The Real Florida - Click Any Picture for a bigger view - Blogs read from latest post to older. To read in Chronological Order Click link Florida Trip 2023-24 Click to see My updated Travel Plans
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Monday, March 18, 2024
After 1/3 of a year my Winter RV Trip has ended and I'm back home
Saturday, March 9, 2024
Back to Cypress Glen for one week
I left early Sunday morning to head north to Cypress Glen Campground. I got to my campsite-48 at 11:30am.
My plan was to take the Good Neighbor Bike Trail to Brooksville on Monday. It's normally a nice 26 mile flat rail-trail ride, but right before town the trail was blocked and I was detoured to the road, no bike lane and a big hill. I tried a different route back around the detour but it was still hilly. It added a about a mile to my bike ride.
I checked the river level and was surprised that the low water in December (50 cfs) caused by the Fall drought was gone and the winter rains brought the level way up to 240 cfs. It was the wettest winter ever.I decided on Tuesday I would see how far up the Little Withlacoochee River I could paddle. After about a mile I eventually got blocked by a tree across the narrow river, so went back and then up the main river to Crooked River Park. I scared an alligator who then scared me by jumping into the river next to my kayak.
On Wednesday my daughter Joan and my grandson Jake flew in to paddle with me on Thursday at Weeki Wachee Springs. They got a motel room nearby and picked me up. No car rack so I couldn't take my kayak. We rented a single and a tandem and got an early start so it was not crowded when we paddled up the river from Rogers Park about 2-1/2 miles. We hoped to see some Manatees but no luck, they didn't need to come upstream to the warm spring water.Peggy in February 2021 on Weeki Wachee Springs River |
I was able to leave by 7:30 AM on Sunday morning for a sunny 3 hour drive to Ocean Pond National Forest Campground between Jacksonville and Lake City, off I-10. They don't take reservations but even though it is now Spring Break time, I found 3 open sites in the camp with 120v power, but those sites all had the power broken so they were only charging the same as the non-power sites, $10/night, I grabbed a favorite site #11 and saw that the camper behind me was using the 50 amp power plug in his site, so I asked him if I could run a long 30 amp cord to his unused 30 amp plug. He said fine, that's what he did last week when he was in #11 and then moved to #6 when it became available. I was in site #6 for 10 days last November. Both these sites are large and nobody is around you. I noticed there were a dozen empty water-only sites available when I arrived.
Saturday, March 2, 2024
Lithia Springs County Park for 1 week
River Launch at my campsite #40 |
On Friday morning I noticed that the river had dropped down to 130 CFS, which is the lowest I had ever paddled it. I like the first 3 miles of the Lower Alafia River so I decided to paddle downstream 3 miles and then back to my campsite eliminating the need to run a shuttle. There are a lot of shallow shoals and I wasn't sure if I could paddle back upstream through all of them but I made it. It took me almost 30 min longer going back upstream to my camp. It took a little over 2 hours with no breaks.
This is a map of the 7 mile Lower Alafia River. Click Here to see Florida Paddling Trails Association's River Info and bigger maps.
Saturday, February 24, 2024
Now ready to start moving north
Here is Peggy 5 years ago at the riverside campsite. |
Saturday, February 17, 2024
Finishing my First Week at the WP Franklin COE Campground
Campsite #5 at WP Franklin |
Aerial View of WP Franklin |
On the way to WP Franklin on Sunday morning I stopped at the growing Babcock Ranch Development where I enjoy all the bike paths and have biked here for the past 3 years.
Click for larger map of Babcock Ranch Bike Rides 2023 (Red) & 2024 (Blue)
The eastern area is all new this year. Lots of homes but very few businesses and restaurants considering how many people now live here.
On Tuesday I paddled from my campsite up Telegraph Creek and back (7 mi) and on Wednesday I did a 13 mil bike ride through the neighborhoods near our campground.
The weather has been sunny with temps in the high 70's all week. However they are forecasting lots of rain coming in late on Saturday and all day Sunday. So I decided Friday would be a good day to get in some more kayaking.
Hickey Creek Mitigation Area |
I paddled about 1 mile up the Caloosahatchee River to Hickey Creek, and then 2-1/2 mi as far as I could make it up the creek. I had to turn around where a big fallen tree blocked my way. I checked, it was the same place I had to turn around last year. I came back to the kayak landing and had lunch, then I paddled back to my campground, a 7 mi round trip.
Here is a picture of Peggy and Bob Nicholson who paddled up here with me 7 years ago.
Friday, February 9, 2024
Six nights at Pioneer County Park in Zolfo Springs
View of lake next to my campsite |
The campground boundary is the Peace River that flows from Winter Haven to Port Charlotte, FL. Peggy and I have paddled several different sections in the past. We stayed here in 2019 for 3 days and camped in the crowded camp with 50 amp power. We brought our lightweight canoe & cart with us so we could pull our canoe back from the river take-out to our campsite that you can see in the distance.
I rode my bike around town and also did a 13 mile ride to a Walmart in Wauchula using a small county road, staying off the main highway US-17.
I plan to leave early on Sunday morning and bike around Babcock Ranch which is a few miles north of my destination for Superbowl Sunday, WP Franklin - Corps of Engineers campground, which is by the last lock on the Caloosahatchee River, east of Fort Myers.
Sunday, February 4, 2024
Finishing my second week at Oscar Scherer State Park
On Sunday 1/28 my plans were to watch the NFL playoffs. My friend Doug Smith had planned to stay with me before he headed up to near St Petersburg on 2/1. He called from just past Atlanta and was slowly heading south, I suggested he could hurry down to my campground and watch the games with me. Well he made it in time to watch Buffalo and Detroit both lose their games.
He spent the next 4 days with me enjoying the cool dry weather, hiking, cooking, shopping and both of us telling lots of stories. He hadn’t brought a bike but I was able to borrow an e-bike for him from a camper I met.
So on Tuesday we took our bike ride south on the Legacy Trail and stopped at the small train station museum and watched the small planes landing at Venice, FL. He was glad I got him an e-bike so that he could keep up and bike the 18 mile round trip.
After Doug left, on Friday I took another 29 mi bike ride south to Caspersen Beach and then north through the million dollar neighborhoods up to Venice Beach.
The
weather forecast for Sunday was lots of rain and I wanted to get in at least
one more bike ride so on Saturday afternoon so I took another 14 mi ride along
Casey Key and back to the Legacy Trail.
I
love the Legacy Trail and all the connecting trails that you can ride near
Sarasota and Venice. It the past two weeks I rode my bike 160 miles, it was good cardiac rehab.
The next place I have camping reservations is at WP Franklin COE Campground on the Caloosahatchee River east of Fort Myers, however that is not until Sunday 2/11. So I have 6 days to stay somewhere else until then.
In the past I've stayed at Pioneer County Park in Zolfo Springs northeast of here and had no trouble getting a campsite. They do not take reservations but that's where I'm heading to on Monday morning.
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Doing a lot of bicycling at Oscar Scherer State Park.
My CampSite #71 |
Small Site but even room for my Hammock. |
These trails also connect with trails along the beaches in Venice, FL See My Map of a ride through Venice past all the beautiful homes.
There is also a nice trail West of the our campground along Casey Key.
I parked sideways to get privacy in top picture |
Along the Venitian Waterfront Park |
My longest ride was going north to Sarasota where the Legacy Trail ends but connects to a new bike lane along Ringling Blvd that takes you to Bayfront Park & Marina/Island Park, pictures below.
In the past 4 days I biked all of these trails from my campsite for a total of 100 miles.