THREE RUNS: ROCK SPRING, JUNIPER SPRING AND FOR HOME

Next stop is another favourite, Kelly Park and the Rock Spring Run. Rock Spring is an 8.5 mile river run which starts just outside of the County Park. An outfitter picks you up at the end of the ride and hauls you and your canoe back home. Surprisingly, Kelly Park was nearly empty. We had the showers to ourselves and it was great to have plug in power again as well. We launched the canoe early about 10:30 in order to make the 3:30 pick up with time to spare. After about three miles down the river, a newly fallen tree blocked our passage. Heavy rain increased the river flow and washed out the supporting soil around the roots. Luckily the branches at the water level were small enough that we could pull our way through without a portage.

We stopped about a mile after that for lunch on shore at one of two camp sites available on the river. Just as I was preparing to get out of the canoe, I spied a small water moccasin in the shallow water to our left. I took a couple of pics and we left him alone hoping he would do the same. (A good idea. These guys are venomous, bad tempered and aggressive.) We headed up the trail to the picnic tables for lunch and to stretch our legs. This camp is basically a horse camp on a trail several miles from civilization. The only facilities are tethers, non-potable water for the horses and tables. We had it to ourselves that day.

After lunch, Marty decided I should learn how to steer the canoe to give him a break. The snake had departed the area and we switched places getting into the canoe. It didn’t go well right from the beginning. The current took us straight into the reeds on the opposite shore. From this point the river widened with lots of reed beds but was still deep and fast. We went from side to side into the weeds and into the trees until finally we found a spot where we could change places again. I was killing myself laughing at my incompetence in steering from the back and poor Marty was exhausted after having to try to keep the canoe on track from the front and from picking leaves out of his teeth. Lesson #1: A fast flowing river with lots of hazards is not the place to learn to steer a canoe. Only about four miles left to go.

We had time before pick up to go a mile up the Wekiva River to its source in Wekiva Springs S.P. It looks like a beauty place to stay with both a swimming area in the spring and a boat launch onto the river. It looks like good hiking as well as it was one of their primitive sites where we had stopped for lunch. I think we will check out this park in future years.

Planning to go primitive again after Kelly Park, so had a day of picking up supplies, laundry and of course a game of tennis in Apopka while being serenaded by the roosters free ranging in the down town park around us. They roam freely all over the downtown.

We got back to the park in the late afternoon in time for a snorkel down the spring run within the park (the canoe run is outside the park). Wanted to try out the waterproof camera. The no-see-ums were really bad at the top of the spring run where it gushes out of a rock face. The flow is quite fast and it is impossible to stop on steady feet to take pics. Got lots of blurring reed shots as we whizzed by, saw a few turtles and small fish, but were only able to get off a couple of shots that were somewhat successful. In the pool area where the water back flowed and the current was less, the pics were better. After laying out our wet suits to dry, it rained again, all through the night.

We are slowly working our way north and homeward. The next stop is Big Bass Lake in the Ocala National Forest. This year there is some water in the lake, however, there is no bass or any fishing at all. The lake is mostly weeds. This is a quiet spot for rest and relaxation and we had lots of birds, a beautiful day and put our wet suits out to dry. We were able to collect fire wood and had a fire under an almost full moon—no bugs!!

Next day we went on a hike through the woods in the morning and took a dirt road back. Stopped at a hunt camp and saw bear tracks—no bear. Warning signs all over the place though.

Marty spent the afternoon making letters out of a plastic plate for a jury rig license plate for our camping neighbour, “Bare Foot Mike”, who lost his dirt bike plate on the road somewhere. Mike got his name from the other long term campers in this camp because he hasn’t worn shoes in three months, except to ride his dirt bike. He is on full disability after falling down a 50’ industrial chimney. He gets along well in spite of having a number of body parts redistributed into new locations. Mike was a specialist at re-bricking huge furnaces, kilns and chimneys and worked all over the world. He is a small man but, even in his senior years and disfigured by injuries, quite physically powerful.

He is jolly, extremely polite and always ready to help others. Marty seemed to enjoy the time spent with him.

That night we visited with Brenda (met her two years ago) who is now 86 and is thinking about retiring her solo camping excursions. It might take her a couple of years to come to a decision. She has been a hiker and mountain climber for all of her adult life and has the stories to prove it.

We are trying to find new locations so we spent a night at Lake Dorr, still in the Forrest. After a brief walkabout we were again confined to the vehicle due to…you guessed it…heavy rain and tornado warnings. Woke the next day with the van sitting in a pond. Lake Dorr is a fishing lake close to the road. Heavy winds prevented us from getting onto the lake and proximity to the road did not lend its location to hiking or biking. But we had a reservation for the next day at Juniper Springs, another favourite. A bald eagle greeted us at the entrance gate.

Last year we missed Juniper Springs due to a forest fire. We only have one night here and were debating whether to do the run on our day in or our day out. The organization at the run in the park is really good. We were able to leave the vehicle at the haul out point and get a ride back to the launch site, meaning we didn’t have to be back to the haul out at a specific time. This is a 7.5 mile run requiring almost four hours to complete. This time of year sunset is not until almost 7:00 p.m. So we still had plenty of light to do the run the first day. That way we would not have to worry about leaving late the next day and trying to find a spot for the night.

This run was much more treacherous than two years ago. Plus this time we were paddling our own canoe, not one of the park’s aluminium, tank canoes that can handle banging into the many trees, rocks and dead heads in the river. What we really needed were bike helmets and chain saws. With high water some limbs of the trees were so low we had to slide off the canoe seats and sit on the floor and still lower our heads. More than once I laid flat out and still couldn’t get under some limbs. It took us four hours. We came back with a scared face (Marty) and I hit my back, again, like I did 2 years ago.

However, we didn’t flip the canoe. After the run, we learned that three canoes did that day. One poor guy ducked a limb but got his life jacket hung up on the way under. It pulled him right out of the canoe and sent him and his partner into the drink. Definitely our most challenging run of the winter. All we can say we saw were two gators, lots of turtles and a few birds. The pace of the river and paddling kept me from taking too many pictures. The channel is mostly quite narrow with a current from 2 to 6 mph. Lots of “S” turns, one after another and full of all sorts of obstacles. Good thing I didn’t try to steer again. Some of the logs are already decorated with patches of our skin.

After all that we should have been exhausted but we both had a difficult time getting to sleep that night. Woke late and got a late start on the road to Salt Springs. Got there just before noon and had a quick round of tennis when a large group of teenagers piled out of a van together with two hockey nets, sticks and balls. They proceeded to try to play on the basketball courts but had been eyeing the fenced tennis courts as they emerged from the van. I don’t know how twelve good sized kids, two nets and a dozen sticks fit in that van but they all got out of it. I don’t know whether it was all the aches and pains from the canoe ride the day before, but we gladly handed the courts over to the kids as we were definitely not playing to the best of our ability. Two sand hill cranes were beside the fence when we got there and I was able to take a couple of shots before they took off.

Had lunch and left for Gainsville for the “Quilt Natural Florida” show at the Florida Museum of Natural History. What a talent some people have. Took away a few new ideas and pictures. Gainsville is a pretty university town. A lot of the university towns we have seen are very picturesque. The museum was my treat. Marty went for a walk through the adjacent university campus.



We have been watching the weather and the forecast was for a few clear days ahead all the way up north. It is now time for the mad dash for home and trying to get back before the long weekend to avoid heavy traffic.

Left Gainsville about three and drove straight through till about eight all the way into South Carolina. Found a Wal-mart at Walterboro right off the I95 south of Columbia. Marty slept like a log. A bit of air conditioner noise kept me restless and a leaf blower woke me early, but we had a nice full moon and a pond behind us. The front lot was packed with RV’s heading north. Never have I seen so many at a Wal-mart.

Two more days of driving and we are home at last 4:30 p.m. on Good Thursday, April 1st. There are no Swiss Chalet’s in USA so our first night home we had a much missed Swiss Chalet dinner and then went to sleep in a full size bed (a double treat), exhausted after five months of relaxing on our winter vacation.

CHASSAHOWITZKA AND WITHLACOOCHEE - Florida's natural side

We had heard about a County park called S.G. Simpson on the east coast of Tampa Bay from other travellers in previous years, but had not had a chance to check it out. We drove there and were lucky in that there were open spaces available. This park doesn't take reservations.  The park is located in a mangrove area with each camping spot backing onto one of a maze of canals that lead to the Bay. We were able to beach and launch the canoe from the rear of our camp spot.

In spite of high winds we took the canoe out. The mangroves sheltered the bayous, but we were unable to get out onto Tampa Bay itself.  Lots of osprey here, but high water levels close to shore limited the number of shore (wading) birds. Next day’s canoe ride into the shallows, brought us close to three ibis and lots of osprey plus a run in with oyster shells in some shallows. (Ouch for the canoe.)

On our way back to my folks' at Largo we took the slow road and the Sunshine Bridge.  Played tennis before dropping in and got back to Mom and Dad’s about 2:30. Went to the Olive Garden for dinner. They had decided that they didn’t need our help driving home to Canada, so we left the next day after picking up Marty’s bike from the repair shop where we dropped it off on the previous day.  He had to get a new rear wheel.  This time the rim got bent from bottoming out in a deep dip in the road, not because of backing up. Three years ago we each got new bikes for Christmas after he crushed our old ones; plus new tires three months later after he backed into a cactus.  Before leaving in the fall, he moved the bike rack from the back of the van to the front to keep the bikes safe. Wrong! He might try the roof next; then hit a bridge!

Took a new route to the Chassahowitzka County Park, the scene of last year’s camera loss. The no-see-um’s are alive and well and hungry. Next day we got on the water about noon, waiting till the no-see-um’s had breakfast. The manatee were back in the bay this year because of the cold gulf water temperature.  There were lots where the warm spring fed side channels converge with the main river. The best manatee bay had a weekend crowd with other canoeists and fishermen so we didn’t stay long.  We went back up “The Crack” spring channel, said a prayer for the old camera that met it’s end at the spring source and took some new pics.  Had a really great canoe ride along the Chassahowitzka River. The river is a bit more challenging as it is tidal as well as having the spring fed flow. We heard there were resident otters, but we didn’t see any.

Next day we got out early as we had to check out at 2:00 p.m.  Marty wanted to swim with the manatee as we had done with my son Sam two years earlier.  We took the carrots we had left in our fridge and paddled out again.  This time we were on our own in the bay.  We had a many as 7 manatee surrounding our boat looking for handouts. One appeared to be a nursing calf.  Manatee are called sea cows but “calf” might not be the right term since they are a relative of the elephant.  What ever it is called, it was a pleasant treat.  The water was quite mucked up from the manatee activity and we heard there was a large gator in these parts so we didn’t get out of the canoe.  As Chef said in Apocalypse Now, “Don’t get out of the boat!!!”

We were about twenty minutes late getting out of our camp site, good thing no one was waiting to come in. Headed over to Hog Island in the Withlacoochee Forest.  It is a beautiful prinitive camping spot where we spent New Years eve last year sitting around a roaring camp fire.  Lots of tenters, but only one other RV besides the camp host. What a difference!!!  Last year, the river was practically non-existent during the drought. This year the river is navigable.  Planned to canoe tomorrow.

Best laid plans….It rained and rained hard in the night and morning hours. Marty put the awning out and we were at least able to sit out in the afternoon hours. Went for a walk after the rain stopped and all the tenters had left. Checked out the river route with the host who advised to paddle upstream first on the outside of the island since the return channel is marked at the top end but not at the bottom. Upstream first is always wise since you can drift home with the current if you run out of energy.



Finally, the rain stopped and we got out on the river. Saw and heard lots of limpkin. What a noise they make—a loud screeching right out of Jurassic Park. Still quite cool after the rain and we saw just a few turtles and alligators. Most hiding from the cold. Thank goodness we didn’t see the resident cotton mouth snakes that the host told us sleep in the tree branches over the river.

We had paddled upstream for about two hours, I was getting exhausted, hungry and bitchy so Marty wisely turned around and we drifted back in about 25 minutes. Got back just in time for the light rain to begin again. After supper we went in search of the owls we had heard the previous night but no luck.  Enjoyed the walk under the stars and the frog serenade though.

MO-O-DA FLO-A-DA

Spent a few days in Venice and area, found a new park with tennis courts and a boat launch, also some trails. We rode the bikes and played tennis. We found the no yacht, yacht club. They are hoping to turn it into a canoe and kayak club, as it is on the Alligator Creek without deep water access. Spent the afternoon looking at open houses.

Tried to get into Oscar Sherer S.P. however, it was full so we rushed over to Myakka River S.P. The Myakka River is listed in the Great Canoe/Kayak Trails of Florida and is listed as a beginner run. We saw lots of gators and a bald eagle. Finished the ride about 1:00 and had to check out as there was no chance for a second night at this park either. Obviously, we are getting into the busy “March Break” season.

We had lunch on the river bank and headed back into Venice to check out the beach as it was a beautiful day. We walked several miles of the beach and back to the vehicle on the street. Stopped into another open house a block from the beach. However, this one was somewhat large and with a too large price tag at $850,000, for our blood.

Since we were having so much difficulty in finding a camping spot over March break, we decided to head over to Okeechobee and get a camp permit for Hickory Hammock, the horse camp we really enjoy, and chill out for a couple of days. On our way we stopped for lunch by an old aircraft in Acadia and we saw two sand hill cranes.

This year, Hickory Hammock has a camp host, a friendly cowboy from Wyoming with a foot and a half long braided pony tail. We share the compound with him and a tenter on the far side whom we never got to speak with. Weather is great and we finally took out the chairs and BBQ. After all our house hunting of the past few days, we planned a day of R & R. Watched the buzzards scrap over scraps and ownership of a pole perch behind our campsite. Saw two snakes, one dropping out of a tree not far from where I was sitting. It was black and probably the endangered Indigo snake (non-venomous) since the only other candidate is a Black Racer (also non-venomous) which isn’t known for climbing. Doesn’t it seem that whenever you plan a nice, restful day, unexpected company drops in? At least they didn’t ask to be fed!! By late afternoon clouds rolled in and the wind came up with a threat of rain.

Next day our plan for a hike was thwarted due to rain. We played some mini tennis under the covered picnic pavilion. Balls were bouncing off the pillars and we ended up chasing the balls into the fields. It was a giggle and at least we got a bit of exercise. It rained all night and into the next day. We were supposed to leave today, but don’t want to go in the rain. It is quite stormy with high winds again. This is Friday though and the camp has been booked out to a riding club for the weekend. About noon, the horses start to arrive so we decided to take off.

We had about a two hour window of rain stoppage and headed over to the Lock Access Road a mere 6 miles distance on the Kissimmee River. The camping field is very wet. We picked a dryish spot and settled in just in time for the rain again. Had one day of sunshine but high winds and we couldn’t take the canoe out onto the River. On a hike we met a friendly lady named Sherry from Maryland and her black poodle, Pinot Noir. We got talking about our trip among other things and ended up giving her our blog address. Hi Sherry if you are out there. Headed off after two days.

The Caracara

WHO SAYS CHICKENS AREN’T SMART

Put some miles under our belts next day and drove through Alabama and stopped fairly early at a Mississippi highway rest stop. There were lovely individual picnic areas in a wooded area away from the highway and a view of the wetlands behind us. Barbequed ribs for dinner and had a quiet night away from traffic. Nice spot.


Drove into Florida the next day and found tennis courts in the small town of Milton and played for an hour. Drove to Blackwater State Park looking for a canoe run. The Blackwater River is on the list of Florida Canoe Trails, is pristine and one of the few sand bottom rivers in Florida. We booked in for two nights, then found that the river had been closed due to exceptionally high water levels and at least three log jams due to the massive amount of rain over the past four months.

Biked to one of the take out sites and the boat launch in the park prior to talking to the ranger. It did strike me weird that no one was there as it was a weekend, but didn’t put 2 and 2 together as to why. The ranger advised that the Juniper Creek run was possibly open though.



Drove to the Juniper Creek take out and then the launch site and tried to figure out the logistics of how to get the canoe to the top and the van to the bottom. It is a 6 mile run on the river and about 8 miles by road from one end to the other. We wanted the RV at the end of the run in case we got wet, cold or both. The run was supposed to be between an hour to an hour and half at its current flow rate. Marty wisely decided not to drop off the canoe, drive down and bike it back up so we had to find someone to drive him one way. Again, we did not seeing too many people and not many vehicles with canoe/kayak racks (are we learning something here?). I, for one, was beginning to chicken out on a blind river run with no other paddlers available to help if we ran into problems.

After following the river on foot for a ways, it was easy to see the possibility of obstacles and it appeared to be moving pretty fast. Upon returning to the vehicle another person had arrived who was getting ready for an off road bike ride. After a brief discussion, Marty asked him, not if he would follow him down and drive him back, but if he would like to go down the river with him. Wayne readily agreed and I was nominated the pick up man with the van. An hour and 45 minutes later I put on a pot of coffee and was still waiting for their appearance at the take out point. Just under two hours, I heard their voices and got ready to snap a picture.

They had a good run for 99% of the route. However, they did come across a log jam at about a half hour from the finish. The banks of the river at that point were too steep and wet to do a traditional portage, so they had to get out of the canoe and wrestle it across the branches of the tree and get in again on the other side of the jam. Both Marty and I were very glad that I had not made the run. It was only the guys' brute strength that got them over the jam. (Wayne was a physical trainer at a nearby Air Force base and could probably bench press the canoe with Marty in it.) I would still be sitting on a log if I had gone. Wayne and Marty successfully did it without getting wet but the backpack got a soaking. Fortunately, I had given him the waterproof camera and the fresh water did not damage the phone.
Unfortunately, Marty left the camera in the backpack and took not a single picture.  Note Wayne's puny legs in this picture. 

Our original plan was to have spent some time in the panhandle canoeing the various rivers. However, it had rained heavily again in the night and all of the rivers were likely to be in the same condition as the Blackwater. So another long day of driving across the panhandle in the morning rain and into Chieftan ready to hit my favourite quilt shop in Trenton the next day.

Finally, a beautiful day!!! Woke early and got a very strong WiFi site at the Chieftan Library. Checked email and was able to send another issue of the blog. Drove into Trenton for opening at 10:00 and had a great hour long shop. Overheard two ladies discussing the weather and saying more rain for tomorrow then a cold front was coming in. Off we went to the Chamber of Commerce for a weather report. Sure enough a cold front with below freezing temps was coming.

Another change of plans and we took off for Mom and Dad’s hoping the coastal influence, another 100 miles further south would moderate the temps so we wouldn’t have to winterize the vehicle. Arrived to Largo in time to find out they were heading out the door for dinner with Conrad and Sonya. Said a hasty goodbye and we were left on our own to shower and unpack.
Had a really good several days visit with Mom and Dad. Very restful mornings with paper and coffee. Mom and I shopped just about every day. On good weather days Marty and I played tennis and we took Dad and Mom out for Dad’s 87th birthday dinner to a high end restaurant called Salt Rocks. First time for me to dine there. Excellent food, views of the intra coastal waterway and the servers didn’t handle our food New Orleans style.

Marty cleaned, waxed and polished the RV and the canoe. Dad admired the job so we did his car as well for part of his birthday present. Left them alone after the birthday but will stop in again prior to them leaving Florida on the 20th.

The sunshine bridge over Tampa Bay looking south.

A THREE FERRY TALE

We were at the Port Aransas ferry by 9:30 but had to wait for half hour to cross. Drove down the coast to Galveston. This part of the Texas birding trail offers a large variety of hawks and egrets and we also saw some sand hill cranes along the road. We had wanted to stay in the Galveston S.P. again but what a disappointment. The park had been devastated by hurricane Ike three years ago. Only a small portion of the campsites remain. Two of the three shower buildings have been destroyed or damaged and still not repaired. The gatehouse is totally gone, replaced by just a small trailer. The visitor’s centre and walkways have also disappeared. We walked the beach and settled in for the night.

There was still devastation all along the coast through Galveston. A fishing pier had partially collapsed and a truck was hanging above the water by cross beams only. A hotel on a pier was also badly damaged. The ramp which connected the pier to the gulf side road was gone and the building stranded. Walls are missing and there are still some plastic chairs on a balcony or two. It would have been a horror to have been an occupant of that building at the time of the hurricane. We saw absolutely nothing of where we had stayed on the beach four years ago.

We missed another ferry due to stopping for pictures. We had a huge tanker truck pull in behind us on the ferry. He went through several back ups and pull forwards before he was able to confine himself to one lane and allow other vehicles onto the ferry. He stopped behind us with 2” to spare. We had an uneventful ride over but there were problems with the off load ramp and we were stuck on the boat for an additional 10 minutes or so. The rest of the Texas coastline had severe damage. Many homes had been rebuilt. Houses on the coast are built on stilts. Some houses were standing on the stilts with no stairs or balconies and some balconies were standing with no houses. Some of the rebuilt “cottages” are huge homes. Huston is within easy commuting distance.

Put in a long day of driving across Texas into Louisiana. The road goes over a number of bayous and Henderson swamp where the road is elevated for about 30 miles between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Both directions are elevated double lanes over the swamp. In spite of speeds being reduced, drivers weren’t intimidated by the water on both sides and continued to speed. Saw a few derelict boat houses in the bayous. Hope these aren’t the search and rescue teams when vehicles go over the edge. There was an additional 10 miles of elevated road along the edge of Lake Pontchartrain at the west entry to New Orleans.

The H P Long Bridge over the Mississippi River was under repair and barely two lanes wide. We were forced over an inch by another driver coming into our lane and we scraped the paint off the edge of the running board. Thankfully, we were coming down the ramp and were no longer over the water. This was extremely scary, the workers were no more than inches from us and I was afraid they would be knocked off by the canoe. No one passed us over the bridge though and signs advised not to pass any trucks. What a fright, I was a nervous wreck and Marty was upset over his spoiled paint job.

After we got to the park, we checked and saw the damage was not too bad.

The Bayou Segnette S.P. is a real treat—reasonable rates, clean grounds and washrooms and free laundry. It is a large wooded area with lots of birds and wildlife right in the middle of the developed area of New Orleans. It is the focal point of drainage canals that radiate out throughout the city. It contains large pumps which pump water from the drainage canals to a higher canal that takes the water back to Lake Pontchartrain.

The French Quarter is close and easy to get to by a short ferry ride across the Mississippi so we don’t have to take that bridge again. Ferry docks are further than anticipated and the GPS wants to take us to a different set of docks than the ranger had advised. After getting lost we finally made it to the right dock, parked and walked onto the 10:00 a.m. ferry. This was a good plan as nothing opened in town prior to then anyway as New Orleans is well noted for its night life. We had just missed Mardi Gras two nights prior. Walked all through the French Quarter and took the trolley up Canal Street.

Marty, now famous for his truck stop gourmet, has come through again with a hole in the wall eatery. We answered the call of a monstrous black man out on the sidewalk booming out the menu and excellence of the fare. Entry was via a side door in an old building, through a stair well and through a door next to an old refrigerator and a pile of cardboard boxes. The décor left a lot to be desired, however, the excellent meal was prepared by two big mamas who start cooking at three each morning, creating traditional southern cooking. Marty, not liking sea food, had lasagne (southern Italy?). Mama asked if he wanted salad then reached into a huge bowl, grabbed a bare hand full of greens and dropped it onto his plate. After asking if he wanted bread, she tore off a huge chunk from a French stick and plopped it on top. I had a fabulous shrimp Po’Boy and Gumbo from which I had to pick out the crab shells. Great authentic southern cuisine! The place looked like a dump but the clientele were obvious locals, many in business attire. Good food combined with a memorable experience.