Midway Campground And Loop Road

1204 February 8, 2025 Midway Campground And Loop Road

We had one more opportunity to walk at Monument Lake. I did several laps on my bike as well. We were in no great hurry. We had less than ten miles to travel. We woke up this morning and the coffee maker did not work and then the fridge went off. Our batteries are not holding a charge despite using the generator for many hours each day. We were trying to be careful to use the generator after our neighbors were awake and when they were out for the day. Monument Lake is so peaceful that even though we could run our generator all day…it seemed a shame to disturb the quiet. The batteries will need replacement, I think. For now, we were moving to Midway. There we have electric hookups which will improve our power situation.

We left before 11am. Checkout was at noon and check-in at 2pm. Tim drove to the Visitor Center and let the coach engine run…another way to charge the house batteries. I drove ahead to Midway to see if our site was available and if we might be allowed to come in early. Unfortunately, the woman in our site was not ready to leave. I found a nice bit of shade with a nice breeze and sat and waited.

Noon came and went and there was no movement. I saw her go to the camp host. She wanted to stay at Midway as long as possible because she was headed to Monument Lake and she would have no ability to run her air conditioning. The camp host very gently informed her that she was supposed to have already left. The guest had the argument that check-in was not until 2pm…but I was already there and waiting and so she was asked to leave. Finally, I was able to call Tim and tell him to come on over. He dumped tanks and then as he approached our spot, she still hadn’t left. He waited patiently, diesel engine running, at the end of her drive as she made final preparations to go and finally, she went! Tim backed into #3. It was then that I realized that there was no water hookup. Tim pulled out and drove back over to get potable water for showers and dishes. We were getting settled at last and we were plugged in! It took us 3 hours to make the “short drive.”

We had a late lunch and had some quiet time.

This afternoon, we took the Jeep and drove Loop Road. This is a 24-mile gravel road along a canal. This is one of my favorite things to do her in Big Cypress. Today was a great day to make this drive. We saw more than a dozen alligators floating in the water and laying out along the roadside.