On the road again!

In my planning, it didn't cross my mind that I wouldn't have internet on the first night of my trip. But, here I am in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park with not a bar (reception bar, not a liquor bar) in sight. Of course, there are no bars of any kind here. So, I'll write tonight and post this tomorrow.

I'm on the first day of my long-planned road trip, heading to Big Bend National Park in Texas. In many ways, I've been planning this trip for about 3 years, though my initial plan was for a multi month trip around the US and Canada. My four-week trip last fall showed me that a month was more than long enough for me to be on the road, so I scaled back my road trip (the first of many, I hope) to south Texas and maybe southern Arizona and New Mexico, depending on how I feel after Big Bend. My plan is to drive to the Texas-Louisiana border and meander down the Gulf Coast of Texas, birding and camping. My reservation at Big Bend is for April 23-30. And my first night on the road, and the first night in my iKamper, is at a campground in the Great Smoky Mountain NP. It's a beautiful area and a nice campground, plus my national park pass gave me 50% off, so only $15/night.

When I checked in at the campsite, I learned that my rig (iKamper on top of my Subaru) is considered an RV. Ok. If they want to check RV off on their form, it's fine with me, but I don't really see this as an RV. Then I got the bear talk. And had to initial a form saying that I understood the bear talk. They're pretty serious about bears here. The guy told me not to bring a candy bar into the tent with me. Alrighty then. Candy bars are staying in the locked car. And hopefully any bears will be staying on the ground. At home, if I yell at a bear, the bear takes off. Can Tennessee bears be any braver? Time will tell. And I'd better get used to it. At Big Bend, the warning is that: “Javelinas, bobcats and bears frequent the area.“ Nope, no food in the tent on this trip!

I never did write any more posts about Morocco, though I did want to talk about the many cats there, and the yummy tagines. I did take a fair number of cat pictures—if those interest you, click on this LINK to see them. Actually, if you are interested, here is the link to all my Morocco pictures, most of which do not include cats.

I am excited about this trip, and nervous at the same time. The excitement is because of the amazing wildlife I expect to see (and hopefully photograph). Late April is prime birding at Big Bend, as the migrants come through and the resident birds arrive. I've been following a Facebook group for Texas birding, and I've been salivating at all of the colorful birds that I should see there. The drive down the Gulf Coast on the way will be hopscotching from one birding location to the next.

I'm a little nervous though, but not as much now that I'm actually on the road. I have had more trepidation about this trip that I did for Europe or Morocco, and I'm not sure why. Maybe because the US is not as safe as the other countries I've visited recently. But, as I said, now that I'm on the way, I'm not worried. This will probably be my only road trip this year, except for a few short trips. I'm planning on going with a birding friend to Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay, maybe in late June. I've never been over there, and figure we'd better do it now, before any more of it is lost to sea level rise. I do have several more international trips in the works later this year, and I'm excited already about each of them!

I guess I'll probably get up early in the morning (since I'm already in the tent and ready for bed at 9 PM!), make coffee, then head for a nearby town and cell service. I need to route my drive tomorrow. I think I'll probably reach eastern Texas on Tuesday, and then the birding fun will begin!

And now it's Monday night and I'm in Pearl River, Louisiana. But first, back to the tent. I had a quiet night (i.e., no bears) though I did have to wake up to zip up the windows. Jake said that I should have expected it to be cold in the mountains in April, and I guess he's right! I was okay with my sleeping quilt though—it's nice and warm. It was still cold this morning, and I didn't linger long at the campsite. I made coffee and then hit the road.

It took me a while to get out of the National Forest, as there were wildflowers blooming everywhere! I kept stopping to take pictures.

Finally, though, I made it out and then kept meandering for a good part of the day. I drove into Alabama with mixed feelings. I haven't been back to Alabama since 1982. I actually lived in Alabama twice when I was young: Decatur for a year when I was 13, and 3 years in Montgomery, where I attended high school. Notice I didn't say graduated from high school, as I dropped out to go to college early. I could not wait to get out of Montgomery. The guidance counselor at my high school, when I informed her that I was leaving for college without finishing my senior year, said that "we don't recommend that." I commented that I was not asking for recommendations, that I was just letting them know. (Mom asked several times after I had finished college whether they would give me my HS diploma, and they said nope—no diploma without senior English and government.) Anyway, I left for college and only returned to Alabama a couple of times. (Luckily, my parents moved back to Virginia while I was in my second year of college.)

Anyway, all of that is beside the point, except that I decided to jump on the interstate and get out of Alabama. I decided that I'd hustle across Mississippi also, and I made it to a hotel in Louisiana around 9:30 PM. (Since I drove so long, I decided against camping tonight. Also, I need a shower!)

And, while I am reminiscing about the deep South, the last time I was in Mississippi and Louisiana was even earlier than 1982. My dad took my brother and me with him on a business trip to Louisiana while I was in high school. I remember eating gumbo and taking my brother to the ER because he fell by the pool and needed stitches. And that's about all I remember, except that it was cool to go somewhere with my dad.

But, back to the present. I'm about 4-4.5 hours from Port Arthur, Texas, but when I looked at the map, there are a couple of interesting spots for birding on the Louisiana coast, near the Texas border. I think I'm going to go there, then to Port Arthur. I'm going to scout out campgrounds in the Port Arthur area, as I probably won't make it much beyond there tomorrow.