Moving South to Deerlick Creek Campground

We are finding that Alabama is a beautiful state, filled with twisting, hilly roads through forests and along rivers. Mark drove the motor home 2.5 hours down those winding roads to come to our next stop--Deerlick Creek Corp of Engineers park. We have a great pull-through site complete with a deck that looks over the wooded ravine. This is the view we see from our dining room window. From our private deck we can see Lake Holt down below us in the trees. After spending the last eleven days in a parking lot campground, this is pure bliss!

We were just setting up camp when a cardinal almost flew inside our coach. But he was actually more interested in the shiny mirrors outside.

Or maybe he was more interested in that handsome bird he kept getting a glimpse of in the reflection of the mirror.

Either way, he didn't mind posing for Denisa as she took these pictures through the windshield. We love being snuggled into the middle of nature again in a national forest!

Besides an abundance of cardinals, we also have a paved bike trail, and several miles of little-traveled roads that are good for bike riding. 

We really enjoyed the almost-level bike trail, but after riding up and down the hills on the road through the park Denisa is about ready to put away her bicycle until we get back to the flat lands.

We also spent an afternoon in the kayak on Lake Holt. With no wind and temperatures in the 70's, it was a glorious day to be on the water. 

You can tell from the expressions on this kayaking selfie that we're happy to report that the patches are still holding firm on our inflatable kayak. 

We're also happy to report that we didn't see any alligators on this kayak ride. The only reptile we saw was a very brave turtle that stayed on that log until we glided right beside him for a close-up.

Back to our campsite, we really appreciate the fact that it is a level cement pull-through with a wooden deck furnished with a large picnic table, fire ring, and grill. That's equivalent to a 5-star hotel in RV-speak. It was such a nice place to spend time, so we had to cook out here. Of course, no cook-out would be complete without smores for dessert. Here is Denisa, toasting some marshmallows over the grill fire. But shouldn't she be more attentive to the marshmallows and less attentive to the camera?

It's a good thing that Mark appreciates burnt marshmallows!

In a few minutes the flames died down to a beautiful pink glow. Is there anything prettier than embers glowing pink while they lightly toast a marshmallow as it puffs into a pillow of sweetness? You smash that between chocolate and graham crackers and it's so good it could be illegal.

Within ten miles of our lake, there are two other lakes to visit. We stopped at both on our way home from church. We enjoyed the raging creek just below the spillway of Lake Nicol,

You can barely see Denisa on the right of the white water towards the bottom of the picture. It's a good thing you can't tell that she has her Sunday slacks rolled up and traded her Sunday shoes for hiking boots.

We also enjoyed Lake Tuscaloosa, with its smooth waterfall that turned into a roaring rapid just below the lake. Both lakes have a healthy amount of water running over the spillways, so the water supply looks good in Alabama.

Back to Deerlick Creek park, our little piece of heaven has a walking trail that encircles the peninsula where our campground is surrounded by water on three sides. In case we get tired from the arduous hiking up and down these hills, there are nice piers jutting into the water with benches to rest in the waning light of evening.

But the real reason we are sitting there, is to watch as a beautiful sunset unfolds in front of us.

Very often we comment that God is the greatest artist to paint such a beautiful sky! It's such a pleasure to be here for five days!