Glamping Days

A friend of mine from Pittsburgh recently moved to Marietta to be with her daughter. I spent the afternoon & early evening with them, & it was wonderful to catch up with her & see her settling in so well in her new digs. No pics, as I don't usually put pics of people on my blog. 

The drive today was short, going through east central MS & on to Marietta, GA. This was my first time on these roads, & I hadn't realized that the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains extend westward a bit into MS.  Here's another shot of a bank of gas pumps at a Buc-ee's. There were 120 pumps at this one in Leeds, AL, which is not the biggest one I've seen. I'm slightly obsessed with Buc-ee's. Years ago, I read the book The Walmart Effect ; my  thought is that Buc-ee's will merit a similar treatment, as they seem to be revolutionizing their market in the way Walmart did. 

Though mostly a drive day, I did spend a couple of hours at the Vicksburg National Military Park. This is the kind of place that Manny would have loved.  The details of the military history aren't my cup of tea, but the big picture story, the pretty drive, & the monuments were great for a couple of hours.     I'd noticed patches of bamboo in some wooded areas & several work trucks labelled something to do with fire, & then I came upon several burned area like this. Putting it all together, I think that they are doing controlled burns to eliminate the bamboo & maybe some other non-native invasive species. 

Today's drive through rolling northeastern Texas & into northern Louisiana was quite pretty. Early signs of spring were everywhere with redbuds, magnolias, daffodils, & wild cherries blooming, & many trees beginning to leaf.    My campsite tonight is at a winery in northern LA with this view overlooking the vineyard. Besides what they grow on 16 acres here, they bring in many grapes from California. 

I had a lovely visit & a meal out today with some cousins.  Heading back to the campground, I stopped for gas, & then hitched up the trailer back in camp. It always makes for a better start on a travel day to get hitched up the night before.  Here are some pics taken around the Sam Houston National Forest over the last 3 days. The first 2 statues are in front of a ranger station.  This statue of Sam Houston stands 67' tall & overlooks I-45 near Huntsville, Texas. Though not very close to my various relatives, this campsite is quiet & features a lake to set off the sunsets. 

Today, I visited with my nephew and his lovely family. I got a tour of their beautiful new home, we ambled around this fantastic public garden, & we topped it all off with a yummy barbecue meal. I'm blessed with a great family.