Enjoying the birds and flowers at Kent Park

July 29, 2006

Many folks ask why I get up so early each day (I seem to automatically wake up at 5 a.m.). Well, I want to have a front-row seat for God’s morning miracle of a sunrise accompanied by singing birds.

The birds here start their beautiful singing shortly after 5 a.m. – and what a beautiful concert this is. My four favorite songsters are the Baltimore Orioles, Northern Cardinals, Eastern Bluebirds and American Robins. They seem to do the most singing between dawn and when the sun finally rises.

I’m happy to report that the swelling from my bites went down, but they still itch like mad.

On my walks around the campground, I met several nice people. One thing for sure, RVers are friendly and always seem to enjoy visiting. One gal has a “bullador” dog – part bulldog and part Labrador. On another walk I saw a strange-looking insect: looked to be part deer fly and part spider! And I had neglected to take my camera with me.

In between walks, I cool off in Jeremiah and tank up on water. It seems a bit cooler today, but no less humidity.

One walk took me to the Conservation Education Center; volunteers staff this center on the weekend. I looked through an insect book to see if I could spot my strange bug – no luck. When the couple found out I was heading south on the next leg of my adventure, they made some route suggestions.

Also I took pictures of flowers: here are my favorite ones.




Yes, I’m leaving in the morning – just after a Walmart stop for groceries and a Mall stop for Internet access. I’ll be heading south on Highway 1 through several small towns for about 100 miles. My night’s destination is Lacy-Keosauqua State Park just north of the Iowa/Missouri border. There are a couple towns that are supposed to be worth the stop. I’ll let you know.

For those of you who received my original travel schedule, you’ve figured out by now that I’ve made changes based on circumstances and travel advice and suggestions. It’s all part of the adventure. I’m still scheduled to arrive in St. Louis on Aug. 2.