2024-25 Trip to the Southeast, Day 34

Day 34, Friday, November 22, 2024, Burchfield Branch COE Park, Adger, AL - 222 Miles,1,820.2 Miles for the Trip

A cold 44°F packing up the trailer; I even wore gloves. I was out of the park by 9:30. A mix of 2 lane state & US roads with 50 miles or so of interstates. On one section of US 331, a newish pickup truck decided to drive at 45MPH in the 55MPH sections (where everyone else wanted to do 60MPH). A full logging truck was between me and the pickup. None of the sections marked for passing were long enough for the logging truck to get by the pickup, and every time we came to a double lane passing area the pickup would stay in the left lane & speed up to 60MPH. After many miles and a long line of cars & trucks behind us, the pickup pulled into a gas station. The logger gave him a long horn blast so I did too. Other than that it was 60MPH on most of the roads and 65MPH on the interstates. The last 30 miles were on twisty roads with 45MPH or less speed limits. Passed lots of coal mines towards the end.

I stopped at a Loves for gas & using my phone number saved $.10 per gallon. Unfortunately, they have their pumps set up so that the first on is diesel or 94 octane; the selectable octane choices are at the pump ahead of the first. Unfortunately, someone was at the next pump so unless I wanted to wait until they got out of the station, I was stuck at the high priced pump. So, I paid $3.45 per gallon rather than $2.75. Maybe I'll get better mileage?

I arrived around 2:30. There are 8 sites, I'm in site 8, the one in the row. Water & Electric on a fairly level concrete slab (1/2" side to side & raise the tongue by 3" - still connected to the truck) with a picnic table, fire ring & charcoal grill (with a small table next to it) three steps down from the slab. There is a bathroom at the 1st site; no showers. Because I don't have internet, One of the problems with not having an internet connection is I can't check my emailed receipt since Chrome & the SUNY email saves emails at Google, not on my computer (like Safari did). So, I can't say what the site cost until Monday.

Site 8

I went for a short walk to check out the bathrooms, and all along the row of campsites there are logs in the water with turtles sunning themselves. I also saw a Great Blue Heron, but didn't get a photo.

The Turtles

Well, as expected, no internet or data available on either AT&T or Verizon. I did see 1 bar on the Verizon Jetpack with the outside antennas plugged in, however no data available. There are 2 NPR stations including a strong Alabama Public Radio station. I don't know yet if it is a mix of news & music or just news.

Unless the wind dies down, it is still pretty chilly to sit outside at 58°F, so I am reading in the trailer.

Dinner was a Beautiful Citrus Chicken with Broccoli & Carrots.