and 2 Months later...

I have found myself busy, distracted and traveling again. The weather had remained unseasonably warm through early December, when I found myself only hours ahead of a snowstorm along coastal Mississippi. I had driven down to the Tampa FL area for an extended visit with relatives and found myself racing winter on returning to Missouri.
Happily I didn't plan on camping during the two day drive down to Florida and then back, but I did arrange to stay at state park cabins along the way. Tombigbee State Park in Tupelo, MS had some charming cabins, built in the 1930s by the CCC. The cabins have a fully equipped kitchen, including microwave & coffee maker, and an  assortment of silverware, dishes and pans. Standard amenities include central heat, bed sheets, indoor plumbing, fireplace and TV, and all for a lot less money than a local hotel room. Most state parks are a ways out of town, so do plan on finding the park site well before dark, as the countryside does not usually include streetlights. I found myself driving along some winding stretches of single lane road, and almost thinking I was lost before I saw the park's main gate. 

I had a wonderful family visit over the Thanksgiving holidays. It had been almost ten years since I had seen my sister! It was definitely good to "catch up" with everyone over the holiday meal. It seems that Floridians like to get all their Christmas decorations up early and there were definitely some amazing yard lights and inflatables. I watched this local Great Blue Heron pose near this string of holiday bulbs for over an hour one afternoon!

Back home in Missouri, there has been about 3" of snow and absolutely bitterly cold temperatures. Tonight we will drop to 1F/-17C, our daytime high was only 11F/-11C. The local radio station announced that Anchorage, AK was warmer at 17F/-8C! We definitely had a "white" Christmas this year.