1063 November 29, 2023 Exploring Cedar Key

More laps in the campground this morning.  It was only 36 degrees and there was frost overnight but there was no wind and the sun came out and it was a great day for walking.

SOOO MANY squirrels.

We had been noticing large areas of dug up sand. We suspected that there were wild pigs in the campground. This morning we saw a pack of 4 or 5 small pigs running away from the road. These pigs certainly can cause a lot of destruction, looking for roots, reptiles, and rodents in the dirt.

Tim had been looking at maps to see where we might go next.  He was interested in going to Cedar Key.  We knew that on August 30^th of this year, Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Cedar Key.  We were not sure if there was a town to visit.  We decided to drive there today in the Jeep to check out the area.  We packed our lunch and drove the 57 miles to the town. 

We had our lunch at the small beach at the Cedar Key City Park.  The sunshine felt magnificent.  I could have sat on that bench all afternoon!

There are some buildings and businesses that were affected by the storm. These seaside communities seem to be very resilient.

We walked around town and browsed in some of the shops.

We saw these watermen coming in with buckets full of clams. This town is the main source of farm raised clams in the United States.

Pelicans always pose so nicely!

We have chosen to move to Cedar Key tomorrow.  We found a really nice campground outside of town and made our reservation.

I went back to town to get fresh water and to make use of the Dunnellon Library internet again.

We had stopped at a seafood market for some fresh Gulf shrimp. We grilled it and it was so much better than grocery store shrimp!

1062 November 28, 2023 Rainbow River Headwaters

We started the day with our usual morning exercise.  I wandered the campground loops and walked to the gate and the river and on a nature trail.  It was almost 50 degrees with a little bit of a chilly breeze. 

We packed our lunch and drove the Jeep to the other portion of the state park at the headwaters of the Rainbow River.  There are hot springs here that emerge from the ground and the Rainbow River begins its flow from here. 

We walked to the waterfalls.

We left the park and headed into the town of Dunnellon.  We had not been able to post the blog for several days.  We went to the public library and borrowed the internet in order to publish.

The rest of the day passed quietly.  We both got out for some more exercise before the sun set.

1061 November 27, 2023 Rainbow Springs Campground

It was so nice to see glorious sunshine this morning!  I walked more than 2 miles through the park.

We moved again today, traveling west through horse country.  Our route was dotted with beautiful ranches, an equestrian center, a horse track, and a dressage ring.

We stopped at a small AmMex Grocery with lots of Latin American foods.  We bought some produce, some mango yogurt, and Tim’s favorite hot sauce.

We arrived at Rainbow Springs in North Central Florida at around noon. 

Today we spent hours getting the new TV set up with our DISH.  It was a little frustrating and took way longer than it should have but I was really happy when Tim was able to watch the replay of yesterday’s Ravens game!

We rode our bikes in the campground and down to the Rainbow River.  There is a swimming area right next to the sign about the presence of alligators…

Grilled chicken and mushrooms with chickpea pasta in a garlic and white wine sauce was really tasty!

Tomorrow, we plan to explore Rainbow Springs State Park.

1060 November 26, 2023 Rainy Day At Rodman

When we got up this morning, it was raining.  IT was coming down in sheets, a real soaking rain.  It made me not want to go out for a walk.  I haven’t had a rest day on a long time.  I slept poorly last night and just di not have the energy to make myself go out and get wet. 

Tim did his yoga and stretching.  He took the umbrella and walked two miles.

I have a list of rainy-day tasks that I want to accomplish.  I decided to tackle that list today.  As a result, I have clean countertops.  I also sorted through a basket that had been accumulating all manner of things.  I did some organizing and some writing. 

Around noon, Tim wanted to go out for a ride.  This park is adjacent to Ocala National Forest.  There is a whole network of state forest roads for ATV’s and Jeeps.  We went to explore.   It was rainy and wet and foggy and lovely.

We saw lots of wildlife today.  We saw turtles.

We saw a bald eagle, a wild turkey, and lots of deer.

We saw a pair of hawks.

There was a small frog on our windshield; hitchhiking!

There are so many buzzards.

Sandhill cranes here for the winter.

We rested this afternoon and then I got back to my chores.  Tim took another wet walk.

When he returned, we took the Jeep and our dinner out to a pavilion in the other campground loop.  The rain had stopped.  We heard an owl hooting in the forest behind us.

1059 November 25, 2023 Rodman Campground

There was really no good place to walk this morning.  I walked laps up and down the lane to the campground until I reached 3 miles.

We were only about 30 miles from Rodman Campground. 

Our TV blew up on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  We chose not to shop for a new one until today.  We stopped at a Walmart and made our purchase.  Tim decided that we should try to install the TV in the parking lot in case we needed a different mounting system.  This proved to be a good idea.  We went back in three different times to get everything we needed.  We still have to get DISH TV set up but that is a headache for another day since our next campground is among the trees and we cannot get satellite reception.  By the time we were finished hanging the new TV, it was early afternoon.

We arrived at Rodman around 2:30.  Our site is right along the Barge Canal.

We hopped on our bikes and went to explore.

We began at the other camping loop where we saw several shorebirds.

We biked to the Rodman Dam.

Later in the evening, we returned in the Jeep to the picnic area with our dinner.  This little boy was fishing at the top of the dam when we were here this afternoon and he was still there this evening!

A guy on the pier caught a nice fish.  It was about 16 inches long.

1058 November 24, 2023 Lynch’s Landing

It was raining hard when we got up this morning.  I got a late start I was finally able to get out and walk.

I took the paved park road to the bird exhibit.  There were no birds around.

I walked to the beach and considered going back that way but I knew that I would have a longer walk if I turned around and went the way I came.

It was moving day again.  We stopped at the Publix on Amelia Island to gather a few things.  We saw Ruthie, Curtis’ granddaughter working at the register so we had to say hi!

We left the coast and traveled inland to the west.  It was a 2-hour ride to Palatka.  We had a lot of trouble finding a campground for tonight.  We are at a small privately owned place right on the Saint John’s River.

I spent the afternoon doing ordinary chores.

We took a walk right as the sun was setting. 

We were in the RV when we noticed this beautiful red sky!

1057 November 23, 2023 Thanksgiving With Family

I started my day with a great walk; 2 miles along the paved park road, under the tree canopy, to Fort Clinch.

At the East Inlet, I was able to access the beach.  I walked 1.5 miles along the ocean and back to the RV.

My reflections today were of course about gratitude.  I have so many things to be thankful for. 

While I was walking, Andrea was running a Thanksgiving Day half marathon in Atlanta. You GO GIRL!!!

On Tuesday, when we went to visit Curtis and Janice, their son David stopped by to say hi.  Yesterday, we got an invitation to come for Thanksgiving dinner.  We accepted and went to get some ingredients for a corn pudding and for a charcuterie tray.  We suddenly had an opportunity to spend the holiday with family.

We prepared food this morning and drove to David’s house.  We had a lovely afternoon.  Jennifer and her girls made a delicious feast and we enjoyed getting to know everyone.

It was nice to spend another day with Curtis and Janice!

1056 November 22, 2023 Fort Clinch State Park

One last walk through Crooked River State Park.  New discoveries every day!  

The River Trail.

Today I saw a gopher tortoise.  This is a cool sighting.  These turtles spend 85% of their lives underground.  A five-year-old tortoise is only as big as a tangerine. A ten-year-old tortoise is the size of a softball.  These tortoises can’t make baby tortoises until they are twenty-five years old.  Not sure how old this guy was but he was about the size of a dinner plate.

Pretty red cardinal.

SOOOOO many squirrels!

Today was moving day again.  We had another short trip over the Florida line to Fernandina Beach and Fort Clinch State Park.   Our campsite has a view of the Atlantic Ocean if you stand on the picnic table and look out over the dunes.

This armadillo was visiting our neighbor.

We both took walks on the beach.

Tim saw this tortoise near the boardwalk.

This evening, at sunset, we drove to Fort Clinch.  The museum and fort were closed.  We walked out to the river as the sun went down.

1055 November 21, 2023 Visit With Cousin Curtis

We spent our day walking and biking in this beautiful park.

At the Nature Center, we learned a lot about the creatures of this area including gopher tortoises.  The tortoises have nesting grounds among the pines here and they dig a deep burrow in the sandy soil.  This hole in the ground can provide shelter for more than 300 other critters.  These remarkable animals are a keystone species.  This means that the survival of many other species depend on these tortoises.    

We also learned a lot about Kings Bay Naval Base.  This site is the home port of the Navy’s fleet of nuclear submarines.  The tide here has a seven-foot variation and ebbs and flows every 12 hours.  The changeover is rapid and this makes it an ideal place for the submarines to be pushed in and out of the docks.  At this base, dolphins and sea lions from the West Coast are trained to identify and retrieve explosives.  These intelligent animals are transported to war zones to assist Naval teams.

Late in the afternoon, we drove to Yulee, Florida to visit Tim’s cousin, Curtis and his wife, Janice.  Dementia is exceptionally disheartening.  Curtis cares for Janice with compassion and patience. 

Curtis took us to Amelia Island to the Salt Life Food Shack.  We enjoyed a delicious meal as we shared life stories.  We had a great visit.  I had promised to do a better job getting pictures but the evening slipped by and we completely forgot!

1054 November 20, 2023 Crooked River State Park

I walked the same loop to Clam Creek Pier, past Driftwood Beach, and back to the Campground.  Today there were new things to see.

The bridge to Brunswick.

A shrimp trawler.

Herons.

Pretty bushes.

We took our time leaving.  We had only a one-hour drive to our next site.  Goodbye Jekyll Island!

We stopped again for groceries and we grabbed some BBQ for dinner.

We arrived at Crooked River State Park this afternoon.

We had a very short bike ride interrupted by nasty drizzle.

The rain passed quickly and we took our BBQ dinner to a bench by the river.

We will have lots of time tomorrow to explore this park.