January 26, 2017 Jefferson, TX

​Today, we drove from the southeast corner of Oklahoma (Broken Bow) into northeastern Texas or “East Texas” as many call it.. We went from Oklahoma’s hilly, forested area with logging trucks everywhere to flat, open land as we approached the Red River which separates Oklahoma and Texas. Once we crossed the river the terrain became slightly rolling with conifers. On US Highway 259, in Oklahoma, the road was narrow with no shoulder. Across the Red River in Texas the road instantly changes with wider shoulders.

​We’d forgotten how pretty East Texas can be with it’s rolling hills and greenery. It has a mixture of conifers and deciduous trees. The US highways in Texas are nicely paved with big wide shoulders and often high speed limits up to 75 mph. We have not seen speeds this high since we left Montana in early September. Another nice feature of Texas highways are the picnic areas on the side of the road. They aren’t frequent but many, many states have nothing, not even a shoulder to pull off on!

Our campsite overlooking Lake O' the Pines in Jefferson Texas in East Texas.

​3 FREEZING NIGHTS

We’ve got 3 nights of below freezing weather (last night, tonight and tomorrow night). To run the furnace we make sure our campsite has electricity and that we have enough propane. The furnace needs propane to heat and electricity for the blower. We also have an electric blanket, slippers and several regular blankets. We have 2 fleece throw blankets we use while we’re up reading. We can run the furnace without being plugged in but it drains the battery very quickly so we prefer to have electricity on really cold nights.

Terry wrapped in his fleece throw blanket, staying warm before going to bed.  We put these on the bed to keep the heat in and they work!  Thanks Maria!!! 

​Camping: Lake ‘o the Pines, Buckhorn Creek Campground COE
​Electric, water, dump station, showers, 4 LTE

January 25, 2017 Broken Bow, OK

​This is our one night in Oklahoma. The weather is “warm” so we’re here. There are 3 sites taken in this campground but 2 of them are hosts! So, I guess that makes us the only camper here. As a rockhound, it’s pretty cool. There’s quartz jutting out of every orifice. It’s not just normal quartz – it’s clear white quartz and if you’re lucky, it’s in crystal form! Okay, Terry’s not so thrilled but he’s nodding and smiling politely.

​FOREST HERITAGE CENTER, Beaver Bend State Park, Broken Bow, OK

This was on our way out of Oklahoma and recommended by one of the campground hosts. The area around Broken Bow is a very big logging area. The center displays wood carving items and documents the lives of families who moved from one logging camp to another as trees were cleared. What’s amazing is that those kids who grew up in these transient camps look back with fond memories. Everything was provided to a family, schooling, community, health care. The camps moved from one area to another enmass. The kids and mothers kept their friends and social network. The only problem was after a child finished 8th grade. There were no other options for them unless they left the camp.

​Throughout our journey across the US we are constantly reminded of the tremendous work the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did during the Great Depression.  Here, in Broken Bow, OK, the people raised enough money, $1808 to purchase land from a lumber company for a state park.  Once the land was purchased, the CCC built all the facilities needed.  This is amazing!  Why can't we do that now?

Camping: Armadillo RV Campground, Beaver Bend (aka Hochatown) State Park, OK
​“Semi-modern site (no sewer)” Electric, water, dump station, showers, Verizon 3 LTE

January 23-24, 2017 Murfreesboro, AR

CRATOR OF DIAMONDS STATE PARK, MURFREESBORO, AR

I’m so excited!  We’re going diamond hunting!!!!  We’ve been here before many years ago but Terry’s agreed to come again.  This is the only public open pit diamond mine in North America!  What you find you can keep.  If you like rocks, digging in dirt, mud and puddles this is THE place for you!

We stopped by Walmart on our way in to get rubber boots.  It’s been raining for almost 7 days.  This is going to be a big pit of mud!  How fun!!!  Tomorrow is supposed to be the warmest day this week then the temperatures drop significantly so we’ve got one day!  We’ve studied the website.  We’ve watched the videos.  We’re planning to rent equipment and supplement with stuff from the RV. The video says bring tweezers or a pocket knife to pick diamonds out of the gravel…we each have a pocket knife.  We checked out the showers and they are heated!!!  The laundry room is working so we can dump our clothes in the wash when we’re done tomorrow.  We’re golden!

We arrived at 4pm so we scoped out the museum and grounds in preparation for tomorrow.  We have our rubber boots from Walmart and a bucket from the RV.  You can bring "home" 5-gallons of rocks per day per person but no dirt. 

The diamond mine is an open field that gets plowed periodically.  There are signs at locations where people have found large diamonds telling their story.  There are 2 washing pavilions with tables and water where people can use wire screens to wash and sort their finds.  As you leave the field, there is someone who can look at any of your diamond possibilities and identify all your other rocks.

They plow the field spring through fall every couple weeks but not in the winter.  There are 3 ways to search for diamonds.  We used wet sifting with a screen (Terry top right) and surface searching (Peggy middle).   

Bottom left:  "The largest gem quality diamond ever found in North America...at 40.23 carats rough...and 12.42 carats cut..."

We searched from about 11 am – 4:15 pm.  We found quartz, calcite, barite, jasper, conglomerate, sandstone, volcanic tuff and lamproite.  The 2 stones we were looking for we didn’t find, diamonds and amethysts.  We’ll have to try again another time but tonight we can barely move we are so sore!

The day we were at the diamond mine 5 people found diamonds.  The largest was a 1.40 carat white diamond!   The 77 pt and the 1.40 ct diamonds were found wet sifting which is unusual.  Usually, the larger diamonds are found just walking the fields (surface searching).

The rocks we did find...no diamonds and no amethysts...maybe next time. 

Camping:  Crater of Diamonds State Park, Murfreesboro, AR

Electricity, water, sewer, dump station, showers, heated bathrooms(!!!), Verizon 2 LTE

January 20-22, 2017 Star City, AR

OBSERVATIONS

We just entered Arkansas today.  It’s always interesting to enter a new state.  What we notice immediately are the changes in the roads then the land.  The liquor laws change, too, but it’s more subtle.  You find out those rules when you try to buy wine or beer or can’t find it!

Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas seem like poor states.  You don’t see Tesla’s, Audis, BMWs or Mercedes.  You see old pickups, American cars, closed and abandon buildings, land wiped out from Hurricane Katrina (2005) and never rebuilt.  Walmart, Family Dollar and Dollar General are everywhere.

Since we left the west coast, school buses have been part of our daily routine.  Lots of kids get to and from school on school buses and you need to stop when they are unloading or slow way down when you enter a school zone.  We don’t have very many school buses in the California Bay Areabut here, it’s not unusual for the police to come out and flash their lights when school is letting out to re-enforce the school zone laws.

When we entered Missouri at the end of October,  we noticed church steeples changed.  They became skinny, pointy and white.  You no longer could climb up in them.  They were decorations at the top of a building.  This continues to be true throughout the south.  It doesn’t seem to be tied to any particular Christian denomination.  Now we can’t remember what the “norm” was before we started seeing them!

NEIGHBORLY GESTURE

As we arrived at our campsite tonight, our neighbor, Lew, invited us over for coffee.  Lew and his dog Jake brewed a pot of coffee and we brought over coffee cake and we all chatted awhile.  A nice ending to a long days drive.  Lew, an Arkansas resident, had escaped the winter weather in December by going to the Gulf Coast and was on his way back home. 

NEW CRITTER!

It was big, swimming fast across the water and was nothing we’d seen before! It was at least 3-4 feet from nose to butt. Terry managed to snap a few blurry pictures of it which we showed the park ranger. It’s a nutria or river rat as they call them in Florida. They can be as large as a medium dog and very aggressive if cornered. They have a white nose and huge, nasty looking, sharp teeth and webbed hind feet. We’ll keep our distance now that we know what they are!

A nutria or river rat.

SEVERE WEATHER – TORNADO WATCH – LEAVE RV AGAIN

We decided to stay here 2 nights to wait out some rainstorms but we didn’t realize how bad these storms were going to be!

Here we go again!  We’ve packed up our stuff and are prepared to leave the RV to seek shelter in the restrooms.  They’re made of cinderblocks.  The ranger stopped by to tell us we’re under a Tornado Watch and if it becomes a Tornado Warning she’ll come take people to the shelter.  That was a nice change from last time when we were left on our own!

It’s 8:45 pm and we’ve decided to head towards the shelter.  A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued.  The radar shows the storm coming soon with winds to 70 mph and large hail, possibly the size of tennis balls.  It’s a hike to the restrooms.  If we wait until all of that is here, it’d be difficult to make it there safely so, we’re playing it safe and going now.

It’s about 9:45 pm and we’re back in the RV.  The worst is over but we’re still under a Tornado Watch until 3 a.m.  We lucked out again.  No high winds.  No hail.  We may stay here another night to wait until the storms pass.  Temperatures are going to drop this week so we need to not linger in Arkansas or we may hit ice.  We need to get to Texas but avoid Houston due to recent flooding.

We're in the restroom with our emergency radio, iPads and iPhones monitoring the weather radar so we know what to expect. 

THE MAP

Terry’s goal is to sleep at least one night in every one of the 48 states.  We’ve got 3 to go.  He’s thinking since the weather is warmer than usual and predicted to be sunny for the next week that we’ll sneak into the SE corner of Oklahoma on our way out of Arkansas and into Texas.  That’ll leave 2 states to go…Kansas and Nebraska.  We’ll have a donut with a hole in the middle as our map!

We're planning to get Oklahoma on our way into Texas.  We're thinking maybe when we visit Amarillo, Tx in the panhandle, we'll sneak into Kansas and Nebraska for a night each.

Camping:  Cane Creek State Park, Star City, AR
Electricity, water, dump station, showers, 2 3G

January 15-19, 2017 Delhi, LA

NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a two-lane road, very similar to the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, running southwest 444 miles from Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS.  It was used as a travel corridor by many different people for hundreds of years.  Today, there are hiking trails, bike trails and historic sites along its route.  Like the Blue Ridge Parkway, no commercial vehicles are permitted, entrances, exits and pullouts are limited along with limited services such as gas stations and restrooms.  This made our 60-mile scenic drive southwest from Ross R. Barnett Reservoir towards Natchez relaxing and slower paced but it could be stressful if you don’t plan your gas and restroom stops.  We recommend getting the National Park Service map.

Views along the Natchez Trace Parkway from just north of Jackson, MS to just south of Jackson, MS. 

VICKSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK, Vicksburg, MS

Neither of us are history buffs.  We knew Vicksburg was the site of a major Civil War battle, nothing else.  As we drove from Biloxi, MS towards Vicksburg, MS, the terrain went from pancake flat to rolling hills to hilly bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.  The battle was about controlling access to the Mississippi River for supplies and troops! 

There is a 10.35 mile auto/bike/walking tour through the park with stops.  The Confederate army (represented with RED signs) had control of the river and the Union army (represented with BLUE signs) was trying to gain control of it.  The tour begins on lower ground in Union territory with BLUE plaques and monuments honoring various units.  As you get closer to the top of the bluff, you enter Confederate territory and see RED plaques and monuments honoring the Confederate units.  Many states are represented on both sides, and we were both a little surprised how many Union units were from Illinois.  Looking out across the hills and fields, from the Union or Confederate vantage point, you can see the enemy represented by their different colored signs.

The U.S.S. Cairo, the only remaining iron-clad ship in existence, is on display in this park along with a small museum containing artifacts recovered from this ship.

Top center:  Position held by a Confederate artillery unit from Mississippi.
Top right:  The U.S.S. Cairo Iron Clad ship
Middle left:  Terry approaching the tunnel dug through a ridge by Union troops to avoid being hit climbing over the ridge (Thayer's Approach)
Bottom:  Peggy stopping at Tour Stop 1 on the Union side.

POVERTY POINT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

Wow, this is an amazing site!  It’s a World Heritage Site.  We are camped at the campground in the state park with the same name, waiting out 5 days of rain storms.  There was a break in the rain so we decided to check this out.  It’s Indian mounds BUT these are really special!  They are really, really old – 1700 to 1100 BC old and the artifacts they’ve found are more advanced than what they expect a hunter-gatherer people to produce.  It is a bit mind-boggling that a civilization stayed in this one place for longer than Europeans and their descendants have been in the Americas. 

There are 6 large mounds that are thought to have been ceremonial and we were able to walk up to the top of highest mound, about 70 feet tall. The impressive central construction consists of six rows of concentric ridges that form a C-shape. The diameter of the outermost ridge measures nearly three-quarters of a mile. It is thought that these ridges served as foundations for dwellings.  The opening of the C faced a large open plaza area and overlooked the Mississippi River floodplain.

Because there is no local stone in this area, Poverty Point's inhabitants seem to have evolved a huge trading network because spear points and other stone tools found at Poverty Point were made from raw materials which originated pretty much all over the eastern parts of the US (see the green map picture).  There are literally thousands of pieces of stone items, everything from spear points to cooking stones to small red jasper beads, in their museum.

Top row:  A summary, a diagram of the site with the mounds and the ridges, all the different sites where stone was obtained and us in front of Mound A that we walked up. 

Middle row:  The remains of 6 ridges and a view of Mound A from the ridges.

Bottom row:  Mound A from the field surrounding it. 

WAITING FOR THE STORMS TO PASS

We are staying at this campground to ride out a series of rainstorms coming across the south in the next 5 days.  5 days of rain, some severe.  The brunt of the storms will hit where we are headed in northwest Louisiana and southwest Arkansas so we’re waiting for the storms to pass.

Our campsite after 5 days of rain. 

Camping:  Poverty Point State Park, Delhi, LA
Electricity, water, dump station, showers, WiFi

January 13, 2017 Biloxi, MS

We’re in a new state, Mississippi! The last time we entered a new state was right before Christmas when we came to South Carolina. Neither of us is excited about this state but we are hoping it will surprise us. We don’t know much about the state. We’ll visit Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis’s home, Vicksburg National Military Park and drive part of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

BEAUVOIR, HOME OF JEFFERSON DAVIS, Biloxi, FL

Jefferson Davis was the only President of the Confederate States. His home is a Louisiana Beach Cottage style home built by someone else then purchased by him after the Civil War. I fell in love with the big ol’ front porch, lined with rocking chairs facing the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. 95% of the furnishings are original which is very unusual. Behind the home, is the Confederate Cemetery. The tour left me wanting to find out more about him and maybe read his books.

Left column:  The big green shutters and huge porch surrounding the house gave you a welcoming feeling.  The interior ceiling was all painted, not plaster!  95% of the furnishings are original, thanks to a friend who went around and purchased everything that had been sold or given away.

Right column:  Beauvoir was a "Louisiana Beach Cottage" style home.  Terry enjoying rocking on the front porch.  The Confederate Cemetery located on the grounds. 

​BOILED PEANUTS

We’ve seen signs for “Boiled Peanuts” in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and now Mississippi so we had to try them. They are boiled in their shells and kept hot in a slow cooker. When you buy them they scoop the peanuts into a quart-sized ziplock bag. The lady warned me that its an acquired taste. You peel the peanuts and eat them warm. They’re mushy. They were okay but we would not go out of our way to buy more.

Left column:  Mac Daddy Roni (mac and cheese with shrimp and crawfish with a kick) and Swamp Island Shrimp & Grits.  This version of shrimp & grits was served with fried grits cakes on top of the shrimp.  It wasn't as good as what we had in Charleston. 

Right column:  Boiled Peanuts.  They give them to you in ziplock bags, warm.  They're peanuts boiled in their shells.  You peel them and eat the nuts which are warm and mushy...An acquired taste. 

Camping: Big Biloxi Campground in De Soto National Forest, Saucier, MS
​Electricity, water, showers, dump station, Verizon 4 LTE. Okay 1-night stand but nothing more.

January 11-12, 2017 Pensacola, FL

​We came to Pensacola, FL to visit the Naval Aviation Museum which is 7 miles from Big Lagoon State Park. As we pulled into this campground both Terry and I felt like we’re slumming yet this is a very nice campground. After being in Destin, almost any place would feel that way! The state park is on a lagoon off the Gulf of Mexico.

Views on our bike exploration trip and our campground site.  Not bad, but not Destin! 

​NAVAL AVIATION MUSEUM, Pensacola, FL

We highly recommend visiting this museum and taking both their walking tour and the trolley tour. We missed the start of the walking tour but we were allowed to find them and join late.

​What made this museum special were the personal touches. Each of our 3 tour guides were very knowledgeable, experienced ex-naval aviators familiar with the aircraft. Visitors are allowed to touch most of the aircraft. At the end of our first walking tour, we went into a simulator of the deck of an aircraft carrier with the sounds, video and wind blowing in your face. The trolley tour takes visitors to the flight line back lot where they store planes that will one day be restored.

​We took a second walking tour to catch the part we missed but ended up taking the entire tour again because it was different. Each tour guide picks the planes they discuss. There’s some overlap but each guide brings their own knowledge and experience into the discussions. If you visit and have the time, we highly recommend doing the walking tour a couple of times with different guides.

​One very special plane at the museum is the SBD-2 Dauntless which is the only plane that survived the Pearl Harbor attack and the battle of Midway. It was damaged in the battle of Midway, but survived. The plane was shipped back to the U.S. where it was repaired and used for aviator training on Lake Michigan (too many submarines off of both coasts to train on the open ocean). However, it did not survive aviator training and ended up at the bottom of Lake Michigan for years until it was recovered and restored.

Left bottom:  The view in the flight deck simulator.  The different colored shirts of the crew represent their job assignments.
Right top:  Our first tour guide talking about the Flying Tigers and how Disney created their emblem.
Right middle:  Our trolley guide.
Right bottom:  Our second walking tour guide in front of the plane that survived Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway. 

​Camping: Big Lagoon State Park, Pensacola, FL
​Electricity, water, dump station, showers, Verizon 2 LTE

January 3-10, 2017 Destin, FL

​As we drive into Destin we stop for groceries. There are restaurants! It’s a beautiful day! We’ve just spent 4 days in the woods and we’re excited about the possibility of eating out. We arrive just after sunset, get set up and hop on our bikes to explore the park. The weather is perfect. The humidity is low – only 85%!

​THE BACK PORCH RESTAURANT

We’d both hoped to have dinner out at a place recommended by Carolyn called The Back Porch. Terry’s been wanting Gulf Fried Shrimp for months. Those California prawns have no taste. Although it was dark, we decided to try going down the sidewalk about 1.7 miles on our bikes to get to the restaurant and it worked! It was great seafood and what a wonderful splurge.

Top row:  On our way to Destin, FL we stopped at a small diner for lunch.  We played checkers and were treated to a short concert as we ate our lunches.   

Bottom row:  Florida and Delaware have the best roads, except for bike lanes.  (This shoulder died at the driveway.). Dinner at The Back Porch.  Terry with his Gulf Fried Shrimp.  Peggy with grilled Amberjack, a mild fish. 

​MAIL DELIVERIES

Receiving mail has been difficult when we have no specific address. With no immediate stops to visit family or friends, we’ve had to try to get mail delivered using GENERAL DELIVERY. UPS does not recognize GENERAL DELIVERY addresses. Amazon sent a GENERAL DELIVERY package via UPS and they would not deliver it! We ended up re-routing it to the local UPS Store.

Terry on the phone being ping pinged between Amazon and UPS because we tried to use a GENERAL DELIVERY address.  Success, his beloved socks will be re-routed to the UPS Store in Destin, instead of a town 10 miles away!  Package received, after a 4-mile bike ride. 

THE DONUT HOLE BAKERY AND CAFE

We had to pick up a UPS shipment and it happened to be near the Donut Hole so we had brunch here.  It was a 4-mile bike ride from Henderson Beach State Park, all on the sidewalk, but worth every bit of the trip!  We had brunch then got doughnuts to-go for later.

Exloring Destin...We enjoyed walking on the beach so much we ended up walking over 8 miles one day!  On another day, we rode our bikes to the Donut Hole for brunch and of course doughnuts! 

HENDERSON BEACH

Henderson Beach is spectacular! It's part of what is called the "Emerald Coast".  It consists of fine white sand and emerald blue-green clear water.  On warm days, we’ve watched the Manta Rays jump completely out of the water then splash back into the water with a loud SPLAT. 

Terry watching for Manta Rays.  When the weather got cold, they stopped jumping. 

WEATHER AND PLANNING

Weather and fires have played a big role in our planning.  We’ve extended our stay in Destin, again, to 8 days because they are predicting snow this coming Friday down to the middle of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.  Here in Destin the temperature dropped to 26 degrees F which is pretty cold when the showers are not heated!  It’s gradually warming up each day.

Top left:  Our inside/outside thermometer at 6:39 am (top number), read 59.3 degrees F inside (middle number) and 26.6 degrees F outside (bottom number).  This was the coldest temperature we've encountered so far on our Year-Long-Trip and it was in Destin, FL!!!  
Top right:  There must have been a school of fish because the gulls were catching them everywhere.

Bottom:  For a moment it looked like we were on snow but that's the very white sands of Destin, FL!  We were both dressed for snow, except for the crocs with hiking socks on. 

We’re on our way to Texas, via Vicksburg, MS because we want to learn about the history there.  We use the iPhone Weather app to plug in future towns along our route then we monitor the weather predictions for those towns and adjust our plans accordingly.

This state park and the Destin area are wonderful places to hang out for 8 days!

A gorgeous sunset on the beach to end a wonderful 8 days in Destin, FL. 

Camping:  Henderson Beach State Park, Destin, FL
Electricity, water, showers, dump station, recycling, Verizon 3 LTE

December 30-January 2, 2017 Donalsville, GA

Our ultimate destination is Destin, FL but we’re here at Seminole State Park to spend the New Years weekend since the state parks in Destin are booked until after the first of the year.  Gwynne, our wonderful daughter-in-law, was the first person to recommend we visit Destin, FL.  She told us how beautiful Destin is with it’s fine white sandy beaches and emerald colored water.  So, we thought we’d head there and see it for ourselves.

When we arrived here at Seminole State Park, we realized we were in for a few days of major  storms here and at Destin!  We were only planning to camp here 2 nights but extended it to 4 nights because we’re camped on high ground and we don’t want to be traveling to Destin during the storms.  These are predicted to be very strong storms.  We did a food inventory to make sure we’d be okay for the additional 2 days in the woods.  We’ll be short on trash bags and the only veggies we have are green beans so that’s what we’ll have for 3 of the 4 days!

EXPLORING SEMINOLE STATE PARK

Seminole State Park is a layover spot for us, not a destination but we find it fun to explore no matter where we are located.  We explored the trails in the park by bike one day.  The next day, after getting cabin fever, we walked the length of the park experimenting with a new camera Terry had purchased.  It’s amazing what you “see” when you take the time to look closer at a bird or animal. 

Top left-Stuck in the RV with bananas...Terry makes Banana Pudding, served warm, of course!
Bottom left-When the blue tub is full of dirty dishes, it's time to wash but this is ridiculous!
Top right-The view outside our window as one of the storms passes through.
Bottom right-Peggy is craving toast and this is how we make it...very slowly. 

Some of the "wildlife" we discovered as we rode bikes and hiked around the campground.  Swings and rocking chairs are common in Georgia state parks.

​We are biding our time waiting for the storms to come through. The campground is completely full for New Years Eve.  It's families with kids and the kids are all excited to be allowed to stay up outside until midnight, even when it's lightly raining.  Many of the sites have lights still on way past midnight.  We've been hearing fireworks in the distance all evening. 

​BIG STORM-TORNADO WARNING-SEEK SHELTER

It’s Monday afternoon, January 2nd and the worst of the storms are coming through in a few hours.  Most of the campers have left except about 9 of us.  The RV is ready for the storm. The awning is rolled up. The door mat is put away and the windshield cover is off. Terry filled up the water tank and we’ve taken our showers. It’s a BIG storm. We can see it on the NOAA app coming across the southern states.

​It’s Monday evening, January 2nd and the storm is coming through. We’re under a Tornado Watch and Flash Flood Watch. We’ve packed up the laptop, iPads, meds, cash and 2 small chairs in case we have to leave the RV. We’ve charged everything up. We’re listening to the emergency radio with a map out to try and find the locations in trouble. We don’t know the area so we feel lost. The restroom/laundry room is made of stone so we’re thinking we could go there if we need to seek shelter.

​It’s 9:27 pm and the emergency radio says “Seek shelter now!” A tornado has touched down NE of Donalsonville, GA near us. We left the RV and went to the restroom/laundry room. We watch the storm from the laundry room. So far, we have not seen the 50-60 mph winds the radio talks about. Thank God! We’re in a forest with trees everywhere. Winds that high would be very scary here. Lightening makes visibility as if it is daytime. The rain is coming down so hard we can barely hear the radio. Power is out now.

Left top-the stone restroom/laundry room we used as a shelter.
Right top-the storm radar.  The blue dot is where we are and the red is the intensity of the storm.
Left 2-Terry taking down the awning, stowing away all loose items.
Left 3-The view from the shelter at 9:45 pm as lightening lights up the sky.
Left 4-"Coolio" our Dollar General Christmas decoration brightening our night after the power went out.
Right 2-Waiting out the storm in the laundry room with the emergency radio behind us.

​It’s around 10 pm and the Tornado Warning has been cancelled. It’s a Tornado Watch now. We’re going back to the RV but we’ll leave everything packed up, keep the radio on and watch the radar on the NOAA iPhone app. There’s still some really bad weather headed our way in the next several hours.

​It’s midnight. The really bad cells went just to either side of us. There’s one last bad cell coming towards us. We’re going to lie down, leaving the radio on. We figure we’ll hear that horrible RAW RAW RAW sound the emergency radio puts out when there’s a warning.

​It’s Tuesday, January 3rd...We fell asleep last night. The cell bypassed us, going just north of us. Power is still out. There’s no water, toilets don’t flush, can’t rinse at the dump station– all probably because a pump has no power. We’re heading to Destin, FL today. Terry’s looked at the areas that have been hit and where the areal flooding has occurred. Our route will avoid those areas as much as possible.

NOTE TO SELF: Filling up the water tank before the storm was a really good idea…accidentally!

​Camping: Seminole State Park, Donalsville, GA
​Electricity, water, nice showers, dump station, Verizon 1-2 LTE/3G

December 29, 2016 Reidsville, GA

Today we left Savannah without being able to spend time with our family. The entire family is very sick but we wanted to at least see them and also pick up all the mail we’ve had sent to their address this past month. So, we packed up and drove to Maria’s house to say goodbye from a distance.

​We wore gloves and a mask. They wore winter gloves and put scarves around their necks, covering their mouths. Maria had sprayed all the mail with Lysol just in case any germs were on the packages. With virtual hugs and a waves goodbye, we left. We will be back another time to see them.

​We’re heading west, beginning our slow 5-month drive home. We’ve camped about 1.5 hours west of Savannah in a small town, in a small state park with 28 campsites, a small lake and the usual resident alligators. A neat feature of all the Georgia state parks we’ve camped at, other than alligators, is the presence of swings and we've tried to take advantage of them!

Top left:  ready to visit family                          Top right:  family ready to see us. 
Bottom left:  carefully opening packages       Bottom right:  taking advantage of the Georgia swings

Camping: Gordonia-Altamaha State Park, Reidsville, GA
​Electricity, water, nice showers, dump station, Verizon 4 LTE