Hattiesburg, Mississippi
We had such big plans. We had 2 whole weeks in Gulf State Park. We had our bikes, our swimming suits, our paddle ball, our sun screen. We were ready for fun.
Yep. We had a real nice time driving around Mississippi. We spent our first night at Wallace Creek in Pope. Then we spent 2 nights near Laurel which was great. On the morning of the day we were to arrive at Gulf State Park, we changed our plans. Instead of Gulf State Park, we went to Paul B. Johnson State Park in Hattiesburg. We thought this would be far enough north to be out of the hurricane’s path. However, after one night, the forecast was updated to include Hattiesburg in the hurricane’s path. Yikes! So, we headed back to Wallace Creek in Pope for the next 4 nights. We made a nice big circle, just not the same one we routed out so many months ago.
The longer we were at Wallace Creek, the less likely it seemed we’d be going to the Gulf. We planned to leave there on Friday and head south, but Thursday, Gulf State Park notified us that they were giving us our money back. The Park was closing for the next 10 days to recover from the hurricane.
Does that look like Sasquatch to you?
We did enjoy our days at Wallace Creek. It is a beautiful Corps of Engineer campground. I enjoyed that pretty bench most every morning at sunrise. We walked the different loops, giving us 10,000 steps for 3 of the days. We watched Jeopardy every day. Our camper neighbor brought over a bag of tomatoes from her garden at home. The weather was beautiful, much cooler than the first part of our week, and we never did see a drop of rain.
(near Wallace Creek)
There is a playground near here.
With our plans definitely given the kabosh on Thursday, we decided we’d head back home a week early. But we did decide to stop in and visit Dan’s brother in Dyersburg, Tennessee on Friday as we headed home. Bill had lost his wife of 40+ years about six months ago. We spent a couple hours with him and had a nice visit.
We ended our trip by staying at Perryville campground for 2 nights. While this campground is kind of like a typical KOA, it did allow us to have a leisurely visit with Bill. This campground has a walking trail connection to the Perry County Community Lake which is a Missouri Department of Conservation area. The trail is 4.4 miles, and we walked it on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The campground also had a rock/country music band in the pavilion on Saturday night. It was a very nice place, and we enjoyed our time there. You can read my review here.
We’re back home now. Glad to be safe, but to be honest, a bit disappointed. I do know others have suffered so much more. I say my prayers for them, and remind myself to focus on all that I have and to be grateful. In the grand scheme of things, changing our trip plans is nothing!
We will reschedule. We are thinking maybe in the Spring, God willing.
We bought a travel trailer, so we could see this beautiful country and have adventures. And that is exactly what we did. Safe travels to all!
Chambers on the Road 
Great blog entry. Thanks.
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Sorry to hear your trip was cut short but appears you were able to visit some beautiful parts of the country. Stay safe!
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Thank you, Tana. We made the best of it. Stay safe, and enjoy your day!
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I definitely see Sasquatch in that pic!! 2020 has certainly been the year of required flexibility and expected change. I’m sorry your plans were altered. The photos and story is amazing, though. Better days ahead!!
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Thanks for your positive outlook! Every morning as I sat on that bench, I kept thinking that looks like Sasquatch! I appreciate your compliments, and I hope you enjoy your day.
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Sometimes Mother Nature makes us change our plans. It does sound like you managed to enjoy some camping. Hope next year that you can visit the Gulf. Have a nice day.
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We tried to make the best of it. Mother Nature is definitely in charge! Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day!
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It seems that you had a lovely time despite the cancellations and the inclement weather. Changing plans to find the silver lining is a gift.
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Thank you. We do always try to make the best of things we can’t control; otherwise, what is the alternative? I appreciate you reading and your positive comments. Enjoy your day!
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Ah yes the year 2020 will be remembered for many things. But the biggest thing we’ve learned is how to adapt. Like you we had plans, lots of them. And just like you most of them were turned upside down and then cancelled. But on the flip side you got a big bonus in that you had time with family. You were able to visit a town that is special to you. You had a fantastic site at the COE. I’m so glad you got to do all that and even more. Thanks for sharing, for taking me along on your adventures. I know they’ll be many more trips in the months and years to come and I’m looking forward to traveling with you via your blog. God bless and have a great week.
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Thank you so much for your very kind comments! We did get to do a lot of great things. I am glad you come along on our adventures, and like you say, God willing, we will have more. I’m looking forward to reading about your winter in Florida. God bless you and Barbara, too, and enjoy the week!
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Definitely do go to the Gulf Coast! I spent many hours there pre-Katrina and have only returned once since that terrible hurricane in 2005. It’s lovely!
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Thank you! We rescheduled for April, so here’s hoping! I am really looking forward to visiting that area. Enjoy your day!
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I need to go back soon. It had changed so much when I visited after Katrina that I was totally lost and heartbroken to see everything gone.
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We are hoping the area will be mostly recovered from the hurricane by April and that Covid will be on the downside then. But who knows? I hope you can schedule a trip back there soon!
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Nice blog Betty, great pictures too!
We see you travel in a Microlite, we love ours :-).
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Thank you. Great! Another Micro Lite owner! We have a 2019 23FBKS, and we love ours, too. We had talked about getting an Aliner for a year, but once we walked into the Micro Lite, we never looked back. I look forward to reading more of your posts. Enjoy your day!
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Very lucky that you discovered that the place you were staying was in the path of a hurricane! You got out safely so we can enjoy more posts like this!
And you had me laugh with that last picture 😄
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Thank you. I appreciate your nice comments! And I am really glad the last picture made you laugh. That’s always good! Enjoy your weekend!
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You are exactly right. Sometimes adventures turn to misadventures providing us with stories to later reminisce about. Glad you’re home safe. Don’t wait too long to get back out.
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I can hardly wait to go again. We live in the Midwest, so it’ll be time to winterize soon. I will try to keep a stiff upper lip! Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day!
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[…] we still could have camped, everything else, including the beach, was closed. The second time, we drove around Mississippi in a great big circle, as we were trying to avoid Hurricane Sally. The state park was damaged and […]
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