Deer Lick Creek Campground ~ Alabama

Sometimes you win the campground lottery and Deerlick Creek Campground is one of those times (probably the best thing I've ever personally seen the Army Corps of Engineers do). I asked the lady at the office to choose a spot for me, something 'near the water'. She certainly did!

When I saw the spot, I was grinning so much it was not even scary to back in here.

Each campsite has a 'patio'.
That thing that looks like a shower is a hook for a lantern
or whatever you think needs hanging up.

Because there would be a two hour or more difference driving blue roads or interstate, I took a leap (because the Turtle is driving so well now, knockin' on wood) and chose the interstate. What a great road!! I 59 is lined with countryside - farms and fields and hills. The only slightly nervewracking part was going through Birmingham, but by keeping in the middle-ish of three or four lanes (avoiding mergers and exits losing a lane) I came through it without quite being white knuckled. On the rest of it, though the speed is 70 and I keep it around 60 (hooray, new tires!), it's easy for people to get around me. It's all good and I'm over my fear of interstates!

A few yards ahead of my site are some steps leading either up or down to the Black Warrior river (factoid I didn't know, The Black Warrior River is named after Chief Tushkalusa, also the namesake of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In Choctaw, tushka means “warrior” and lusa means “black.”). Of course I chose the river trail.

Happy feet, good hiking sandals. They grip! They work!

As soon as I got to the bottom, this beauty came by. Don't show my houseboat!

There are a lot of dams and locks on this river. This one is not far.

A bit more trail like than the last place. I did old lady walking and didn't get hurt!

Catchplace for wood debris. And a friggin' plastic water bottle.

Nature's steps get an assist

Subtle purple

This butterfly and a yellow one too fast to shoot stayed with me for most of my walk

Have I mentioned I wish I was a geologist?

Water - it's powerful

I don't know what this is/was but it's cool looking

There was a fair amount of boat activity, all sorts of boats

About 3:30 this morning I woke up thinking an alarm was going off. It was a boat going down the river, really fast. I could hear it for miles, from a dull roar to a whining mosquito sound far in the distance. At home, that would mean one thing, here, I don't know what it means.

Dinner on the patio

I was hoping to drive out of the cloud zone, but at moonrise, there was still big cloud cover. After a good phone call, I went out again and there she was! A little more than half gone with the eclipse. Flashlight in hand I headed back down to a dock on the river to see better. The sky was still cloudy but around the moon was a big clear circle. The Universe can be so kind!

Good night, moon

As soon as the moon was completely gone, the clouds moved in again. I saw the barest tinge of light as it began to reappear but that was all. Time to head back up. I could happily live with that. 

This morning is grey and not so quiet, with a bulldozer working on the other side of the river. Oh! It's Monday! 

Have a meandering Monday. Do something maximizing.