We took a few nights' away, leaving right after church on Easter Sunday, heading for Westmoreland State Park, on the Potomac River.  The drive was only about an hour and a half, so it's a good location for future trips.  With it being a Sunday/Monday visit, there was no need for reservations and we had a good choice of sites.  We chose Campground A, Site 36.

A short walk took us to the bluffs above the river.  Sunday afternoon we walked to the swimming beach and came back on the Beach Trail which involved many steps up.  For Easter dinner, Dan cooked hotdogs over the campfire and we had a relaxing evening.  On Monday after breakfast, we headed out hiking, covering the Turkey Neck Trail which was a bit hilly but not difficult.  We stopped at one particularly good spot for birding where Dan saw a white-eyed vireo and a yellowthroat, and we added swamp sparrow to our life lists.  Continuing on the trail took us to an observation stand and then to Fossil Beach where people find sharks' teeth.

In the afternoon I graded papers while Dan relaxed, and we took a late afternoon hike along the Rock Spring Pond trail.  Along the way, Ranger saw a number of deer---very exciting.  Again, we grilled dinner over the fire.

Sunny weather, 40's at night, upper 60's in the day.  Lots of redbuds blooming in the woods and everything greening up---Finally spring!

The drive through Tennessee was quite enjoyable, both because of scenery and because of perfect weather.  We traveled from Chattanooga through Knoxville and finally entered Virginia on I-81.  We had no reservations or real plans for our last night on the road, and actually had we pushed it, we could have gotten home in one long stretch, arriving before 9:00.

But it was a beautiful day, around 70 degrees, with a forecast of rain on Wednesday and temperatures in the 20's on Thursday.  So we decided to take advantage of the good weather and stopped around 4:00 at Claytor Lake State Park,  south of Blacksburg.  Again, there were not many campers (just four sites occupied in our section) but there were quite a few people walking around

and some out fishing.  It was early enough to get in a good walk with Ranger along the lake.

Dan grilled chicken and it stayed light late enough to sit outside and enjoy the warmth....while we still have it!

Tomorrow should be another 4 to 5 hours of driving, and then we face all the unpacking and laundry, not to mention the work that has piled up at my office!  But for now....life is good!

Monday was a long day of driving through Alabama, south to north, through Mobile, Montgomery, and Birmingham.  The scenery was quite boring, mile after mile of trees and shrubs with few towns or variations in the landscape.  We ended the day crossing into northwest Georgia (another change of time zone) and arrived at Cloudland Canyon State Park, close to Chattanooga.

We arrived after the park office closed for the day but managed to find the East Rim campground and set up, one of only three sets of campers in a good-sized area.  The park was nearly empty, but apparently it's very popular with hikers, with trails going from the rim of the canyon down to its bottom, with views of waterfalls.

Between the change to Daylight Savings Time and the loss of an hour going from Central to Eastern Time Zone,  it was hard to figure out just what time it was.  I managed to sleep until 7:45 on Tuesday morning, very unusual for me, and even then the sun had not yet gotten above the mountain behind us so it was barely light!

Sunday was a quieter day.  Kelly and Michael took us around Dauphin Island, with lots of stops for bird-watching.  We didn't have great luck spotting birds, but it was a warm sunny day and it was good to simply be outside.

We stopped in a seafood restaurant for lunch---our only restaurant meal of the trip---and returned to the campground in mid-afternoon.  Kelly and I took the two dogs for a long walk on the beach, and Ranger enjoyed splashing in the waves and getting all sandy.

Michael prepared another delicious meal of tacos with lots of vegetables, and then it was back to the RV to rest up for a couple of long days of driving, heading north again.

Saturday was a busy day.  In the morning, Kelly and Rossi came over (about a 5-minute walk from her trailer) and we all walked over to the Audubon Bird Sanctuary that is adjacent to the campground.  It had trails through swamps, woods, and beach, so quite a variety of birds to be seen.

After lunch, we headed into  Mobile.  We stopped at Meaher State Park, east of Mobile, where we had a view of the city across the bay.

From their we walked around downtown Mobile for awhile, stopping for a cold drink and snacks at a dog-friendly bar.

Back at the campground, Dan grilled dinner and we had a quiet evening together.

The weather has been in the 60's and partly cloudy---not bad!

Today, Sunday, we have plans for some beach-walking and bird-watching on the island.

Friday was a day of travel, covering about 320 miles across the Florida Panhandle, past Mobile, and on to Dauphin Island.  After setting up and taking  much-needed hot showers , we contacted Kelly, who gave us a tour of her new place of employment.

This is the building where she has her office, her lab, and space for future graduate students.

We had dinner at their double-wide trailer---Michael's excellent red beans and rice with cornbread.  With the change to Central Time Zone, we were in bed very early, both really tired.

This morning, Saturday, Ranger---who does not understand time zones---was up and ready for his morning walk at 5:45.  It was cool (around 40) and partly cloudy, and the forecast is for upper 60's, which will be welcome.

OK, Dan convinced me that what I saw this morning was not a red-cockaded woodpecker, rather it was a female yellow-bellied sapsucker.  In summoning him to come check it out, he stepped out of the RV right when two squirrels were running by, and  Ranger slipped by him and took off.  Fortunately he was fairly easy to catch.  (Thankfully he is VERY fond of the dog frisbee that I held up when I spotted him near the bathhouse.)

One of those visiting squirrels was, however, the other creature for which this park is known.  Ochlockonee has a population of white squirrels which are very easy to spot and quite numerous around the campground.

The rain stopped for awhile in early afternoon and we were able to get Ranger out for a long walk.
And after more than an hour's walk, as we approached the campground, there were the sought-after red-cockaded woodpeckers!  They are endangered and found in just a few locations, so if we had missed them here, we would likely not have them on this year's list.

The rain is just starting up again so it's time to settle in with a book until dinner.  I think we've had our last walk along the river for this trip, with plans to leave early tomorrow morning.