Sunrises, Beaches and Darn Bugs

Location: Silver Slipper Casino RV Park (el 5 ft); Waveland, Mississippi

All pictures taken by Nokia Lumia Icon 929 Cell Phone
(click pictures to enlarge)

Last Saturday I moved about 5 miles from Buccaneer State Park to a campgound within about 200 feet of the Gulf. I had planned to move out of the area and continue my trek eastward towards Charleston, SC, but after seeing the campground I decided to stay here for 4 days. During check-in, the casino asked if I wanted one of their tracking cards and when I hesitated, she said it comes with a complimentary one night free stay at the RV Park. I said, sure, why not. It's full hookups and Liberty is backed up right to the road with the beach just across the road. I can easily walk the beach at any time.

Camp site #7

View out the door of Liberty.
The sun rises in that direction.

I got here early Saturday because the tail end of the bad storm system that had flooded Louisiana had just passed through here. There were still some "popcorn" storms so I hitched up early and was prepared to move in between storms if necessary. I was set up at the new campground by noon. 

View from my "back yard".

Looking down the beach towards the casino

Some oil washed up after the storm system churned up the Gulf. I'm not sure if it is from the BP oil spill or not. There were so many things in this area that got wiped out during Katrina, including oil storage locations.

The remains of an old dock/pier that Katrina took out

Pieces of asphalt roadways wash up every morning. The storm surge peeled up many roads around here and took the material back out to the Gulf. 10 years later, it is still washing up.

Looking back along the beach towards Liberty during one of my walks.

A couple of birds standing on a sand bar.

One of the other things that happens on the tail end of strong storm systems is the wind is unpredictable. It can be blowing like crazy one minute, then absolutely still the next. I know now that when the wind stops blowing, if you're not covered in the correct bug spray, you better run for cover indoors. I discovered this fact during a visit with my new neighbors on the first day. They were a young couple on their first camping trip in a brand new travel trailer. We were getting to know each other when the wind stopped. It was at that instant that I barely heard the words "attack, attack". I thought I was hearing things and continued the visit. I noticed the guy had removed his hat and was swatting something around him. I felt something on my legs and looked down thinking a mosquito was biting me. Wrong! There were little bitty bugs all over my legs and they seemed to be trapped in the hair on my legs. I brushed some off but more kept coming. I then heard the words loud and clear, and they were saying "Attack, attack; on my command everyone bite". It was then I realized I was being assaulted, so I ran jogged trotted walked fast back to Liberty all the while trying to swat the bugs off of me. I didn't see the damage they had inflicted until later that evening when my legs started itching and burning with welts beginning to form. My legs looked like I had either stood still in a bed of fire ants or more likely had been shot with a shotgun full of rock salt. Nothing I tried gave me any relief and I suffered through a sleepless night. The next day I bought some old style calamine lotion which works for a couple of hours. I also found that some baby wipes with Aloe in them provided a couple hours of relief. Today is day 3 after the attack and I'm still itching, just not as bad as the first night. The bugs are called several different names such as: biting midges, sand gnats, "no see ums". I just call them "blood sucking, no good, little (*^%%$&^*^'s". So when the wind stops, run!!!!

Besides the proximity to the beach, I wanted to stay here because it is situated perfect for catching sunrises. The sun rises over the Gulf directly off of Liberty's right side with no sight obstructions. I can look out my window to see if it will be a good sunrise or not. So far, there have been 3 distinctly different sunrises and all equally nice. I hope tomorrow morning will give me another good one before I pull out.

Sunrise on Morning #1. The rays of light look like a crown

Sunrise on Morning #2. It had clouded up some but the sun shined through and laid down a " sun-path on the waters".

Sunrise on Morning #3. About 30 minutes after sunrise, a big sunbeam shined through an opening. 

This is still from Morning #3, but I liked it because of the bird. 

Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be heading to a campground in Alabama. It is located about half way between Mobile and Pensacola. I'll be there for about a week to see what is worth seeing in that area.

A cloudy sky over Liberty

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.