Inspired by Janine

This is what happens when I'm stuck sitting in the truck on a hot, sticky day for what was supposed to be "about 15 minutes" and stretched into almost an hour and a half. I had gone through the reading material present (a travel brochure from somewhere) and though bored, wasn't in the mood to read a book of maps. As I tired of watching the sawyer select and turn cants for the next round of board production, I began to study the sights around me...anything to take my mind off the heat and humidity. I had recently been looking at Janine's pictures of San Francisco and since the camera was handy decided to see what things looked like through the lens. It kept me occupied until George reappeared! So, just for fun, here are a few "artsy" mill shots :)

Mississippi, Part One

Continuing on.....
We spent the weekend in Joyce, LA, then drove 80 miles to Natchez, Mississippi and spent several days visiting with the Buckles (more on that later) before returning to Louisiana and work. I failed to take any pictures there for some reason; I guess I was too busy with my ever present 'bookwork'.
The next job wasn't far away, just north a bit then east on I-20 to Forest, MS, east of Jackson about 30 miles. The only RV Park we could find near the mill was not very scenic but it served the purpose. There were RV hookups at a horse arena that wasn't being used during the time we needed to be there so we had it to ourselves.

The 12 mile drive to the mill was through beautiful farm and ranch land.


Oh! What's that?

Ahhh. Modest mommy nursing a very new baby.

OK, Mommy. All done; time to play on these wobbly legs of mine.
So cute!
LOTS of chicken ranches,


which meant chicken trucks...
time to roll the windows UP and turn the AC on!
The movie Dead Man (chicken) Walking came to mind....
Moving on...

The ever present church signs ( not so common in Oregon)

This caught my eye...

...just three graves.

I like the inscriptions.
The third was too new to have a headstone.

Walking back to the truck, I saw another one of these; don't know what builds them and I'm not sure I want to know.
We went back to this little church to attend service Sunday morning but no one came, so we went down the road to another church. I wanted to put a link to the sermon here but it isn't on their website yet. Maybe later.

Then there are always these little roads that beckon...to enter or not to enter?
Oh, why not!

Didn't get too far on this one, but what's over the hill?

Ahhh.... an old bridge. Fun.

We were reminded by the graffiti of one of the many lies of the Prince of Lies:
"Live Free, Light 1 Up.....

...Die High"
On the way back to town we saw a car pulled over, four young men being loaded into three Drug Enforcement cars and a tow truck preparing to take their car. Live free, light one up.........

But beyond the defaced bridge was a peaceful little Southern brown-water stream. That water always amazes me. It's not muddy, just brown.

On to the mill (in the background)...

where George got something he needed out of his tool box.

Laundry day...he's a man of many talents : )
I had to turn a few things right side out before I wore them
(he just wears them as is),
but I'm not complaining.
I appreciate the help.

Poor Elle; no dogs allowed in the air conditioned laundry room.

I spotted this tiny cemetery as we went over an overpass in the middle of town
and I braved the tall weeds to get a closer look.

At the front were several headstones and in the back I found this:
the marker in front says
"Six Brave Soldiers Sleep Here"
and the six markers in back all say
"Unknown Confederate Soldier"
Sadness.

Poor, cute little empty house.

And I'll end with my favorite.

A Driving Miss Daisy moment : )

Surprise!

I suppose it's past time to update. After four months of no work, we are moving around again. I'll try to catch up a bit. This trip started on May first; the first stop was in beautiful St. Maries, ID. Just an overnight stop to do a visual check of the rails, which turned into a job to be done on the way back west. I'm looking forward to spending some time there. It's close to Avery, ID, where George used to hunt elk with his Dad and I hope we have time drive up there.

The next couple of days were WINDY and cold! George had to do some reinforcement on the roof vent and one of the awnings so they didn't blow off.

The next stop was to be Spearfish, SD, but the man George needed to see was working at another of their mills in Hulett, Wyoming, about 50 miles from Spearfish, so we just took a little detour and met him there. And what a delightful detour it turned into.
A very scenic drive that took us past Devil's Tower,

into a colorful little valley (not far from the Black Hills),

and around to Belle Fourche, SD, the geographical center of the United States.

There was a museum there also, but we needed to find an RV Park for the night and did not go in. All in all, a nice surprise just north of I-90.

The next morning George checked the rails in Spearfish (another job for the trip back) and then it was across the (mostly) flatlands. We went south on Highway 83, through Nebraska,

past areas of these funny, bumpy hills,

to McCook, NE, where we enjoyed this sunset from our Walmart RV space.

The next day was so fun I forgot to take pictures! We drove to Quinter, Kansas and met Ross and Sharon at the Q Inn Restaurant for breakfast. George needed to fix something on the tow hitch and Ross offered his welder so that was helpful. We got to see the rebuilding they have had to do since the tornado hit their place last year. Yikes! Nice visit.
We continued on our way east on I-70 and met Jean in Hayes, Kansas; she was going west on I-70 to spend some time in Quinter! So we got to visit for awhile which was great because she will be in Ohio when we go west again. We went south again when we got to I-35 and enjoyed the drive through Kansas and Oklahoma, where I kept seeing these flowers along the road. Anyone know what they are? They are so pretty!
The next day took us to Texas and our Elle dog had developed a worrisome cough, so we turned off I-20 in Canton, Texas, and found a vet.

After a rather long wait, they emerged with some meds and George discovered the truck had a tire in need of repair! We got that fixed (had picked up a nail somewhere) and by then it was late afternoon, so we just decided to stay in Canton. That also gave me a chance to find a store that had some of my favorite bread and butter pickles with jalapenos. I haven't found them anywhere but in Texas. Yum.
The next day we stayed off the interstate and wandered through east Texas and into Louisiana to the little town of Joyce where the first job will be.
To be continued.....

Thoughts

Great experience today...I got to turn up a very small patch of dirt with my Dad's old turning fork; breathe deeply that wet garden dirt smell and smile as the red worms and night crawlers squirmed in the sunlight and headed back down in the loose dirt; listen to a couple of robins discussing some spring business and the scritching of the grey squirrel's little claws as he scurried up the tree with a peanut in his mouth....wow. It was one of those days here in the Willamette Valley when the weather is a little bit of a lot of things - sun, rain, wind -and just warm enough to bring hope that Spring really is coming! God is Good.