Deliverance!

Hey There!

Floridians, you might think it will take an act of God to deliver you from the oppressive August heat and humidity. For us, that act was driving 1000 miles north and up 1000 feet in elevation. Deliverance for us was sleeping with the camper windows open last night at Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas. How did we get to this haven of heaven? 

After the rolling tide of bathroom pipe spray and our Worlds Best burger, we hiked a short trail in Blue Spring State Park near Clio, AL. After working up yet another round of sweat, I decided to take advantage of the 68° springs for which the park is named. I screwed up my courage, stood for about 10 minutes poised to jump in, screwed up more courage, and finally made the plunge. It was chilly (no surprise), but we had been so hot and sweaty for two days that it actually felt good - even better than my (surprise) backside washing. Ah, deliverance!

There are two octagonal-shaped pools at BSSP. The water pours in from the dark area
in the first pool, spills over into the far pool, then falls into a self-made creek below.

We departed Blue Springs State Park, headed for Mississippi and Tombigbee State Park, but 5 minutes into the trip, as we were entering Clio, Dave noticed a large sign: "Birthplace of Don Sutton." Dave asked, "Do you know who that is?" Since long-term memory is pretty good at this point in my life, I replied, "Yes. He was a pitcher." I did some quick research, and... "How about that? He was born here, grew up in a tarpaper shack, and eventually his family moved to the Florida Panhandle. He only spent one year in the minors before moving up to the LA Dodgers. He pitched with Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax." We discussed how someone from Nowhere could end up in the Majors. What series of events led to the family's move? Did his dad play ball? Was there a mentor with big league connections? Did he pitch for a high school powerhouse? Why was he called up when the Dodgers already had so many impressive pitchers in the 1970s? Someday I may investigate this, write a screen play, and make more money than Don Sutton ever did.

But I digress. It had to happen. It had to happen at the scariest time and place. And it had to happen to us, unsuspecting Dave, sleeping Trooper, and still-sweating me. A flat tire on the camper. On I-65 just south of Birmingham, AL in the heat of the day, at a place where the interstate is only 2 lanes wide. I posted on Google Maps and Waze that there was a hazard/disabled vehicle on the side of the road, but I think only a few of the cars got the message. I prayed harder than ever that Dave would be safe as he changed the tire, and God took care of him. Turns out the tire is fine, it was a leaking valve stem, which has now been fixed.

OK, now that we have that tire nonsense out of the way, let's move on.

We spent the next night in Tombigbee State Park near Tupelo, MS. Now Tupelo is known for many things, such as the birthplace of Elvis Presley (another star born in Nowhere) and the Natchez Trace Parkway, but apparently that does not cover all its fame. 

We took exit 94 off I-22 and followed a twisting, narrow, many-patched back road from the interstate to the park. Lawn art changed along the way, from a cute garden flag to a colorful aluminum ball on a pedestal, to a broken down couch, to a broken down truck, to... well, you get the picture. When we arrived at the park, I entered the office and meet Melissa. 

"Hey there! How can I help you?" Such a sweet southern lady!

"Yes, we have reservations, but first, I need to know if there is a better road back to the interstate when we leave tomorrow." 

"Oh, honey! You mustta come through Deliverance!" Such an honest southern lady!

Tombigbee is a small 21-site campground that specializes in beautiful sweet gum trees. Our site was directly under one of these huge trees with spreading branches shading our campsite. 

Our deliverance from the sun:
a sweet gum tree shading our campsite.

The temperature the next morning had dropped to 78° and we enjoyed our coffee on canvas chairs outside the camper. The multitude of birds singing in the trees was wonderful, and I used the Merlin app to identify several new species. The prettiest sound came from a wood thrush, and its rich tone reminded me of hand chimes. 

Time to hit the road to drive 5 hours to Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas. We followed Melissa's directions to avoid Deliverance, and suddenly were faced with - you guessed it - a narrow road across a dam! At this point I would have preferred the roadside attractions in Deliverance to this. But with no traffic, especially no semi trucks coming, we forged ahead.

Seriously? ANOTHER dam?

No other heart-stopping events stopped our hearts on the remainder of the drive to Petit Jean, but my Google Maps pointed out an interesting town on the way. It made up for the past few days of heat, sweat, bidet, flat tire, and someone-might-need-this-someday views. Enjoy!

Of course there is.