Heading Home Spring 2021

 Falls Lake State Recreation Area, just north of Raleigh NC was intriguing when we had stopped there for an overnight stop on our way down and it was going to be an easy enough ride for our first day heading back home.  Now, 2 weeks later, all 3 camping loops at Rolling View Campground were open but we still chose to park in Loop A – site 15.  The gravel parking pad seemed a mile and a half

deep and was surrounded by tall still naked trees.  The dammed up Neuse River (the same Neuse River that ran thru New Bern and out to the Atlantic Ocean!) was just down the steep, brown leaf covered, decline behind our site!  Each of the 3 camping loops was perched atop it’s own “mountain” and the park roads ran up, down, and around each of the small tree covered domes.  We’re going to stay a couple of nights so we can explore this interesting area more!

A hurricane-induced flood, back in 1945, was used as a guide for designing the strength of the Falls Lake Dam and the size of the lake.  Today this sprawling 12,000-acre lake is the main water supply for the city of Raleigh - providing 50 million gallons a day, and acts as flood reduction system for the many communities that have developed downstream.  We found the

massive earthen structure, which was completed in 1981 but since it was Sunday afternoon the parking areas below the spillway were all full to overflowing and the pathways and public fishing areas were in a “flood stage” of pedestrians out walking their dogs and other folks trying to catch a few fish!  We returned the next day and found several available parking sites so we unfolded the bikes to enjoy a sunny, almost warm Monday afternoon. We rode along the lower side of the river - rock filled and splashed with the white water that was escaping from the dam high above it!  It was very reminiscent of the pathway at the Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio.  Folks greeted each other as we all passed on our bikes.  I even spotted a noisy Pileated Woodpecker, hacking away at a tree near the path!  The visitor center was closed due to the virus but we walked along the walled sidewalks and viewed the dam from the “high” side. To and from the campground, the roads we took had names full of fun – Six Forks Rd, Baptist Rd and even Possum Track Rd!   We enjoyed the names and also the beautiful views as we drove along each one!

Back to West Virginia we headed.  We stayed on the expressway and did NOT take any more shortcuts this time!  It was back to Camp Creek State Park for a few more days.  The narrow road to the one loop campground paralleled the turnpike, but led thru a deep green valley, lined on both sides with small farms and crossed over the small babbling brook several times - instead of climbing up the

mountain like the turnpike did.  This time we were issued a “back in site” that had Camp Creek itself babbling right behind the “train”!  We had already walked to the waterfall at the end of the rutted gravel road on the opposite side of the creek, so this time we drove to the parking lot at the rustic tent camping sites and walked up stream to see the other beautiful layered curved waterfall that the area is known for.

Our intent this stopover was to revisit the New River Gorge and its 3,030 ft long, single span, 73 ft wide bridge that dominates the valley below it.  We’ve been here before - both on the motorcycle and in the silver Ford pickup that preceded H’s bright blue Ford truck.  In both of those visits there was a ONE lane, switchback two track “road” that zig zagged down the one side of the gorge and back up the same way. Now, after parking and walking around the bridge level visitor area we spotted the wooden walkway and steps that also zigged and zagged down the hillside.  The plaque at the edge listed 178 steps to the bottom and we KNEW that feat was not going to happen for us!  Back in the truck we chanced on seeing a sign for another road that pointed towards the gorge.  Part way down this also hairpin turn infested “path” was a sign that stated the road was NOT suitable for large trucks.  Too late!  We were in too deep and continued on with

our perilous decent.  Down, around and down some more, crossing back and forth under the 873 ft tall structure above us, we were finally level with the much smaller, narrow span of the one lane bridge that crossed the river to the other side.  This crossing was just a few feet above the racing water below us!  The mighty structure above us is the 3^rd highest in the US.  The Golden Gate is 746 ft high and the Mighty Mackinac is only 552 ft tall!   While there are longer bridges in the US – this amazing structure is the longest SINGLE SPAN Bridge

After crossing the river, the memories of previous adventures flowed back into our thoughts!  I remembered taking the same pictures of the same rapids and traveling back up that original road – I remembered the views from the underside of those mammoth steel beams from before.  This time tho – the roadbed is paved and there are guardrails now!!

When the following morning began to peek over the mountain we knew it was time to head home.  Back up on the turnpike, the highway led up the mountain as the sky turned peach colored.  The haze from the early fog that had settled in the valleys was still visible in the background.  This peaceful scene was not to last.  Soon we

were surrounded by the stampede of semi trucks that had also hoped for an early start on their long hauls to their own destinations.  Steadily, on we pushed on and arrived safely at home.  Soon H would be rested and ready to regroup for another adventure!

N. Carolina Spring 2021

 Day Trips each week and visits to Toledo’s well cared for Metro Parks, kept H’s wanderlust under control for most of the winter.   Thankfully, December and January were very mild in our area but when February hit, she hit with a vengeance – temps in the teens and 17 inches of snow!   I got to shovel snow and H finally got to make good use of his long neglected mega sized snow blower.  The trailer was still sitting in the driveway, blocking our view of the yard and grudgingly, it was snowed in.  Not for long tho – March arrived as did milder temps and soon the snow was just a memory!   Now H was really restless!!   Doctor visits done and a collection of un-fun tests endured so now he could concentrate on packing the train and making a run for the hills - - the “ hills” of West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina!

For being as costly as the Wva Turnpike is – it should have been better cared for.  It was a pricey, rough ride but our first night out was in Camp Creek State Park, south of Beckley.  Snuggled down in a long narrow valley, the small quiet campground was just what we were looking for – parked in an easy in and out pull through so our exit in the morning would be easy.  We had enough time after our arrival to go for a hike up and around the babbling brook that lead to a wide rocky waterfall that was noisily splashing it’s white water over the dark rocks that tried to keep it captive.

Camp Creek

Across the mountains of Virginia we leap frogged with all the semi trucks and their loaded trailers – with them slowing to a crawl up the mountain and speeding down the long downhill run on the other side.  A not so short cut took us off the busy expressway and down thru Mt Airy in North Carolina. Mt Airy is also known as Mayberry – as in the gentler days of Sheriff Andy Griffith!  Extremely disappointed – we drove thru the touristy downtown and continued our day’s journey to Falls Lake State Recreation Area – east of Durham and north of Raleigh.  Rolling View Campground is ANOTHER nice quiet woodsy campground with more than adequate spacing between sites and super long graveled parking pads! 

Croatan National Forest occupies a vast area next door to Cherry Point Marine Air Station and just southeast of New Bern.  Flanners Beach is the one loop, woodsy, campground that sits up on a high ledge of the Neuse River, which, in that area, is bigger/wider than some lakes we’ve been to!  Our time was going to be short so we had to make the most of it.  We had less than 2 weeks to explore around New Bern and coastal areas to the east so we hit the roads each day!  New Bern, established in 1710 by Swiss immigrants was named for the town of Bern in Switzerland.   Bern means “BEAR” and is the

New Bern city hall

town’s mascot and one can be seen on just about every corner.  The architecturally unique City Hall was built in 1897 and also has its resident bears – look on the sidewalk and then look half way up each side and look for the black bears!  The town sits on a huge wedge of land bordered on two sides by large rivers so there are tall lanky bridges everywhere!   Civil War History abounds, as the town was an important harbor for both sides.  It was also the site of the first capital of N Carolina.

To get to the barrier islands off of Morehead City you need either a high bridge or a ferryboat.  We did both!  The bridge out to Emerald Isle also took us to Fort Macon, a pre Civil War reconstructed fort on the north point of the barrier island.  Like most rebuilt forts it had the usual rooms and cannons but this one also had a Hot Shot Furnace

replica.  As seen in this photo, the BBQ looking brick structure was used to heat non-explosive cannonballs to a red-hot temperature before being pitched at unarmored wooden enemy warships.  The cold cannonballs would be placed on the shot rails, thru the wide, low “window” in the back of the furnace.  The cold balls would roll down over the fire and be heated before being transferred (with care!) to the awaiting cannon!  We also visited the North Carolina Maritime Museum farther south on the island.  While the museum itself was really interesting, the narrowness of the walkways and the amount of families strolling thru slowly, made us nervous so we left and crossed the street to visit the boat building part of the complex.  There we found a gentleman who was eager to explain about the 32 ft plywood trawler they were building.  Stacks of extra wood and antique outboard motors were stacked or hung everywhere!

A ferryboat was needed to get from Cedar Island out to the barrier island just south of Hatteras Island.  We had visited the area a VERY long time ago when we were much younger and still traveled on the motorcycle!  The ferry left the southern dock at 10 30am and our plan was to travel up to see the world famous lighthouse and then return via the same ferryboat.  The young woman in charge of tickets advised us that the last ferryboat back to Cedar Island and the mainland was at 4 30pm from the island of Ocracoke – which quickly canceled our day’s plans as there was not nearly enough time to get to Cape Hatteras and back.  It was decided that we would just explore Ocracoke and return in time for the last ferry off the island. What we had forgotten was just how long that ferryboat actually took – 2 hours!  The water on the inland side of the barrier islands was

almost glass like.  Some places you could not see where the water ended and the hazy sky began.  As we approached the island of Ocracoke, the channel was well marked.  It was obvious where the channel ended and the neighboring shallows began – huge rolling waves broke over that area and rolled away from the large lumbering vessel we were traveling on.

The small town of Ocracoke is like a miniature Key West – small cottages, narrow alleys called streets, a few tourist sites, several

restaurants and even a lighthouse - complete with a house and white picket fence!  Parking is minimal and entrance into or even around the lighthouse is forbidden.  North out of town we headed, with a stop so H could get his truck stuck in the soft sand as he attempted to make it out past the protecting dune, onto the beach where vehicles were allowed – with, of course, a “permit”.   Without his trusty air gauge, he tentatively let air out of the tires and then managed to complete a small circle out on the beach before making back to the solid pavement and hopefully replaced a nearly correct amount of air in the tires.  The island also boasts of wild horses, which turned out to be a pen of sad, bored looking ponies.  On the way up to the north end of the island, we

passed a long stretch of sandbags, the size of mammoth walrus’, stacked by the road in an attempt to keep the invading sand from totally covering up the narrow strip of blacktop.  On the beach side, the gently rolling waves, lapped at the wide flat sand.  Ah, the peaceful scene!  It wasn’t to last long . . .

Back in Ocracoke, in plenty of time for the ferry, we found a brightly painted, albeit - tacky looking taco truck parked on a back street and we bravely ordered chimichangas. The biggest chimi’s we have ever seen!  And SO delicious!  We were the first to line up for the ferryboat.  4 o’clock came and we were still the only ones there.  AND – no ferryboat!  H went up to the Visitor Center office and knocked.  He was told there was NO ferry that afternoon because the tide was too low to allow the boat into the harbor.  Frustrated and angry we rushed back up the 35-mile long island and got in line to wait for the next ferry to take us north to Hatteras Island.  We now had to drive up and out the top of that island in order to get back “home”.  It was a peaceful ½ hour boat ride (as the sun was setting!) but we were still agitated that we had a 200-mile drive ahead of us and - - it was going to be dark!  Thankfully we followed other vehicle’s taillights as they wound up and through the pitch-blackness of the long narrow barrier island.  We know we passed the famous black and white striped lighthouse somewhere but never saw it!

 

Our time was up.  Time to head home.  We’ve got more stops to make before we get there tho!

Summer 2020 Part 2

Stow City Park

October was our Fall Trip to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We stayed at Stow City Park.   The sprawling park itself had everything –a picturesque lake surrounded with brightly colored trees reflecting on the calm water, baseball and soccer fields, hiking/biking trails and a mammoth dog park that had it’s own lake!  The campground part was small and had no facilities other than electricity at each site but the bathhouse at the nearby baseball diamond was very clean and even had nice warm showers!  Of course face masks, hand sanitizer and wipes went with us wherever we went!   Cuyahoga Valley

Bike Trail

National Park has awesome bike and hiking trails that traverse woods, valleys and amble alongside a set of canals and locks from the old Erie Canal Days!

Tuesday was Senior Day at the nearby 64-room Stan Hywett Mansion in Akron and we were the first visitors there that cool yet bright morning!  In Old English, Stan Hywett means “Stone Quarry” and the 300 ft long Tudor Revival mansion is listed as the 6^th largest mansion in the US – behind the Biltmore!  History was everywhere as we strolled from room to ornate room!  Formal gardens and mammoth stone porches adorned the four sides of the 64,500 square foot “home” that was built for FA and Gertrude Seiberling in 1912.  Mr. Seiberling and his brother were the co founders of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron.  Originally the property engulfed 1000 acres including a quarry but has been slimmed down to 70 acres divided by bricked paths - lined and covered with delicate birch trees, kitchen gardens, flower beds, sunken gardens, a gate house, a greenhouse and a former stable, all of which were artfully decorated in fall attire of corn stalks, pumpkins and every color of mum imaginable.

From Akron we ventured even farther southeast, always on the lookout for more restored canals, locks and even covered bridges!  Fall colors abounded in the small but well kept Guilford Lake State Park.  We did find the canals, locks and even the covered bridge in Beaver Creek State Park after a morning of wandering back roads thru farm and forest!  We also found the Beaver Creek and the

Beaver Creek

vibrant colors of the trees that protected its jagged rocky banks.  A VERY tight corner/curve and a one lane VERY narrow bridge protected the visitor area from large RV’s and trailers and luckily, this time, we were not one of them!!

 On the move again, the “train” pulled out of Guilford Lake State Park and steadily moved west, this time thru the well kept Amish Countryside and the busy (in spite of the virus) tourist towns of Sugarcreek, Berlin, Millersburg and on to Loudonville.  Knowing that Mohican State Park there would be full, we headed up and around the corner to Perrysville and the Pleasant Hill Lake

Guilford Lake State Park

Campground.  While most of this huge park has been modernized, expanded and occupied by semi permanent campers, we chose the old section and away from the rest.   There were only a few well-spaced campers that moved in after us and we were on our way early the next morning.  It was time to head home where we knew it was safe.

Now, Christmas is here!  While our pretty little Christmas tree is still securely packed away under the bed in the trailer – this year, our home is adorned with decorations from my vast Christmas Collection that we haven’t seen in over 14 years!   Our Nativity Scene, which I purchased piece-by-piece when I was a teen, occupies the entire coffee table.  A 12-inch tree, from my working days at State Farm, is surrounded by H’s dollar store plastic train, from pre-marriage days, proudly sits on the kitchen table!

While this year, our holiday may not be as “Merry” as in year’s past, our wish is still for yours to be a blessing.   May you and your family stay safe, stay warm and stay well!  Till we can travel and be together again  - we are still  - H and B

Summer 2020 Part 1

 It’s December 17 ^th  – Christmas music is playing and I’m sitting at the kitchen table looking out the big window – at all the falling snow as it gently floats down outside.  YES – SNOW!  We should be in our favorite Salt Springs National Forest Campground in the Ocala Forest – but we’re not.  Instead we’re home, wearing long pants and sweatshirts and shoveling snow!  Our pretty little Christmas tree is packed away under the bed of the big “tan train” that is still sitting in the driveway.  Our home is decked out with a selection of Christmas items that we haven’t seen in 14 years – ever since we first began our winter adventures!   H made the decision just before Thanksgiving that we should stay home and stay safer since the “numbers” in Florida are way worse than they are up here in Ohio and Michigan!  He still gets restless but one day a week we take a road trip and sometimes never even get out of the car.  We do our grocery shopping online with pickup at the store.  Sunday Morning Church is Dr David Jeremiah on TV!

 

During the summer we slid the boat into a different pretty inland lake each week to see who would catch - the first, the biggest or the most fish!  Or the dice would roll and we would run the boat up the Maumee River, look for eagles and count all the freighters that were moored at the various coal or grain ports.  Google was always full of information on each vessel – her origin, where she was from and what she was hauling!

In July we chanced our first summer camping trip when H secured 5 nights at our favorite Petosega County Park and Campground up east of Petoskey. I’ve written about the park MANY times before, but this time was different – the new management will only allow 7 days camping and we could only procure 5 because it was fully booked for the weekends.  That infamous pipeline that runs from Canada, under the Straits of Mackinaw and south to Ohio had now been run thru the campground – taking out 13 campsites.  The pipeline was not allowed 500 feet near any campsite so the pipeline company agreed to build a new loop, restore 13 new campsites and add a new modern bathhouse.   Our site was rather secluded to begin with and the nearest neighbors were seniors and doing the “social distance” thing just like us!   We had to move out of the campground on Friday and had hoped to move to another county campground for the weekend.  That campground was nothing like our beloved Petosega!  It was way overcrowded and absolutely no social distancing - so we hurriedly moved on and headed farther south.  On the AuSable River, right near the Lumberman’s Monument is the peaceful and quiet Huron National Forest Campground.  No electricity and no water at any

National Forest Campground

 campsite however, the facilities were the cleanest outhouses we’ve needed to use in a long time.  During the night the storm hit!  We heard later that several trees in Petosega were uprooted and a big limb had fallen on the elderly 5^th Wheel that had taken our site.

 

August’s jaunt was revisiting yet another delightful State Forest Campground up on Tubb Lake near Big Rapids!  See Previous

Tubb Lake

Michigan Blog!  We had the Rockwood Trailer back then and the big picture window looked out over the beautiful little lake!   This time our even better campsite was at the end of the “cul-de-sac!   It was good sized, shaded, private and had it’s own little path to the waters edge to watch the delicate colors of the setting sun!  And the fishing wasn’t bad either.

Tubb Lake

H was really restless AGAIN in September and we headed north one more time!  Our first night was at the deserted Burt Lake State Park!  What few campers there were thoughtfully spaced out with several empty sites between each trailer.   As we attempted to begin our run for the Mighty Mac Bridge to the Upper Peninsula (the U P!!) – the truck would not start.  Thankfully H had brought his battery charger!  Our first stop was the nearest auto part store for a new battery.  With that problem solved we headed for the Woodland Park City Campground in Grand Marais Michigan, up on the jagged Lake Superior coastline.  The campground was crowded but we were only spending two nights there.  Our trusty bikes were unfolded and we headed off for town, which was just one block away!  Not much

had changed in the quaint tiny town but we still had to make sure the diner where we had gotten ice cream on our last, warmer visit was still there!  Our second day was spent out exploring the coastline, its myriad of waterfalls and having Pasties in Munising!

 

On this Lake Superior Circle Trip, our next stop was to be at another picturesque lakeside town – L’Anse, but we had to go thru Marquette first – dragging a 35 ft trailer!   Marquette is a college town whose busy campus takes up both sides of the main street in downtown!   Just north of town is Presque Isle Pointe Park and H decided we HAD to go see it because it sat high on the cliffs that overlooked the bay.  The views were breathtaking and the roads thru the park were too - because they were narrow and winding and there were no

parking lots that could handle the “train”!  We both held our breath for several of those tight turns!   Just east of Marquette, H found a tourist trap like no other and we HAD to stop there also!  Remember Solomon’s Castle we visited last winter down in Florida?  Lakenenland is another place that is built out of someone’s junk and turned into extremely unusual “sculptures”.      H failed to see the sign that “suggested” that no buses or trailers be taken thru the park and we had again held our breath on some of those tight, rutted roads that rambled thru the cluttered park.

 

We had one of the best sites in the pretty little L’Anse Township Park and Campground.  The park sits high on a bluff overlooking the Keweenaw Bay and it was our base for the next few days as we wandered up and back down the Keweenaw Peninsula and retraced our steps thru Fort Wilkins.  On our way up we detoured out onto an alternate route that took us up the coast on the west side of the

peninsula thru Eagle River and Eagle Harbor. Besides the small tourist town and the unique wooden bridge, Eagle River, named after the river, also sported a plethora of small waterfalls either along a narrow footpath or conveniently hidden in a deep crevice on the side of the road!  In Eagle Harbor, nestled in a natural harbor area we stopped to explore and H got out his drone and got several great pictures and videos.

 Up at the tip of the peninsula we found the very beginning of US RT 41, which finally ends up in Florida were it crosses the Everglades to Miami!

 

We spent one night at Indian Lake State Park before we headed back over the bridge to the Lower Peninsula and had one more night in Petosega – in the now opened loop!  That next morning started with a dusting of frost on the dainty little mushrooms, nestled in the still growing grasses between the campsites!   H still wasn’t ready to

head towards home so we meandered down along the Lake Michigan coastline from Petoskey, thru Traverse City and stopped for the day in Orchard Beach State Park near Manistee.  The park was almost full because it was Saturday but we selected one of the last 4 sites available – right on the end of a row with no one next to us!

Looking south over the Mighty Mac

Florida to Michigan

Hello, Dear Blog Friends – we are home – safe but very tired.  The trailer is in the driveway with its big brown nose pressed up against the garage door like an overgrown tan puppy, begging to get in.   It was a very rushed long drive home with only daytime stops for gas and 2 nighttime stops for sleep.  Now it’s time to slow down, breath and stay safe.

Cracker lake

Our one week stay at cozy Cracker Lake, evolved into two and then when the virus became more real and more folks were coming down with it, we stretched it to three!  Not wanting to take the chance on moving, H canceled our next move, which was going to be another RV park – a bigger RV park.                                       We rode up to Ruskin to see what the River Vista RV Resort was all about – it was indeed a beautiful RESORT, resting right on the banks of the Manatee River that runs thru Ruskin.  But – there were OVER 500 RV sites that were wall to wall.  NOT good unless you didn’t care about catching the virus.  It was a very wise choice to stay at Cracker Lake for that week number three!

We all know that H gets restless after staying 2 weeks in any one place so the 3^rd week was a push.  He did get the itch and we did take a ride to see the normally empty southern end of Coquina Beach.  Even with the instructions to “socially distance”, there were way too many people on that beach!  We distanced ourselves from the big bodies in not big enough suits, the gaggle of little kids running back and forth from the waters edge and the

teens - who didn’t care what was going on.   After all – it was THEIR spring break!  We walked to the much quieter and much less populated very end of the island where the bridge connects it to Longboat Key to the south.  The winds were light and our parking spot was away from everyone else’s so H got out his drone for a few gorgeous photos of the bay, the bridge and the vast expanse of the Gulf to the west.   That was to be the last of our days out exploring and enjoying our days of relaxation.  Stress was about to show it’s ugly head.

On Wednesday it was announced that Florida was shutting down all of it’s state and federal parks – that included our next two places to stay – Ross Prairie Greenway Campground in Ocala and Manatee Springs in Chiefland.  The shutdown was to go into effect on Friday at noon, but the park manager at Ross Prairie told H we would be allowed to stay Thursday night but had to be out on Friday.  When we pulled into the park that morning – the rule had changed and we were not going to be allowed to stay – no matter what H was told two days earlier.  We were only permitted to leave the tan train for a short time while we drove to my sisters home 3 miles away to pick up items she wanted to send home with us.  Without even entering her home we hurriedly packed the tote boxes in the back of the truck and without as much as a farewell hug, we returned to the trailer to hastily re-hook up and head for the highway and north to Georgia.

From Ocala to almost the Florida/Georgia border we dutifully stayed in our lane and let the other two lanes of northbound traffic whiz on past us on I75.  In Waycross Georgia, the Laura S Walker State Park was open and they did our registration over the phone

Clarks Hill 

from their driveway and even delivered our confirmation to us at the campsite after we were secure for the night.  Off again the next morning we continued our push for home.  As we crossed over the Savannah River via the Thurmond Lake Dam which bridges RT221 from Georgia to South Carolina we decided it was past time for breakfast so the Clark Hill Lake Rec Area proved to be a good spot with a great view of the lake and the dam beyond, for a great place to fix a delicious breakfast of grilled English muffin with fried egg and cheese!!  The propane stovetop in the trailer worked great to prepare our buttery treat!  For the rest of the day it was stopping only for gas until it was time to stop once more for the night.

Spring had come to Florida and Georgia – Bottlebrush, Dogwood, Azalea, and Magnolia were all in bloom.  In the Carolina’s Wisteria, Forsythia and Daffodils decorated the yards and

Bottlebrush

roadways!  By the time we got to Tennessee, clouds overshadowed everything. Then came the rain.  The deluge was finally letting up as we parked for the night in our less than favorite Warriors Path State Park on the outskirts of Kingsport.  Reservations were made while still on the road and our misspelled name was already on the campsite post when we pulled in.  Crooked and JUST barely off the narrow strip called a road - we didn’t care – we were parked.   In the morning, heavy fog smacked us in the face and slowed us to a crawl as we pushed north thru the mountains of Virginia.  Minimal northbound traffic thru Kentucky and even southern Ohio – until we hit I75 at Findlay, when it was bumper to bumper, 3 lanes of semi’s and now RV’s pushing in haste to get home to Michigan, Ontario and even Quebec.   We let them all pass!  Then we were home - - tired, but safe and with NO Covid 19 in our luggage!

We’ve been home a week. The snow has come like a thief in the night and is gone already.  Self-quarantine is still the mantra. 

We’re ordering our groceries online and H has ordered parts, received them, and repaired his truck!  Taxes are filed and census forms have been taken care of!  Next I need vegetable seeds for the garden.  It’s time to plant peas!

Zolfo Springs Fl.

We’ve never been to or thru Zolfo Springs in all the years we’ve been wandering Florida!  It’s a SMALL town at the intersection of North/South Rt 17 and East/West Rt 64. It has the Pioneer Restaurant on one corner, gas stations on 2 other corners, and a “historic” Pioneer Park and campground on the other.

  Just east is Cracker Lake 55+ RV Resort!  The “lake” is a pond – home to an equally tiny gator and a plethora of Spiny Softshell Turtles, which love to be fed – the turtles – not the gator – it is illegal to feed gators in Florida!  The park has several damaged trailers from a previous flood that are in the process of being removed, and several more empty sites where

other trailers have been taken out. The narrow roads thru it are dusty gravel but the grassy sites are green.  Our little road is called “Possum Trot”!  The “facilities” are clean. The laundry room is good!  The rec hall is busy several evenings a week.  H and I have even played bingo three times now and have not lost any money!  This little park was down but is slowly making a comeback!  The office manager is easy to chat

with and is SO accommodating!  Besides that – she’s from Lansing Michigan!  All the folks here are welcoming and very friendly, too – especially the ones from Wauseon and Defiance Ohio!!

Pioneer Park is a re-creation of

parts of an old Cracker (Cowboy) Village.  On our first weekend here was the annual Pioneer Park Days Engine Display and Show.  Rows and rows and rows of antique tractors, hundreds of “hit and miss” engines running various types of old equipment, washing machines and even ice cream makers!  Our dear friend from

Lakeside Ohio was there with a line up of folks eagerly waiting to “make a donation” and receive a big dollop of his very best homemade delicious creamy, icy treat.

One day we drove west on Rt 64 with the intent on re-touring the long touristy island at the west end of the road!   As we traveled west, in the distance we saw yet another dark plume of smoke filling the sky.  Oh no – more sugarcane?  But, wait - we were in orange grove and cattle country!  No – it was a prescribed burn.  As we passed the smoking landscape, the park rangers and firemen where out along the edge – keeping the blowing flames controlled as the fire was removing the dead brush under the tall pine and palm trees!  We detoured to check out a new to us state park – the 550 acre Lake Manatee State Park that sits on 3 miles of the 2400 acre, Lake Manatee Reservoir!  We’ve now added that campground to our list of new places where we want to stay!  Rt 64 runs straight thru Bradenton and out onto Anna Marie Island with all its traffic and beachgoers.  We avoided riding the shuttle bus that runs from one end of the island to the other and drove out to where the

Historic Anna Marie Fishing Pier used to stand with her long legs piercing the aqua waters.  It’s been years since the storm destroyed the old scenic pier but the new pier and restaurant are finally taking shape

WAY back in the woods in the rural area called Ona, is a well kept secret called “Solomon’s Castle”.  Thinking that it was not going to be crowded we chose to go explore.  We were one of the first tours to go thru but by the time we were ready to leave – the parking lot was full!  Howard Soloman was a wiry little man with an

imagination of a wizard!  I would need all the space that H allows me - to just tell you about the man and his shiny silver castle that he built out of throwaways and junk.  He was the original recycler!  Instead – go online and put in: “Solomon’s Castle – Weird US”.  Read for yourself!  You’ll want to come and check it out too!  It’s a HOOT!

We’re putting miles on the truck – besides west as far as we could go, we’ve gone south to Arcadia to get the oil changed in the bright blue truck and ended up strolling along the sidewalks of the historic downtown, lined with multiple antique shops and past the block

long pink and white building – the Rosin Arcade - built in 1926 after a fire destroyed most of downtown.  On the opposite side of the street is the 1906 Opera House and Museum. 

We drove east and then up to Avon Park’s historic downtown area and one day we headed north to Wauchula and Bowling Green to see the Hardee County Park and Campground which has FOUR lakes and shaded camp

sites on another!   Very pretty setting!  Yet another day we again headed for B.G. to check out the Payne’s Creek Historic State Park.  Not impressed with the park or the eroded banks of the ignored creek that runs thru it. Closer to home, Charlie’s Creek with it’s bare rooted trees clinging to the high banks for dear life were much more interesting as the creek meandered towards the Peace River and eventually the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Our one week at Cracker Lake turned into three. The coronavirus has hit all the counties west of us – from Collier County in the south, to several counties north of us.  Florida’s Governor and the President have called a State of Emergency.  H has chosen to NOT go out to eat anymore and is even concerned about going thru any fast food drive thru’s.  Definitely no more Walmarts! 

South Bay and Sebring Fl.

Having left the busy traffic of Lake Worth and pointing the nose of the bright blue truck to the west, we retraced or reversed most of our path of several previous trips.   As always - thru sugarcane fields in various stages of growth from fresh plowed black fields with seagulls soaring in circles overhead, scouring for any turned

over rodents for a quick lunch, to waving fields of tasseled grassy growth that would soon be enveloped in massive clouds of black, orange and gray smoke.

South Bay Campground is not new to us –SPFB –Feb 19, 2018, Feb 2. 2016 and Feb 10, 2015!   This far south and this far into winter should not have been as cold or as windy or as wet as this one has been.  And to make matters worse – the steep ramp up to the top of the levee that keeps Lake Okeechobee from spilling onto

Hwy 27, this county park campground and the tiny town that bears that same name – was closed to all traffic.  No one could get to the boat launch on the other side nor could any one wishing to ride their bikes or hike make the trek up the steep drive to the top.  The reconstruction of the levee is still going on after what seems like an eternity instead of a half dozen years or so. On our last visit the huge piles of rock and the large dump trucks that hauled them were farther west, towards Clewiston and we could still ride our trusty bikes towards Torry Island Campground around to the east and 5 miles up to the town of Belle Glade.  This time, our trusty little bikes never left the security of the truck bed.  Instead, it was the bright blue truck that drove up and over the levee at any other available site to check the water level on the other side or to see how far in either direction the repair work was progressing.

Torry Island Campground was full!  And our friends that we had met there on several trips before were not in their usual spot on the corner, right by the channel and under the big sprawling tree!    Up the road in Pahokee, the campground, which is on the INSIDE of

the levee, was also occupied by more big RV’s and motor homes than we had ever seen in the past.  The break wall of the harbor still wrapped around and was protecting another eclectic collection of strange vessels.  Along side one lengthy dock was moored a 195 foot silver barge that looked like it was from Star Wars or some other alien movie.  The Counterpoint II still carries the banner on her side of “American Waterways Wind Orchestra” from her days as a floating concert hall that has traveled around the world!  In the center of the barge is a hydraulic powered steel cover that rises 25

ft in the air to protect the center stage as an overhead canopy and diffuses the sound.  In 2017 there was a bidding war to purchase the vessel to keep it from being dismantled and destroyed.   The bid was won by the town of Pahokee and is now to be used as a center of music education for the local children – including those from Pahokee - one of the poorest communities in Florida.  Go online and enter: “From Pittsburgh to Pahokee Florida” to read more!

Sunday morning arrived and so did the sun!  The temps were finally warming up!  As H was finally getting to visit with our neighbors and I was showing the ladies my “wares” of potholders and other handicrafts, H was approached by the office staff and was advised that his reservations were up but if he wanted to, he could sign up for one more day.  We thought we had till Tuesday in our now warm and sunny site.  After checking his schedule, H realized that she was right and we hurriedly packed and made haste to move to our next reserved spot – in Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring!  Whew!  Good thing we had fixed breakfast already!

In Highlands Hammock we were on the backside of the campground and across the little road was the “hammock” of palmetto bushes, tall skinny palm trees and thin waving pines.  Our site this time was pie shaped and the electric and water were up by the roadway so we parked close to the power supply  - as did the tiny, rough looking OLD 1960’s era trailer with various shades of

faded paint and/or rust.  She also sat at a slight tilt!  We finally got to meet the proud owners of  “Ilean” (get it? Tilt! I lean!) and were given the grand tour of her well done, COMPACT, rebuilt interior in colors of black and white and trimmed in turquoise and peach!  Their goal for her is to take her to ALL of the National Parks and have stickers on her front and back windows to brag about their trips – just like I do with my jacket of many patches! 

Our “to do” list was checked off in good order  - rode our bikes out around the 3 mile, shaded blacktopped road loop.  Still no armadillos!  The walking trail and NARROW boardwalk out thru the swamp and over the quiet, dark patch of water, ladened with water lily leaves was still a must do.  A visit with B&C, just down the road in Lake Placid at their winter home in Camp Florida RV Resort was our top priority since we’d not seen them since last November up home before we each started our separate winter adventures!

If you ask H where he wants to go for lunch in Lake Placid, without hesitation the reply is Mexican – at Casa Tequila Restaurant!  Our plates are always clean when we are done!  We all met at Galati’s Family Restaurant in Sebring the evening before we were to move on.  The pizza is not as good as Buddy’s Pizza up in Dearborn Michigan but it was really good!  None is ever wasted!

Now we’re on to unknown territory.  We’ve never been to Zolfo Springs or the Cracker Lake 55+ RV Resort.  Let’s go see something new!