DeSoto State Park - Ft. Payne, AL

On October 25th Grammy and I packed up and pulled the Montana out, headed to NE Alabama - Ft. Payne to be exact. We had made plans to meet up with Jack/Sherry White, John/Judy White, Butch/Bonnie Lenoir and Cookie & Karl. All of our camping buddies have been going in different directions and this park was the perfect location for us all to get together for an autumn vacation amounst the fall colors. Little did we know that NE AL. had been going through a drought which resulted in some pretty drab colors. Oh well, that's what happens when a trip is planned a year in advance - it's kind'a like a box of chocolates...

This was actually the third time that we've stayed at DeSoto - its just a really neat place to camp with as many hiking trails that you could want. There are many water falls, but the drought also took a toll on them ... just trickles.

The weather fully cooperated with us. It only rained one day and the rest of the week was beautifully cool - with camp fires every night. (What's the fun in camping if you don't have a fire where casual visits turn into sessions re solving the world's problems?) Some nights were filled with B.S. and Karl's jokes and others were just plane B.S.

Yum, yum...

steaks, chops, burgers, and sausage.

Nothing like fire grilled anything

on an open fire!

Of course we took the Little River Canyon scenic park drive and picnicked on the river bank. Even with dull colors, this place is awe inspiring.

The river is usually flowing

over the huge boulders

Big rock,

little peeps...

So - we also drove over another state park named "Buck's Pocket". A very small park at the

bottom of a valley between very high mountain peaks. Nice park - but not a place that I'd take the Montana. Getting it to the park would be one issue but pulling it out... would be impossible.

Notice the sign caption: "haven for defeated politicians".

A nice park drive - but not advisable for camping rigs

At the end of the week our friends, Lou & Carmon Dekmar and Steve & Lynn Heaton, joined us at Ft. Payne. They found a cozy log cabin close to the park and spent the weekend hiking with us and taking in the sights. I'm pretty sure they enjoyed the time spent together - and I know that we enjoyed them and the omelets that Lou cooked - it's kinda become a tradition while on these retreats. I'm already looking forward to next year's autumn adventure.

Well, that's about it for this camping post. It was one of the more enjoyable trips that Grammy and I've taken this year - good weather, good food, no camper problems, and oh yea, good friends.

..... until next time,

Chow

Getting back to Jekyll Island

When we arrived on Sept 16 the love bugs had not attacked but the mosquitoes sure did and they were a bother all week. No big problem though - just spray down and try to ignore. The Derums joined us the same day and we set up camp sites. We happened to plan our dates just right because the next day the "Shrimp & Grits" festival cranked into action. Mandy, Braxton, and Brice joined us Friday evening and we feasted at the festival's preview. Wow, really good food and music and crafts to take in. I think that Karl even took some left overs back to Light'ning the wiener dog.

Saturday night we hooked up with our GBI/GSP friends at the world famous Buccaneer seafood restaurant about 30 miles north of Jekyll. This gave Karl the golden opportunity to tell his jokes to a new crowd (thank you lord). This week the Peace Officers Association of GA held it's annual conference at Jekyll Is and I attended some training classes while the rest of the crew hiked, explored, biked, ate, and listed to some more of Karl's jokes...

A couple of days later our other good camping buddies, Butch & Bonnie Lenoir, joined us and brought some more fun with them. Between Butch's and Karl's stories, and Bonnie's cooking we were really set for the week. With a low country shrimp boil on one night and a blue crab steamed meal the next, we kept culinary skills honed and our bellies full!

The rest of the week was spent swapping stories and rig skills, biking and exploring the beaches. Karl taught Braxton and Brice how to play 5 card stud and they ended up winning all of his and Cookie's chips! Of course I played it safe and just watched the sharks circled the table.

If you ever travel to Jekyll Island be sure to visit the GA Sea Turtle Center/Hospital. Very interesting. You can even adopt an injured turtle. Once healed, the center straps a tracking device on it and you can follow it via computer/internet as it travels the oceans. Pretty neat. Mandy and the boys adopted a 100 lb turtle named Phantom. It is expected to be returned to the sea in the next month and then they can follow it as it swims the Atlantic. Very cool.

Jekyll Island camping had been on our calendar since last spring and we knew it would be another fun week. Having our camping buddies with us made it even more enjoyable. And of course with Mandy and the boys with us, there's always another adventure around every corner.

(If you want to see a full set of pics and the other love bugs on the beach you can go to my face book profile.)

By the way, these days are not for trade for anything...

Pappy

Catching up this blog

Last post was in June on our Gulf Coast trip - since then we've been to MISTLETOE STATE PARK near Thomson-Augusta, YOGY BEAR KID'S PARK near Breman, TALLULAH GORGE STATE PARK at Tallulah Falls (and white water rafting on the wild Chattooga River. This week we've been at JEKYLL ISLAND CAMP GROUND. Here's a few pics from the River to catch up.

(I've been waiting for way toooo long to up load these two lonely pics - the wi-fi in this park is way slow and I'm giving up for now) Catch you later.

Good-by Gulf Shores

Well, it's a wrap.

We left Gulf Shores yesterday morning at 9am and found that the trailer's exterior lights - breaks and turn signals were not working....and it began to rain - hard. Karl and Cookie followed us up the road about 30 miles to Camping World. They were booked solid and couldn't help me but did fix Karl's tire problem he had.

They sent my up the road to a mechanic who concluded that 1) it was broke and 2) he couldn't fix it. So we back tracked from whence we came: to Foley AL and it's Ford dealership.

These folks couldn't have been more helpful. (I've written a letter of appreciation to the dealership) The service manager bumped me in and had a Ford mechanic working on the truck 15 minutes later. After working on it for an hour, he located the short in the electrical connection from the truck to the trailer. At 3:30pm he got us on the road but we'll have to take the truck and get this issue resolved before we get back out on the road.

We ended up spending last night in Auburn at Chewacla Park again and hit the road this morning - got home at 1pm .

Problem: I don't know what kind of jinx is following us - but at the conclusion of the last two times we went camping we had significant issues upon packing up and getting on the road.

Resolution to problem: get out and do more camping...soon.

Until next time...

Pappy

day 8 at Gulf Shores

Grammy taking a lesson...

A funny thing happened today on the way to Naval Air Station, Pensacola.....

there we were minding our own business approaching an intersection when all of a sudden there was a LOUD screeching sound. I thought someone was about to rear end me. I looked in the mirror - nothing. I looked to my right then my left - nothing. We were all about to panic when we saw them... jets - low and over head. Blue Angels.

Little did we know that Tuesdays and Wednesdays were practice days. Very impressive. Even more so when you know whats happening. As we all broke into laughter, I began wishing I had brought an extra pair of shorts:)

The National Aeronautical Musuem is a must see if you're in this area. Very good idea to visit this impressive free attraction on the Navy Base.

day 7 at Gulf Shores

Last night a huge storm came through but today was beautiful. Spent some time at the beach to cook for a couple of hours.

Ate dinner at "The Hangout". This is kind of a take-off of what we remember at Panama City's old Hangout. Pretty neat place especially for the kids. Check out the giant sand box (hill).

Live band outside and a dj inside to keep things lively. Lots of opportunity for them to snag your pocketbook:0

Tomorrow, off to Pensacola Naval Air Station Museum...

day 6 at Gulf Shores

We had quite a storm last night that came in from the gulf. News reports say that south winds are pushing the oil toward the coast around this area... hope it will change directions and protect this beach.. too pretty.

We finally checked out the local gator that hangs around the drainage ditch across the street from where we are camped. Cookie Mamma saw it yesterday and came back with stories of a near death experience - some jerk had grabbed the gator by the tail and aggravated it.

This morning I went over there and sure enough there was a gator about 6' long guarding the foot bridge over the ditch. He made lots of hissing and aggressive moves ... so I'll give this one to Cookie.

You'll notice that we decide to pose with a much tamer one at the corner store:)

day 5 at Gulf Shores

He I am looking very interested in leaving early this morn.

After an early morning bike trek through the lovely wood (school kids made and decorated these bird boxes throughout the trails) we decided to head back over to the beach. The state park owns a very large track of beach front. On either side of the park boundary you'll find high rise condos and hotels. The beach and water was VERY crowded in front of them but the park beachfront was amazingly void of crowds. Pretty neat.

The afternoon delivered a little excitement (posted on face book) in that some swimmers had ventured out a little too far and a few bull sharks were sighted. Fortunately for the swimmers they made it back into shore without an attack. Unfortunate for the gawkers cause they were looking for some blood in the water.

This pavilion at the pier is where we have to go to hit wifi.

Day 4 at Gulf Shores

Last night was peaceful and breezy on the beach but there weren't many good shells on the shoreline so we decided to hit the beach early this morning for breakfast and beach-combing. Early came and went - so we arrived at the pier about 8a.m. and ate a light breakfast. We then began our quest for perfect sea shells. Since they weren't available we picked up the ones that suited Juilana. Last I saw of her she had found some fishing line and was stringing the shells for a neckless.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We drove down the beach a while and found a plethora of beach houses that were empty. Wonder if they will fill up this weekend since it's the beginning of the season? We'll have to check out some of these on the net for pricing. So far we've noted that this place isn't a mecca for vacationers like the FL coast is. It might be worth while to give this beach a try if the price is right and if the crowds stay away.

Day 3 at Gulf Shores

Another beautiful day in Gulf Shores.

We spent early this a.m. biking on a really cool trail for a couple of hours. Very quiet, very secluded. Came up on a glass lake (1st pic below) and a nice picnic cabin in the middle of the woods (2nd pic below). Loved that heron (3rd pic) so he's here as well.

BUT- Pic #4 below is a real find. A GOPHER TORTOISE! Over the years I taken a few treks into the woods and I've NEVER seen a Gopher Tortoise. We not only found this one off of our trail, he let us take pictures!!

These animals are VERY shy. You can find their holes - burrows- all over the place, but they lead very secretive lives. So, our day began a real winner.

We later went to the beach which is spectacular. Very clean, white sand. And the water is just as clean and clear. Juliana and Brenda went wading while Cookie Mama and I baked on the shore line. I'll send pics of the bathing beauties tomorrow since I can't download them to the computer right now.