Battling Gnats at Buccaneer

Buccaneer State Park — Waveland, Mississippi
Temps: Lo 58F / Hi 73F (14C / 23C)

Can’t believe that New Orleans is almost a week in the past. Time sure does fly!

We left NOLA Monday morning (April 1) for the short 72.6-mile (116 km) drive to our next campground — Buccaneer State Park in Waveland, Mississippi. The two-hour drive was uneventful. Based on reviews we’d read that the GPS would want to route us over a rather high railroad hump, we were prepared with an alternate route that took us all the way down Lakeshore Drive to South Beach Boulevard. Though our trucker’s GPS sounded alerts along the way, knowing other big rigs had driven the same route gave us the confidence to keep going. In the end, absolutely nothing along that route was problematic for our size or weight.

A short, easy drive takes us to our next temporary home.
(Inset shows our travels since embarking on this gypsy life style on December 1.)

Arriving at the gatehouse at 11:30a, check-in was a breeze. This is a rather large park with several camping loops. After wandering around to see if there was an alternate site we might prefer, we concluded that the site we had pre-booked online was one of the nicest and there was no need to change it. By 12:30p, we were settled into Site 68.

When Hurricane Katrina hit the area in August 2005, winds clocked at over 140 mph (224 kph) and a storm surge of nearly 30 feet (9 m) pretty much destroyed Buccaneer.

Although the park had to once again close down briefly after Hurricane Isaac in , the post-Katrina comeback is quite remarkable. All but the beach front campsites have been re-built, and construction on many of the amenities are nearing completion. In the time we’ve been here, we have not been bothered by any noise from the construction work.

Our site — #68 (FHU for $24/night) — is at the end of the Long John Silver loop. Contrary to the map to the right, most of the sites here are widely spaced; especially around the outer edges of the loops. Being at the end of our loop, we have an over-sized living area. On the hook-up side, there’s quite a bit of space between us and our neighbor. Unlike the Jean Lafitte, Barataria Bay, and Pirate’s Cove loops, which filled up yesterday with weekenders, most of our loop remains empty, thus adding to the sense of privacy. I should say that there’s plenty of train noise from the tracks that run right outside the park. We’re not bothered by trains, so not an issue as far as we’re concerned.

Site 68 is at the end of the Long John Silver Loop.
(You can see how far away Our only neighbor was [left on Thursday].)

Looking from the rear of the site towards the main road and the bathhouse beyond.

Despite the weekenders coming in yesterday, our loop looks no different
than this scene, which I took on Monday when we arrived.

Looks great, right! Sounds great, too. Well, it was when we went to put up our screen shelter on Monday that we realized there was, in fact, a problem.

Hah! Screen shelter my you know what! All was well while we were putting up the shelter — because we were moving around. No sooner were we seated, however, that the gnats started eating us alive. These weren’t the kind of gnats that just hover in a cloud. No, they were biting gnats! Nothing was going to keep them at bay, so we went back inside, hoping the situation would improve on Tuesday. No such luck. Mui even went to Lowe’s for citronella candles, hoping they would help. They did — for about two minutes. Changing into long pants and long sleeves, we toughed it out for a while, but eventually we retired indoors.

By Tuesday night, this is what Mui’s legs looked like; his arms are no different!
If I didn’t know any different, I’d think he had come down with the measles.
We know he’s allergic to mosquito bites, but apparently he doesn’t tolerate gnats either.

We debated moving to the beach-front campground operated by the Silver Slipper Casino. Even triked over to get information about availability and prices. But when we spoke to the people staying at the campground, they had plenty of gnat stories of their own to tell. So we decided to stay put. (As a side note: Buccaneer has a strict no refunds policy … although at one point we were willing to leave anyway.)

The storm that came through on Wednesday gave us a legitimate reason to stay indoors — and hope the gnats would be drowned out. The latter didn’t happen, I’m afraid. The heavy rains started around 1:00a and continued through noon. All that was fine and dandy … and expected. What followed — strong winds gusting up to 35-40 mph (55-65 kph) — wasn’t expected. Even the national weather service was caught by surprise by the winds that came out of nowhere — some kind of a wake effect that no one was expecting. Nothing to do but hunker down and watch our screen shelter get decimated.

No photo of the decimated shelter, but here’s the new one Mui bought Friday.
We put it up today to run through the instructions, and I even managed a
couple of hours out there before the gnats started to gnaw on me.

We’ve been using our forced-indoors time the past several days to continue planning our self-drive trip around Iceland this fall. With an itinerary in place, we’re now looking at where we will be staying as we make our way around the island. All this planning work is part of the reason we wanted a sort-of-out-of-the-way campground following our hectic days in NOLA, so at least that part of our stay has been on track.

devastation wreaked on the piers in the area are in evidence along beach boulevard.

Despite the gnats, we’ve not been totally incarcerated here. We’ve snuck out for a couple of long walks in the cool morning hours to get some exercise before the gnats come out. I’ve not been able to check out the “Pirate’s Alley Nature Trail” yet, but that’s because the ground is soft and muddy after Wednesday’s storm. Perhaps it will dry up before we leave.

More storm devastation.

We’ve also taken our trikes out for 6-10 mile (10-16 km) rides on Beach Boulevard, heading in the direction of the Silver Slipper Casino one day; and the opposite direction on another day. Much of the ride is on the paved road, but traffic is light, and for a portion of the road, there is a newly-built bike/walk path. Evidence of the damage done to the beach by storms past is visible everywhere along our route. Sad, really.

Today, after putting up the new screen shelter, there was a light breeze that kept the gnats away long enough for us to sit outside for a bit and even have lunch. Our respite was brief, but it was a welcome change of pace. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that the light breezes continue. In the meantime, a breeze-generating trike ride is in order.

… Later

Had to come back and add the beach photos and this shot of a laughing gull before posting to the blog …

the end!

DIRT!!!

Weather is good and heard the trails are open. So, today I headed to the Reforestation Camp near Green Bay. Yesterday I picked up a trail map - some 10+ miles of singletrack/doubletrack.
Now, it has been over 3 weeks since I have been able to ride some dirt. Getting very frustrated and bad case of withdrawals.
Had a GREAT ride today. The trail difficulty level is just right for me. As I started out, I found some sections challenging.
Later during the ride, I found myself riding better, even anticipating the trail. My speed came up. Feeling good, considering I had never ridden the trail.
The early section of the trail is more difficult. Thinking of riding the trail again tomorrow - with all that I have learned about the trail today.
I need to comment about the trail system signage - its great. I did not get lost once. There were signs for the singletrack loop with direction arrow. When trails converge, there were mini kiosks on posts with trail maps. Today, I gave the trail an "A". Damned, it was great to be in the woods, on dirt!

Valley of Fires, 3 Rivers Petroglyphs and White Sands National Monument

We decide to stay a couple of days at Valley of Fire National Recreation Areawhich is covered inextinct lava flows

From there we take the tracker to the 3 Rivers Petroglyph Site where there are 20,000 petroglyphs along a 1 mile trail.





It looks on the Map that the road continues on to Ruidoso but apparently not. We end up at a dead end in the forest. Pretty dry here as well - parts of New Mexico have not seen rain since September.

As long as we are this far and our loop has reached a dead end we opt to go the extra 35 miles to White Sands National Monument - Did I mention the White Sands Missile Site - where the first atomic bomb was detonated? It is open twice a year the 1st Saturday in April and October - we missed it - darn!

The Dunes are 275 square miles of pure white gypsum sand.





You can buy sleds in the visitors center for $14.50 but we decided to just hike and maybe play a little too!


Sunset from Diablo

Sunset from Diablo, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

With clouds in the western sky, yesterday's sunset was beautiful. I was hiking in Diablo Foothills Regional Park when the sky lit up with beautiful shades of orange and pink. This area is home to the amazing China Wall rock formation, which stretches across two large hills. Rock outcroppings such as the one in this photo are common in the park.

Multi-purpose gifts

Dear in-laws, we thank you for the fruit!

And so do the cats.
George especially. She sits in the box and seems particularly content, at least until someone starts flashing a camera around.
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Submitted to the Friday Ark.

Back in Texas and Trying to Catch Up

These 'Blue River II' hibiscus were the subject of my first blog post in June ... They weren't blooming when I left, but two weeks later are in full sail, cheering me on to weed, prune, clip and mow our damp, buggy, mildewy jungle, making it look like a garden again.
My plan for Illinois was to stay with my mom at her house as she recuperated from surgery, and to try to persuade her to sleep better and eat more. I wasn't very successful with that last part, but in between household reorganization, a little yard work, adventures with plumbing, and electrical outages, it was great to have the time to look at photos, sing a little, talk a lot, and watch movies, including the newer version of The Parent Trap and Helen Mirren as The Queen. It was also great to see all my brothers and sisters, Philo's sister, and their extended families, along with our dear daughter & son and their wonderful spouses.
Most of you are younger than I am - maybe staying at your parents' house is something you've done routinely? I've returned as a visitor on hundreds and hundreds of occasions during the 40 years since I left the family home, but usually stayed overnight elsewhere. It felt very odd to sleep once again in the house in which I grew up, where some things are unrecognizable, and other things haven't changed since I was a young school girl.
Back then I first encountered what we called 'the locusts'. Here's a souvenir photo of one of them- actually one of the brood of 17- year, periodic cicadas that are humming again all over the Chicago area. I was glad that my visit to Illinois coincided with their June appearance. My mom's trees were full of cicadas, and we enjoyed sitting on her patio in the afternoon when the little buzz saws were at peak volume.
Some people hate them. One of the health care visitors shocked me by stating that everyone should exterminate the insects now so there'd be none in 2024. But my mom and my sisters and I enjoy them as a fascinating natural phenomenon, and my sister's dog considered them to be a delicious treat! The cicadas provided a 'white noise', muffling the sounds from nearby highways and the racket produced by several neighbors engaged in remodeling projects - their background sound almost seemed like ocean waves.
So many cicadas emerged from the roots of Mom's bur oak that the shells looked like mulch on the ground:
These cicada photos were taken by my daughter. She & her husband and our IL son & daughter-in-law took Mom and me one afternoon on an outing - to a restaurant with great pizza, some history and perhaps a few ghosts. The building had an old-fashioned interior, and a very comfortable atmosphere. Supposedly Al Capone owned the century-old building at one time. There are tales of paranormal events in the bed and breakfast upstairs: radios turn on by themselves and alphabet blocks spell out words. I don't know whether the ghosts are real, but if you prefer thin, crisp crust for your pizza, with quite remarkable sauce, homemade Italian sausage and good beer, it's worth the drive out to Willow Springs.
Last year this restaurant featured bocce ball, but the area has been converted to a cornhole bag court. You may all know about it, but this beanbag-type game phenomenon, with sewn cloth bags of corn thrown toward an opening on a slanted wooden board was new to me.
Everyone in Illinois seems to play it now - a brother-in-law compares it to a more democratic version of horseshoes. Back in the nineteen-fifties the women kept the kids out of the way while the men tossed the heavy iron shoes, aiming at a metal stake but frequently taking out nearby trees, shrubs and ankles.
Tossing bags is safer, but still requires skill. It needs less space, and both males and females of every age can play, so when the boards were set up at a family gathering, the entire group of kids and adults had fun together.
While I was listening to cicadas, cooking, and talking nonstop, Philo was here in Austin, engaged in a furniture project he'd been planning for a long time. Shortly before I left he finished this sunny Adirondack chair:After I left, Philo designed and built a settee version for another part of the garden. On my return, we pulled into the drive and he hit the garage door opener, revealing a classic garden loveseat built for two.

You've all been writing like mad - it will take quite awhile to catch up with my real garden and your many posts. But right now I have to get the flashlight and go outside. According to some calenders, including Entangled's, Midsummer's Day falls on June 24, the Feast of St. John the Baptist. So tonight is Midsummer's Night Eve, and there might be fairies in the garden.
*** Added Monday, June 25th - Carol's comment sent me back out with the camera to see if the hibiscus really were as big as a dinner plate. The plate measures 11-inches across - guess the flower is about 10 inches. And not a single fairy/faerie showed up, just mosquitos. ***