Friday July 9th 2021
The best way to describe the weather today is using the word “wet”. It was humid when I woke up this morning, but there wasn’t any sound of rain on the roof of my RV home. When I got outside a little later in the morning to finish my setup tasks I found that it was actually raining very lightly. It was just a little more than a mist, but enough that I was wet through in a few minutes. Checking the forecast a little drizzle seemed to be the best part of the forecast. Heavier rain was in the forecast for later in the day.
I set out in the drizzle to tour some of Fontainebleau State Park. I walked through the campground to the beach area on Lake Pontchartrain. It was necessary to stay on the roads. The grass areas in then campground and picnic area were soggy to flooded. I would estimate the walk to be about half a mile to get to the empty beach. Visibility across the lake was limited by the low ceiling. I wasn’t there long before it became clear that a strong storm was approaching across the lake. The wind really picked up as I took cover in one of the picnic pavilions.
After about twenty minutes the sound of thunder had moved from over the lake to inland and the rain was letting up. I started back toward my RV home at a brisk pace. The fields that I couldn’t cross before were flooded even worse on my return trip. By the time I got back the rain had let up to a light drizzle, but I was more than a little damp.
The sky was a little brighter over the lake late in the afternoon. A few people were even swimming. 
By 4PM it was a little brighter outside and nothing was falling from the sky. I made another walk to the beach at Lake Pontchartrain. This time I could see the causeway across the lake and some of the other characteristics of the lake. Some of the New Orleans skyline was almost visible twenty plus miles on the southern bank. I suspect in might be impressive on a clear day.
The most unique aspect of today’s exploration happened during my return walk. I met three of the campground’s wildlife residents. The deer were grazing in the primitive camping area. They didn’t seem to mind me taking their pictures. When other people stooped to watch the deer, they got spooked enough to wander off into the woods in the other direction.
Overall the weather wasn’t great, but the day wasn’t a total washout. The temperature only got a little above eight. It was in the high seventies most of the day. Tomorrow is forecast to be warmer with scattered thundershowers. I think that is a little more optimistic forecast than today’s.
Rob's Rambling Road Trip 