Christmas may be over but the enjoyment lingers on. That afternoon may have been spent enjoying
the company of D&S in Ocala but the morning was spent strolling the
beautiful walkways of Silver Springs Park - the 2013 addition to the Silver
Springs
State Park. The famous
entertainers no longer perform on its stage and the animals in its zoo are no
longer there but the gardens are still full of blooming shrubs and flowers and
the famous glass bottom boats still transport their passengers up and down the
river and pause over each of the deep blue springs. In winters past, H and I would ply the boat or canoe up the clear
sparkling river, counting alligators, beautiful wading birds and even wild
monkeys. We’d follow behind the much
larger passenger boats in the main spring area and listen to each explanation
before we’d gently glide back down the jungle-engulfed river. This time we strolled all the paths and
boardwalks, enjoying the Christmas decorations and talked about our fond
memories of being out on that water!
Our next stop over on this winter’s journey was at Highlands
Hammock State Park in Sebring.
Highlands County was named for its high terrain, and a “hammock” is
defined by Wikopedia as a fertile area in southern US (Florida!) that is
usually higher that its surroundings and contains hardwood vegetation and deep
humus-rich soil – hence the name of this park! Back in 1931, the local
citizens collected funds to purchase the
land so that the area could not be cleared for farming. The Civilian Conservation Corps put the
young men of the area to work, constructing the buildings, bridges and roads
throughout the park. A 3 mile
blacktopped loop affords cars, bikes and pedestrians a chance to experience the
deeper portions of the park. H and I
rode our bikes around the loop two times during our stay and of course we HAD
to walk out thru the swamp (SPFB!) and walk precariously over the narrow
boardwalk!
We explored the small town of Lake Wales in the rolling
hills of the highest ground of peninsular Florida and the home of Bok
Towers. We had already visited those
beautiful gardens years ago so this time, our adventure called for finding
SPOOK HILL! We finally found the Spook
Hill Elementary School and then the big sign that explained the legend of the hill. We did as the sign directed: stopped on the
white line and put the truck in neutral.
We slowly rolled back UP the hill – just as these two vehicles in this
photo are doing!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! The
park was jammed full of RV’s of all sizes and styles but since we reserved a
site so late – we did not get the best one.
We were surrounded by a gaggle of tents, bikes, trucks, kids and
dogs. Fortunately they were mostly well
behaved and New Years Eve came and went peacefully and quietly. We made new friends who were camped several
sites away. Debbie & Rich have a
2015 Hemisphere – built just several months after ours! Same size but it is the yellow tan instead
of our beige tan. Instead of a big
back window they have a gorgeous fireplace. The guys are the same age but D and
I are 10 years minus 3 days of being the same age! She sews and she knits!
Imagine!
Several times we drove down Rt 27 to Lake Placid to visit
with B&C in Camp Florida! They
returned the favor and we met in Historic Downtown Sebring and we enjoyed a
pizza - almost as good as the ones at Buddy’s Pizza up in Dearborn
Michigan! This restaurant opened at 4pm
and by 4:10pm they were lined up out the door!
Our stay at Highlands Hammock was not without its
problems. Our long narrow site was also
occupied by several tall trees whose roots spread out across the top of the
sandy, leaf strewn earth and kept trying to trip us! Sometimes successfully!
One day the water in the park was shut off. On our moving day, the dump station had an “out of order” sign
across the driveway! Ugh! Well, our
next campground surely would have a dump station that would be open for
business.
And that campground is Phipps Park in Stuart Florida. Phipps Park is a county park - right on the
St Lucie Canal that flows from the Atlantic Ocean in Port St Lucie to Lake
Okeechobee. And, yes – we’ve camped
here before but the campsites didn’t look like they do now. Then, the mammoth sites were deep and backed
up to a rough hedge row of palmettos and other small trees that lined the canal
– blocking the views of the peaceful river.
Now the still ample sites are full of sun and include wide-open views of
the dark tannic water and the variety of boats that prowl the river. Now we can see the St Lucie Lock and dam
just to the west. We can see the wading
shorebirds and the fish that jump and tempt them! The osprey that fly overhead, also! Just to the east of the campground is the Florida Turnpike and
past that is US 95 that runs from Maine to Miami!
