Allendale, South Carolina Sasquatch.

As written by Pamela...

Dave has been doing a ton of research on Sasquatch stuff. With all his video research and books he has read, plus our own personal encounters with their activity near our home in NY, he's become quite the expert on signs of them. In turn, I have also been listening to the podcasts and have been an avid learner of his knowledge. As such, I've gotten pretty good at noticing things out of the ordinary while riding in wooded areas. Sausquatches have certain things they will do to mark territory and hunting areas as evidenced by researches across the country. So, as I was riding on the 2600+ acres of trail system in SC, I was taking notice of things along the way. Oddities. Why would there be double tree bends that are held and pinned by another tree? Why are there double tree snaps in an area where no other trees are broken and no indication of heavy branch loss to indicate a wind storm? Little things like that as well as several "blinds" or "nest" type structures.

This next pic is amazing to me.  Two saplings bent over and pinned down with another broken off about ten feet off the ground - Dave

The last photo shows a tree twist.  It takes hands to twist and break a tree, and a lot of power. - Dave

Today and tomorrow we're in Virginia where Pam will ride the Blue Ridge Mountains, Saturday in Pennsylvania, and Sunday in Bleecker.  When not obsessing about Sasquatch, I hope to get a pasture cleared, a run-in stall built for Jeremiah, and start on the barn.  But then again, you all know how my plans go.  My plans crack God up.

Eureka FL to Fairfax SC

LOL!  This reminds me of my Drift Away blog, when I'd post about cruising 20 or 30 miles.  We traveled 300+ miles yesterday, leaving Eureka around noon and arriving at Lakeview Plantation at 7 PM.  I started out by pumping $100 of gasoline into Harvey the RV.  Pam stopped twice to fill Audrey the Kia.   Audrey's gas mileage drops from 28 MPH to 14 MPG when she hauls Jeremiah the Horse.

We were supposed to take US 301 all the way, but Pam missed a turn somewhere.  The GPS insists that we take I-95, which we are loath to do, so Pam was navigating by eyeball.  I was on daydream autopilot so I didn't notice any signs either, but all of a sudden 301 was gone.  So Pam had to rely on the GPS and we found ourselves on I-95, mired in gridlock traffic just north of Savannah.  I eventually found a break in the hammer lane and yanked Harvey out into it to escape the worst of it, soon followed by Pam and Judi.  65 MPH in Harvey is white knuckle driving, to be sure.  This thing requires eyes on the road at all times to maintain  control.  When we arrived at Lakeview Plantation, I was wiped.

Lakeview is a beautiful spot, but for the life of me, I have yet to see a lake anywhere, and I've looked.

We're staying put today so Pam can ride, and then tomorrow we're off for someplace in North Carolina.  Pam told me, but I can't recall where.  All I know is that their well is having trouble and they had no water, but hopefully that is fixed by tomorrow.  Then we're off to one of our favorite stops, Lexington Virginia.

And yes.  For the record, it is freezing cold here in South Carolina.  It is 59 degrees outside at 10 AM.  I can almost see my breath.  I'm feeling sleepy, but I know that going to sleep in frigid weather could be a death sentence, so I'm on my third cup of coffee.  I'm wearing a fleece jacket and sweatpants.  I may even put on a hat.

Why in the world are we headed north in this weather?

Day in Photos

When we lived aboard our trawler Drift Away, I updated my blog just about everyday, with few exceptions.  Living on a boat, there is always something interesting to see, so if I wasn't mired in some boat project and was lacking for anything to write about, I'd just stand on the flybridge and shoot photos.  It always worked for me.  I don't know about my readers, but it worked for me.

I don't update this blog everyday because, quite honestly, when I'm sitting on my duff in Florida and not doing much, I can't see writing about it and boring everyone to tears.  But in the past 24 hours, I took pics of anything that looked interesting, from bored dogs to lizards and birds.

Here you go.

Tomorrow, we leave Florida for Bleecker.  Pam will lead our convoy, carrying Olivia and Chevy the dogs, and towing Jeremiah the horse in a trailer, along with two of Judi's rabbits whose names I don't know nor care to know.  Next comes me in Harvey the RV with Ruby the dog, and three cats and one yappy dogs, towing a utility trailer.  Then comes Judi in her car, with five more yappy dogs.

We obviously can't check into a motel, so we stay at farms and ranches, who don't give a crap how many critters we have.

Our internet access will be spotty, so updates to this blog will be as well.

First stop, Fairfax, South Carolina.

Time To Head North

Yep.  It's that time.  Pam says so.  Never mind that it snowed there just a couple of days ago.  Never mind that high temps are in the 50s and it is snowy and rainy, and it is sunny and beautiful here in Florida.  Momma says it is time to go, so it is time to go.

We travel at a leisurely pace.  Pam drives the Kia towing Jeremiah the horse, along with two rabbits and Olive the German Shorthaired Pointer and Chevy the pitbull.  I follow in Harvey the RV and Ruby the pitbull, along with Sassy the Cat, Leo Pard the Cat, and Annie the Cat, while towing a utility trailer.  Judi trails behind with  Scruffy, Luci, Patti, Toby, Benjamin, and Abby the Ankle Biters.

Quite a picture, isn't it?

We obviously can't stay at motels where sane people stay, so we stop at farms and ranches along the way.  We travel at a slow pace, usually about four to six hours a day, to take it easy on the horse and the old man who drives the RV.

We'll be leaving on Monday, and our internet will be spotty at best.  I'll update you all on our progress as I can.

It will be good to be back in Bleecker to check on the status of the cabin, Bessie the Tractor, and our Sasquatch family.  But for sure, I'm going to miss the Sunshine State and the southern hospitality of its folks.

See ya'll soon.

Chase Family Reunion... uh oh...

My Chase cousins in Florida are a great bunch.  They love to have fun, usually at the expense of a sibling.  

We had a Chase family picnic on Saturday.  I posted this on Facebook, saying that I was proud of Chevy for winning the Chase family picnic dance contest.

As at most family picnics involving copious quantities of beer, siblings decide to wrestle.  First is the trash talk.  Ruby the female pitbull is watching.

And then the challenge.

Before I could grab my camera, Frank (in the middle) was wrestling with Chrissy (on the right).  Frank picked Chrissy and bear hugged her, and Chrissy brilliantly executed the atomic wedgie defense.  Frank dropped her.   As he was "adjusting", Chrissy was bent over in laughter.  I snapped a pic, and as I did, someone threw a toy and Chevy jumped for it.  And this pic was the result.  Ah, now you see it.

This was all done under the observation of Ruby.

Ruby.   A dog not to be trifled with.  A very protective female pitbull.  Yep.  Here it comes.

We bought a little kiddie pool for the dogs to cool off in.  It was hot, so a few folks waded in to cool off their tootsies.  Ruby went in to lifeguard.

 

Frank went in to drown his sister.  Frank dunked Chrissy and then ran.

See Frank run.  Run Frank run.

See Ruby run after Frank, very angry.  Run Ruby run!

See Frank realizing he's in deep doo-doo with Ruby, and now Chevy is joining in.

Ruby has decided that no one is to be in the pool.  Everyone out NOW!

That would be Denny doing a cannonball into the kiddie pool.

Ruby jumps on him, ordering him out.

Next tossed in by Frank was Jonathan.

Now Ruby is really pissed.  Denny OUT!

Denny gets out, and Ruby wrestles him to the ground to keep him there.

But Denny decides that he has to now go back into the pool to get the dirt off.  Ruby grabs Denny by the shirt to drag him out, popping buttons off.   So Denny decides to give Ruby the shirt.

Ruby took the shirt, waving it about as a warning to anyone else foolish enough to mess with her.  No one was to enter the pool.

Ah yes... family get togethers.  A good time was had by all.

Growing Horseradish In Florida

I planted horseradish in Bleecker (NY).  Supposedly, you stick it in the ground in a sunny spot far away from your garden, since it tends to take over everything.   After a year, not much was happening.

Pam cleaned out our refrigerator in Bleecker to pack the RV, and in the vegetable drawer found a bunch of horseradish roots.   Some were so old, they were even soft.   You  supposedly can't grow horseradish in Florida because there's no dormant season here, and horseradish needs a dormant season.   What's more dormant than a few months in a refrigerator?   So I stuck them in the ground.   That was in November.   Here they are now.

If they make it through the summer, I should have roots in the fall.  And the fresher the root, the hotter the horseradish.

Native American Marker Trees

Nope, I never heard of Native American marker trees either until I read this article yesterday.   This tree on our property in Bleecker came immediately to mind.

This tree is an oddity.   It goes straight up about 30 feet, makes a 90 degree turn to the south, and then another 90 degree turn vertical.  I don't know if it is a Native American tree marker, but it certainly is interesting.

I've often said that I'm going to put a recliner up there.

Four Wheel Drive Only On The Beach

We decided to go back to Ormand Beach today to give it another try.  Kate and Chuck, visiting from New York, decided it was time to leave but decided to spend a few days at the Tomaka State Park just north of Ormand Beach.   So we caravanned there.    What a beautiful park!  I recommend it highly to all your campers and RVers.

This is their campsite.

And this is their backyard.

The five of us (me, Pam, Judi-Pam's-mom, Kate, and Chuck) piled into the Kia and drove the few miles to the beach.  As we pulled up to the toll booth, the lady asked if we had four wheel drive since the sand was very soft that day.  Yes we do, so I handed her the $10 entrance fee, pushed the four wheel drive lock button, and off we went.  

It was a beautiful day for about five minutes, and then we heard the thunder.  Here it comes.

The kids were having a blast surfing on the small waves.

Obligatory seagull photo.  Hey, I don't make the rules.

When you drive on the beach, you must stay on the travel lanes.  You park above the lanes, not below them.  This guy not only didn't listen, but he fibbed about having four wheel drive.

He obviously didn't know about driving in snow, and if your vehicle isn't moving to stop spinning your tires and digging yourself deeper.  By the time I got there with the Kia, he was buried.

I tried, but as soon as the towing strap stretched taut, the Kia stopped and I started sinking in the sand.  But I was smart enough to stop.  Once we got the strap off, I drove right off and suggested he flag down a truck.

Which he did.  I might add that things were getting interesting because the tide was coming up.  Fast.  But big black truck couldn't do it.

The lifeguard came by, I'm assuming to tell the guys to put on their life jackets, when big white truck with big honkin' tires came over.

He got him out real good, and took him to the travel lane.

So what did the stuckee do when unhooked?  He drove back on the beach to get his friend's two wheel drive Honda unstuck.

By this time, it was raining pretty good, so we went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner.  Stupid beach.