Severe Thunderstorms

April 30, 2014:  Severe thunderstorms started Tuesday afternoon and continued nonstop until 4:00 a.m. Wednesday, resulting in twenty-one inches of rain. These storms were more severe than any we have ever experienced.  Gulf Shores is in Baldwin County.  The schools were closed here today because of flooding.  We were supposed to leave today, but the authorities were asking people to stay off the roads and the park rangers also advised us to stay.  The lake flooded up to the campsites.  Originally, the shoreline was at the tall reeds.  We took a bike ride to go back to see the alligators again because I didn't get a good picture of them, but the trail through their habitat was closed due to flooding.  We did venture down a few other trails that were open despite the flooding, spotting one snake slithering across the road.  We are thankful to be safe and the motorhome withstood the storm with flying colors!  We plan to leave for Fontainebleau State Park in Mandeville, Louisiana tomorrow.

Gulf State Park

We have been biking every day on the paved trails throughout the park.  Our wildlife sightings have been a number of snakes, including a cottonmouth (pictured), a large flock of white cranes, an alligator and her four babies, and large flocks of pelicans along the beach.  We attended a program on snakes at the nature center.  They identified the snake pictured and informed us that it is a venomous snake. 

Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores Alabama

Saturday, April 26, 2014:  Gulf State Park is located near Gulf Shores, Alabama.  The campground is on the north side of Middle Lake and the Gulf of Mexico is south of the lake.  We were able to select a campsite along the lake.  This is a full hook-up campground with some amenities that we haven't seen in a state park.....a pool (we won't use) and a large laundromat (we will use).  There are many paved biking trails throughout the park.  We biked a few of them today. We also biked to the Farmer's Market where we were able to purchase local produce.  The weather has been warm and humid here.  We will be here until April 30th.

Destination: Gulf Shores, Alabama

Friday, April 25, 2014:  Today we are departing Fort Pickens and driving to Gulf State Park.  It is a short drive of only 50 miles.  We have learned not to trust the GPS, especially if we are going to a remote location. It even tried to send us down a dirt road on one route.  So we check our route with the atlas (much used retirement gift from friends at school).  While unhooking to leave, we discovered a tiny one inch tree frog residing in the electric box.

Fort Pickens Campground, Santa Rosa Island

Wednesday, April 23, 2014:

It was another warm day with that cool breeze off of the Gulf of Mexico.  We started our day with a pancake breakfast and an exploration of the area around the campground on our bikes where we spotted our first snake sunning itself on the trail....guess we were too scared to remember to take a picture.....and it wasn't anxious to move off the trail.  After returning, it was grooming day for Skipper.  Then, after lunch, we biked to the museum on the island to learn about its inhabitants and a bit more history.  We also stopped on the pier to watch the fishermen.  One man caught a large red snapper.  It was a beautiful fish and not in season so he returned it to the water where it struggled before finally swimming away.....getting cheers from all the onlookers.  We ended our day with a sunset hike on the white sand beach, which, we discovered, is 90% quartz. 

Thursday, April 24, 2014:  This was our last full day at this location.  After doing the laundry, visiting with some campers who were interested in our motorhome, and lunch, we hiked on the beach.  We have enjoyed our stay here.  Amongst the many species of birds that amazed us were the nesting ospreys and the pelicans swooping over us on the beach.  Tomorrow we leave for Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama. 

Time for a Little History!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014:  Today we explored Fort Pickens, watched the Blue Angels practice out over the bay (impressive), and relaxed on the beach.  Pelicans and a variety of other birds were busy along the shore. The sand here is like unrefined sugar.  

Skipper news:  He had an armadillo sighting on his afternoon walk. 

Our Day at Fort Pickens

We started the day with a fifteen mile bike ride the length of the island.  The family camping next to us told us about a great local fish market called Joe Patti not far from here.  We miss Falatic's in Sawyer, Michigan, where we bought fish, meat, and cheese so we were happy to find a good place here to purchase fresh fish.  We made a trip to the nearby town for fish and groceries, came back and cooked our salmon over a fire, followed by a sunset walk on the beach.  Sunny and 70's on this white sand island helped to make this a great day!

Thinking of friends and family back home.....we miss you....remembering you in our prayers every day.

Gulf Islands National Seashore

April 20, 2014:  We arrived at the Fort Pickens Campground this afternoon.  After setting up we had time for a bicycle ride out to the end of the island where the fort is located.  We are looking forward to exploring the island history and walking on the beaches.  Currently, sea turtles are nesting on the shore.  We had a visitor to our campsite shortly after arriving.  He was quite busy digging holes here and there.  

It has been such a blessing to meet other campers.  Today we met Martin and Karin who are traveling in their motorhome they brought over from their homeland, Germany.  A few we have met are Paul and Jan from Florida, Bob and Jan from Knoxville, Gary and Sheryl from Michigan, and many others.

We are also thankful today for the Lutheran Hour Ministries.  We were able to listen to an Easter service via that website today.  We celebrate today and every day that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has risen! 

More pictures to come, but here is our little visitor.

First Day at Cotton Hill

Our first full day at Cotton Hill started out quite chilly, 37 degrees, but sunny, warming up to the mid 60's.  We can see the sunrise over the lake.  The wildlife around our campsite kept us entertained today.  There are three goose couples.  Number one couple has four goslings, number two couple has two goslings, and number three couple is childless.  So when number three couple gets too close to the babies they get chased away, but they follow them around seeming to act like body guards.....honking loudly and often.  They didn't approve of Skipper's presence.  Our crane left late morning, then returned late afternoon.  We were surprised that it perched at the top of a tree before coming into the water. Then a white crane flew in late afternoon.  Midday, we heard crows making a loud commotion in a nearby tree.  They chased an owl into a tree on the small island near us.  After looking with the binoculars, it was confirmed....a great horned owl.  Some small birds came to its rescue and chased the crows away.  On our walk this afternoon, we spotted a bald eagle.  We have not seen an alligator!  (Well, on our walk through the forests this morning we came to a sunny, sandy area along a swampy area and something slithered into the water.....so I'm speculating that it might have been a small alligator....Chuck is doubtful.). A boater said he saw two large ones sunning themselves on an island. We've biked around the campground checking all the sites and have determined that our site, number 12, is one of the best!  God bless!

Cotton Hill Campground

April 15, 2014:  We arrived in Fort Gaines, Georgia this afternoon.  This is an Army Corp of Engineers National Campground.  If you have the senior pass camping fees are 50% off.  This is a full hook-up site for $13 a night.  We will be here until Sunday.  Our site is on the lake and is teeming with wildlife.  The pictures show proud parents of four goslings, a crane, and busy ducks.  We settled in, took a walk, and had a dinner of quesadillas. We are looking forward to exploring the area.

Walter F. George Lake, sometimes called Lake Eufaula, stretches 85 miles up the Chattahoochee River.

View From The Dam Bridge

Standing on the bridge above the dam you see the Savannah River below the dam and Lake Thurmond above the dam.  We did a short hike today on a trail following the peninsulas around the lake.  It was 83 degrees, but the breeze off the lake made it feel comfortable hiking.  We are discovering that the trail maps are a bit less than accurate.

Modoc Campground

April 11, 2014:  We arrived at Modoc Campground late in the afternoon yesterday.  It is a National Park campground with standard hook-ups (electric and water) so this is our first stop without sewer hook-up.  Today we toured the area seeing the Thurmond Dam on the Savannah River.  The dam, built from 1946-1954, created the J. Strom Thurmond Lake.  Our campsite is located on the shore of this 72,000 acre lake with 1,200 miles of shoreline.  We are in site 64, which is quite a nice site close to the water.  If you come here to camp try for site 64, 29, or 30.  Skipper is relaxed and enjoying the out of doors. The dogwood trees are in full bloom throughout the park.  I've always loved the wild dogwoods blooming throughout the forests.  We will leave this area on Tuesday morning, April 15th.

Sunrise on the Atlantic Coast

April 11, 2014:  Up early to see the beautiful sunrise!

Goodbye Myrtle Beach

We enjoyed our stay here in Myrtle Beach State Park.  We have reorganized, eliminated a few things, and added a few things.  I went for a hair cut for the first time since leaving home.  It was great to have the Market Commons area close by with some nice shops.  The man who cut my hair told me about a great local restaurant to have fish so we celebrated our last night with a visit there.  If you are in this area we highly recommend it.  I had grilled grouper and Chuck had shrimp....it was fabulous!  It is a small family owned restaurant called Mrs. Fish.  We started our last day with a pancake breakfast.  One of our additions was a single electric burner.  It seems that we will usually have electric hookup so it made sense to save our propane fuel.  After breakfast, we did household chores....laundry, vacuuming, mopping.....just a smaller place to clean, followed by our daily walk on the beach.  On some days the ocean reminded us of Lake Michigan....this was one of those days.  A few times we found some nice shells.....which we enjoyed while here, but will leave behind, pelicans flying overhead, and creatures living in shells.  Tomorrow morning we will pack up and head westward.  Next stop.....Modoc, South Carolina.  Our time here in Myrtle Beach has given us a good adjustment time.  We were uncertain and even a bit sad as we started on this venture a month ago.....I was even feeling a little homesick.....Michigan will always be home as we travel about our country.  The motorhome is beginning to feel like home.....and yes, Cas, we are having fun!  Oh, I cannot forget the "pollen attack", as they call it down here.  We have never experienced so much green floating and covering everything.  Despite the pollen, the weather has been excellent!  We were thankful that we had the opportunity to worship and commune with fellow Christians at Risen Christ LCMS Church while here.  We have met so many people in the campground and area.  Everyone has been a blessing....we are so thankful!

Myrtle Beach State Park

We arrived at the park on March 27th and plan to stay here until April 11th.  We extended our stay here so we could do some additional organizing and planning.  We have good internet and phone service here.  Also, it is a short distance for groceries and shopping. When you enter the park it is like an oasis away from the busy touristy area surrounding it. We are enjoying walks on the beach and trails and biking in the park and area.  There are many Canadians in the campground.  One couple told us that, unlike Americans, they have no place in their country to escape the winter weather so they come here.  They cannot stay away from Canada longer than six months or they loose their healthcare.  We like the park and have met many people.