Pop Up House

Before we return to the final installment of our time at Kolomoki Mounds State Park in Georgia, here is something that I think might interest you. Have you seen a finer sight than this in the last few weeks?

Me neither! If they do what they say they will do, sometime Tuesday I will be back in the baking business and not a moment too soon as far as I'm concerned. After all, what would Christmas be without cookies? It was bad enough not having a working oven for Thanksgiving, but Christmas would be the final straw! Fortunately, David and Michelle took care of us for Thanksgiving which I'll share more about in my next post. 

Before Covid-19 turned the world upside down with shopping in person becoming a no-no for many, pop up shops were becoming quite the thing. These days, I suspect more folks would love to be able to enjoy a pop up house, in our case a tent, allowing them the ability to vacation while social distancing.

Say what? Sunshine? This was taken on the late afternoon the day before we were leaving. 

But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.

We had plenty more gloom Thursday morning and we took that time to do some further exploring of the park which is actually huge and on two sides of a major road. We came across the dam that creates the lakes we camped along.

As well we explored an area that was once home to the CCC men who built the park, seeing their enormous grills,

which reminded us of the pits we saw in Fancy Farm used for the annual picnic. 

Outhouse anyone?

By this time the onsite museum was open, so we made our way there, seeing this outside.

While I would love to show you what we saw inside, photos were not permitted, although it has not stopped some folks as I've seen a video of the museum contents on Youtube should you be interested. At any rate, it was super interesting seeing the artifacts and the excavated mound. Of additional note is that the building was built on top of it, as you see below.

Indians are not the only people buried here, there is a tiny graveyard containing the remains of the folks who farmed the land in the early 1900's.Following lunch we did a mini hike through the woods, stepping over downed tree trunks, trying not to trip over exposed roots, and seeing more mushrooms which I find endlessly fascinating.

Seeing colorful mushrooms are to be expected, what is not to be expected is a stray dog who appeared as if it were an apparition.

One moment it was there and the next it took off again, never to be seen again as we kept walking. At times the path was so narrow I kept pushing the vegetation off of my legs, however, the closer we came to the "plaza", the path widened significantly. 

Oh sunshine, how we missed you!! (By the way, in case you are wondering, Bruce rarely knows I am taking his photograph.)

Once we returned to our "pop up house", Bruce started a fire, enjoying it while whittling away on a new fire stick.

You might note behind Bruce's head, the bath house which was within easy walking distance. As well, I mostly had the place to myself as there were only folks in RVs during our visit. I push the door in with my body and use a paper towel, once my hands are washed, to cover the handle as I exit. We are doing our best to stay safe. 

Not only was it dry our last night there, it was a wee bit cooler making for a pleasant night's sleep.  Just after sunrise, we arose, fixed our breakfast, and began dismantling our home away from home. Once we moved the tent, oh my, look at the water underneath!

We can't say enough about how impressed we are with our new tent as not a drop of water came inside. While the inside was dry, the outside was wet as can be from sitting on the tarp, so Bruce fashioned a way to dry it out before we packed up.

It would have been pretty messy had the rain continued and we had to pack wet gear, that's for sure. He showered while the sun worked its magic, after which everything was stored back away in their carrying totes. Ever the optimist, I was hoping we would be done in two hours, however, optimism only goes so far, especially when wet equipment is involved. Nevertheless, after 2.5 hours, our site looked the way it did when we arrived, waiting for the next folks to enjoy.About six hours later, after a relatively easy drive, we arrived back in Orlando to our lovely stationary home. 

The pickleball courts were patiently waiting....

Here's another recent update that needs sharing....somehow or other, the privacy setting on my facebook page was on private even though I'd not done anything to change it. That mystery is now solved.

And here's something else that some might find interesting if they click on this link.  Coming across this post from 2009, not only had I forgotten about the joy of seeing my photographs on the New York Times digital front page, mostly it is about how when we do something, we are all in. Perhaps you will connect the dots.

That adventure over, I will be getting back to the here and now in the next edition of Camera Crazy. 

Until then...

your friend, 

Gail