Alabama – The Hermits' Rest

Let’s Wander through the Deep South

Today, Lee and I took the road less traveled through the great forests of Mississippi and Alabama. I managed all my meetings so far and have been able to get work done, even with occasional sketchy internet.

I started out taking pictures of flowers near our hotel. I found an empty lot with excellent weeds. This hotel didn’t have roses, but there were a couple of cute cultivated flowers.

I have to say, though, that it was just so darned fun to drive on a practically empty road through state forests bordered by riotous wildflower displays. Lee was nice enough to stop a few times so I could get photos of plants I’d been interested in from looking out the car window.

From a distance this gorgeous cogon grass was very stinking. And it’s striking up close.

This very bright verbena covered the roadside with splashes of fun.

Those two were the ones I was most curious about. But the coreopsis and others below made the DeSoto National Forest and surrounding area fascinating and a balm for my soul. Enjoy some samples.

Lee took a more distant view at our longer stop. I look like I was having fun!

I saw lots of trees and other plants but they made rather snooze-worthy images. Now Lee wants photos of small towns. I’ll see if I can look up.

Heading Home, Day 1

Whew. Today was long, but quite fun. We took all back roads from Myrtle Beach to Montgomery, Alabama (actually we are in Prattville). It was fun seeing all the different small towns and industries as we drove.

We were routed by our favorite SC place, Georgetown, so we stopped there for breakfast at a friendly coffee shop. We ended up chatting with a nice couple who’s taking their boat all the way up north and going to visit the Great Lakes, too. The coffee shop owner volunteered to lían them his truck to get groceries!

Then we started driving through small town after small town. I enjoyed looking at well-restored old houses, the many churches, quaint downtowns, and old gas stations in various degrees of disrepair.

Best I can do through dirty car windows!

I enjoyed seeing what the land was used for as we headed west. When we started there was mostly logging and forestry. I looked for evidence of prescribed burns, determined whether they were clear cutting or selectively cutting, and if the pine trees were all in straight lines or not. that’s because I’m reading a book about forestry.

As we got farther along, there were lots and lots of pecan plantations. They are so beautiful. It seems to really be a growing industry in Georgia, because there were acres and acres of young pecans.

It’s peach season, and Georgia is famous for them. It took a while, but eventually I found some orchards.

We also went through some cities. Augusta didn’t impress me, but I think we went through the wrong part of town. Macon was mostly traffic. Columbus, though, was pretty. Or vice versa. I’m tired.

And oh yes, the big industries we passed were plastic stuff, flooring, and tiles. It was nice to see thriving industry!

Other things I enjoyed were farms, creeks, lakes, and forests. I liked seeing wild roses and mimosas.

Tomorrow we have some sightseeing to do, so we won’t go as far. We’re looking forward to that!

We stopped for road work a lot, too. This sign fell down and looks like a guy bending over!

Travel through the South

You haven’t heard much from us, because we’ve been traveling! We spent two days driving to Hilton Head, South Carolina. It was a glorious two days, too. The first days we enjoyed many small towns in Texas, since the first part of our trip was on state highways. Before stopping for the night, we visited my favorite welcome station, the one on the Mississippi River. I love the two bridges, watching barges, and all the colors. Some day I would love to take a river cruise on this river!

sign2 We stopped for the night in Meridian, Mississippi. We had a huge room, but what impressed us the most was that there was tons of food in the lobby when we arrived. It was for all the people who had evacuated from the path of Hurricane Michael and needed a break. There was a real sense of community in the place, and the staff at the hotel was bending over backwards to be kind, including feeding everyone. Made me happy.