Another Hike in Withlacoochee State Forest

Today our hike was again in the Withlacoochee State Forest, but farther north in the Citrus Tract.  We did Loop A which, along with the connector trail to get to the loop, was a total of about 8.5 miles.  Tony and Diana went with us and we had a grand time.

It was a beautiful day for a hike.

Our trailhead was at the Holder Mine Campground about 3 miles south of Inverness.  It is a small parking lot with an information kiosk, but no restroom facilities.  However, across the road is the campground with restrooms and showers.

At the junction with Loop A trail.  Notice the official
Florida National Scenic Trail plaque on the post.

Our hike started on the blue connector trail which connected with the Loop trail after eight tenths of a mile.  We did our hike in the clockwise direction today.

This is small game season and we saw one hunter with his dogs today.  We, of course, were sporting our blaze orange hats.  Tony didn’t want to be mistaken for a quail or a squirrel, so he tied a red bandana around the brim of his hat.

Five Mile Pond is located about midway in our hike, making it a perfect spot for lunch.  We were disappointed, but not surprised to find the pond dry.  Florida needs rain in the worst sort of way.  We took a nice, long break here spreading our ponchos on the ground for a clean place to sit and eat.

Five Mile Pond was dry as a bone.

We followed the Florida National Scenic Trail for a portion of our loop.  That was kind of exciting to actually be hiking on a long distance trail and one of the eight National Scenic Trails.

Compared to our hike on Thursday at the Croom Track, today’s hike was more diverse.  We had a couple short hills to climb and then descend, we passed through areas of long-leaf pine and through other areas of live oak.  Again, the trail surface was primarily sand and in some areas so soft it was like walking on the beach.

Naturally, the best part was hiking with friends and we were happy to have Tony and Diana along to share the trail.  We were all pretty tired though by the time we got back to the car.  Lucky for us, we had to drive right past Ferris Grove citrus market on the way home.  We got some Honey Bell oranges, but our real reason for stopping was the strawberry milkshake.

That’s all for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

A Day With Vern

Vern came today and we were sooooo happy to see him.  The first priority--find and fix the leak in our back wall.  Vern spent the better part of the day with us and he removed several parts of our RV from the rear end cap.  He found several small cracks and gaps in the caulking and lots of evidence of water.  The insides of our tail lights were still wet from the rain we got two days ago.

Vern has removed all the old caulking and recaulked around the end cap.  He took the light covers off to allow for some air circulation to dry out the inside wall.  He’ll be back on Monday to caulk around the light covers.  I think Vern is going to finally put an end to this leak.

We left Vern on his own and made a quick trip to Walmart this morning.  During the rain on Wednesday, I was dashing from the car to the motor home with my head down trying not to get too wet while also trying to avoid the deep puddles.  I totally forgot about the awning arm and hit it almost as hard as it could be hit without doing serious damage to it or myself.  Of course, as short as I am, I hit right at eye level and the collision really did a number on my glasses.  Luckily, it was only the frames that were damaged and not the lenses.  For the past two days I’ve been wearing an old pair of reading specs I picked up at a drug store somewhere.  Needless to say, it was a priority to get my glasses fixed today.  The technician took his little tool and had my glasses “bent” back into shape in less than a minute.  It is so good to be able to see again.

The cranes are always wandering about the campground.

While at Walmart, I picked up a toaster oven.  I know, it takes up a whole lot of space on a very small counter, but I couldn’t help it.  I’ve been wanting one for a long time and it’s what I had in mind when I asked for a Walmart gift card for Christmas.  We’ve already taken the regular toaster up to the free table in the club house and the new toaster oven has claimed almost all the space on the counter.  I warmed bread for dinner which took only a fraction of the time it would have taken in the range oven.  Besides, I didn’t have to take all the cat supplies out of the oven to use it.  It was much easier to clean the bread crumbs out of the bottom than from the regular toaster.  The feature I’m most anxious to use is the broiler.  I think I’m gonna love it.

We want to welcome Pam and Wayne as our latest followers.  Check out the great photography at their site, Nomadic Newfies.  We're certainly glad to have you guys tagging along on our journey.

Tomorrow is another hiking day plus the citrus market at Floral City.

That’s all for today. Thanks for tagging along.

Hiking in Withlacoochee State Forest

We found our way to a trailhead today.  It was very good to be back in hiking boots and walking in the woods after about three weeks of this other stuff we’ve been doing.  Today’s hike was in the Croom Tract of the Withlacoochee State Forest.  There are several loop trails in this area and we did loop C.

Live Oak

The Florida Trail system is fairly extensive and I’m trying to get my mind around what we’re doing exactly.  A few months ago Gene ordered maps and a Data Book for Central Florida from the Florida Trail Association.  The Florida Trail is a long-distance hiking trail which runs the length of Florida.  In addition to this “thru” trail, the Florida Trail Association maintains many “loop” trails on various public lands.  All these trails make up the Florida Trail System and are listed in the Data Book and are drawn on the maps.

Getting Ready

The Florida Trail is blazed in orange.  The loop trail we hiked today was blazed in orange.  As far as I know, the loop we did today was not part of the Florida Trail.  It is identified on the map and in the Data Book as Withlacoochee State Forest, Croom Tract, C Loop.

Gopher Tortoise

We struck out at 8 am.  Tony and Diana wanted to go and Tony volunteered to drive.  The trailhead was only about 17 miles from the campground, but we were unfamiliar with the road and how to get there, so we made several stops to compare the GPS map and coordinates with the trail map and Data Book directions.  We finally found the Tucker Hill trailhead parking lot.

Hunter's Camp

The trailhead parking lot was very large with a nice restroom facility and a picnic area. There is a day use fee of $2 per person.  There is an additional fee for hikers who want to camp overnight.  There was an information kiosk with brochures about the area and a small trail map.  We paid the fee, grabbed a couple maps, used the restroom and were on the trail shortly after 9 am.

Our trail passed by the edge of Smith Prairie

We started out in temperatures low enough to require a light jacket, but the sun did its thing and we were soon making clothing adjustments.  By the end of the hike, we were positively hot.

The trail, as you might expect in Florida, is flat and the surface was sand overlaid in most areas with pine needles.  We walked through forest of pine and live oaks draped with Spanish moss.  About halfway around our loop, which we did in the counterclockwise direction, we came to a very large hunter’s camp.  The camp was empty today.  We stopped for a short break at one of the picnic tables.

For our first hike in Florida this year, we enjoyed this easy 7-mile walk.  The trail was well maintained and easy to follow.  We crossed three forest service roads, but these were all signed and labeled on the map.

The highlight of the day was the gopher tortoise.  He was content sunning himself at the edge of the trail and allowed us to make numerous pictures.  Other than birds, the tortoise was the only wildlife we saw.

We have Vern scheduled to come tomorrow, but we’ll be back on the trail on Saturday.

We want to welcome Ray at Dreams of Travel in a RV. Ray has a dream like we had and many others do of the RV lifestyle. Hope we can encourage you along in your dreams, Ray.  We’re glad you’re tagging along.

I have a correction to make.  In my previous post I stated that we had last seen Mike and Peggy at their home in Maine in 2010.  That’s just not true.  We last saw them in Oklahoma City in 2011.  How could I forget.  That was the day their toad came unhitched from their rig.

That’s all for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Sumter Oaks RV Park

Finally, we’re here.  We arrived at Sumter Oaks Escapees park about noon yesterday.  For the third day in a row we had great driving weather and a nice ride down I-75 to Bushnell, Florida.  We got checked in and mostly set up in our site where we expect to stay until the FMCA rally in early February.

We have a large site on the end of a row at the edge of the park.
No one in front of us or to the right.

We stayed at this park several weeks last winter.  This is the place with the sand hill cranes roaming around between the RVs.  It’s a typical Escapees park with the daily 4 pm social hour to meet and greet new folks coming in and get caught up on all the park news, Saturday morning breakfast, Sunday ice cream social, and numerous craft and activity groups which meet during the week.

We met several folks last year and have seen them from a distance already this year.  Naturally, we’re anxious to get reacquainted with them.  Our friends Tony and Diana are here.  We’ve caught up with them several times this year--twice in Alaska and most recently in Nashville.  Also here are those Maineiacs in Motion, Mike and Peggy.  It was great to see them again and are looking forward to spending some time with them.  We last saw them at their home in Topsham, Maine in 2010.  Ron and Penny, whom we got to know last winter and have stayed in contact with throughout the year, are also here.

Diana and Penny

Ron and Tony

Mike and Peggy

Tony and Diana had a little welcoming party for us at their rig and invited Ron and Penny, and Mike and Peggy.  So the fun and fellowship has already begun.  Diana also prepared a wonderful travel day meal for us last night.

There are several things we want to get done while here.  Do you remember Vern, our handy-dandy mobile RV repair guy from last year?  Gene is hoping to have Vern do a couple things for us, primarily find and fix that persistent leak.  Warm, sunny days are also good for cleaning the outside of the rig.  We’re also anxious to get in some hiking.  The Florida trail system is pretty extensive.  Gene ordered maps and has already picked out several hikes.

Today, my plans are to get caught up on routine household chores that didn’t get done while we were traveling.  Gene is planning to contact Vern to set up a schedule with him for the repairs.  We’ll, of course, be visiting with friends while enjoying the nice 70 degree weather.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

A Little Closer to Florida

Boy, we were up and out this morning.  I think it may have been our earliest start ever.  We were pulling onto the interstate at 7:20.  That’s Eastern time, of course, and it was still dark out.

Sunrise over Atlanta

We headed into Atlanta with the rest of the thundering herd.  By our standards, traffic was heavy, but I’m sure it was very light compared to the norm in Atlanta.  We took the bypass around town and traffic on I-285 was very light.  We were happy.

Again today we had a very nice ride until we got to Macon.  That’s when we ran into construction which lasted for about 20 miles.  Traffic moved right along at about 60 mph, but we always feel stressed in construction zones especially with those concrete barriers lining the traffic lane.

Tonight, we’re in another friendly Walmart a few miles north of Valdosta, GA.  We arrived early in the afternoon and had time to do our weekly grocery shopping.

We have a little over 200 miles to go for our drive to Bushnell tomorrow.  We’re hoping for another early start.

We finally hit the warmer weather today.  It is 69 degrees right now.  I have the vents and door open and would probably be more comfortable in shorts.  Life is good.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Heading South

Believe it or not, we finally got out of Nashville.  It was a cold morning to be disconnecting utilities and hitching up the car, but we were happy to be out there freezing our fingers off.  We got away from the campground about 9:15 and are now parked at a Walmart just north of Atlanta.

Peanut seemed to enjoy the ride today.

It was a bright, sunny day for a drive and traffic was moderate.  We left Nashville on I-24, then picked up I-75 in Chattanooga.  Both interstates were in good condition and we had a very nice ride.  The only construction we ran into was a bridge repair a few miles west of Chattanooga, but there was hardly even any slowdown in traffic.

The Tennessee River at the base of Lookout Mountain
 as it winds its way through Chattanooga.

So, we’re happy to be on the road again and will continue our way south tomorrow.

That’s it for today; gotta be watching my computer battery power.  Thanks for tagging along.

A Tribute to Uncle John

Today, the family and a few friends gathered for a memorial service for my uncle.  He passed away Dec 29th at the age of 88 after a full and useful life.  He was married 59 years to my mother’s older sister.

John was well respected in his community and at his church, he had many, many friends and was dearly loved by his family.  He will be greatly missed, but we feel he has gone to a better place.

After the service, several of us went over to one of John’s favorite restaurants, Olive Garden, for a bite to eat.  John never saw a meatball he didn’t love and his standard order at Olive Garden was spaghetti and meatballs.  Some in our party today ordered that meatball in his honor.

This was a day to remember John and Vivian. I suspect they will be in our thoughts for many days, even years, to come.