The weather was warm for January - a balmy 68 degrees. That, paired with rain earlier that day, brought the frogs out to serenade the world. It felt like springtime, and Stan suggested a dirt road ride.
       How many country songs are there about dirt roads? More than I can count. There's one about red dirt roads, and another about getting mud on the tires.
       Someone who wasn't raised in a rural atmosphere might laugh at what they call a redneck pastime, but I say don't knock it 'til you try it.
       Riding dirt roads is fun, providing you have a vehicle that can handle the unexpected conditions you may find. One night as we returned from out of town we took a dirt road shortcut and learned a portion of the road home had been washed away. We drove through the washout with no problem, but if we had been driving a low-slung car, no way.
       During the day, it's fun to explore dirt roads you've never traveled. You see country you've never seen, and learn more about the area you're rambling around.
        I love finding farms with old barns and houses. You never know what you'll see around the turn, and that's the way we discovered a unique wooden bridge in nearby Candler County. It's the way I found a short cut to the farm where I buy hay, and the way I discovered a pasture I once leased for rescue horses.
       On dirt roads, you don't have to observe a minimum speed limit. If someone pulls up behind you, all you have to do is pull over and let them pass, then continue your leisurely cruise at your own pace. It's a relaxing way to spend an evening with friends or a loved one - it gives you a "peaceful, easy feeling," especially if you have the Eagles playing on the stereo.
       As a young adult, one of my best friends put many a mile on our cars, driving and singing along to the Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Steve Miller Band. Her now-adult sons tell me we scarred them for life, since they were forced to sit in the back seat and endure our antics. But now, they absolutely love the Eagles.
       It was already dark when Stan and I took off on our recent romantic moonlight dirt road ride. The Dodge took to the roads almost as if it knew the way. We began on roads we knew, but when met with a crossroads or fork in the road, we always took the road we'd never explored.
       Things look different at night. Sometimes spooky,sometimes beautiful. The first unfamiliar road we took that night was lined with dense forests and rows of tall, straight pines forming a natural fence along the way.
       Another turn had us staring face to face with a raccoon. Startled, its eyes flashed red and it scampered away, fat butt waddling as proof that food was plentiful this winter.
       We saw deer in the fields, sometimes darting across the road in graceful flight. We saw owls swoop in front of us, and enjoyed the moonlight as it glittered onto the waters of overflowing ponds or swollen creeks.
       There was ample evidence of the recent torrential rains and sodden ground - roads showed the scars of running water. Ruts, gullies cutting thin ditches across the road, or wide wash-outs where gushing waters swept away the dirt, sand and clay after the rain. We were taking it slow, so easing through the wash out wasn't so bad.
       Another unfamiliar road gave us a delight - an old farm with a well-restored old house, and several barns and outbuildings silver with moonlight. The night was calm, millions of frogs were croaking from the water-filled ditches and overflowing creeks, and I was happy.
       Sometimes it's the simple things in life that are so important. Out of all my childhood and teenage memories, my early adult experiences, one thing is a constant; dirt roads.
       As a child, our family walked "around the block" on dirt roads. I learned to watch for treasures such as unusual rocks, or interesting items tossed from passing cars. Sometimes we found turtles or saw snakes, and I learned a lot from walking or riding my ponies down dirt roads teeming with life.
       Friendships were forged as we teens cruised Bulloch County's dirt roads. And as I grew older, a romance or two started with a moonlit ride, much like the one my husband and I enjoyed just the other night.
       You can have the night clubs, the movies, the dinners out with drinks afterward. For me, nothing is as relaxing or romantic as a nighttime dirt road ride with the man I love.
       Try it. You just might like it.
       Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at 489-9414 or by e-mail at hbragg@statesboroherald.com.