Manatee and Alligtors at Wakulla Springs Florida-a photo heavy post
As I said in the last post, Jimmy took me to Wakulla Springs State Park after our delicious lunch of Apalachicola oysters and boy did we luck out, especially given the well below normal temps. I felt like I was on safari, so it’s a good thing I had my Africa Camera with me.
This time of year manatee congregate where the water is warmest so they don’t freeze to death…literally. In addition to the water leaving area power plants, the manatee swarm around all the local natural springs because the spring water stays between 65 and 70 degrees year round. We were not disappointed since there were about 25 manatee swimming around the Spring when we arrived. They were huddling together in groups of 3-4 seemingly in an effort to stay warm, but who knows. An elevated platform gave us the perfect vantage point. Here are some shots from up top.
In this same area, there is a small roped off swimming area. Here is a sign of caution for swimmers.
They’re not kidding either since I caught a few of these gators on film not too far down river. Check it out.
We saw over a half dozen, which considering the very cool temps was lucky. The boat driver said the place is littered with them when the weather is warm. Oh my. Anyone up for a quick swim?
I don’t think I mentioned that we took a boat tour of the immediate area from the Springs a bit down river and back again. Safari indeed. I was in hog heaven as Jimmy knew I would be. Thanks again Jim for a fabulous day!!! Here are some of the many, many photos I took from the boat.
Did you know that Spanish Moss is not a moss at all, but part of the Pineapple family? Me neither, but now we know.
This bird is called an Anahinga with the nickname of snakebird since its head and neck stretch and writhe about like a snake.
And here one is on the bank drying its wings.
And a Great Blue Heron with its neck all scrinched up and tucked in acting as unsnakelike as possible.
And a Great Egret doing an impression of an Anahinga.
I neglected to write down the name of this fella, so I’m calling it the Great Florida Cammo Bird because it was so difficult to see unless it moved.
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Here is a Common Moorhen who looks to me anything but common with his day-glo yellow legs and safety orange beak, but what do I know.
This is a particular type of Commorant, but I can’t remember which, so we’ll just go with Cormorants and leave it at that.
White Ibis and Cyprus.
I’ve got lots more to show and tell, so hang in there with me.
Here we have your Red Breasted Merganzers who look to be on the way to the Beauty Parlor.
And your American Coot with its bright white beak. You ole Coot!
Little Blue Heron, which is quite a step down from the Great Blue Heron, don’t you think? Poor fella.
Alright, enough with the commentary. Can you tell I’m getting tired of uploading photos and typing captions?
But take a look at these turtles all in a row, well except the one. He’s going the wrong way.
And what is a boat safari without Turkey Vultures?
In singular…
Or in plural.
Did I mention in the last post that the three original Tarzan movies were, in part, filmed here at Wakulla Springs? Along with the Creature From the Black Lagoon?
Doesn’t it look like Tarzan and Jane might come swinging through at any moment?
And to end, another shot of the wonderful manatee who look like Halibut to me if you catch them at the right angle.
Thank you for taking the time to look at a sampling of the many pictures I took that day. If any of you ever get a chance to go to Wakulla Springs State Park, go for it, but watch out for…..
I’m back at the Meditation Center where I have been sewing curtains for the Teacher’s Cottage (have I already mentioned this?) Anyway, I’ll be sewing up until the course begins on Wednesday. I had found a dog sitter, but just heard today that she has to go to Atlanta and can only keep the dogs for the last 5 days of the course, so I’m back on the lookout for another sitter.
Stay tuned.
North Florida Family and Wildlife Viewing
Greetings from Tallahassee, Florida!
Family viewing: After driving through sheets of rain accompanied by thunder and lightning, I arrived in Jacksonville Florida on Monday morning. Jacksonville is the city of my birth, my sibling’s birth, and my parent’s birth and I was there to spend time with my Aunt, Uncle, cousins, and close family friends. What fun. I had not seen many of them for quite a number of years. Since I’ll be heading back to Jesup, I opted to leave Dora there much to the disappointment of my Aunt who wanted me park it at the local Winn Dixie so she could sell tickets. I told her I’ll be back with Dora after my course, so we can set up shop at the Winn Dixie at that time. I wonder how much she is going to charge and if I’ll get a cut? Too funny. In the photo below from left to right are my cousin Kelly, my Aunt Marjorie, and my second Mother, Marianne.
Family Viewing II: I drove over to Tallahassee yesterday afternoon to see my brother, Jimmy who has lived here since college. Here he is with my MistyMoo and his rescue dog Soki, pronounced Saki.
Meet Jimmy’s other dog Hooch, named after the dog in the movie, Turner and Hooch. His head is so big it needs its own zip code. I swear, I don’t know how he holds it up all day long.
Wildlife Viewing: Jimmy had a full day of activities planned for us today and what fun it was. We visited the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and the Wakulla Springs State Park with a lunch of the tastiest oysters I’ve ever eaten in between.
While at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge we drove out to the lighthouse and took a walk along one of the many levees as well as a walk around one of the interpretive nature trails. Here are some of the shots I took while there.
This is a typical warning sign we saw where ever we went.
Here is Jimmy with the St. Marks light house.
And here he is in the photo blind we found on our Nature Walk.
After visiting St. Marks Refuge, we stopped at a side of the road Oyster Bar that Jimmy was familiar with and each ate a dozen of the most amazing oysters. Jimmy tells me that they were Apalachicola oysters and that many people rate them as the best oysters EVER.
After lunch we went out back to admire the toilet garden pictured below.
Wakulla Springs State Park was on the docket for the afternoon and I’m so glad it was, but I’m out of time at the moment, so I’ll have to post those photos another time. Stay tuned for Manatees and Alligators.
Happy New Year 2011!
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying a great start to the new year. Among other things, my new year so far has included not one but two armadillo sightings (one at very close range) and the enjoyment of a sunny and 77 degree New Year’s Day. Lovely. Nothing says happy new year like armadillos and sunshine.
I finally I have a moment to send off a quick post to catch you up on what’s been happening. Well, let’s see. I arrived at Dhamma Patapa, the Southeast Vipassana Center (www.dhamma.org) in Jesup, Georgia on the 26th of December and have been here ever since. The course began on the 27th, with 42 students (a full house), 8 servers, 2 assistant teachers, and 2 assistant teachers in training, plus a few misc construction/maintenance fellas. I was among the 6 who were assigned to the kitchen for the duration of the 10 day course where we cooked from scratch and washed by hand every pot, pan, dish, utensil, and cup three times a day beginning at 5:30 in the morning and ending at about 9:30 each evening. Fortunately there were 6 of us, so , though we were cooking and cleaning for 60, we were able to take breaks during the day in addition to our 3 hours of meditation. I don’t know what I thought I had signed up for, but reality sure was a lot more demanding than I had imagined, that’s for sure. Wow. I found the work exhausting, but how wonderful it was to serve so that those 42 students could sit their course in peace and harmony. And having been reminded of how wonderful Vipassana is, I have put my name on the waiting list to sit the upcoming course which begins on the 19th. Call me crazy. Part of me knows that although it is a very tough course, it will be very good for me, but the other part of me who also knows it is going to be a very tough 10 days, hopes I don’t get in or can’t find a dog sitter. We’ll see. If I were a bettin’ man, I’d bet I’ll find a dog sitter and I’d bet they find a spot for me. I’ll keep you posted.
Even though the course ended on the 7th, I’ve been hanging around helping clean up after the last course and prepare for the next one. Just yesterday I was asked to make curtains (drapes and sheers) for the Teachers Cottage. We chose the fabrics yesterday and I’ve been cutting and sewing ever since. I have to say I much prefer this to standing over a sink washing dishes for hours on end.
Before I get ahead of myself, I’d like to take a minute to tell you guys about the 5 other kitchen volunteers as it struck me one day as I was washing or drying (by hand) yet another dish how interesting our little slice of humanity was.
First up, but in no particular order:
Shane: A very soon to be 40 year old (Happy Birthday Shane!), Fulbright Scholar with a wonderful sense of humor. He does something with the World Wide Web and counts the likes of Intel and Microsoft as his customers. Most recently he took a bit of a break from his “real” work and has been couch surfing across the country in his Prius interviewing folks about sustainability. Sustain-i-what? Sustainability. You can check out his website at http://www.sustainable1000.com/. Oh, and he wanted me to tell you all that he has a pet iquana named Steve.
Jay is one of those Doogie Howser types who looks 20, but is actually 35. He lives in Chapel Hill, NC and is responsible for designing the shows at the Planetarium. Jay wanted me to include that he is also a skin diver and a stock car racer.
Kayvon recently relocated from New York City to Gainesville, FL. Among other things he is a cobbler and a fermenter. He makes yogurt and kim chi and other fermented things. (I’m not at all sure how to spell kim-chi)
Tamy is the Venezuelan beauty formerly of New York City as well and recently relocated to Miami after her very recent marriage. She is a management consultant with a focus on International entities like the United Nations. Her husband was sitting the course.
Uma is a Nepalese elementary school teacher living in the US for first time. Alabama, of all places. She was at the Center with her husband who was sitting his 16th course. She has been happily married for the 6 years since her arranged marriage, which is the custom in Nepal.
With these 5 servers and the two student managers, you couldn’t count the advanced degrees on two hands. My oh my, I was in some fine company, that’s for sure.
Now lets say hello so some of these fine folk.
From left to right we’ve got Uma, Marie, Christina, Tamy, Kayvon, Shane, and Jay.
Alright, I’ve got to get back to making curtains, so I’ve got to go. No time to go into the whys and the wherefores and such as to how I arrived at my decision to go to school to become a Massage Therapist, but that’s what I’m going to do. I start school in Arizona at the end of April and will be a licenced Massage Therapist by the end of October. This is where I plan to go to school, http://asismassage.com/. It looks like a beautiful spot outside of Clarkdale in the Verde River Valley. More on this topic another time.
Hope all is well.
Later gators.
From then til now…in brief…I hope
Merry Christmas Everyone!
I left Wilmington, North Carolina around noon today after spending time with family and friends and sharing in wonderful Christmas festivities. After driving about 155 miles down the coast, I find myself typing away in a deserted WalMart parking lot just north of Charleston, South Carolina. Tomorrow, I will drive another 175 miles or so to Jesup, Georgia, where I will be sequestered at a Buddhist Meditation Center attending/serving a 10 day Vipassana Mediation Course until the early morning hours of January 7th. If you’d like to see what the heck this is all about, you can go to www.dhamma.org. I sat my first 10 day course last year and found it worthwhile, so here we go again. I’ll be out of touch completely from the 27th until the 7th, so if anyone needs to get in touch, you’d best be quick.
What’s been happening since the last post? Well, let’s see…
In brief, it took two ferries to get back to a road connecting to the mainland. Photos below. Fortunately all that strong wind that had been hanging around for over a week had died down by the time I was loaded onto the first ferry, so it was smooth sailing. I’m not sure what Misty and Mosley thought about seeing water outside their window, but other than some initial curiosity, it didn’t seem to bother them in the least.
Between ferries, I spent the night on Ocracoke Island, one of Blackbeard’s haunts. Ocracoke is a beautiful , long and thin island with pristine beaches, wild ponies, and a historic lighthouse and lifesaving station. There is a small commercial/touristy area spanning maybe 4-6 blocks square at the south end with nothing but untouched seashore between it and the ferry terminal on the north end some 20 miles away. In addition to the small Visitor’s Center, I think there was one restaurant open during my off-season visit along with the gas station cum internet café cum sundries store cum coffee shop. Dora and I overnighted in the Visitor’s Center/Ferry Terminal parking lot and had a fine time with the exception of the overabundance of parking lot sandspurs (both varieties-prehistoric and regular). Please refer to the previous post if you require a sandspur visual and reminder. See the Ocracoke Island lighthouse below along with the house where the lighthouse keeper lived with his family.
This is the old Life Saving Station which has been refurbished and is now used the by the State’s Department of Education for continuing education courses for its teachers. My sister hopes to take a course here this coming summer, if so, she will get to stay for two weeks in this wonderful building.
After hitting the Mainland, I went straight to the oh so quaint Historic Beaufort where I was to park at my friend Babara’s house for the week, but two things happened to change this plan. After two days of steady rain and wind, Dora’s roof sprang a leak causing an interior wall to buckle and ripple. In addition to this, the town of Beaufort unceremoniously invited me to take Dora elsewhere. It seems the kind folks who live in Historic Beaufort do not care for the likes of a 37 foot motor coach junking up their Historic streets. So off I went to Wilmington and to Howard’s RV to see about Dora’s leaky roof.
Here is Dora posing with my friends historic house in the historic district next to the historic cemetery.
And the cemetery. Please notice the Live Oak trees (my favorite) and the Spanish moss.
From the time I left Beaufort until Christmas day, today, I bounced back and forth between Howard’s RV not just for a leaky roof repair, but for a brand new set of house batteries as well (cha-ching), the Wilmington WalMart and Kmart, and my same friend, Barbara’s, house in Atlantic (a sleepy little hamlet “down east” on Core Sound about 3 hours away from Wilmington). What fun. During one of my stays at the local WalMart, my brother Hill and his former wife, my former sister-in-law, Frances, came over for a spaghetti dinner. How funny it was to have a small dinner party in an RV in a WalMart parking lot. It sort of reminded me of the time I had that pizza delivered to me in a WalMart parking lot in Nebraska or whichever Midwestern state I was in. Too funny.
So, that about covers things from then until now.
I’m SO EXCITED TO BE MOVING AGAIN even though I’ll be at the course for a while, I’ve left North Carolina and have started a new chapter which will include, at a minimum, meditation, alligators and manatee, so stay tuned.
Oh, and I’ve figured out what I’m going to do for work, but if you don’t already know, you’ll have to wait until the New Year to find out. It’s really exciting (at least I think so) and completely different from anything I’ve ever done. What fun!
Best wishes for the happiest of New Years!
Outer Banks Birds, Spurs, and Planes
I’ve been enjoying my time here on the Outer Banks although we’ve been experiencing record cold temps since I’ve been here. For the past 3 nights the temps have dropped down into the upper 20’s with wind chills dipping much lower than that. Brrrrrr. I’m happy to hear we’ll be getting back up into the normal temperature range by tomorrow, which is highs in the mid to upper 50’s, maybe even into the low 60’s. Thanksgoodness the sun has been shining all along.
Before heading out, I thought I take a quick minute to share some of the photos I’ve taken since my last post.
This is a shot of the beach along the Hatteras National Seashore.
The Pea Island Wildlife Refuge attracts all manner of waterfowl. Take a look.
We’ll begin with the Brown Pelican who I found overseeing the local Recycling Center.
And next, a group of Snow Geese.
And here we have the Great Egret.
And finally the Ibis.
Up the Coast a bit is Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina where Orville and Wilbur Wright made history. I visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial and took this photo of the 2003 replica mentioned below.
The Wright Brothers National Memorial commemorates the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine. From 1900 to 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright came here from Dayton, Ohio, based on information from the U.S. Weather Bureau about the area’s steady winds. They also valued the privacy provided by this location, which in the early twentieth century was remote from major population centers
On December 17, 2003, the Centennial of Flight was celebrated at the Park. The ceremony was hosted by flight enthusiast John Travolta, and included appearances by President George W. Bush, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Chuck Yeager. The Centennial Pavilion was built for the celebration and today houses exhibits showing the Outer Banks at the turn-of-the-century, the development of the 2003 replica, and NASA provided displays on aviation and flight.f
An interactive sculpture was donated by the State of North Carolina and dedicated during the celebration. The life-sized sculpture is a full-sized replica of 1903 flyer the moment the flight began and includes the Wright Brothers along with members of the Kill Devils Hills Life-Saving Station who assisted in moving the aircraft, as well as John T. Daniels who took the now famous photograph of the first flight. Learn more at http://www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm
And now to the spurs. I distinctly remember the tiny but highly painful sandspurs common to east coast beaches. You can see one of them in the picture below. Misty, Mosely, nor I care for them in the least however, our time here led us to the discovery of a previously unknown (to us) breed of sand spur. These are of prehistoric proportions as you can see. Poor Mosely came out the dunes one day looking like he had been in a tussle with a porcupine. Ouch! After that, I tried to curtail their forays into the bush and attempted to remain on the sandy, spur free paths.
That’s it for now. Today I take the Ferry over to Ocracoke Island and into the land of Edward Teach aka Blackbeard the Pirate, so stay tuned.
Nights In Rodanthe
OK, so I haven’t seen Richard Gere yet, but I’m still looking. The house/Inn where he stayed in the movie is just up the beach. Apparently it was about to be swept out into the ocean and had been accordingly condemned until it was purchased this past January and moved its current, more secure location. Go to this link if you’d like to read more. http://www.lauracaseyinteriors.com/blog/2010/06/08/the-inn-at-rodanthe/
I’ve included a photo I took while there finding the geocache, Nights In Rodanthe.
After taking the dogs out on the beach in the morning, we all piled into the car to head south to geocache our way down to Cape Hatteras and its light house.
Here is a bit of info about the light house and the area in general.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest in the nation and a famous symbol of North Carolina. The beacon from the light can be seen some 20-miles out to sea and has warned sailors for more than 100 years of the treacherous Diamond Shoals, the shallow sandbars which extend some 14 miles out into the ocean off Cape Hatteras.
The area now known as Cape Hatteras National Seashore has a long and rich heritage. The islands that make up the seashore have been home to Native Americans, farmers, watermen, slaves, lighthouse keepers, surfmen, and many others who continue to shape the heritage of the area. The people have witnessed events that include hurricanes, the death of Blackbeard the pirate, Civil War battles, the construction of its now famous lighthouses, the birth of the USCG in the lifesaving stations, hundreds of shipwrecks, Billy Mitchell’s test bombings, Reginald Fessenden’s first radio broadcasts, the building of dunes by the CCC, scientific strides in weather forecasting, u-boat attacks, and much more.
Upon our return to Camp Hatteras RV Resort and Campground I noticed that a couple of folks had arrived and set up camp for a long weekend. I think there are 5 of us now in a campground that has 412 closely situated sites. http://www.camphatteras.com/. I can’t imagine staying here during the summer with all the sites filled. Anyway, today I had the indoor pool and hot tub all to myself before heading across the road to the Sound and sunset.
Today, its cloudy and breezy should get into the 50’s with more sun coming. I think I’ll head up to Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills to check out the spot where Orville and Wilbur Wright made history with the first flying machine. Either that, or I’ll stay home and start on the baby quilt I’m going to make for Suefly’s baby, Edgar who is due to make his first appearance in the world in mid February.
Stay tuned.
The Junior Dunlaps
Since leaving you, I have spent a long Thanksgiving weekend just southeast of Raleigh, at the Crosswinds Campground at Lake Jordan. Crosswinds is a lovely, heavily wooded, deer populated campground right on the shore of the lake, but with a ridiculous wintertime policy of locking its occupants in at 6pm and not letting them out again until 8 the next morning. Due to the lack of available “camping” in the Raleigh area, this was my best choice and I had to arrange my activities accordingly.
I had lots of fun visiting my sister, my great pal, Rusty, his father, my friend Surry, and the Dunlap clan. Unfortunately I kept leaving my camera elsewhere, so I don’t have too many fun photos to document these days. I wanted to take a picture of the wonderful Thanksgiving dinner Elo and I enjoyed out of compartmented styrofoam containers purchased at the K&W Cafeteria in Cameron Village. You think I jest. I do not. It was wonderful. Just as I remembered.
Had I had my camera, I would also have taken a photo of Joyce, the waitress Rusty and I had at Barbque Lodge. She was quite entertaining as were her stories of her life in general and of her now deceased brother, Peanut, the alcoholic, award-winning, pool shark of the 70’s. Joyce was kind enough to sit down with us in order to better tell of her heart and its recent tribulations, but have no fear, she has hope that it will soon be “turned loose from that man who took hold of it three years ago now”.
In addition to Joyce, I would have taken a photo of the lovely table and its occupants at the Dunlap house on Stone Street where Billy and Shawnee treated nine of us to another amazing dinner. It seems that whenever I come or go from Raleigh, Billy is saddled with preparing a feast for all comers. It is always delicious and always appreciated. Thank you Billy!!!
During my stay in Raleigh, I was able to catch one thing on film and am so happy it was the Junior Dunlaps, Willie, Fletcher, and Wickie. You see, they really didn’t even exist when I left. My friends Marshall Dunlap (Billy’s son) and his lovely wife, Nicky had yet to produce offspring when I departed to the Far North, so it has been wonderful meeting them and getting to know them a bit. Before leaving Alaska, Marshall let me know that for some unknown reason, his two sons (Willie and Fletcher) had become somewhat obsessed with RV’s so were anxiously awaiting my arrival in the Raleigh area. Once here, we made plans for them to come out for a visit, a tour, and a ride in Dora. What fun we had and of course, once the tour of Dora was complete, Willie gave me a full tour of his minivan, which I found most enlightening.
Please say hello to the Junior Dunlaps.
That’s Wickie on the left with the killer shoes and the haircut Fletcher gave her,Willie playing the monkey or some such thing, and Fletcher the Pirate.
Here they are again with their Dad, Marshall who is still going fast and having fun.
And lastly, a solo shot of Fletcher the Pirate eyeing you through his telescope.
How cute are they?
I’ve just this afternoon arrived in Rodanthe located on the Outer Banks of NC. Remember that movie with Richard Gere and Diane Lane called Nights in Rodanthe? Well, I’ll be on the lookout for Richard since I’m sure he’s still around somewhere and dying to meet me. I’ll let you know if I see him.
Misty, Mosely, and I are staying in a wonderfully deserted campground right on the ocean. Here are some shots I took this evening after setting up “camp”.
As I suspected, Mosely was incredibly happy to be back at the beach. He automatically reverted to a 2 year old. What fun we’ll have over the next several weeks.
I’ve got good internet access here, so hopefully blog posts will be more frequent as a result so stay tuned.
I was recognized!
I’m still laughing and shaking my head because last night I was actually recognized as Alaskamarge, in Asheville by a complete stranger who happened to be none other than the renowned “author and thinker” Dr. Peter Kingsley! Who believes it? Not me. I feel like a star! Ha!
Briefly mentioned at the end of my last post was my plan to hear Peter Kingsley speak about his new book at Malaprops, a wonderful independent bookstore in downtown Asheville. I learned of his book and this event through an interview on the local public radio station about a week earlier and thinking it might be something my local friends might be interested in as well, I promptly forwarded them links to his website and it turns out Bunny, Suzanne, and Alan were all interested and came along.
After a wonderful dinner at the delightful Early Girl Cafe, we walked over to Malaprops to secure seating and copies of the book. Peter, or perhaps I should say, Dr. Kingsley?, spoke about his book and how he came to write it etc. After that came a question and answer period and after that, Peter was available to sign books for anyone interested.
I was interested, so when my turn arrived, I stepped up to the table and said something along the lines of, “Hello Peter, I’m Margie.” Well, he looked up and said with enthusiasm, “You’re Alaskamarge, aren’t you? I thought that was you!” Oh my. I was dumbfounded and had difficulty connecting the dots, so all I did was stand there and stammer and giggle. Suzanne was right behind me and offered some very helpful giggling and arm punching. It turns out his wife, Maria, saw my link to his website on my blog and took a look at it (my blog) and in turn, showed it to Peter, so that is how he knew about Alaskamarge and what I look like. Wow.
He encouraged me to introduce myself to Maria, so I wormed my way over to her table and did just that. What fun. She commented on the blog and complimented the photos, which was very kind.
It wasn’t until we were all in the car on the way home (not with Peter and Maria, but just Alan, Suzanne, Bunny, and me) that I looked inside the book to see his signature and what he wrote. Here is what i found, “For Alaskamarge who is everywhere! Peter Kingsley”.
Did I mention I feel like a star?
Here is the link again. http://www.peterkingsley.org/Details.cfm?ProdID=60&category=2 Check it out.
Did you guys know that the Constitution of the United States is closely patterned after the Iroquois Constitution? Food for thought. If anyone is interested, Alan unearthed a most interesting article on the subject after the talk last night. I’d be happy to forward it.
I’m off to the Uhwarrie National Forest for a few days.
Stay tuned.
To Sell Signs or Not to Sell Signs, that is the question
Well hello there! How’s it goin’? Things are A-OK here. It’s been awhile (again) since my last post, so let me bring everyone up to speed. I am most pleased to say that I’ve finally, just today, answered the question posed above. What a relief.
Let’s see, I last wrote about Stone Mountain State Park and my arrival at Indian Springs Campground near Hickory, NC where I stayed and worked for about two weeks before coming back to Skyland Camp to work a nearby town for another week.
As you may remember, I have been up in the air about this sign job since the beginning -fretting over it coming and going. Finally, I had decided to give myself until Thanksgiving to determine once and for all whether or not I wanted to sell signs to support my travels in Dora for the next year or two or ten. Well, I must say, selling signs door to door is quite a kick. I am astounded that I can actually walk into a business where nobody knows anything about me or my company, tell them I’ve got some sign samples in my trunk, ask if I can show them, show them, procure a signed contract for thousands of dollars, and extract a check (made out to me) for the deposit. With check in hand, I would go straight to their bank, cash the check and proceed to my bank to deposit it, which is how I was paid my commission. Cool, huh? The kind folks who trained me (thank you Paul, Sam, and Connie) said it works, and it does. Amazing. Unfortunately, I could not wrap my mind around spending my time in this manner on an ongoing basis. You could say, it was not leading the life I imagine…at least not at present. I have no idea what I’m going to do instead, but I’m sure that whatever it is, it will be wonderful and I can’t wait to see what it turns out to be. In the meantime, I’ll tighten my financial belt and will look forward with eager anticipation….cue Carly Simon’s song of the same name.
So, my plans for the next few weeks include Thanksgiving in Raleigh with my sister, a “campout” in Dora with one of my favorite friends of all time, Rusty Roo Hunt, and a Dora show and tell as well as a 2nd Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday evening with the Dunlap Clan. I was going to stay and work the area for two weeks after that, but since I’m not working, I’m not sure what I’ll do during that time frame. I’ll head to the beach, Beaufort, to see a dear friend and her family for a while in mid December and then will drop a bit South to a different beach, Wilmington, to see my former sister-in-laws and their former husband, my brother, for the few days leading up to Christmas. I can’t wait to see them all and the beach and to see Mosely at the beach. He absolutely loves it and has since he was just a young pup.
Below, I’ve attached some photos from some of the hikes I’ve taken over that past several weekends here in Western North Carolina. I hope you enjoy them. This first one is of High Shoals Falls in South Mountain State Park. After hiking up to the Falls, I hiked another trail up to the top of a “knob”. During that hike, I saw several deer, but also a band of wild turkey about two dozen strong. Cool. They wouldn’t stick around for a photo-op, so no pictures of them, I’m sorry to say. Learn more, www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/somo/main.php
And here are some Ladybugs hanging out on a rock below the Falls. Does anybody remember MistyMoo in her Ladybug Halloween costume?
Suzanne, Alan, and I went hiking at Deep Creek last weekend. What fun. Suzanne and I used to come here when we were campers at Skyland Camp and tube down the creek in enormous inner tubes. The water was freezing and the creek none too deep, so our bums were often black and blue by the end of the day. Watch out for Dead Man’s Curve!!!!! Learn more, http://www.deepcreekcamping.com/tubing.html
Indian Creek Falls.
Here are some Falls flowing into Deep Creek. Oops. I have forgotten their name. Thomas somebody or Tom’s something…
And here is a gorgeous shot Suzanne took. Just lovely. Thanks Hoover!
That’s it for now. Tomorrow I’m heading in to Asheville to hear Peter Kingsley talk about his new book, A Story Waiting To Pierce You: Mongolia, Tibet, and the Destiny of the Western World, which should be most interesting. If you’d like, you can check it out at http://www.peterkingsley.org/Details.cfm?ProdID=60&category=2
Stay tuned.
Stone Mountain State Park – North Carolina
BOO! Happy Halloween!
What a gorgeous weekend it was at Stone Mountain State Park, North Carolina. My sister, Elo, and I had arranged to meet there for a long weekend of fishing and hiking etc. The weather could not have been better although it got a bit frosty the first night. The folks around us who were camping in tents definitely had some frost issues before the sun came around to warm things up on Saturday morning. Thank goodness for Dora and her propane furnace! The days were clear and sunny and in the mid 70’s. Just lovely.
This is the first time I’ve had adult overnight company in Dora, so the sofa bed and the dinette conversion “area” were put to the test. Our findings are as follows:
The fold out sofa bed is of the worst variety. If one lies down and puts their head in the normal position, he/she will find it below grade in relation to his/her feet so will have to contend with the issue of blood rushing to their head for the duration of the rest period. If one tries to combat this problem by reversing their position and placing his/her head where their feet would normally go, he/she experiences the dreaded “bar” across the ribcage for the duration of the rest period. In addition to the bar and slope problems, one is at a further disadvantage due to the feeling that he/she must be in a constant state of alertness as the entire apparatus gives the distinct impression that it may collapse and fold up on its occupant at any moment. Given this, I have decided to pretend that the sofa is just a sofa and does not have the capability of converting into an implement of torture.
Having discovered the drawbacks of the sleeper sofa, we moved on to the Dinette Conversion. For those of you not in the know, this means the dining room table converts into a bed. Oh joy, right? I mean if the sofa bed couldn’t do any better than it did, what hope does the dining room table have, right?
After being unable to figure out the conversion on our own, Elo and I had to resort to the Owner’s Manual which set us straight in short order (short being the operative word here). It wasn’t long before we had the dining room table taken apart and reformed into some semblance of a bed in which Elo spent her first night. The next morning, I learned that the cushions slip around with the least movement forcing the occupant to get up and “remake” the bed throughout the night and that one really must be under 5’5″ to fully enjoy the benefits of the Dinette Conversion. Since Elo (height 5’7″) didn’t get any sleep, I volunteered to sleep in the Dinette Conversion the following night somehow thinking that I could fit my 5’11” body into it if I slept diagonally. Oh my. Well, while I was converting the Dinette Conversion just before bedtime, I saw a big brown spider crawl down a crack between the wall and the head of the “bed”. All I could think was “brown recluse” and for all you Alaska folks who may not know, a brown recluse is a highly poisonous spider we are lucky enough to have here in North Carolina.
Time for bed and Elo closes herself up in my lovely bedroom with my lovely bed with the lovely memory foam topper to enjoy a cozy and blissful night of sleep. I, on the other hand, find that I do not fit into the Dinette Conversion after all, diagonally or otherwise, but given my only other choice is the Sofa Bed Implement of Torture or the floor, I do the best I can. As you can imagine, I was awake all night trying to somehow make myself a half a foot shorter than I am, and when I wasn’t playing the contortionist, I was worrying about the brown recluse spider who was surely plotting my demise or that of one of my dogs. Hmmmmm. Note to self, buy some anti-spider spray and remember, only very small adults (Carol or Marilyn) or a child (Aaron) should be subjected to the Dinette Conversion.
Elo has decided that next time she is invited to stay overnight in Dora, she is bringing her tent, which cracks me up.
Back to Stone Mountain…
If anyone is interested, here is the link: http://ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/stmo/main.php
Stone Mountain is a 600 ft dome of granite. We often took our binoculars and sat on the benches to watch the rock climbers.
Elo and I met up at campsite 90 around mid morning on Friday, got Dora all set up and headed out for a hike. Elo had been to this Park during the summer, so she played tour guide. We hiked a the 4.5 mile look hike up, over, and around Stone Mountain itself as well as a 5 mile out and back hike along Widows Creek.
In addition to our various hikes, we did some trout fishing in the streams. I caught my first rainbow trout and hooked another, but he got away after just a second or two. Elo is normally a big mouth bass fisherman, so we were using lightweight spinning rods, but most of the fishermen were fly fishermen doing the whole River Runs Through It thing. We just had fun messin’ around.
Here are some shots from the weekend.
Elo on the Summit of Stone Mountain with the Blue Ridge escarpment in the distance.
This is a view from the summit looking across at Wolf Rock.
There seemed to be almost an overabundance of deer. We saw them in great numbers especially in the mornings and at dusk.
And here is Elo fishin’ for a Rainbow. I love this shot.
That’s it for Stone Mountain. I’m in Hickory, NC now for the week at my first private campground called, Indian Springs Campground. It is small and well maintained. I can tell the owners take pride in it, which is nice. I’ve got full hookups, wi-fi, and a laundry facility just a stones throw away. I met my immediate neighbors upon arrival. George and Mary from Delaware and their enormous, 2 year old, Rottweiler named Gretchen. She’s a sweetie, is playful and looks to be about 100 lbs of pure muscle.
Stay tuned.
Alaskamarge Travels 