Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - Tuscaloosa AL

The Bobby Joe James on the Tombigbee River, Dec 14, 2007

There's not much to report today except that, having had enough of the interstates for a while, I worked my way south from Shelbyvile TN by taking US 231 south through Huntsville AL and then AL 69 south through rolling southern yellow pine forest into Tuscaloosa.

Hanging out in bookstores

I miss my favorite Barnes & Noble in Pittfield MA and this may be my last chance to hang out in bookstores for a while. Unless I can find one in Demopolis I'll be out of range of a bookstore. So tomorrow I'll spend some time at the Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million bookstores here in Tuscaloosa before I head on to Demopolis.

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

Crayfish Chimney

Late one afternoon I sat upon my camera case beside the path where it wound through the darkest part of the woods, down near the pond, and watched a crayfish building his "chimney," the land entrance to his underwater tunnel. He had just started to work above the ground when I first arrived. He came up through the moist black earth, carrying a ball of it between his two enormous fighting claws. Using the claws as hands, he spread the soil around the hole to form the base of the chimney. He then backed down the hole and after several minutes came up with another armful.

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