The Satilla River
Tuplar Tree
Col 285 Sector WL-L
c8-40
On December 12, 2025 I had enough T3 points to deploy the Dodecahedron! There’s mixed feelings about the Dodec. For me, it was a Godsend. Colonizing solo, big plans, going to take months. This system is will be my HOME, with 74 orbital and 62 planetary slots to build.
The Dodec Insta-Build saved me around 3 weeks of time. I’ve built an Orbis as a memorial for my Dad in another system. A T3 planetary port in this system. Still plan an Orbis (or Ocellus) in this system. Paid my dues, still paying them. My wife gifted me the Dodec. I’m grateful.
I wanted it to be special, with meaning. Named it the SATILLA RIVER TUPLAR.
The Old Satilla
River Tuplar Tree has been gently anchored in my memories for
decades. I grew up on the Satilla River. One of best places in the
world was where the Tuplar tree grew out on a small spit of land at
the side of a quiet cove. (It's long gone, the tree died and rotted
away many years ago.)
It was a giant of a tree, home to
great fishing, had big "seeds" or small "fruit,” I'm
not sure what you'd call them, but they were reddish yellow, and
elongated. Had a huge tangle of roots, half in, half out of the
river... more or less, depending on whether the river was low or
high. Mostly low in the spring and summer. Fishing was best then.
The Tuplar's trunk was gigantic. If anybody was of a
mind to swim in that deep, dark, tannin-dyed water on the outer side
of the tree, it would have probably taken 5 adults linking hands to
go all the way around it. Me, I was a little afraid of being in the
water on the deep side of the tree.
We swam in the Satilla, but
that particular spot seemed especially foreboding. Going by line
length, even when the water was low, it was 10 feet or more.
The
ground side was always shady, and pretty. Sometimes there'd be a
snake or large skink nesting in the split base of the tree. You could
climb around if you were bold, and drop a line straight out from the
water-side of the roots and trunk. It would easily drop down 10 feet
or so even when the river was low.
It was my preferred fishing
place. I'd often prop up two or three lines on the shore, climb a
nearby twisted oak that had a perfect branch for reclining on. If the
fishing was slow, I'd read a book. When I’m unsettled and in
need of peace, this is often my chosen memory.
Twenty-odd
years ago, I could find online references to Tuplar trees.
Google
used to know that Tuplar was a colloquialism for “Tupelo” tree.
Now Google thinks I’ve lost my mind.
Grok thinks maybe it was
a family colloquialism descended from the Creek language "ito
opilwa," swamp tree.
Our Tuplar tree was
a landmark to generations of my family. Mom, who will be turning 88
in a few days, remembers that tree being a giant even when she was a
child.
My generation is growing older, and our branch of the Satilla
River Thrifts and Wainwrights will likely be the final generation to
remember the Tuplar tree. “Tuplar” itself will be forgotten.
I’m grateful to Elite Dangerous for the opportunity to
make permanent changes to our chosen systems in the game.
I know
Elite has a finite lifespan, but for the duration my system will have
a Dodec station dedicated to the memory of the Satilla River Tuplar
Tree.
