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.
