Wednesday, December 26, 2007 - Tuscaloosa AL

Taking flight, Foscue Creek Park, Demopolis AL, December 23, 2007

I guess I could hop over to another site here at Foscue Creek Park but I've decided to move on. I've been here long enough to get the flavor of the place and it's time to get back on the road, headed west.

Yesterday I filled the fresh water tank, dumped the gray and black water tanks, put the green chair away, and ran two loads of laundry. I'm ready to go. Today I have an 8:00 am appointment in town at Express Automotive to get LD's radiator hoses replaced. After that I'll head west on US 80 toward Meridian MS.

I'm going to miss this place

Foscue Creek Park is beautiful and not crowded this time of year, and the wildlife and river traffic endlessly entertaining. If there isn't a great blue heron, a bunch of turtles, a flock of grackles, a pair of wood ducks, or a muskrat or two going about their business there is a barge passing on the river.

My experience with finding help on the road

Last Friday I went off in search of someone to replace LD's leaking radiator hoses. It's no disaster - they're old and they're beginning to leak, that's all. But anyway, on my way back to the park I got to thinking how easy I find help in strange places. Wherever I break down and need help I find it. Consistently, over my many years of travel, particularly on all those motorcycle adventures back in the '80s and '90s. My motorcycles always had a bit of character and the quirks and unreliability to go with it. They were always breaking down. And there was always someone there to help if I needed it. Graciously, kindly, and with never a rip-off. It's been a refreshing view of human nature. There is always a touch of fear of the unknown and a fear of not finding a way out of some difficulty. I still have them but those fears turn out to be largely unfounded. Someone always helps out.

Friday I wandered about Demopolis AL trying to get a feel for what garages might be available to change a few radiator hoses. Not finding what I was looking for I stopped at Lane's Tire across from Wal-Mart, to explain what I was looking for and see if they do that kind of work. No, they don't, but the proprietor did recommend Bruce Gwin's Express Automotive in town as someone who would take good care of me. Now I suppose they are friends but the proprietor seemed to be someone I could work with and I trusted his recommendation. Bruce Gwin seems like a good guy too.

To get to the point, I think I now recognize a technique I've probably been using subconsciously for years ie: look to a trustworthy businessman for recommendations. Someone who knows what the scoop is in town in a way the man on the street might not. Someone who knows everybody. Someone who would go to the good guys him or herself. Such a person has a breadth of knowledge the average Joe wouldn't have, just from being in contact with more people going about his or her daily life. Let's hope Bruce lives up to my expectations after all these kind words.

I changed my plans again

Instead of heading directly west from Demopolis after Express Automotive finished replacing the radiator hoses and turning the front brake rotors on LD for me I headed right up US 43 to Tuscaloosa AL, specifically to browse a bookstore before I head out across rural Mississippi. Tuscaloosa has a nice large Barnes & Noble, the first I've crossed paths with since I left Red Rock November 15th.

Jim Bird's sculptures in hay revisited

Heading up US 43 gave me an opportunity to spend a little time at the site of Jim Bird's sculptures in hay just south of Forkland AL and get some photos. The lighting wasn't great but I think I got some good enough to post here over the next few days.

Eutaw AL

I've got to get back to Eutaw AL. This town has some interesting downtown architecture I want to check out. Simple, severe, well proportioned. Outstanding. Like this.

This website is down

This evening: Yeah, well it was when this paragraph was being written (off line of course). Coxontool.com is down and now it is too late to call the hosts at cisbec.net to see what's up. Apparently the site has been down all day, as has been my other site, jhcoxon.com. Now I have to wait untill tomorrow to check on things at cisbec.net. Darn.

Night camp

Wal-Mart Parking Lot in Tuscaloosa AL

Wal-Mart Supercenter in Tuscaloosa AL

Wal-Mart Supercenter Store #715, 1501 Skyland Blvd E, Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 - (205) 750-0823

This Wal-Mart is one of my favorite parking lots for overnight dry camping. There is good, level parking and access to lots of shopping and services useful to the traveler.

Good level parking, reasonably quiet
Books-a-Million & Michaels Craft store across the road
U-Haul propane nearby, Lowe's and Home Depot 1 mile
Major shopping centers nearby
Verizon cell phone service is excellent
Verizon EVDO Broadband service is excellent
Find other Wal-Marts in the area
Check the weather here

It's No Use Arguing Tastes with a Cow

By what appears, furthermore, to be the compensating justice of Nature, the treasures of the earth are always hidden in the most unattractive, dismal, and dreary spots. At least all the mining places I ever visited are so located, and Bisbee is no exception. To get away from the cramped little village and its unsavoury restaurant, I established my first camp four miles south of it on a commodious and pleasant opening, where we could do our own cooking. But here a new annoyance, and rather a curious one, was met with. The cattle of the region evinced a peculiar predilection for our wearing apparel. Especially at night, the cows would come wandering in among our tents, like the party who goes about seeking what he may devour, and on getting hold of some such choice morsel as a sock, shirt, or blanket, Mrs. Bossie would chew and chew, “gradually,” to quote Mark Twain, “taking it in, all the while opening and closing her eyes in a kind of religious ecstasy, as if she had never tasted anything quite as good as an overcoat before in her life.” It is no use arguing about tastes, not even with a cow.

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