Lake 'O The Pines & Storms (mostly pictures)

 Location: Buckhorn Creek Campground (COE); Jefferson, Texas

After three days, today is moving day. This is the second time I've been to this campground and the third time I've camped along this lake. It is conveniently located and has a good vibe. Since I've been here before, I didn't do much exploring. Jefferson, Texas and the surrounding area is pretty interesting and worth exploring. If you want to know more about the area, the following links are to my blog posts from my past stays here:

https://gozatravels.blogspot.com/2023/02/lake-o-pines-coe.html

https://gozatravels.blogspot.com/2023/02/exploring-jefferson-texas.html

https://gozatravels.blogspot.com/2024/02/another-great-coe.html

Storms have blew through this area every evening that I've been here. My campsite is situated so when looking out my door, I'm looking west. I chose this site for that reason since I was hoping to see some good sunsets. I was surprised that I got 2 descent ones in between storms. The west is also the direction the storms were approaching the campground as they passed over the lake. They aren't as powerful and beautiful as the one I caught blowing in over Lake Michigan many years ago, but they were OK. These storms have been hitting the Texas/Arkansas/Louisiana/Oklahoma area from more than a week. I can't remember ever seeing this weather pattern. The other strange thing I've noticed is the thunder sounds different. It seems to roll on much longer than it use to. I've heard some recently that lasted well over a minute or two. One lasted so long in fact, that I heard it rumbling and thought, "what the heck is that" before realizing it was from the thunder clap a long time before. That instance and many more happened before I left Louisiana and it is occurring here in northeast Texas. Strange. Something to keep and eye on or maybe an ear. 

This is the campsite in Louisiana that I pulled out of on June 1st. I'm posting it here for comparison to my current campsite.

I remember that some of the readers enjoy the travel pictures through the windshield so they can see the different parts of the country. This is a two lane section of a Texas state highway in northeast Texas. 

My campsite here at Buckhorn Creek with Lake 'O The Pines in the background. West is directly over Freedom and the direction that the storms are coming from. It was a very pretty day and the weather was great as I set up camp.

This is the sunset I was rewarded with on the evening of Day one. A batch of storms had just passed over as the sun was setting.

This is the same sunset as the one above but in this one I captured a little bit of the storms clouds as they were headed east. 

The afterglow of the sunset from Day one. The storms had just passed, the winds died down and the lake got peaceful from the night.

This is the morning of Day two. Looking out of Liberty's door showed a peaceful looking morning with a gentle cool breeze. Very nice. The storms came about an hour before sunset and lasted a couple of hours.

This is the storm that blew through yesterday evening (day 3)

I almost forgot to get a picture out my back window. This is my view when I'm using my desk.

This was last night's sunset. It really surprised me. I thought for sure the storms were going to block any view of it. I had given up but then I caught a glimpse of something red that looked like something was on fire. Wow, the sun was fighting through the clouds and it was spectacular. My cell phone camera couldn't pick up the deep red of the sunset. I'll have in my memory though.

The storms have kept me mostly inside Liberty while here but I did get one walk in around the campground. Being stuck inside means lots of thinking and even without a "thinking bench". Wow, would that be considered "thinking outside of the box"? I figure today's tow of about 135 miles with a Walmart stop for groceries will help clear my head. Maybe not clear it, but a little organization would help. The good news it isn't the old "memory demons" because I've kicked their butt and sent them off to a corner. Nope, these thoughts are more contemporary. 

I learned a lesson from last night's sunset. I've always liked storms for their power and always liked sunsets for their beauty. Last night I learned you can have both at the same time. This lesson doesn't only apply to storms and sunsets. It's one of those things that make you go,,,,,"hmmmmm". 

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