camping. snow flurries. ice. 2011.

...here's hoping everyone has a year filled with all good things!!

===============

little did we know...when we made our camping reservations...months ago...

that an extreme cold front would engulf the entire east coast for christmas!

freezing weather...

snow...in places where they rarely see any fluffy white stuff!

i say 'camping'...but you can get that picture of a tent out of your mind.

we're like a turtle. 

when we go camping...we carry our home on our backs!

(we have a slide-in camper...it sits in the back of the pick-up truck)

so on christmas we headed up to georgia for an unexpected...

colder than usual...winter vacation...

until new years.

anyway...we were hoping to see snow! and we did!

not enough for snowballs...snow angels...or snowmen...

but just enough to be mesmerized!

1st stop...George L. Smith State Pk - for 2 nights. this park sits on a

nice sized mill pond...filled with cypress and tupelo trees. there's a refurbished 

combination grist mill, saw mill, covered bridge and dam...built in 1880.
you can wander through the covered bridge/museum
and see the old tools...turbine & generator...and how everything worked...

((covered bridge/museum))

((view of the mill pond from covered bridge))

((the old turbine & generator))

christmas day. that's when we arrived at the park. 

and that's when it started to snow.

it got down to 18 degrees that first night...which isn't really THAT unusual 

since the temps sometimes dip that low where we live in florida.

it was the SNOW!

we loved it!

standing there, like little kids...

with our faces looking up...catching snow flakes on our tongues!

in the morning we realized we forgot to unhook the water hose...

from spigot to camper.

it froze.

we had to pack up the frozen hose...

next stop...Mistletoe State Pk.

luckily, by the time we got there...it had thawed enough 

so that sam was able to get the ice to blow out!

BUT FIRST...on the way to Mistletoe...
we passed through Wrens...

where a small Veterans' Memorial Park was in the center of town...

and this almost completely frozen fountain!

continuing on...we made another detour through Harlem, Georgia...

the birthplace of Oliver Hardy - of the famous team 'Laurel & Hardy'.

you can see glimpses of these two everywhere...

if you happen to be passing through...

stop in at the laurel & hardy museum...

very cool...jam packed with memorabilia!

whew! are you still there? still hanging with us?

...go ahead if you want...take a break...stretch...get a drink...

on to mistletoe park. 

driving down the road with snowy pine trees on both sides...

snow on roofs of cars and houses...what a sight!

but by the time we reached the park...the snow had pretty much melted away.

just bits of ice here and there.

our campsite was lake side...Clark's Lake. facing east. 

beautiful sunrises. gaggles & gaggles of canadian geese. 

shimmering ice along the water's edge...looking like miniature stalagmites.

we hiked...along the trails through the woods...

along the shoreline...

and as the crunchy icy shore...began to melt...

our shoes started getting stuck.

my feet started feeling heavy.

they were getting sucked into the mushy muddy georgia red dirt.

(ooooh! my aching quads! miles of hiking...

i had to remind sam...for every step he takes...i have to take 2! 

hey! i'm not complaining...just realizing i have to get out and ride my bike more!)

we weren't the only ones getting stuck in the muck...

((raccoon))

((deer))

well, we didn't actually SEE a raccoon...

or a deer...just evidence of their presence...

their footprints...and poop. 

((yes! poop! sometimes taking pictures of SCAT (or footprints) 

and then looking it up later...

is the only way to ID what critters are in the neighborhood!!))

besides the constant honking of the geese...

we also heard an occasional woodpecker. 

we could tell by the sound of the 'pecking' 

that this was NOT one of  the usual woodpeckers we have at home. 

it wasn't a pileated, red-bellied or red-headed woodpecker.

luckily...we finally spotted it...

and lucky enough to get a picture before it flew away!

it's a female Downy Woodpecker!

well...got back home late yesterday.

much to get caught up on. emails. blogs to read. laundry...

pack away the christmas decorations...

i  just wanted to get this 'out there' while it was all still fresh in my mind.

i also took LOTS of pictures of fungi...and weathered wood...

THAT will be my NEXT POST!

OH! almost forgot...milo! she was such a good little camper!

in the not too crowded campgrounds...we were able to let her out.

she stays right there...in our campsite.

so...that's it for now. a whole week crammed into one post!

i hope it wasn't too much wandering...all at once...

today is the start of a new year!

have a happy one!!

We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  

We are going to put words on them ourselves.  

The book is called Opportunity 

and its first chapter is New Year's Day.  

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

take care. stay cool.

laura  :]