Back at Sumter Oaks

The rally is over and we’re back at Sumter Oaks in the same spot we were in before we left.  All the same neighbors are still here.  It’s like old home days and it’s good to be back.  It’s especially good to have electricity again.

Hawthorne of some type, I think.  Spring is happening.

The last thing on our agenda before leaving the rally was to have our motorhome weighed.  I was pretty nervous about how that would turn out.  Since we live in it, it’s about as full as we can get it.  Besides all the stuff we have, we’re stocked up on groceries, as well.  The pantry, refrigerator, and freezer are FULL.  We emptied what little bit of fresh water we had left, but all of the fresh water we had used was sitting in the waste tanks.

We were pleasantly surprised with the results.  We were only 300 lbs overweight--all of it in the front.  The rear axle was perfect at 5000 lbs on each side.  Been wanting to do that for several years so were glad to have to opportunity to get it done.

Found this in the trail this morning.  The nickel gives you some sense of the size of the snail.

This morning we both needed a little leg stretcher.  We tried to walk as much as possible at the rally, but still only had about a mile and a half for the week.  We were anxious to find a trail to hike, but with other things on our to do list for today we wanted something short.  The 3.5 mile Silver Lake loop at the Croom track was perfect.

Notice the vultures in the top of the tree.

Just drying their wings, I guess.

We actually parked on the loop where the trail crossed Croom Rital Road which was only a few miles from our campground.  There really isn’t an official parking lot there, but the shoulder on the west side of the road is very deep and the grass has been cut.  There is room for 4 or 5 cars.  The Florida Trail crosses the road from the east, then crosses the Withlacoochee State Trail (a paved rail-trail conversion great for biking), then enters the woods.

This area is under water in wet weather.

Part of our hike was along the orange-blazed high water trail and another part along the blue-blazed low water trail.  Since there are drought conditions in Florida right now, we were able to make a loop using these two trails.  During wet conditions areas of the low water trail would be under the Withlacoochee River--not a place I’d want to be.  Today, however, we were able to enjoy the walk through the cypress knees and view the river well within its banks.

The trail passed a canoe camp and this sand beach.

Withlacoochee River

To help us enjoy the super bowl, there will be a chili cook-off this evening.  Several are bringing chili and the rest of us are bring goodies to go with the chili.  I’m taking that 7-layer Mexican dip.  I rarely have leftovers when I take it anywhere.

So, I guess I better get busy and get the dip made.  Thanks for tagging along.