Any day that starts with seeing a Great Egret on an early morning walk and ending the day with a bike ride with the dog alongside is a good one.

Yesterday (Day 4) was a “get it together” day at Clarko State Park in Quitman, MS. I got the water system operating after winterizing it. You always worry about problems due to freezing and we had one split spray nozzle — which was easy to replace. I washed the truck and the Airstream, taking off months of salt and crud.

There were only a few campers at the state park so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. The birding was wonderful (see my birding blog) — and the dog could run free on the miles of back trails and roads. She went nuts with the many squirrels around — chased a wild turkey, and had her nose down in an armadillo hole until I pulled her away.

Today, we had an easy trip down Highway 59 to I-12 and ended up at Fountainbleau State Park in Mandeville, LA. It sits at the northern end of Lake Ponchartrain on an old sugar plantation. Louisiana parks have WiFi which is a big help — we can only do so much with our iPhones.

I got the bikes unloaded from the chaos that is the back of the pickup, hooked up the Springer system, and took Penny for a spin around the park. She gets a wonderful workout and is snoring beside me on the couch.

We are going to stay here for a couple of days — do some bike riding and birding — and then head on to Texas. Weather is nice — today got up to 70 but it will be in the 50’s tomorrow. However, reading the weather forecast that my Vermont friends are facing, mid-fifties sounds pretty good.

This state park is about half full with many people who stay for weeks — with big rigs. We are the only Airstream here.