Monday, March 28, 2011
NE Florida
Another new Florida State Park patch for my bright blue jacket! Favre-Dyke State Park has only 23 campsites and is at the end of a very long, very sandy, very winding, very narrow tree lined single lane forest road right off of Rt 1, 17 miles south of St Augustine. Once settled in, it was time to go explore the beaches! From Anastasia State Park, south to the inlet you can still drive your 4x4 vehicle on the wide flat sandy beach. During the day the charge is $7 but after 5pm the drive is free! The really nice lady at the guard desk said to come back after 4:30pm and she would look the other way! 40 minutes of shopping and we were back, waving to her as she left her post, her shift for the day being done. The speed limit on the beach is 10 mph and is one way – south. In the distance we saw a colorful semi circular kite weaving back and forth across the beach. As we approached, we found, anchored to the bottom of the kite lines, a young man whose feet looked buckled to a rather large skateboard with oversized wheels. It was like watching the Olympic snowboarders zinging from one side to the other and flipping up and around, grabbing their boards as they hung in mid air. So was this young man as he wove across the sand and back, leaning into the kite lines to change his direction.
Sunday was Flea Market Day in St Augustine! What a bunch of “stuff”! And we didn’t buy any of it, but it was fun to look. Instead we donated some funds to Wal-Mart and got the oil changed in the Jeep since there was no trailer attached and the change was overdue.
On Monday we had a very long road trip ahead of us – 50 miles from St Augustine to Jacksonville - but H still took his time and enjoyed his morning pot of fresh brewed coffee and the Good Morning America show on TV. Up Rt 1 we went and over to A1A, then north to Jacksonville along the Atlantic coast sometimes lined with dunes and tall sea oats and sometimes the view was completely blocked by ritzy homes with fancy landscaping and steep cement driveways. Ron had told H about a very nice city park that was right on the ocean and we headed there!
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park has a full hook up campground of 293 sites, a nature preserve, 3 levels of off road bike trails, hiking trails, a 33 acre fresh water lake and a mile of Atlantic coast beaches. The wooden boardwalks that led to the beach were lined with the Live Oak trees, whose dark limbs stretched out like knarly witch’s fingers entwined and dripping with silvery Spanish moss, so reminiscent of many Northern Florida/ Southern Georgia back roads.
Our next stopover on our slow trip north was Ft Clinch State Park on Amelia Island in the extreme northeast corner of Florida. The 3 miles from A1A to the campground amazed me at each of our entering and exiting! When the sun was shining, only a portion of the sunny rays managed to make it thru the under-canopy of mossy doilies being held aloft by those knarly fingers! While at Ft Clinch we toured the old fort again but this time without the really neat young corporal tour guide. The fort is in a constant state of being restored but it still was familiar and brought back fond memories of when we were there with R&N! We walked the beach and strolled all the way out on the lengthy fishing pier that extended out into the ocean. I took more pictures and gathered more seashells! And of course we HAD to check out the touristy little town of Fernandina! See our Previous Florida Blogs to see the fort and more details of the area! And double click the photos to enlarge them!
From Amelia Island it was back to the mainland and, sadly, north out of Florida. Savannah is on H’s mind!
Sunday was Flea Market Day in St Augustine! What a bunch of “stuff”! And we didn’t buy any of it, but it was fun to look. Instead we donated some funds to Wal-Mart and got the oil changed in the Jeep since there was no trailer attached and the change was overdue.
On Monday we had a very long road trip ahead of us – 50 miles from St Augustine to Jacksonville - but H still took his time and enjoyed his morning pot of fresh brewed coffee and the Good Morning America show on TV. Up Rt 1 we went and over to A1A, then north to Jacksonville along the Atlantic coast sometimes lined with dunes and tall sea oats and sometimes the view was completely blocked by ritzy homes with fancy landscaping and steep cement driveways. Ron had told H about a very nice city park that was right on the ocean and we headed there!
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park has a full hook up campground of 293 sites, a nature preserve, 3 levels of off road bike trails, hiking trails, a 33 acre fresh water lake and a mile of Atlantic coast beaches. The wooden boardwalks that led to the beach were lined with the Live Oak trees, whose dark limbs stretched out like knarly witch’s fingers entwined and dripping with silvery Spanish moss, so reminiscent of many Northern Florida/ Southern Georgia back roads.
Our next stopover on our slow trip north was Ft Clinch State Park on Amelia Island in the extreme northeast corner of Florida. The 3 miles from A1A to the campground amazed me at each of our entering and exiting! When the sun was shining, only a portion of the sunny rays managed to make it thru the under-canopy of mossy doilies being held aloft by those knarly fingers! While at Ft Clinch we toured the old fort again but this time without the really neat young corporal tour guide. The fort is in a constant state of being restored but it still was familiar and brought back fond memories of when we were there with R&N! We walked the beach and strolled all the way out on the lengthy fishing pier that extended out into the ocean. I took more pictures and gathered more seashells! And of course we HAD to check out the touristy little town of Fernandina! See our Previous Florida Blogs to see the fort and more details of the area! And double click the photos to enlarge them!
From Amelia Island it was back to the mainland and, sadly, north out of Florida. Savannah is on H’s mind!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Ocala National Forest
The Ocala National Forest is home to Florida’s biggest and prettiest natural springs! Alexander Springs is one of the top 2! 72 million gallons of crystal clear water a day!! The large dark blue basin is a magnet for snorkel and scuba divers alike! And we were drawn to it each of the 3 days we stayed in the campground. The edges are lined with waving sea grasses teeming with curious varieties of sunfish and ones that look almost like a perch! Even with my bright blue snorkel mask and big long fins – if I just floated quietly – they would come right up and peck at my outstretched wiggling fingers. On one of our swims, we followed 3 scuba divers out and marveled at the sight of them heading deeper and deeper into the blue water while the tiny air bubbles from their oxygen tanks floated back up to the sunshine at the top.
The park has a nifty nature boardwalk that follows around the spring and has 2 fishing piers /resting areas along the way. The birds were singing and the sun was sparkling down thru the newly green leaves of the forest. No snakes and no alligators were seen on this visit! SPFB!! We even took time one afternoon to go find some “two-tracks” to go explore! One of them actually ended up at a very primitive boat launch of sorts. Across the river were several tire and rope swings strung up over the slow chugging river run that originally started at Alexander Springs. Would you believe it – there was another guy out there who didn’t know where the road was going either! H had to get out his Florida Gazetteer to make sure of where we were and where to go from there. . From there we trudged thru or maneuvered around a lot of deep rutted mud holes and puddles! We know of another certain Jeep owner who would like to navigate those mud tracks
The campgrounds in most of the national forests have no electricity and no water at each site. “Dry camping” is no problem – as long as the weather is warm!! The “mobile motel” has a gas furnace for a quick warm up in the morning and a tank of fresh running water with the flick of the pump switch and a turn of the faucet! For TV watching and lights there are 2 mega batteries under the couch! AND – H was sure glad that he invested in his latest prized possession – his 2000-watt Honda Generator, which insures that he can have his fresh brewed coffee in the mornings while we were in the forest.
We were hoping to move up to Salt Springs, which has lots of electricity at each campsite to solve the colder weather problem, but they were full so we moved instead to Juniper Springs Campground to continue our “dry camping” trend. Juniper Springs is the closest National Park campground to Ocala so H made a phone call to set up a breakfast date for the next morning at Bob Evans. We enjoyed a great breakfast with D&S and followed it with boring grocery shopping!
Not wanting to leave the forest right away, and since Salt Springs was full we headed north to the edge of the forest and stopped for one night at the Rodman Dam Reservoir Campground. The campground is actually part of the Florida Greenway, just like Ross Prairie is on the south west side of Ocala where we stayed on the beginning of our winter journey as we headed south. Rodman is located right on the Cross Florida Barge Canal, which was originally dug to run from each side of Florida. The east section starts on the St John’s River but quits just west of Dunnellon. Like the Erie Canal up in Ohio – did progress move too fast or did the funds to complete the project too slow? Now the Canal is a freeway for pleasure boats, including the fast moving bass boats that sprayed wide spreading white water as they sped upstream in an early morning Bass Tournament.
Once out of the forest, it will really be official – we’re heading north – to North Florida!
The park has a nifty nature boardwalk that follows around the spring and has 2 fishing piers /resting areas along the way. The birds were singing and the sun was sparkling down thru the newly green leaves of the forest. No snakes and no alligators were seen on this visit! SPFB!! We even took time one afternoon to go find some “two-tracks” to go explore! One of them actually ended up at a very primitive boat launch of sorts. Across the river were several tire and rope swings strung up over the slow chugging river run that originally started at Alexander Springs. Would you believe it – there was another guy out there who didn’t know where the road was going either! H had to get out his Florida Gazetteer to make sure of where we were and where to go from there. . From there we trudged thru or maneuvered around a lot of deep rutted mud holes and puddles! We know of another certain Jeep owner who would like to navigate those mud tracks
The campgrounds in most of the national forests have no electricity and no water at each site. “Dry camping” is no problem – as long as the weather is warm!! The “mobile motel” has a gas furnace for a quick warm up in the morning and a tank of fresh running water with the flick of the pump switch and a turn of the faucet! For TV watching and lights there are 2 mega batteries under the couch! AND – H was sure glad that he invested in his latest prized possession – his 2000-watt Honda Generator, which insures that he can have his fresh brewed coffee in the mornings while we were in the forest.
We were hoping to move up to Salt Springs, which has lots of electricity at each campsite to solve the colder weather problem, but they were full so we moved instead to Juniper Springs Campground to continue our “dry camping” trend. Juniper Springs is the closest National Park campground to Ocala so H made a phone call to set up a breakfast date for the next morning at Bob Evans. We enjoyed a great breakfast with D&S and followed it with boring grocery shopping!
Not wanting to leave the forest right away, and since Salt Springs was full we headed north to the edge of the forest and stopped for one night at the Rodman Dam Reservoir Campground. The campground is actually part of the Florida Greenway, just like Ross Prairie is on the south west side of Ocala where we stayed on the beginning of our winter journey as we headed south. Rodman is located right on the Cross Florida Barge Canal, which was originally dug to run from each side of Florida. The east section starts on the St John’s River but quits just west of Dunnellon. Like the Erie Canal up in Ohio – did progress move too fast or did the funds to complete the project too slow? Now the Canal is a freeway for pleasure boats, including the fast moving bass boats that sprayed wide spreading white water as they sped upstream in an early morning Bass Tournament.
Once out of the forest, it will really be official – we’re heading north – to North Florida!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Wekiwa & Rock Springs
If anyone has been watching the national news, by now you have heard about the “Iron Horse Wildfire” that had been burning out of control in east/central Florida for almost the last week. Parts of I95 and Rt 1 have been closed on and off several times. Since everyone knows where Orlando is in Florida and where the Kennedy Space Center/ Cape Canaveral is, I will use those two well known places as points of reference. The fire started north of Kennedy and Merritt Island, where H and I went to explore, while staying in Moss Park. I95 and Rt 1 run north /south, parallel to each other, from Miami and all along the Atlantic side of the state. Orlando is in the center of the state and the town of Opopka is just north of it. The fire is about 50 miles east of where we are. The news reports today have been stating that we should be seeing smoke and ashes but it has rained on and off all afternoon so we have seen nothing. We are in no danger and finally the fires are getting under control. No lives lost and only one young fireman was injured.
Wekiwa Springs State Park is just on the outer limits of Apopka and is the headsprings for the Wekiwa River. The drive from the main gate to the campsites is a combination of pine and oak woods, dispersed with fields of waving grasses. The campsites are good sized and most are secluded niches carved out of the Palmetto jungle. The spring itself is down in a fairly good-sized “valley” with a great view of the run that leads to the Wekiwa River just around the bend. Lots of canoe’ers rent boats and paddle up to the bridge at the edge of the swimming area. The swimming area is on average about 4-5 ft deep and on the weekend, full of kids and families. On Sunday we assisted in the crowding of the cool waters and on Monday the “pond” was a lot quieter and just a few adults took turns at cooling off! 42 million gallons per day of crystal clear water flow out from the deep dark blue crevice where brave teenage boys show off by diving down into its dark depths. We stayed for 2 nights before moving 7 miles, up and around the corner to Kelly Springs, which is an Orange County Park, just like Moss Park. The price for camping is much more affordable in the county parks!
Kelly Park was donated to the county in 1927 as a park and wildlife sanctuary, and is the location of Rock Springs, a natural free-flowing 37.5 million gallon a day spring which meanders a winding 9 miles to the Wekiwa River. On our last visit here, we floated/ snorkeled down the ¾ mile run within the park proper but since the temps have cooled down just a bit, we felt the 68 degree water was just a bit chilly, so instead, H and I watched an otter frolic in the stream and then watched as a few boisterous groups floated on down scaring him back into the lily pads! We’ve been exploring the small neighboring towns and exercising our bikes around the roads and paths in the park. We’ve walked some of the trails, spotted a few deer and even tried to sneak close enough to some strutting turkeys to get their picture. We were hoping that this one pompous Tom would pay more attention to his “ladies” and not see us. No such luck
Another week has come and now gone. The locals have now filled the campground for the weekend and the parking lots down by the spring are full of vehicles, packed with ice chests and inner tubes. For us it was off to the flea markets up in Mt Dora and then over to Sanford where we found a good sized RV show that filled a whole section of a mall parking lot and then a Red Lobster for lunch. H even got to go thru a hobby store and I shopped at a Joann’s. Too bad their sale starts tomorrow.
When Sunday gets here – we’ll leave Kelly Springs and move 35 miles north to Alexander Springs in the Ocala National Forest. (Sigh) It must be “SPRING” time! (Sorry)
Wekiwa Springs State Park is just on the outer limits of Apopka and is the headsprings for the Wekiwa River. The drive from the main gate to the campsites is a combination of pine and oak woods, dispersed with fields of waving grasses. The campsites are good sized and most are secluded niches carved out of the Palmetto jungle. The spring itself is down in a fairly good-sized “valley” with a great view of the run that leads to the Wekiwa River just around the bend. Lots of canoe’ers rent boats and paddle up to the bridge at the edge of the swimming area. The swimming area is on average about 4-5 ft deep and on the weekend, full of kids and families. On Sunday we assisted in the crowding of the cool waters and on Monday the “pond” was a lot quieter and just a few adults took turns at cooling off! 42 million gallons per day of crystal clear water flow out from the deep dark blue crevice where brave teenage boys show off by diving down into its dark depths. We stayed for 2 nights before moving 7 miles, up and around the corner to Kelly Springs, which is an Orange County Park, just like Moss Park. The price for camping is much more affordable in the county parks!
Kelly Park was donated to the county in 1927 as a park and wildlife sanctuary, and is the location of Rock Springs, a natural free-flowing 37.5 million gallon a day spring which meanders a winding 9 miles to the Wekiwa River. On our last visit here, we floated/ snorkeled down the ¾ mile run within the park proper but since the temps have cooled down just a bit, we felt the 68 degree water was just a bit chilly, so instead, H and I watched an otter frolic in the stream and then watched as a few boisterous groups floated on down scaring him back into the lily pads! We’ve been exploring the small neighboring towns and exercising our bikes around the roads and paths in the park. We’ve walked some of the trails, spotted a few deer and even tried to sneak close enough to some strutting turkeys to get their picture. We were hoping that this one pompous Tom would pay more attention to his “ladies” and not see us. No such luck
Another week has come and now gone. The locals have now filled the campground for the weekend and the parking lots down by the spring are full of vehicles, packed with ice chests and inner tubes. For us it was off to the flea markets up in Mt Dora and then over to Sanford where we found a good sized RV show that filled a whole section of a mall parking lot and then a Red Lobster for lunch. H even got to go thru a hobby store and I shopped at a Joann’s. Too bad their sale starts tomorrow.
When Sunday gets here – we’ll leave Kelly Springs and move 35 miles north to Alexander Springs in the Ocala National Forest. (Sigh) It must be “SPRING” time! (Sorry)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
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