Twisty, Curvy Roads

Got here late and had a bit of trouble finding the spot in the dark. But now I am sitting at the table munching a sandwich and swigging lemonade. This is a favorite place for Max and I to overnight. It is not an established camp, just a beach where folks come to fish and picnic. Perhaps "beach" is not the correct word, there is no sand, just grass beneath some very tall pine trees.  It is very scenic in the daylight, but a bit gloomy in the dark of the night. I  had thought that we would arrive with plenty of daylight left but I overlooked the fact that daylight goes away sooner 500 miles east of home.  The tricky part of getting here  in the dark is deciding where to leave the pavement.  There is no driveway or even a dirt track - no marker of any kind. Make a bad decision and the FJ and Casita will tumble down a steep bank into the thick forest, or worse, into the reservoir. I would never try this in the dark if I had not been here several times previous...

Max and I are in a rest area (perhaps the only one in Louisiana) near Ruston. Since we left Texas, we have been stuck on Interstate 20.  It is pretty country but interstate driving puts me to sleep, so when I finally saw a sign announcing a rest stop, I felt it was time to allow Max to stretch his leg(s) a bit and for Jim to fix a bite of lunch and perhaps a short siesta in honor of Ol' Mister Sun's hard work climbing all morning to reach the top of the heavens. First things first, Max always considers it as his bound duty to personally inspect and water each and every tree, fence post, blade of grass, and even inorganic items like aluminum sign poles.  He outdid himself and I am most certain that the state of Arkansas will want to reward him when they harvest the bumper crop of timber that will result from Max's ministrations. Afterwards, I cranked up the Casita's A/C system and fixed one of my glorious lunches.  Lunch to me is not a simple matter of feeding my body. I...

Left the house around 4:30 this afternoon. I wanted to get a little way down the road so I would not dawdle around the house and get a late start Friday morning.  Max and I stopped at the Walmart in Rockdale and picked up a few supplies. Then we drove on until 9:30 or so and then began looking for a spot for the night. Pulled into a parking lot at a crossroads store and checked the campground guide on my iPad.  Noticed a green dot with the intriguing name, "User Area #5".  I poked the coordinates into my GPS and saw that "User Area #5" was only about 14 miles down a county road from my nominal location of Marquez, Texas.  Off we went! I may have mentioned that my night vision has become somewhat problematic. By now nightfall had descended with full force and finality. No problem though. The friendly lady who resides inside of my GPS was right there to guide me each inch of the way.  "Turn left in 3 tenths of a mile,... 2 tenths,  1 te...