Winter Sunshine

Winter Sunshine
Winter Sunshine in the Desert

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

03-13-2019 An Easy Day in Southern Georgia

Current Location: Albany RV Resort, Albany, Georgia

High light overcast, humid, and 75 degrees F at 3:00 PM

We pulled out of Stephen C Foster State Park at 10AM accompanied by a slightly overcast sky. It was a softly gentle morning, but nothing like the brilliant previous day.  I was so glad that we had scheduled our days in perfect synch with the weather, with our main kayaking day giving us the very best possible weather.

The route through Georgia has many options, and we have changed our minds several times in the last few days.  I wanted to avoid Interstate 75 through Atlanta, a nightmare at any time, and especially so with an RV pulling a car.  It was easy to choose a less direct route.  Direct to where is as yet to be determined.

We thought of going north to Nashville, where Arnold Air Force Base has a well reviewed family camp.  With the weather doing funny things today, and in the days to follow, we decided against that plan.  Instead we merely pointed the rig in the general direction of I-40.  Perhaps we will go through Memphis, perhaps not. 

On this morning, however, we traveled quiet 2 lane roads north, and a lovely wide 4 lane highway to the town of Albany.  Searching in RVTrip Wizard, I had found a decently reviewed RV park and called for a reservation just before we went off grid at Okefenokee. 

Albany RV Resort was a good choice.  We arrived before 2PM and settled in with full hookups, decent WiFi and so many channels on cable that we haven’t turned on the TV to check them out.  There is a nice dog park, and a very nice dog walking pathway the circles the park, complete with doggie stations and a pond.

The pond is a weird color, and it says no fishing, but the ducks and geese didn’t seem to mind at all. It is a good, quiet afternoon to get caught up on communications after being off grid for a few days, and we will continue in the general northwest direction tomorrow. 

What we didn’t know when we landed here was that Albany has been devastated by tornados. The tornado outbreak of January 21–23, 2017 was a prolific and deadly winter tornado outbreak that occurred across the Southeast United States. Lasting just under two days, the outbreak produced a total of 81 tornadoes, cementing its status as the second-largest January tornado outbreak and the third-largest winter tornado outbreak since 1950. Furthermore, it was the largest outbreak on record in Georgia with 42 tornadoes confirmed in the state.

I wonder if there is any time of year that it is possible to cross this part of the United States without worrying about storms and tornados. It seems there is some kind of horrific historic “bomb cyclone” spinning over our friends in Colorado wreaking havoc and expected to trigger severe storms, flooding, and blizzards in the central US. 

Now it appears that the leftovers from the “bomb” are moving toward us, at an angle that is impossible to avoid.  Stay put and you get hit, keep moving and you move toward it.  Ah fun.  We are thinking perhaps a Cracker Barrel parking lot might be on the agenda for tomorrow night.  Maybe by the time we get there, things will be OK.  Or at least we can take shelter in the bathrooms if need be.

Our simple up close goal is to reach Palestine, Arkansas by the weekend, where I hope to visit a long lost relative, found through the wonder of DNA.  More about that will come later.

In the mean time, I am enjoying uploading photos for free, writing a bit, and relaxing in the breezes coming through our windows, helped along by the Fantastic Fan.  Surely do love that invention.

10 comments:

  1. Nice to take those back roads. Nothing normal about weather patterns. And nothing wrong with staying in one place to batten down the hatches. Be safe.

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    1. All is well and we are safely out of the zone

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  2. Well I sure hope you get through these next few days unscathed. My SIL posted a picture of her front door in CO. that is frozen shut and her house looks like it is painted white. The winds and temp.are horrific there Oregon doesn't look to much warmer. Stay safe my friends

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    1. We are hoping to head a bit north to Colorado Springs, hoping the weather will be normal there by next week.

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  3. I tried leaving a comment this morning, but alas ... not to be. Ha, we left Rock Hound St Pk (NM) this morning dressed in parkas and hove into Quartzsite (AZ) this evening where the temp was 83. Yikes, body shock. Been a cold winter for us. Sure hope the rest of your travels are "event-free" and warm enough to enjoy all your activities.

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    1. Well, sweet, I see that you tried again, and your comment is right here! It has been a strange winter, for all of us traveling, and all of those at home, no matter which part of the country.

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  4. We love that area, but have also had some wild weather there.

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    1. I suppose anyone who has traveled in the early or late springtime in this part of the country has had to face some bad weather. We were exceptionally lucky compared to some.

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  5. Oh yes ... that bomb cyclone was something else. Traveling east to west, it seems you just have to cross your fingers and hope you are making the right decisions and the right moves to circle around the worst of the storm.

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    1. Yes, Erin, there is no way to predict just how things might go. Even hunkered down somewhere, you can be a target, moving or not. Glad so far we have managed to choose the right place to be, as you have. Some close calls, but nothing life threatening or home destroying for either of us. Very lucky.

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