Sometimes simple is JUST what the doctor ordered

(I will add pics when I get home - not enough data service here)

Many of the greats have written extensively of man's need to reconnect with nature.  To return to his primal past.  Replete with crisp morning's dawn, the breezy caress of the unexplored forrest, the crackle of the greatest gift to early man - camp fire.

And yet, in the year 2014 Anno Domeni, I hear clear music from my Bluetooth speaker.  I eat delicious chili con carne from a can.  I sip imported beer after braving a searing shot of Mexican Tequilla.

I am serene in the knowledge that my -20* rated sleeping bag will keep me warm tonight; that a large highway is a few hundred yards from "camp" and that I could be sipping a piping hot gourmet coffee in ten minutes should I "venture to town".

And yet...

The stars seem to captivate me as no television, no matter how many inches or resolution, has ever done.  The wispy clouds soothe me as they scatter from peak to peak.  The pine strewn carpet envelops me to a degree no air freshener would dare attempt.

I am at peace.

Which is why we pack crates, and bags, and cans of food to sit on a dirt floor, near a bubbly brook, where summer has yet to conquer winter's last snow.

I will lay quietly tonight - sans rain flap - and listen for a heavenly chorus as the stars report for duty and begin their nightly traverse across the summer sky.

Alas...goodnight 21st Century.

Swamps, battlefields, and a house fire...BUSY day! (NOLA day #3)

We woke up slowly - vacation mode having fully set in.  Nice to ease out of bed.

By 9:30 we'd had a quick bite and were out the door.  Heading to history that is more modern - some might say uncomfortable.  The flood ravaged blocks of the lower 9th Ward.

Nine years later, there are still obvious signs of the massive flooding.  Many houses are boarded up and graffiti adorns the exteriors.

The housing projects show a water line on the rusted metal stairs.

It is eerie. But there are other houses close by which have been restored.  And there is construction everywhere.  Note the sign.. "NEW DAY NEW ORLEANS".

After this sobering morning, we headed to the Jean Laffite National Park (Brataria Preserve).  What a great day!  We casually walked the swamp and saw bugs, birds, and even alligators!

After that, it was back through the 9th Ward to the 1812 Chalamette Battlefield and National Graveyard.  To be honest, one of the worst National Parks we've ever visited.  Dirty, unkempt, and not at all unique.  There were some cool grave stones.  "U.S.C." means United States Colored Infantry.

After getting out of this pit - we meandered through the French Quarter and then weaved the back streets to our cottage.  Amazingly, we stumbled on a house fire just as the NOFD arrived.  We jumped out and took some breaking news pics (The Times Picayune even published these).

Now we are tired!  We tried to get Willie Maes chicken (but it was closed).  Guess we'll eat in and chill out!

Night, y'all...