Birthday

As I sit here tonight working on the blog, the sky is changing again, from clear blue to a rather ominous dark grey and pink.   Hmmmm.  I don't think I like the weather here in Memphis.  As soon as I'm done  I must turn on the weather radio.

As you've noticed, today is Dave's birthday.  Thanks to all for the birthday wishes, by phone, text, email and greeting card - they mean a lot to him.

Lewis playing ball in our beautiful side yard with the river behind

 We had a very nice, low key day.  It wasn't til around 2 p.m. that we started out to find a grocery store and stock up on dinner preparations.  Steak, twice baked potatoes, grilled asparagus and peach pie.  A good dinner for a good day.  G & T's at river's edge, of course.  The dogs helped Dave cook our feast, at least lent moral support. (don't ask me why this section is blue....poltergeists again me thinks)

view  through our windshield and, yes,  another barge

Mama was very upset when we approached her nest

the protected ones

Kildeer have nests in the driveways of a few of the sites around us.  The owner's of the campground are so great, they've put little blue flags next to each nest, so we all can be careful not to disturb the families.









I know I've posted lots of barge pictures, but we just can't get enough of them.  There are such a variety of tugs, a variety of cargo on the barges, huge variances in sizes and in the strategy used to power these enormous masses through the boiling currents and around the sharp corners.  We're used to their sounds now, low rumbling as they approach, loaded diesel engines with a high pitched, soft whine as they pass.  Small pleasures...
The distant rumbles remind us of the huge freighters navigating the St. Lawrence River when we first slept in a tent there.  You'd hear them all night long.  Yes, I said "slept in a tent".  That phase didn't last long, as you might expect.

birthday boy watching a coal barge.  They come very close to us.

A regular power boat passing that coal barge.  Its hard to really show the  scale of these  beasts but I hope this shot  helps.

Cooking his birthday dinner

Not to worry, the weather turned out to be a non-event.  Phew!

If anyone is interested, go to tomsawyersrvpark.com and click on the "flood" tab at the top to see just what this place can look like.  We've been wondering how high the water actually comes because the levee we drive over to get here is very high and this campground is very flat and right at the river's edge.  Now we know.  The picture that shows the motorhome section flooded is taken from directly behind the site we're now occupying.   Glad the river is in a low stage now or we would be underwater.  

Tomorrow we break camp and set out west on I-40.  Talk to you all later, thanks for riding along.