I was hoping that I could finally go kayaking at EG Simmons
Park right on Tampa Bay. I got the campsite I wanted on Sunday morning (12/29)
but the weather quickly turned much colder. Temperatures barely got over 50o
F, and the winds in the bay were 20-30mph, not very pleasant for
kayaking. So I caught up getting my programs loaded on my new computer.
On Wednesday I wasted the whole day trying to pick up the door handle I ordered from Amazon. I went to their outdoor locker a short 6 mi bike ride from camp, I thought I followed all their directions but my cell phone would not connect to the locker’s Bluetooth. I must of spent 3-4 hours there and on the phone with Amazon help. I gave up and came back to camp.
I will give it a try on Sunday when I leave for Lithia Springs only 45 min away where I will spend most of January. Good news on Sunday I drove to the Amazon Locker on my way to Lithia Springs and luckily an Amazon driver was dropping off packages and he showed me the only thing I did wrong was that I had too large of a font on my phone that prevented me from seeing the next button to click. “CLICK” the door opened and I got my door latch.
I chose campsite 35 since it had easy access to the Alafia River. I could paddle to my camp from Alderman Ford 10 mi upstream or paddle 8 mi downstream to Brandon Boat dock. But the river was practically dry and impassable since the winter was dry and the ¼” rainfall the past month did nothing to help.
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| Lithia Springs Campsite #35 |
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| Click Picture for a Large PDF copy of this map |
This is a map I made a few years ago showing all the trails
you could ride in the Fishhawk Ranch neighborhood and beyond. These concrete
trails start right at our campground and you could plan many 15 mile trips with
different routes every day on these scenic trails. The trails are very curvy
low speed trails that go through the wooded areas and around retention ponds in
the development. You barely ever see anyone on the trails.
I guess I should be happy that it is now warm and in the
high 70’s and have fun exploring all the local trails. My reservations end on
1/26, however the campsite was already reserved over one weekend 1/17-18 when
I’ll have to leave and find a place to park in the area, perhaps at another
Cracker Barrel or Lowes parking lot.
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