it.
We left around 4 or so, by then nearly all the families had left for the day, it was calm and quiet the last hour or so we were there, and it never was too crowded, though someone was smoking once-the ranger chased them down as they left, so I wonder if that's a no-no on the beach?
All in all, a very pleasant afternoon with some of our favorite folks!
