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

 

 

Rain, Rain Go Away!

 Before I begin this installment of Camera Crazy, let me just say thank you to any and all who find this little spot on the web enjoyable enough to keep coming back. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support. Facebook, being the primary way that I promote this blog, has let me down again. For whatever reason, my last post has been blocked from most people's eyes, the second time this has occurred in the last month. I had a lot to say in that post, including a retraction so I was hoping all the faithful would have easy access to it. Four times I've tried, each time, seemingly without success. So, HERE is a link to my story about Blakely, GA and I think you will find some of the stuff fascinating. I suppose the moral of the story is that if you want to continue reading, perhaps subscribing is the way to go? I think it is relatively easy to click on the provided space at the very top right hand corner of the blog. 

Okie dokie, here's something else unrelated----

Me: Siri, call Fields Appliance Repair

Siri: Are you sure you want to call them, they only have a 2.5 star review.

Me: Unfortunately Siri, I have no other choice.

The above exchange happened a week ago Monday and I hung up with the customary frustration. Making a long story short, Bruce had three calls going to Whirlpool at once, hoping someone would answer at one of the numbers. He left sporting his earphones, while the house phone continued on hold for 38 minutes. Meanwhile, I'm in the kitchen preparing a stew and a woman named Connie finally answered and not only did she answer but she was empathetic as well.  Both of us told our sob story and we both finally got somewhere. The control panel with motherboard is on it's way!! Nine weeks later and if all goes according to plan, I will be back in business next Tuesday. What a saga.

Now we are ready to return to Kolomoki Mounds State Park. More rain overnight and in the morning, leaving our tent soaked outside but dry inside. Yeah for our Core Tent.

Eventually we were able to get out and about a bit, riding our bikes over to the plaza where the major mounds are to be found. 

The largest one,  called the Temple Mound is, according to this information, 56 feet tall.  We climbed the stairs up,

where the view of the entire area, once home to several Native American cultures which is explained in the link above. The statistic about how many pails of dirt it must have taken to make this mound is down right astonishing. Anyway, the view from the top is unimpeded by trees.

What goes up, must come down.

By the way, we both credited our incessant pickleball playing to being able to do this with relative ease. Relative being the operative word! Back at the campground, Bruce is chatting with a fellow fisherman.

I wish I'd gotten all this down quicker because things are blurring, but let's see if I can get this straight. 

One night we grilled steak, a first for us and although I would have liked to keep the corn on the cob intact, I'm not great at that so I cut it off the cob and fried it instead.

How there are no flies is a mystery! 

A campfire is one of the reasons to go camping, even though it was only for looks as it was still very warm outside. 

So, because it was warm, we were sitting at the picnic table, playing cards when all of a sudden I cried out as an animal was in our midst!! No, my friends, it was not a scary animal at all, but a black Labrador Retriever who came to visit. Because it was so dark outside, you can imagine my initial confusion! To make a long story short, the dog was reunited with its owner after some detective work by Bruce. If you can imagine, he lives 1.5 miles away!!

The next morning Bruce concocted more shelter from the rain using sticks he found and one of the tarps that came with our shade shelter.

Breakfast is served.

Most of that day Bruce was fishing while I was reading a fantastic book I picked up from the onsite "little library", Thunderstruck by Erik Larsen.  My gosh that book is interesting. 

In an effort to diminish the fly presence I took to Google, finding the suggestion of putting out some soap in a dish that would attract them. While I did that and caught a few, the dishwater from lunch caught even larger bugs! Yikes!!Bruce is chatting with the young Dad I mentioned in my first post about this trip.Oh how I wish we'd had some sunshine! By now, later in the week, other folks began arriving, with groups on either side of us. It was nearly dinnertime when I noticed the sky looking super weird with almost a brown cast to it. I called out--watch that sky because they had their backs to it and I was fearful of a tornado.Before long the thunderheads gathered,followed by a torrential storm. Our tent remained dry, in spite of pooling water all around it,and after about an hour, it quit. I'd begun cooking before the deluge and we ate under our canopy, in spite of a few drops of water that managed to drip on us. 

Ever the handy guy, Bruce still managed to get a fire going, wet wood be damned!Our last night sleeping under the stars was dry after the downpour with no rain predicted for the morrow. Finally!

With Thanksgiving just days away, although there will be no cooking going on in this house, we do plan to meet up with our immediate family for dessert down at the pool. Not the same as most years, but what is in 2020?? Still there is much to be thankful for, beginning with you and all of our family and friends. Secondly, we only know two people who have been ill, so that is something to be grateful for. May all who read this remain healthy and strong and find something to be thankful for as we celebrate in the time of Covid-19.

your friend,

Gail

The Tyranny of Flies

As a girl growing up in Orlando, in a home with six children and no air conditioning,  I was well acquainted with black flies. The constant refrain of "shut the door" rang throughout our home as doors were opened and closed with great frequency, as you can well imagine. Flies clung to the screens, looking for a way out, largely without success because having, AND using, a fly swatter was commonplace. With the constant construction in our area along with the attending urban sprawl, flies are generally not much of a problem these days as they have been pushed out with each concrete pour. Thus, a fly swatter or other means of keeping flies at bay was not part of our camping gear. We are rethinking that after our time at Kolomoki Mounds State Park. OH MY GOODNESS, were they ever a nuisance, crawling all over our table as well as lighting on our bodies. At least they did not bite.

The campsite was perfect but those flies were anything but. With that out of the way, let's look at the set up as it happened. 

Leaving the house just after daylight on Monday we made good time, arriving at the park about half past one. Immediately we noticed it was both hot and humid, not ideal but as you will soon see, better than some of the other weather we encountered. Our spot was lakeside, #3. 

The first order of business is deciding where is the best place to set up the tent in relation to the other features such as the fire ring. Unfortunately, the weather forecast called for rain most days so that was the deciding factor. How best to stay dry? Normally we prefer a little separation between the tent and picnic table, but as we found out the next day, this arrangement was a Godsend. 

That air mattress....talk about a win! My quilt is now a bit small however with such warm temperatures, wew certainly did not need much cover.

Observant readers will note that there are three chairs at our site, two for day use and the folding chair for stargazing. And while there was, much to my delight, stargazing done in that chair, it's real value was for day use as it is far more comfortable than the other ones. That will be our next purchase, some better camp chairs, that is as long as they will fit in the car. 

Following lunch Bruce spent some time splitting wood for kindling, using pieces of a crate from a church project. 

While the weather was still pleasant I took my bike out for a spin, first around the campground loop,

followed by the big climb up the hill to the second part of the park. About half way up, I had to get off and walk my bike, even though Bruce keeps telling me to gear down, walking works for me.

While it may not look daunting to you, it was for me. Perhaps looking back down shows the grade better?

While it was mostly still green, there were some very bright spots of color to be seen.

Riding down that hill was a blast, albeit having the brakes on most of the way to be safe! Our site looks so pretty amongst the trees. At this point of our stay, there were but about five other occupied sites out of 24.

One of the sites was occupied by a Dad and his two children who stopped to chat. By that time the clouds were building and my dream of seeing loads of stars was looking as if it would not come true. This gentleman told me the same thing happened the night before and not to lose heart because after dark the stars not only appeared, but he saw the Milky Way! With that hope in mind, I tried setting up my camera closer to the lake away from all obstructions.

Although I'd done plenty of pre-trip research, my efforts were in vain as I just could not figure out how to set the camera properly. Still, I had hope.

Night fell and the lights came on. The table was set, the fire was ablaze, while the oven was heating up our dinner.

The Shepards Pie turned out even better than I'd hoped. (one of the few times the flies stayed away!)

This trip we decided to use the large sink at the restroom building for dishwashing which worked just fine if one doesn't mind walking aways to use it. We didn't mind at all as long as we had our headlamps! 

And then the magic began as the clouds indeed moved out and stars, like diamonds in the sky, began appearing. Unplugging our tent lights to diminish distraction, I tried setting up the camera again, to no avail. Pretty soon that young man, along with his daughter, came along as they were taking their trash to the dumpster. He asked if he could help and of course I said YES! Sadly he was clueless as to how to operate my camera, but he sure tried. Nonetheless, I did see the MILKY WAY over our heads which was absolutely more than I could have hoped for. Sorry, Camera Crazy readers, I have no photographic evidence. You'll have to trust me on this one.

Early to bed, early to rise is our modus operandi and it holds true while camping, so it was time to try out that new fat air mattress with all of the "windows" open in the tent. Every now and again if we woke up we would look up in absolute wonder. It's a beautiful world out there!

your friend,

Gail

My First Ever Campfire!

Yesterday was a very productive day in the Peck household, however, those projects will have to wait for their reveal until I finish up with our camping trip stories, something  I will attempt to do in the next two posts. I know, how much is there to say or show about a seven day trip? The answer my friends is a lot! 

As all good mornings begin, let's start with a photo of Bruce making toast. Yes, he has a gadget for making toast on the campstove and it works pretty darn well.

Pretty neat, huh? Our plan for this day was to head over to Callaway Gardens which was basically just around the corner. Multiple people raved about it so we went to see for ourselves on this bright and sunny, cool morning. While I'd looked at their website, what it actually turned out to be was a bit of a surprise to me, meaning I did not understand that they consider the whole place a giant garden rather than one specific area. That said, we were there before the leaves changed color, and long after the magnificent azaleas were in bloom, the best time to go should you be in the area! Anyway, as we drove in through the forest on winding roads we noticed many workers hanging Christmas lights in the trees. Turns out that probably their biggest event of the year, called a Fantasy of Lights, takes months to set up. Parking at the striking visitor center, we made our way inside to discover what they have to offer. Striking outside, and just as striking inside.

The cases lining both the window wall and the interior wall were showcasing the natural flora of the area in silk and metal.  My photograph does not do the delicate work justice, but here it is nonetheless.

While waiting for the "bird of prey" show to begin we marveled at a large collection of BIRD paintings! Sadly the show was not what we were expecting, but that was somewhat due to Covid because normally they let them fly. Instead two young women brought out two owls, one of which is this cute Screech owl who has a disability that I cannot remember. Had I not seen loads of Barred Owls out in the wild, I would have been impressed with the other raptor they showcased. :)

Off to the Butterfly House! Large, warm and light filled, what a treat seeing butterflies flying everywhere, and while they were celebrating Blue Morpho month, perhaps you'd like to see some other ones I found interesting, not to mention beautiful!

One of my favorites, this one was hiding up in a tree:

Then again, I was pretty partial to this one as well.

Obviously, with my love of orange,  I could not write this without including this beauty.

Isn't it something to think that those are miniscule scales covering the wings, making up the whole? As to whether these are butterflies or moths, I'm not so sure, but I know some smart readers can tell the difference! I once thought it was as simple as identifying their resting position, but as with most things in life, that is not the case.

Following lunch at their cafe across the street from the back park entrance, we took in the view adjacent to the park office, a very attractive stone building

The rest of the day was spent at the campsite with Bruce doing some reading and fishing, while I played solitaire,  never once winning, btw. Another view of our fun lights.

With sadness we packed up the following morning to make way for another family to set up and make this lovely spot their temporary home away from home.

Heading South on HWY 27, which was lovely I might add, our first stop was Providence Canyon State Park. Yup, you read that right, a canyon in western Georgia! I believe I first learned of it from a brochure, or maybe someone told us, my memory is sketchy, but in any case, should you find yourself in Lumpkin, Georgia, it is well worth a stop. Parking your car, the walk is but a short distance before the canyon comes into view with signs remind you to stay behind the fencing.

Apparently caused by poor farming practices, the canyon began forming and continues to evolve with the nickname, the "Little Grand Canyon". Maybe a bit of a stretch, but after seeing it not as far fetched as one might think. Had we more time we could have hiked down into the canyon as many do. Actually the website tells me that there are five canyons!

Most definitely worth the stop.

Continuing on 27, we drove another hour or so to our next campsite located at Kolomoki Mounds State Park in Blakely, GA. Picked merely because it was on the way, the park exceeded our expectations. There are very large Indian mounds, I believe nine, that we did not explore, again due to time constraints.

That said, after staying here just one night, we most definitely intend to return to not only explore this 57 foot mound, but to enjoy the peacefulness and natural beauty. 

It was somewhat warm when we arrived to set up camp in our reserved space which turned out to be a handicapped site. What did that mean to us? For one thing we were adjacent to the bath house!!

After getting out our supplies, we set then out to dry as the ground cloth  was still damp from the previous night. While not on one of the lakefront sites, the view was lovely just the same. After setting up camp Bruce took the boat out on the lake for some fishing.

Our next visit here I will most definitely do my best to book one of the lakefront sites that have the above view. While he was out fishing, I put together some of those little pizzas that work well in the oven.

Not a bad view for getting dinner ready, right? With the sun beginning its descent, I thought, what the heck, I'm going to try and start our campfire, Gathering loads of pinecones for a base, I did just that, surprising the heck out of Bruce when he returned. I must say that I was pretty proud of myself.

Remember the bit about being a handicapped spot? The high sides to the pit are a feature of them. The night was lovely and cool, the Harvest Moon shone brightly on the lake, and we slept like babies.

The following morning I did a little bit of bike riding early while the evaporation fog was in full progress.

Sadly, it was time to once again pack up and head South to our friends in Live Oak, but most assuredly we will return to this wonderful park as soon as possible.

Are you sold on camping yet? It's a beautiful world out there!

your friend,

Gail