Firing Up The Blog - Heading West

Summerdale, AL (45 degrees, chilly, blue skies)

Oxbow Bend looking over Mount Moran

I haven't posted a blog in some time but I'm excited about our upcoming plans and wanted to be sure to document them.  To catch you up we spent the summer and fall working for Grand Teton Association in the Grand Teton National Park. It was our third time working for the non-profit bookstores in the park.This time I was the Administrative Assistant in the office and John had the best job driving out to all the trail heads and stocking them with maps and guides. He collected the money, counted it, and then took deposits to the bank three days a week.  It was a great way to spend the summer in such a beautiful place. 

Chris and Chet

Gary, Jill, Kenzie, and Jackie

New solar panels

We had lots of friends who came out to visit us and we had a great time showing them all around. After this gig was completed we headed to Colorado to have some solar panels installed and then attended  the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. We camped with the Boomers with the Escapee RV Club. It was such a great time. We have been before and really love this event  Our daughter Jen came for a visit and some of our friends were here too.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

We then headed east to the Smoky Mountain area for a renovation to the inside of our motorhome with Smoky Mountain Coach Works. We met the owner of this company at a rally with FMCA last year and really liked his presentation. We spent three weeks at his place and are really happy with the results. The noggin loggin TV above the front windshield was removed and recessed back. A new cabinet was built to hold a TV which goes up and and down on a special lift. We added fireplace to the front and a great computer desk along the side. We also modified a kitchen cabinet and removed all the dusty shades and replaced them with MCD's. We stayed in the coach throughout and really were impressed with his staff and attention to detail.  Oh, and we bought a new Jeep Wrangler!  Our bank account certainly took a hit but we have been saving up for these expenses for awhile. What made it really special was having a reunion with our volunteer friends from Ding Darling NWR. Bob & Patsy and Al & Linda came up for a few days and stayed in nearby hotels.  We had a great time exploring the park while the renovation was being completed.

New TV/Computer cabinet

Linda, Alan, me, John, Bob and Patsy

Meet Teddy Bear

From there we headed south to Florida. It was great to spend the holidays with John's daughter Jen. We had some great times together and even got to see her scuba dive with some friends. We stayed mostly at MacDill AFB. The weather was certainly not as warm as usual, but that's the case for most places this winter.

We also had a nice visit with our friends Debbie and Dave from Indianapolis and met up with more Ding Darling friends for Christmas on the beach. That was very special.

John, me, Debbie, Dave, and Jen

Linda, Jen, Alan, me, John, Lynda, and Charlie

Kayaking is one of our favorite things to do in Florida. We met up with several friends and went back to some of our favorite rivers (Rainbow and Weeki  Wachee plus a new one for us at Lido Key). The rivers in northern Florida are breathtaking.

Weeki Wachee

These are only some of the highlights. We have traveled back to many of our favorite places and it's always very special to meet up with friends and family along the way. 

St. Andrews State Park 

So, now we have turned left out of Florida and have traveled along the beautiful panhandle of Florida and tomorrow we will be in New Orleans for a few days. Let the good times roll!

We have some exciting plans ahead. Ultimately we are heading west and along the coast of California where we will met up with friends and travel into Canada and Alaska. This is a long time dream of ours and it's finally just about here. It's took a lot of planning and research and we hope to hit as many of the highlights as possible. Come along with us as we tour the last frontier.

Escapee Park in Summerdale Alabama

Fun In The Florida Sun

Tampa,Florida (72 degrees, clear blue ski, perfect)

Crystal Springs 

We have been having the best of time in Florida over the past few weeks. There is a mass exodus of RVers now heading north, but in our opinion this is the one of the best times to visit. The weather is beautiful and everything is less crowed. We were able to confirm last minute reservations at several of our favorite campgrounds too.

Mermaids

We even saw Mermaids (at Weeki Wachee State Park). It is a delightful show which is offered about five times a day. This underwater show is held in a large fresh water spring and the it takes about a year before a mermaid can perform in the show. It was a little piece of Americana. The first show was held in 1946.

Weeki Watchee Mermai

Kayaking

Rainbow Springs (Diana and John)

Rainbow Springs (Pat and John)

We met up with our friends Diana and Pat at Rainbow Springs. It is a beautiful State Park campground with full hook up and an easy kayak launch out to the pretty springs. The weather did not cooperate very well but we managed to get in two nice paddle trips watching the weather closely. The campground is also close to Crystal River and Homosassa  for more kayak opportunities where you can meander through crystal clear water and maybe see a manatee. We saw two!

Crystal River - 

Interesting house boat on Crystal River

We also made a visit to see John's daughter who lives in St. Petersburg and it's great to be so nearby at MacDill AFB campground. It's a military campground in Tampa where we have stayed several times. It had a big renovation, mostly electrical this winter. We like it here a lot and seeing Jen is priceless.

She took us with her friend Kari on a magical paddle trip which went through several mangrove tunnels. There is a water trail at Weedom Island Preserve.which weaves  four miles around islands in Tampa Bay. Be sure to look at a tide chart before going because most of the trail is very shallow. It's a gem. We saw lots of birds and the launch site is very nice with an area to wash off your kayaks afterwards. Sweet!

Weaving through a mangrove tunnel in Weedom Preserve 

Jen loves looking for shells 

Kari paddling through a tunnel

Birding

Fran, Randy, and John checking out a mud flat to see who might be hanging out

Birding is always fun and we had a nice visit with our friends Fran and Randy at Myakka State Park. They are the best birders and it always amazes me to see how well they spot and identify birds. They introduced us to this hobby a few years ago. 

Loggerhead Shrike

Indigo Bunting

Camping

We liked staying at Myakka State Park. However, be sure to confirm a site in the new area. The sites are large and nicely landscaped with full hook ups. The older sites can be very muddy and difficult to navigate in a big rig. We especially liked the Canopy Walkway and Tower and the ranger led air boat tour. Cell signal is minimal at best.

Beautiful canopy trail

We also stayed at two Corp of Engineer Parks (W.P. Franklin and Ortona South) and spent an evening talking to some "lock hoppers". These campgrounds are very reasonable with a senior or access pass and cost only $15/night for water and electric. Most of the sites overlook the water, well spaced, and nicely maintained. The lock hoppers spend the winter moving back and forth every 14 days between the parks. Reservations need to be made well in advance  but it is a super deal for southern Florida. We like watching the boats go through the locks and so appreciate the peace and quiet. Being able to have a fire at night with stars overhead is nice indeed. 

Paddle boat going through the lock

Our site at W.P Franklin

Friends

Randy and Fran with John

Over the past few weeks we met up  with many of our friends  and the time together was great. Until we meet again...happy trails to you!

We will be here for a couple more weeks and will soon be going on a cruise with John's daughter. Life is good!

Karen and Al and Diana and Pat and friends

Come Along For A Paddle Trip To One Of The Wild Places - Silver River

Ocala, Florida (82 degrees, cloudy skies)

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water"

Loren Eiseley

Non stop paddling adventures have been a part of our fun agenda while staying in central Florida. The Silver River was our last trip down the crystal fresh waters of this area. There is a new launch here now since the Silver Springs State Park took over the outdated amusement park. It's soooo much easier to launch from here. (cost $4/person)

Last time we had to portage our kayaks down a 1/2 mile trail. It wasn't pretty. By the time we got to the river we were exhausted. You can now drop off your kayaks and take your car to Ray's Wayside Park. The park offers a shuttle back to the launch for $10 (9 a.m and 1 p.m) and then you can drift downstream for seven miles back to your car.  We were not aware of this option so we paddled downstream two miles and came back to the same area upstream.  

When you first start off it takes you through a densely forested area. At times it was hard to tell where the forest and water met. So, sit back and paddle along with us. It's a gem! This is one of the true wild places...no cars...no houses...just lush beauty.  

We counted 80 turtles during our paddle.  This one was huge!

There are lots of alligators on this river. They are not interested in us but this sighting was amusing. Meet Mr. Alligator - note what appears to be a smile

Check out all the turtles along the bank sunning themselves in the warm sunshine

We watched for awhile. I wonder how it all worked out for the alligator????

Pretty Wood Duck

Monkeys, yes monkeys are a common sight on this river.  Supposedly they were released by a Jungle Cruise tour boat operator in the 1930's. Check out this link to a blog written about them.

If you don't like to kayak there is a glass bottom boat tour which is very poplar. 

One of the springs

With reluctance we headed back to the launch. It was another enjoyable day on the river.