An Alabama Ghost Town

I know it’s hard to believe.  Another post, already.

We decided that it was time we hit the road for a bit. We’re still adjusting to the new Casita.  Just as we were leaving home on Sunday morning we received a call that my brother in law was admitted to the hospital.  Not wanting to get too far from home, we made our first stop Service CoE campground on the Tenn-Tom Waterway.  We’ve stopped here numerous times before, and always enjoy the peace and quiet, as well as watching the towboats out our door.

Wanda had no idea what was lurking behind her.  We call them Wolf Spiders.  They always show up in the Fall.

It was hot and humid when we arrived, but as darkness fell, the cool front could be spotted upriver.

The rains came overnight and we awoke to clearing skies and cool temperatures.  Made one change from shorts and tee shirt to jeans and long sleeves. Beautiful.

As we have traveled this route often, I was always puzzled by a sign on the highway pointing to Blandon Springs.  Since we were to be here for a couple of days, we decided this would be a good time to find out more.

It was once an Alabama State Park, but has been handed over to local operation by the County.  We found the springs, of which five are still visable, to be quite interesting.  They  have been capped, but each is equipped with a hand pump which still delivers an evil smelling water.  Reminded me of Yellowstone.

There’s not much left of Bladon Springs.  The cemetery, and this beautiful little “no name” church about a quarter mile apart.

And every community had a crossroads merchantile.  Which would probably tell some wonderful stories if it could only speak.

That’s all…..jc

Haven’t died, Yet!

There may be a handfull of folks that were still following my blog back in July.  July 25th was the date of the last post.  Almost two months to the day.  Someone may ask why, and I don’t have a definite answer.  Laziness, loss of interest, too busy, etc.  I’ll try and give you a condensed version of the past two months in one very short post. 

The last time I posted, we were at Chambers Lake in Northern Colorado.  From there we traveled to Baby Doe campground, just outside Leadville, CO.  We spent a few days there enjoying the beautiful views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

The most memorable thing from our visit there involved a poor old dog.  We had driven into town to access the internet and were parked on the corner of Main Street in Leadville.  A couple went into a coffee shop, and tied their dog to a small cast iron table, outside. The dog managed to tip over the table, which scared it out of its wits.  It started howling, while running across Main street dragging the table.  It crossed Main Street twice, ran a block down, and disappeared around a corner; all the while howling at the top of it’s lungs, and leaving parts of the table scatted along the street and sidewalk.  The owners gave chase and finally caught it three blocks away.  I felt so sorry for the poor animal.  i don’t think it will ever be the same.

After Leadville, we made our way to the foot of Wolf Creek Pass, ten or so miles East of Pagosa Springs, CO.   The West Fork campground.

It sits right on the west fork of the San Juan River.

We spent a few days there, visiting friends in the area, and just relaxing in the peace and quiet.  It wasn’t long, though, before it was time to leave for Cloudcroft, NM.  We had plans to hook up with a number of friends there for a week.  We had a great time, but didn’t take a picture, other than this one looking down on Alamogordo, white Sands NM, and the Tolarosa basin.

On our way home we managed a few days in another of our favorite places.  Cranes Mill park on Canyon Lake, just outside San Antonio. 

We arrived home on a Sunday, and on Monday I managed to break the curbside window of the Casita with the lawn mower.  After some research I called Casita and they shipped me a new one.  We got it installed on a Wednesday, and sold the Casita the following Friday.  There she goes…

                                     

We purchased that trailer in August of 2006.  We towed it untold thousands of miles, and made memories that, hopefully, we’ll never forget.  It was, and still is a good trailer.  We hope the new owners get as much enjoyment from it as we did.

Now, anyone acquainted with me knows I’m not going to be without a trailer for long.  How else are we going to travel.  Definitely not by air or automobile, and sleep in different beds each night.  Friends asked; are you getting something bigger?  Why?

We had actually made a deal with friends back in May to purchase their trailer.  They had ordered a fifth wheel Escape and we were in the right place at the right time.  Both or us had Summer travel plans already in place, and we agreed to wait to take ownership until both of us returned home.  Here she is!

Isn’t she pretty?  A 2016 Casita Independence.  Loaded down with all the fancy fixings.  Twin beds; so no crawling over during the night.  It’s going to be grand.  We hope and pray that this one brings us as much joy as our old one.  If it even comes close, our cup runneth over……jc

Lake Agnes

Another day while camped at Chambers Lake, we took a short drive over the pass to the Western side of the Continental Divide.  Our destination was Lake Agnes, accessed by a Colorado state park called State Forest.  After paying a daily entrance fee of $7.00 per vehicle, we started the climb to the parking area.  I’ve driven better jeep roads, but the old Chevy got us there.

Lake Agnes is truly an Alpine lake.  Tucked into the Never Summer Range, it’s a scene often depicted on postcards and jigsaw puzzles.

The blue/green color of the water was beautiful.

 

Our friends, Mike and Gail, who recomended all these wonderful places.

Columbine.  I didn’t even see the bee until I downloaded the picture.

Sally and Rudder watching the trailhead, waiting for our return.  Wanda was glad to dog sit on this one.

Mike and Gail have a pair of kayaks that have the option of foot power.  I got to give one a try.  Sally was a bit concerned.

I have to say that this is the way to go.  Propel the flippers with your feet, and steer the rudder with a lever beneath your left hand.

Wanda watching from our campsite.

The view from our campsite.

Mike and Gail had to return home on Friday, but we were lucky enough to keep our FCFS site for the weekend.  We watched as the laid back weekday crowd of fishermen, kayakers, and hikers gave way to the thirtysomething crowd with lots of tents, dogs, kids, and noise.  We spent most of the weekend reading, napping, and watching the show from our screen room.

Not sure where the next post will come from.  Hopefully another beautiful place like this…jc