There's a river right at the RV park, and the other day we boarded upriver for about an hour. Whew, it was tough work against the current. Then we got to enjoy a leisurely float back to the RV park. A great time was had by all!
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| Inflating the SUPs |
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Wilderness RV Park, Silver Springs, FL
We're here for a month- Nov 16-Dec 16.
There's a river right at the RV park, and the other day we boarded upriver for about an hour. Whew, it was tough work against the current. Then we got to enjoy a leisurely float back to the RV park. A great time was had by all!
There's a river right at the RV park, and the other day we boarded upriver for about an hour. Whew, it was tough work against the current. Then we got to enjoy a leisurely float back to the RV park. A great time was had by all!
Friday, November 20, 2015
Boarding with Manatees!
November 16, 2015
I got up at 6am in order to be on the water at 7. There was no wind, but sadly I was paddling into the sun for the first 45 minutes. I was blinded to seeing anything. Then, in the silence....a SNORT. I knew it was a manatee breathing. I waited for what seemed like forever, and then he appeared. Scared me, actually. He slowly and silently surfaced almost directly under my SUP. It was exhilarating and a little scary. That was the start of my 2.5 hours paddling with the manatees. They are notoriously difficult to get good pictures of, so please pardon the quality of my shots. This was one of the best nature encounters I have ever had. Amazing animals.
I got up at 6am in order to be on the water at 7. There was no wind, but sadly I was paddling into the sun for the first 45 minutes. I was blinded to seeing anything. Then, in the silence....a SNORT. I knew it was a manatee breathing. I waited for what seemed like forever, and then he appeared. Scared me, actually. He slowly and silently surfaced almost directly under my SUP. It was exhilarating and a little scary. That was the start of my 2.5 hours paddling with the manatees. They are notoriously difficult to get good pictures of, so please pardon the quality of my shots. This was one of the best nature encounters I have ever had. Amazing animals.
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| Right Under my SUP!!! |
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Salt Springs Recreation Area, Fort McCoy, FL
November 12-16, 2015
We had some misfortunes on the way to our new campground. I had called ahead to see if there were any spots and the lady said "a few". Since these are all first come, first served, we got nervous about getting one. So we separated so Missy could dash ahead and save a spot. Turns out that lady was being sarcastic? Because there were a lot of spots. Her joke ended up costing us $500.
The first mishap was that I couldn't understand the turn at a funky intersection only 5 miles from the campground. I turned the wrong way. And there was NO suitable side road, pull-off, parking lot or even wide shoulder for 20 miles. So I took a 40 mile detour. Grrr. Then when I finally got to our spot, the tire pressure system alarm went off. It picked up the Element again, and we had a flat! Goddamn it. Split inner wall, which the internets said happen if you drive on a low tire. Apparently today's tires run just fine when losing air, so Missy had no idea. If we'd been hooked up and driving together, the alarm would have gone off when we'd lost 5 psi, and we could have saved the tire. They only thing that makes this situation in any way bearable is that we've actually been needing new tires on the Honda anyway. So Missy went to Walmart and got us situated.
This park is in the Ocala National Forest. The campground is a former private RV park, and it's laid out like one. 100 FHUs. Many are quite close together. Missy got us the best one. It's on a corner and an end row. There's a fantastic climbing tree right in our yard. Too bad my phews are too far to visit. Actually, Oscar has been climbing the tree. His first tree climb. The first try he didn't use claws and it didn't go well.
The attractions of this park are 2-fold. One is the springs area. They've made it into a nice swimming area/picnic area. We went there on Friday when it was sunny and mid 80s. We had a blast snorkeling with large schools of large mullets. The second attraction is the manatees. Since the springs are 72 degrees year round, the manatees come up in the cold weather so they can survive the winter. Now, it's probably way too warm to see any this week. But, tomorrow is our last day. So we're going to get up very early and on the water just after sunrise to see if there are any in the channel out to Lake George. Wish us luck! Then we have to hurry back and break camp and get on our way before the fiercely enforced 1pm check out.
We had some misfortunes on the way to our new campground. I had called ahead to see if there were any spots and the lady said "a few". Since these are all first come, first served, we got nervous about getting one. So we separated so Missy could dash ahead and save a spot. Turns out that lady was being sarcastic? Because there were a lot of spots. Her joke ended up costing us $500.
The first mishap was that I couldn't understand the turn at a funky intersection only 5 miles from the campground. I turned the wrong way. And there was NO suitable side road, pull-off, parking lot or even wide shoulder for 20 miles. So I took a 40 mile detour. Grrr. Then when I finally got to our spot, the tire pressure system alarm went off. It picked up the Element again, and we had a flat! Goddamn it. Split inner wall, which the internets said happen if you drive on a low tire. Apparently today's tires run just fine when losing air, so Missy had no idea. If we'd been hooked up and driving together, the alarm would have gone off when we'd lost 5 psi, and we could have saved the tire. They only thing that makes this situation in any way bearable is that we've actually been needing new tires on the Honda anyway. So Missy went to Walmart and got us situated.
This park is in the Ocala National Forest. The campground is a former private RV park, and it's laid out like one. 100 FHUs. Many are quite close together. Missy got us the best one. It's on a corner and an end row. There's a fantastic climbing tree right in our yard. Too bad my phews are too far to visit. Actually, Oscar has been climbing the tree. His first tree climb. The first try he didn't use claws and it didn't go well.
The attractions of this park are 2-fold. One is the springs area. They've made it into a nice swimming area/picnic area. We went there on Friday when it was sunny and mid 80s. We had a blast snorkeling with large schools of large mullets. The second attraction is the manatees. Since the springs are 72 degrees year round, the manatees come up in the cold weather so they can survive the winter. Now, it's probably way too warm to see any this week. But, tomorrow is our last day. So we're going to get up very early and on the water just after sunrise to see if there are any in the channel out to Lake George. Wish us luck! Then we have to hurry back and break camp and get on our way before the fiercely enforced 1pm check out.
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| I can't believe I swam within inches of these beasts! |
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| One of the deep, bubbling springs. It's hard to capture in a picture. It's probably 1.5 stories. |
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Paddleboarding the Rainbow River
November 10, 2015
It was an amazing run! We saw an alligator! I was shocked, because no reviews I'd seen had mentioned any gators. I think only people on paddleboards would see them, because you're too low in a kayak. Lots of big turtles and big fish. Since this is a busy and crowded summer tubing run, all the turtles had almost no startle reflex. They stayed on their logs till the last second and then we got to watch them swimming underwater. So neat!
It was an amazing run! We saw an alligator! I was shocked, because no reviews I'd seen had mentioned any gators. I think only people on paddleboards would see them, because you're too low in a kayak. Lots of big turtles and big fish. Since this is a busy and crowded summer tubing run, all the turtles had almost no startle reflex. They stayed on their logs till the last second and then we got to watch them swimming underwater. So neat!
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Rainbow Springs SP. Dunnelon, FL
November 8-10, 2015
Getting here was a tough one. Lots of heavy rain, and the rear camera kept going out so it was hard to see if I was staying in my lane. And Oscar didn't once jump onto Missy and scare the beejeesus out of her. I can usually count on that happening 2-3 times for hilarious entertainment.
About a month back when I was looking for places to stay, I was excited to see some openings at this park. It's extremely popular and busy, so I assume I snapped up someone elses's cancellation. I could only get 4 days, so you can imagine our disappointment that yesterday was all day rain. Grrr.
We did make the most of it. I patched the hole in my SUP. I give it a 50% chance of working. My hole was in an akward side seam area, so I couldn't maintain a nice, flat patch area. We also worked on cleaning up a shroom/mold area I found under the couch when looking for Oscar's favorite toys. I'm certain it's from a leak on the underside of the slideout. I'll have to wait until we will be parked for more than a week and have lower humidity to get some sealant or Eternabond on that. Cleaning was a bitch because the sofa is bolted to the floor.
But today we'll get onto the river! That's what this place is about. 150 feet water clarity. Playful otters. Sunning turtles. Mid 80 degree days with constant 72 degree water. I'm charging the waterproof camera, so hopefully we'll get some good pix. I can't wait!
Getting here was a tough one. Lots of heavy rain, and the rear camera kept going out so it was hard to see if I was staying in my lane. And Oscar didn't once jump onto Missy and scare the beejeesus out of her. I can usually count on that happening 2-3 times for hilarious entertainment.
About a month back when I was looking for places to stay, I was excited to see some openings at this park. It's extremely popular and busy, so I assume I snapped up someone elses's cancellation. I could only get 4 days, so you can imagine our disappointment that yesterday was all day rain. Grrr.
We did make the most of it. I patched the hole in my SUP. I give it a 50% chance of working. My hole was in an akward side seam area, so I couldn't maintain a nice, flat patch area. We also worked on cleaning up a shroom/mold area I found under the couch when looking for Oscar's favorite toys. I'm certain it's from a leak on the underside of the slideout. I'll have to wait until we will be parked for more than a week and have lower humidity to get some sealant or Eternabond on that. Cleaning was a bitch because the sofa is bolted to the floor.
But today we'll get onto the river! That's what this place is about. 150 feet water clarity. Playful otters. Sunning turtles. Mid 80 degree days with constant 72 degree water. I'm charging the waterproof camera, so hopefully we'll get some good pix. I can't wait!
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| I've been walking Oscar every day. He LOVES it! |
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| Now he waits by the entry and SCREAMS a lot when I don't have him outside like he wants. |
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| Mia in the small cat bed. |
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Reed Bingham SP, Adel, GA
November 6-8, 2015
We're here for a quick 2 nights. Upper 80s when we arrived. Hoo-boy that can feel uncomfortable!
Woke up this morning to find that Oscar had been busy overnight doing some redecoration. He saw fit to empty the wall-hung container of it's recycled plastic bags and distribute them one by one to the bedroom floor. :-)
This morning I drove with Mia to the riverside trail. I went earlier then I normally would have so I could try to beat the heat. It was just burning off the morning fog as we started, and there was a super cool effect whereby hundreds of spider webs were highlighted in the mist. It looked like they were back-lit. I saw one huge spider in his nest, and 2 smaller ones that had a brilliant neon orange dot on their backs. That was it for wildlife for the hike.
Tomorrow we take off for Florida! Looks like we have to travel in the rain again. Booo. But at least it cleans the bugs off the windshield.
We're here for a quick 2 nights. Upper 80s when we arrived. Hoo-boy that can feel uncomfortable!
Woke up this morning to find that Oscar had been busy overnight doing some redecoration. He saw fit to empty the wall-hung container of it's recycled plastic bags and distribute them one by one to the bedroom floor. :-)
This morning I drove with Mia to the riverside trail. I went earlier then I normally would have so I could try to beat the heat. It was just burning off the morning fog as we started, and there was a super cool effect whereby hundreds of spider webs were highlighted in the mist. It looked like they were back-lit. I saw one huge spider in his nest, and 2 smaller ones that had a brilliant neon orange dot on their backs. That was it for wildlife for the hike.
Tomorrow we take off for Florida! Looks like we have to travel in the rain again. Booo. But at least it cleans the bugs off the windshield.
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| Mia finds a way to sneak a peak as we were leaving to go shopping |
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| Oscar and Mia checking out the new neighborhood |
Friday, November 6, 2015
Red Top Mountain SP, Cartersville, GA
November 2-6, 2015
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| Camouflage Mia |
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| Three Beings That Desperately Want to Share the Popcorn |
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Manchester KOA, TN
November 1, 2015. We had a long day, but soooooo much easier. Great roads and no wind. Time seemed to fly by. Tomorrow we'll have to travel in the rain, so I'm expecting things to be a little more difficult.
Please enjoy this video!
Please enjoy this video!
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