March 23, 2012

12:00 PM. Again, I got up early and got moving. It's been much easier travelling now that I'm away from the city. The smoke is behind me now, and I'm glad for that. No telling what chemicals are in that stuff...

I'm in Louisiana, and I've decided to head north toward Shreveport, then head east along Interstate 20. Don't know where I'm going exactly, I guess I'm just looking, hoping to find people alive somewhere.

Something strange I noticed, strange being a relative term these days, is a lot of dead birds. I don't know if the toxins from the refinery fire are what killed them, or something else. No other wildlife seems to be affected. And certainly not the dogs. They're doing just fine, much to my dismay.

2:45 PM. Stopped at a farm to look for diesel. The farmer had a little biodiesel production setup, and about 100 gallons of fuel made. I've been thinking about this, because I know the fuel sitting in trucks is slowly going bad. Anyway, the farmer had put together a very in depth manual on the process he used, so I put it in the Blazer for future use. I also poured his fuel in my tank, and filled some 5 gallon jugs as well. Too bad his truck had electronics, or I would have taken it as well. A 1 ton 4x4 with a large auxiliary fuel tank in the bed would come in very handy.

4:30 PM. Found a nice spot to camp for the night, fairly open and on top of a small hill. I'm going to feast tonight on canned meat and veggies which I found hidden in the industrious farmer's barn. A good, hot stew will be a welcome treat.

8:30 PM. Belly full of stew, a good stiff drink, and a nice little camp fire make this evening almost pleasant. I'm sitting by the fire in my camp chair, shotgun across my lap, under a clear, star lit sky. It's very dark now, something that has taken some getting used to. Never knew how much the lights from the cities back lit the night sky until they were gone. It's absolutely black on the new moon. Nice in a way, but frightening in many others. I know why settlers built fires on the frontier now, as I watch the glowing eyes moving around in the distance. The dogs won't approach the fire. I will tend it until it dies, then I'm off to sleep.