Walkabout 2020 day 3

Wednesday, August 5

[nerd alert—If you are offended (or bored) by nerdy things…skip the first bit and move on to Part II]

Part I

It’s interesting, you know, that I can mark my journey in part by the rocks on the side of the road.  Sounds weird, I know.  But when I think about it, it makes perfect sense.  At home in Palestine, Texas there is mostly sand and iron ore rocks. Oh, there’s the occasional sandstone and shale, but mostly sand and iron ore.  When I got to Russell Park at Georgetown Lake, it was mostly limestone…by far.  Now I’m at Inks Lake near Burnett, Texas and the native rock is by far pink granite with occasional quartzite.  With the rocks, the vegetation changes as well, influenced by soil depth and nutrients and water availability. AND when you change the vegetation, the animals change, too.  It just reminds me how interconnected we are with everything.  We judge others by our own experiences which are usually very different than theirs. It’s not “walk a mile in my shoes” but rather “live for a few generations like we do” before you judge.  Or just don’t judge.

Part II

Practice makes adequate, I guess.  The first time I put up the tent, yesterday, it took like an hour and a half.  I took it down and packed it in just 25 minutes. Today I put the thing up in about 25 minutes. And it looks better than last time. We’ll see what Friday brings as I head to my next, as yet unknown, campsite.  That’s the thing about a walkabout- you’re never sure where you’re headed next.  Each new location presents itself at the last location. You’ve gotta listen and talk to people around you. I’ll need to figure it out by tomorrow, though.  I’ve found that securing tent sites is very time sensitive. You can’t usually just drive up and expect to get a spot. I don’t want to spend another motel night on this trip.

I like Inks Lake. I’ve got a good campsite (complete with cacti and yucca plants). No electricity or water, but there’s water just 30 yards away. It’s a little further to the restroom/showers, but I’d rather take the car for that anyway. I do have a bit of a beef with Inks Lake though:  On their webpage it mentions their camp store more than once.  However, they’re not open Tuesday through Thursday; open only Friday through Monday. Had I known that, I would have stopped as I passed through Burnett on the way. Instead I had to take my sorry butt back to “civilization” for a couple of things…ice, batteries, etc. Small thing, I know, but I had to leave my campsite for way too long. I’m set now, though. Tomorrow I’ll swim and hike and read and talk to folks. One thing... the folks at my neighboring campsite are really nice. Judea and Nadia, and Amy from the Austin area. None of them actually from Texas, though. We sat and talked for a bit at their camp. Later they’ll come over to mine for more jawjacking. Just hoping this breeze doesn’t die.

Not getting any writing done on my radio-play/screen-play. If I thought there were distractions as home…they are doubled out here. Of course, to be honest, one of the distractions is I just don’t feel like it.

Back again tomorrow. Ciao!