Beware of snakes

Yesterday around 5 or so, a sheriff pulled over and asked if it was me causing a traffic jam. It seems some ne'r-do-wells were calling the sheriffs department to let them know how they felt about transients in their fine town. I explained that it was BS and he shook his head acknowledging the truth of the situation. There was a Mickey Dees in town and I wanted a hot meal and let him Ithat's wherei was Ieaded. Then i asked if he knew of a place I could pitch my tent for the night and he let me know of a picnic area a few miles outside town. He said it was a place by the river with picnic tables and a cabin, and that normally it would be a problem, but that I could pitch my tent being the cabin for the night. He did warn me about the snakes, but I showed him my trusty stick that I used for snakes and warding away mean dogs. But I considered myself warned and moved on to the McDonalds. It was late in the day and I hated being in town towards the evening because its hard yo find a good spot for the night. I ate my burger and then headed out. The picnic area was 6 miles away and I had to pick up my pace if I wanted to make it before dark. On the way, I spied some good spots just in case, but there were too many cars going by and it wasn't dark enough to stealth into them. So I headed on. And made it to about a half mile from the picnic area. But there was all kinds of construction going on, and no shoulder to walk on. As I approached the area, I saw a truck just sitting there with its lights on, with no apparent reason to be doing so. That made me wary. Its been my experience that the only reason someone does that is to harass. But as I got close to the truck, I decided on the offensive and waved and walked up to the trucks driver door. I asked if they knew where the picnic area was, that the sheriff had told me about, and made sure to mention that it was the sheriff who sent me down this way. The driver's name was Duane and he had seen me walking several times on various jobs to Tallahassee, and he figured I would have problems with the construction area, so stopped to help me get past it. I was pleasantly surprised but thankful. So we loaded up my cart and he dropped me off at the picnic area a little down the road. I thanked him again and he left. The picnic area was old and out of repair. The picnic tables were concrete stained from disuse. There wasn't any cabin but there was a small building for the men's and women's restrooms. That's when I figured it out. That sheriff Doolittle wasn't actually being a decent human being, and his warning to watch out for snakes was a metaphor. It seems that this particular picnic area was a place for discreet liaisons and the sheriff was having fun at my expense. I never intended to setup my tent behind the "cabin" as I don't like people knowing where I sleep. That the cabin was a restroom made it doubly imperative that I find another spot. It was dark but I headed into the woods behind the picnic area. On one trail I found a chair against a tree. Not wanting to know what kind of uses that the chair would involve, I headed deeper into the dark woods. After finding a spot, I setup my tent and tried to sleep. Throughout the night there was plenty of traffic to the picnic area. More than you would think, blaring rap and bass music, gunning engines like they were on the prowl. I sleep fitfully without any kind of mischief happening near my camp. The lesson I will take from this will last a lifetime. Beware of snakes. Especially those wearing a badge.