This  tree  drawn  by  Alex's  uncle  Dale  Straight
Alex at the Scarborough Faire Renaissance Festival in a homemade medieval style shirt, black pants, sandals, long blond hair.
Alex at the Scarborough
Faire Renaissance Festival
Alextown


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The Adventures of Cheryl and Alex
The Adventures of
Cheryl and Alex


Adventure Terminal | Adventures of Cheryl and Alex | Purtis Creek
Crazy cats, cramped cold quarters, and scary creatures. Our first night of camping may be our last.


Purtis Creek - Eustace Texas

Alex and I were so excited to finally be getting on the road. The plan was to camp at Purtis Creek for about a week. It took us a lot longer than we thought to load up our camping gear and the cats and head out. By the time we got to the park it was dark.

We drove through and managed to find the park host. She gave us a spot right next to her. She warned us about the raccoons. She said they would come right up to you because they were used to being fed. She told us to make sure we kept the cats inside the truck.

We drove down the road to the dollar store and got some charcoal and food and drinks. We probably should have gotten a flashlight. When we got back we realized it was too dark to do anything. We turned our focus to our sleeping arrangements. We couldn't put the tent up because we couldn't see. I would've been too scared anyway. I had read stories about raccoons coming after people.

We decided to sleep in the back of the truck. We'd fix the cats an area toward the cab and fix our area toward the tailgate. Why we thought the cats would cooperate is beyond me. The back was packed with supplies, so I started taking things out and loading them in the cab. Our two male cats, Haldir and Elrond, kept trying to jump out. Our camper top has two side windows and one back one that all lift up to open. Every time I went to a different window, the cats were there before me. Alex did a great job keeping them in.

At one point, I saw two shadows near the front of the truck. I stood there squinting, trying to see what it was and then I got really scared. I ran to the back and jumped in. I didn't want to get out again, but if we wanted space to sleep, I had to. By the time I had finished, the cab was completely full.

Spreading the blankets would have been easier if the cats hadn't been taking turns laying on them. Every time I pushed one aside, here would come another to lie down. After we were sort of settled, we noticed activity outside. We looked and saw a group of raccoons sniffing around. They raised up on their hind legs to get a better look at us. They were so beautiful, but really scary. I kept thinking they might find a way in and get us.

We watched them until they went on and then we turned in. At first, it was a nice soft bed and it seemed like it would be a very comfortable sleep. Then we realized we didn't have enough to cover with. It was really very cold. So I took some of our blanket padding and put it on top of us. Now the metal ridges of the bed were too hard for me. Alex had it better; he also had a sleeping bag.

I would rather hard than cold, so I covered up my head and tried to sleep. The cats had other ideas. They were all over us and my head appeared to be their favorite spot to lay. I began to think this might not be so fun after all. I decided we would not do the camping thing. In the morning I would surprise Alex with the idea of visiting his dad in New Orleans.

When we woke up, I told Alex what I was thinking. He was thrilled with it! He hadn't seen his dad in quite a long time.

It was an extremely cold morning and both Alex and I thought it would be great to have hot showers. We were conveniently parked right across from them, so we bundled up and walked over there. The water was not as hot as we would have liked and it ran out way too quickly, but all in all it was nice.

Afterwards, we dug through a ton of stuff to find leashes for the cats. We were going to try to walk them. We tried Galadriel first. She wasn't having any of it. She would only back up and try to get out of her collar. The boys wouldn't budge when we tried to get them to walk and the kitten didn't have a collar. So that didn't work out. I don't know why we thought it would.

I set their cages on the picnic table and put them inside. Then I moved everything I had put in the cab of the truck back to the bed of the truck. The cats cried and cried and tried desperately to get out of the cages. I felt really bad for them. I wanted to let them run but it's against the rules in state parks.

next - Purtis Creek - part two - keys locked in the truck, our first hike
or see the index a little farther down this page


Somewhere Over the Rainbow
This is one of our favorite travel songs. You can listen to it while you're reading.


The Adventures of Cheryl and Alex Index

Our Adventure Pictures
1) Home - Home? Isn't this story supposed to be about travel? 2) The Introduction - Just a little bit about us. 3) Here We Go - Our adventure begins.
4) Purtis Creek - Eustace, Texas - Our first night of camping may be our last. 5) Purtis Creek pt 2 - Keys locked in the truck and our first hike. 6) Logansport, Louisiana - A perfectly charming little town!
7) Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana - Real cajuns! 8) Lake Fausse State Park - Who are these boys? 9) Lake Fausse pt 2 - Swarming mosquitoes everywhere!
10) Metairie, Louisiana - Wow, did a hurricane just pass through here? 11) Where to Now? - Deciding on the fly. 12) The Deserted Hospital - Why would a hospital be left open and unattended?
13) No More Running - Facing the loss of my brother. ) )
) ) Holly Grove Cemetery - Visit a cemetery at night? ) Holly Grove Cemetery pt 2 - Are we really doing this?
) Kitty Dunk Dog - Our cat's self-defense technique. ) )
) ) ) Hollywood and Beverly Hills - The real life Beverly Hillbillies.
) ) Box Canyon Road, California - Getting up close and personal with a rattlesnake. )
) ) Alex Learns to Wire Wrap - Quartzsite, Arizona ) Contentment - I'm living my dream

Alextown Index

Medieval Kingdom -- Armor Pictures -- Hammond Renaissance Festival
Mom's House -- Photo Collection -- Mom's Writings -- Alex's Writings
The Cat Shack -- Cat Posters -- Magnets -- Cat Pictures 1 -- Cat Pictures 2 -- Cat Stories
Alex's Family Tree -- Surnames Index -- Relationship Index
The Art Museum -- Art Page 1 -- Art Page 2
InuYasha Club -- Puzzles -- Posters -- InuYasha Journal
Adventure Terminal -- Adventure Pictures -- Adventures of Cheryl and Alex
The Recreation Center -- Stick Figures -- PS2 Games -- Alex's Legos -- Martial Arts
The Library -- Learning Korean -- Learning to Read -- Judy's Cancer Journals

Thanks for stopping by! If you have comments about the site, please
send an email to Cheryl or Alex at gorillacheeze@aol.com

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Alextown Site Map -- About Alex
This  tree  drawn  by  Alex's  uncle  Dale  Straight