Day 10 - Mobile, Alabama

Left picture: truck and boat on side of street, at foot of driveway.

Right picture: looking up driveway at Marian's house from same location as other picture.

Today was the most interesting drive, primarily because I was not on a freeway for a good part of it. Left Marietta at 9 AM, at the tail end of rush hour. After I got out of the Atlanta megalopolis, traffic was light, even on the interstate, and remained light, even through Montgomery. I've been somewhat surprised at the preponderance of softwoods, presumably Southern Yellow Pine. What was disheartening was the massive severe clearcuts that seem to be the standard way of cutting forests. Not surprising that the streams are full of silt. The area southwest of Montgomery was noticably rural - there were few exits off the interstate because there weren't many intersecting roads.

I left I65 at Greenville and headed west on State Rt 10 for Camden. It was a good road, and I was surprised how little traffic there was on it. In the 43 miles to Camden, less than 2 dozen cars passed heading East. More often than not there were abandoned and rundown former corner stores at points where county roads intersected 10. When did they fail?

I wondered what sustained the economy of the area, and then saw more and more small sawmills, and then came upon a big International Paper plant. It was contiguous with a Weyerhauser saw and veneer mill. Also seen, in Georgia and Alabama: a giant Kia auto plant that appeared to be under construction or expansion, and another auto plant - I forget the brand - but both were huge.

Most homes are one story, and fairly small. Passed through a couple of villages that had big older homes, from a bygone era. There weren't enough homes to have neighborhoods, all seemed isolated, except in the villages. Reminded me of some areas of rural Maine, absent town centers.

Met with the folks at MCW shipping, they seem to have cornered the market for getting things to Big Creek, Belize. They are a division of Woodson & Creswell Lumber Co., and I think they are the primary importers of lumber into Belize. They provide a comprehensive service.

From there, and at their suggestion, went west on 10 and picked up US 43 that took me almost to Mobile. It was a 4 lane road with unlimited access, but went through the "real world", unlike the interstates. So why don't I take the side roads all the time? I would, except I think the wear and tear on the trailer would be too much - and it is uncomfortable driving when the trailer is bucking from an uneven surface.

Tomorrow I head west through Mississippi and Louisiana, perhaps getting into Texas. 800 miles to go - which represents about 1/3 of the overall distance to the Mexican border.