Nutall Rise

The last time Old Folks went looking for Nutall Rise he couldn't find it.

Rather, he found a general store that claimed to be in Nutall Rise, and expressed ignorance of the place Old Folks was looking for, across Highway 98, on the other side of the highway, and closer to the river.

The Nutall Rise Old Folks was looking for was north of Highway 98, where the river went underground, and there was a land bridge across it. There was a sinkhole, with trailers on either side of it, and a café, where you could buy a beer, and a pack of nabs. A string of beef jerky full of chemicals that made bacon look healthy.

Old Folks was sitting in the café in that Nutall Rise one afternoon when one customer offered to buy another customer a beer.

"When I come to town," he said, "75¢ don't mean a Gott damn thing."

He considered the café at that Nutall Rise town.

The fish camp on the Aucilla River Old Folks stayed in was no longer there. All that remained was the boat ramp.

But Old Folks was not convinced the Nutall Rise he was looking for was gone.

He went to the library and looked at a quad map.

The quad map showed little dots, that looked like trailers.

He thought he saw what road to take, to get to them.

An adventure travel correspondent will go off the beaten path.

Maybe they'd take a book, a plastic book stand, and a laminated For Sale Here sign.