Time to do laundry and time to move! Both accomplished and we moved the “motel” to another one of our favorite spots in the forest – Juniper Springs! Look back at last December’s blogs to read all about the springs and the campground itself!
H treated us to a wonderful bacon and eggs with cheese breakfast on Thursday and off we went to find the sinkhole that he had been told about when we were parked in Salt Springs. By the forest maps, it was way closer to Juniper Springs so cross country we went. Now, I suppose that if you had never seen Hocking Hills or the Red River Gorge that this phenomenon would be something to see. The half-mile hike was interesting and H kept me amused by his incessant fussings about bears and how far it was! The actual “hole” was 120 some feet deep, which by Florida standards is pretty deep, however in the last 100 years it has become overgrown with trees and scrub. There was a wide, well spaced set of stairs going down to the bottom and we went part way down and had no trouble getting back to the top. Also on that exploration venture we parked and watched a gorgeous bald eagle soar overhead and then land in the top of a dead tree! Sweet! At one point of our wanderings, it looked as though the yellow sand road just disappeared into the dark green trees in front of us and then in the distance you could see it reappear and climb the far hill! As we got close the road made a sharp left turn and took us around an isolated little lake and surrounding prairie land. Then up the far hill we went! H even dared to turn onto a couple of two track roads but soon turned back when they got too “scratchy” for the sides of his “still almost new” Jeep.
Back in camp we walked the grounds and trails to see if we could see any changes from last year when the campground was closed due to forest fires. At the beginning of the camping circle we were parked in was an older couple in a motorhome from Holland Michigan. They had a flagpole made out of pvc pipe – sorta like the neat one that Bud had made for us several years ago. It drove me nuts because it was put together backwards! We HAD to stop and ask the man if it had come in a kit and he replied that his niece had made it for them. The next time we went by their site and they were not there - - we HAD to fix it! Was it a “random act of kindness” on our part or did it just plain drive us nuts to see it that way?
Friday morning started out with rain and it continued all the way as we drove to Ocala. We are now parked in Ross Prairie on Rt 200, just south of Ocala, for the next week. We’ve put 1500 miles on the Jeep since we left home and H has already had its oil changed since we’ve been in Florida. We’ve been eating from the stash of goods we brought in the freezer, refrigerator and cupboards so next we need to go find some groceries. And we’ll be meeting Dick and Sharon for burgers tonight! It seems like forever since I got to see my sister! It was last March when we bid them fond goodbye and started our trek home! Dick’s birthday is Monday and I MUST sing to him - again!
