From the picture above, clearly, one of these reunions is between Banjo and my good friend Susan. It’s a little weird how well Banjo remembers people she met briefly; Susan visited us last little over a year ago, but when Banjo saw her here north of Atlanta, she buried her head in Susan’s lap and […]
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Slowing Down at the Lake
Because we haven’t been able to drive away from our campsite here (see previous post on why the truck has to remain hitched to the trailer), we’ve had four very quiet days. I’d call them days of decompression, but who am I kidding: we weren’t compressed to begin with. But normally we’d leave the campsite […]
Maybe USACE Engineers Don’t Own Airstreams
We’ve stayed at only a handful of campsites built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE; the campgrounds are called, for short, COEs), but they have a great reputation: well-manicured campgrounds on lakes, mostly waterfront sites, and little things like wooden staircases up inclines that make a difference when you’re spending a week or […]
Camping with Rose Apothecary
Just kidding. But this Harvest Host stay is thanks to a southern version of David’s store in Schitt’s Creek. A very sweet-seeming couple has renovated a garage here in southern Georgia into a high-end general store, and they specialize in artisanal oils from their farm. This seems to be a trend in farming that we […]
The Ebb and Flow of Life at a State Park Campground
I’d forgotten how predictable—and oddly comforting—is the migration of the state park campground population. We show up mid-day on a Wednesday, often, when about half the campground is empty. Things seem slow and lazy, and we back into our site and set up in our full regalia. Then we run errands in town while others […]
Scenes from Hillsborough River
This state park reminds me of the one we stayed in in New Ulm, Minnesota, because it’s designed with lots of amenities for locals: a pool (closed now), snack bar, playgrounds, pavilions and picnic sites, kayak rentals, hiking trails. I’m guessing there are lots of large, community-friendly state parks out there with camping, and I […]
Under the Live Oaks of Tampa
I’ve realized I have a tree theme going in my pictures of Florida: the regular and Dwarf Cypress, Mangrove, Gumbo Limbo, Strangler Fig, so many Pines, Royal Palm, and, here, yet more Live Oaks wearing cloaks of Spanish moss. We’re at Hillsborough River State Park, very close to Tampa. Although I can hear the highway […]
Crappy Campground amid Royal Palms
Pro tip: Never book a campsite on the inside of a campground loop. We’re wedged in here at Collier-Seminole State Park like one of the pie pieces in a Trivial Pursuit game. The folks on the outside of the loop all have plenty of space to set up chairs and tents, but we can’t open […]
What We Do in the Heat, Everglades Version
It seems odd (but consistent with blame climate change) that I’m posting about dealing with extreme heat here in the Everglades without electricity while folks in Texas are suffering from extreme cold without electricity. Of course I’ve chosen to live off the grid, and I’m not truly suffering. Just sweaty. I think of this post […]
Back in the Everglades Again
Out where a friend is a friendWhere the big mosquitoes feedAnd the lowly hikers bleedBack in the Everglades again. Here we are, for the third time, because this place is worth it. We spent Thanksgiving at the large campsites of Big Cypress, as a quick stop between reservations in Tampa and Naples. Then we had […]
