I have a love/hate relationship with this part of East Texas. I won’t ever forget my first sighting of bald eagles in the wild, on a remote beach on Sam Rayburn Lake – watching them tumbling and playing with each other in the air, screaming at play. I love this piney woods country, the beautiful tall trees, the constant smell of evergreens. I love Martin Dies Jr State Park. I love the cypress trees. And they have some of the best home cooking here that you will find anywhere. But – I don’t like the smell of racism and oppression that lives like a white noise in the background. I don’t like the small-minded, redneck attitudes. I don’t like the way they treat their pets and other animals. I don’t like being around the logging industry (huge lumber trucks rumbling past on the highways; huge tracts of forest just gone, or with a few scraggly trees left behind). But I was able to enjoy Martin Dies for awhile, and that was a real treat. The sun was setting over the lake as I arrived Sunday evening [photo above]. I sat with my window and door open, enjoying the warmth of the evening, the slight breeze that carried in the smell of the evergreen pines and the lake. I drunk in the night sounds of the South (cicadaes and other insects mostly). I spent Tuesday morning at Martin Dies, walking around and especially enjoying the lovely cypress trees. 
This time of year they are bright orange, and add so much color to the landscape. I noted the "WATCH OUT FOR ALLIGATORS" sign, but, have still not seen any alligators here. :-( I spent the rest of the day visiting with my friends Kathleen and Rex. Unfortunately, I was still tired from all the driving I’ve been doing lately, so I wasn’t the best company, I’m afraid. But I’m glad I got to visit with them and they were tolerant and understanding. I parked Carri behind their house while I was in town, and let the cats play in the woods behind the house. Joey got to play chase a little with Kathleen's dog Willie. So we all got a break from being on the road. 
Before I left the area I drove over the Toledo Bend dam into Louisiana briefly, and to the campground where I stayed on the shore of Lake Sam Rayburn, and, stopped for awhile at the Cherokee Unit of Martin Dies Jr State Park - all drives down Memory Lane. I lived here for a couple months back in the winter of 2007/2008, while I was working for FEMA after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and I so enjoyed spending a couple days here again.
I don't want to forget to mention that I stopped at the Picket House in Woodville to get some of their fried chicken. Every day they offer fried chicken, and chicken and dumplings. Everyone gets biscuits and cornbread, and very good peach cobbler for dessert. And every day they have the best ever watermelon rind pickles. The sides vary from day to day - both in what's offered and in their quality. You'll probably get mashed potatoes and gravy, maybe green beans or collard greens, or cabbage or yams - all served country style. But the fried chicken is always there, and it's always the best anywhere. I couldn't leave without stopping in Woodville. :-)
I spent a couple of days in Livingston, which was a treat for me. I got to stay at the Escapees Rainbow's End RV Park, which was an excellent park; I will definitely stay again at Escapees parks as I run across them in my travels. I got to visit the Escapees National Headquarters, and got to take a peek into the mail center that has been forwarding me all my mail for the past few years. And I got to take a tour of the CARE center, which is the only one of its kind. It offers assisted living care at a very reasonable rate, for full-time RVers. It was a pleasant place, and felt more like a RV park than a nursing home, but, most important, the residents are able to be as independent as possible, and seemed happy there.
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