Out of the Wilderness

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 – Woman Folds and Joins the Flip Side

Is it one of those things where consumers are demanding a foldable phone, or are the phone makers telling us we want a foldable phone? I guess that’s sort of the question that’s always on the forefront of marketing, especially in the tech world. Whatever the answer, Samsung is pushing hard for consumers to adopt a phone that is set apart from boring tech like the iPhone. Take a look at their latest “horrific” commercial.

It’s like a mini horror movie. I love it! Also, is this not what happens to us when we’re shopping for something specific? Let’s say I need a new pair of shoes and I like Brooks. Then everywhere I go, all I see are people wearing Brooks. I think it happens with car shopping, too. Last year I became obsessed with the Jeep Gladiator. Once it was stuck in my mind, I started seeing these Jeeps everywhere I went. To look at it in a more sinister way, especially with how “big tech” is nowadays, if I were to search for Brooks shoes online, I’d start getting Brooks ads in my Facebook timeline or Instagram feed.

What we want becomes all we see.

This is definitely the case with this woman in the commercial. It’s a nice burn of the Apple iPhone, too. Truth be told, most smartphones do what we need them to do for us (email, social, YouTube, etc). But Samsung is offering us variety in a major way. Instead of the next slightly different and newer version of the iPhone, why not pick up something that is truly unique and solves problems we encounter with phones (taking a group shot, for example)?

Consumers will determine whether the flip-style phone catches on… again. But if we’ve learned anything from this ad, it’s that there’s a lot more out there than the iPhone. 😉

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

Village Creek, Texas – Deer, Mosquitoes, and a Giant Spider

Texas doesn’t seem so far away from Florida, but I *think* that’s because I’ve been stopping to camp along the way. Recaps of my trips can be found on the Camping Stories page. Check it out! OK, so I spent 3 days in Village Creek State Park.

The plan was to kayak, bike, and well I guess that’s my plan at every state park. Am I really that simple?

*stars into the abyss contemplating the meaning of life*

Snap out of it! Ok, I’m back. Village Creek is a small state park in Lumberton, Texas, with only around 20 campsites for RVs/trailers. It was easy to figure out the lay of the land because there’s one road in and it’s basically a straight shot to the creek access, and that’s where the road ends. Either you put a canoe or kayak in, or you turn around and go think about what your purpose in life is.

I decided to kayak.

I paddled one way, then paddled back. The current wasn’t too bad. I came up on a family swimming. I swore if I heard a banjo, I’d paddle faster and never look back. “Deliverance” jokes aside, it was enjoyable. The biggest downside was the distance from the campsite to the boat launch area… about half a mile. Not too bad, I guess.

The second day I was calling a day of photography. So I walked back towards the creek (camera batter fullyl charged!). That’s a reference to this story of a deer swimming across the creek and my battery almost dying. I walked on some of the designated trails and snapped a few photos between mosquito bites. Seriously, I need to be more consistent with bug spray, especially in early September when it’s still hot. You know when you go to Golden Corral and you eat from the buffet? On this hike, I WAS THE BUFFET. So many mosquitoes. But here are a few pics.

Overall, I enjoyed the park. The creek was the highlight. I didn’t hike all of the trails, so I might have missed out on more wildlife. With that said, the deer crossing the creek is something I won’t forget and for that alone, I’m glad I stopped here. If you go, definitely explore the creek area but don’t forget your bug spray!

-Out of the Wilderness

The First Time I’ve Seen a Deer Do This!

I’ll write more about my 3 days at Village Creek State Park in Lumberton, Texas but there’s one really cool story that needs to be told on its own. Hello, I’m Ben and I write daily here at Out of the Wilderness. I’ve been living in a camper and traveling around the southeast. I’ve got quite a few stories (for camping recaps, click here) but here at Village Creek, there was another “first.”

One morning I decided to spend time doing a photo adventure around the park. How the campground is situated is that the only road in the camp leads you to the campgrounds then down to the river where the it dead-ends. Therefore, I would walk down to the creek taking photos on the way and way back. It was around 830am so I was hoping to catch whatever critters were waking up and perhaps just starting their morning routines. The biggest hiccup happened just a few minutes into the adventure. Does anyone else procrastinate, then forget what they were supposed to do entirely? That was me this morning. I forgot to charge the camera! So there I am trying to capture nature at its finest with a camera that has 3% battery left. Lord, how do you put up with me sometimes!?

I’d like to say I was deliberate and efficient with the use of the dwindling battery power, but the truth is that most of the pictures I took felt rushed. This is because I’d see something to photograph, turn the camera on to quickly snap a photo, then switch it off. That’s not the best way, and it might be the worst way, to enjoy a photo tour around a state park. It led to shots like this…

Rushed. If I had plenty of battery, I might not have missed that osprey gliding over the creek. I managed to spend a little extra time on these shots below, thinking they might be all I get before the battery dies.

The battery was down to 1% now but as I tried for more photos, the warning indicator started flashing. The end was near. Very near. My battery about to die…

At least I made it to the creek, I thought to myself. For what, though? Just to have anxiety about the battery? Then all of the sudden, movement on the shoreline. I glance over to see a doe dipping her head low for a sip of water. Oh my goodness! I quickly turned the camera on, knowing full well it could shut off at any second. Wait, what’s she doing!?

She’s not drinking water, she’s crossing the creek! I’m halfway panicking that the camera’s about to power off but I just zoom and click like it’s 1999. Panic gives way to admiration. In what felt like an instant, I decided to simply enjoy the moment and if all I have are memories, that’s cool, too. But honestly, I’d be pretty ticked off if the battery went dead. Just being real 😉 Thank you Jesus, there was enough juice to stay on for the photos I got below…

It was a close call but this experience with the deer DIDN’T turn out like my brother’s college graduation or that time my brother-in-law caught a huge nurse shark. Do you have those kind of moments where you thought you hit ‘record’ on the video camera but you didn’t? Yeah. Not my best moments.

But this deer crossing will be one of my favorite camping moments for a long, long time.

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

The One-Eyed Deer

What usually happens when you see a deer? More often than not, the deer will freeze and at least for a few seconds, wait for you to make the next move. Then they’ll take off. It’s not that you mean them harm or anything, they just have a built-in fear of humans (predators?). I’ve noticed this especially being true with fawns. Most of the time they don’t even pause to find out what you’re doing. They see you and boom they’re gone. If there’s a doe with them, she might be less haphazard about it but will join up with the fawns or else the fawns will follow her deeper into hiding.

I was riding my bicycle the other day when I saw a couple of fawns in the distance. In order to keep from spooking them, I stopped quietly and took a few pictures from way off.

Then I slowly pedaled closer and the fawns were as ready as could be to gallup away. The mama deer trailed them, keeping a watchful eye on me. In fact, she didn’t run away at all. I rolled to a stop where she was just a few feet off the road. The fawns had retreated a safe distance away, waiting for her, I’m sure. I caught on pretty quick that this doe wasn’t like others I’ve seen. Not only was she not retreating, but I noticed she took a few steps TOWARDS me! I remember thinking, “Is this where I get attacked by a deer and no one’s here to see it?” All I could think is that I’d drop my bike and run! Pretty smart, right? Give up a bike that goes pretty far pretty fast to flop around on my feet while an angry deer fights me. I raised my camera. It was then she gave me a look, another moment I’ve not experienced before. It’s as if she was saying, “Do you feel lucky? Well, DO YA??”

She hadn’t attacked me yet when I looked into her eyes and it was then very obvious this deer won’t, and hasn’t, taken any crap from anyone, ever.

That’s another moment I won’t soon forget. This deer has been through some things and lived. She is strong and fearless protector of her babies. When a potential threat arises (in this case, me), she doesn’t back down. She stands between harm and her fawns, not thinking twice about raising hoof to face, I’m sure.

As far as what’s going on with her eye, I have no idea. I wasn’t about to get a closer look, either. I rather not have hoof-shaped scars all over my body.

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

First Time Camping in Louisiana – Fontainebleau State Park

Hello there and thanks for stopping by today. I’m making my way around the southwest United States, kicking of a camping adventure in Big Lagoon State Park (recap here) and the next stop is Fontainebleau State Park, across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. A lot went into picking this campground because my original reservation was for Grand Isle State Park (also in Louisiana)… but that one got cancelled because they’re working on restoration after Hurricane Ida. It’s a little weird because I was able to make the reservation months ago but maybe they got behind schedule. It happens! I scrambled a bit to fill in the new 4-day gap caused by the cancellation. The campground amenities I look for are bodies of water, hiking, and good photography locations. There are a few state parks in the general New Orleans area but FSP stood out for it’s access to water (lake/ocean) and photography potential, so I booked it.

I’d love to say I took advantage of everything I could’ve, but I don’t think I did. Careful to stay away from people, I rested (but still rode my bike and walked the dogs… and took photos, of course!) as much as possible because of a second case of COVID. The first time I had COVID is chronicled here. I still had enough energy to bike around, swim in the lake, and take the dogs out to do their business. I didn’t do any running, which I would’ve done if I wasn’t worried about wearing myself down unnecessarily.

Overall, though, I liked the park. I’m not sure I loved it. There were mosquitoes, love bugs (if you’re from the south, you know what these are), and lots of standing water. I guess that’s to be expected in the Louisiana low country. I didn’t even get my kayak off the roof of my truck, either.

On the upside, I found two bucks on the ground. Deer, that is! The male deers were certainly chasing after a doe that was nearby. The doe was on one side of the road, the bucks on the other and when I rode my bike between them, the bucks were probably ticked off that I interrupted the smooth game they had going on with the lady. She didn’t seem to mind me crashing the party though, as she took the opportunity to run away.

I didn’t have my camera for that encounter but here are a few photos of my time in the park…