Yesterday we traveled from Jupiter, FL to just outside Naples, following Florida's Turnpike south to West Palm Beach, then picking up I-75 to cross the state.  The highway took us through the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve.  We stopped for a lunch break at a rest area which was right along a waterway, and there were dozens of wading birds: ibises, great egrets, wood storks, tricolored herons, and moorhens.

We picked up route 29 south toward Everglades City, and then Route 41/Tamiami Trail.  Along 41, I noticed an alligator sunning itself along the canal that ran parallel to the road---then another---then another!  There were dozens of them!  We'd better keep Ranger close while camping here.

We are now at Collier-Seminole State Park. It is a very small park and the campsites are very close together--not much privacy and there's noise from the road that runs directly behind site 39.  We went to a program done by a ranger about pythons in the Everglades.  I guess people buy them as pets, then let them go, and they thrive in this jungle-like environment, growing up to 20 feet long.  There's a contest going that gives a bounty for killing them, as they are throwing off the balance of the environment here, eating almost anything they can find.  (Nice comforting thought as we camp out.  Glad we're not sleeping on the ground in a tent!)

Yesterday, we took a bike ride to explore the rest of the state park.  We pedaled to the east, toward the park entrance and picked up quite a nice bike path along which we did some bird-watching.  The path took us to the other campground in Jonathan Dickinson, Pine Grove Campground.  Seeing it made me appreciate where we are in River Campground!  Pine Grove is definitely newer, and I'm sure their showers are better, but who wants to camp in a big open field along Highway 1?  The whole trip was over 11 miles, and I suspect we'll both feel it in our legs today.

Earlier in the day, we took a walk along a path that led us to Kitching Creek.  Although the birding has not been as good as in other parks, we did see a white ibis along the way.

It's been a relaxing few days at this park,but today we move on to Collier-Seminole in the southwest part of the state.

We are back into the rhythm of life in the RV.  Yesterday we had a lazy morning---reading, checking emails, breakfast and walking the dog.  We took a short hike around the nature trail, returned for some lunch, and then took the river cruise up the Loxahatchee River.  The boat looked like an old party barge outfitted with white plastic chairs, holding 25 people.  Our guide pointed out various types of wildlife along the way (alligators and manatees), interspersed with some of the history of the park.  At the turn-around point, we got off the boat for a tour of Trapper Nelson's place.  Trapper Nelson was a man who lived along the river from the 1930's into the 60's, trapping, building all of his cabins and outbuildings by hand, and establishing a wild animal zoo to which he charged admission to see alligators, bobcats, raccoons, and snakes.  He also wrestled alligators and swung out over the river on a rope (in shorts and bandanna), earning him the name "Wild Man of the Loxahatchee". Quite a story!

In the afternoon, Dan did some birdwatching and I rode my bike.  The birdwatching is not great here, but we did see cormorants, a grebe, a pelican, great blue herons, ospreys, and eagles.

The weather continues to be lovely----mid-70's in the afternoon, mid-50's for the early morning dogwalk.

Another four hours of driving south on I-95, and we are settled in at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, near Jupiter, for the next few days.  The park entrance is close to the Atlantic, but after registering, we followed the park road for four miles west, to the campground which is on the Loxahatchee River.  The campground is not one of the better ones we've seen at Florida parks: sites quite close together and poor showers.  But it was 71 degrees yesterday afternoon, so who's to complain?!

 Photo taken along the nature trail at Faver Dykes: lots of palmettos and Spanish moss.

Look like Florida!

Ranger and I took a long walk early this morning (50 degrees) and scouted out the area. There seems to be a lot to do at this park: river boat tours, kayak rentals, horseback riding, bike trails, and many hiking trails.  The weather is supposed to get steadily warmer as the week goes on, so we are definitely getting into vacation mode.

We awoke this morning in Faver-Dykes State Park, south of St. Augustine.  The tourism bureau’s booklet describes this park as “pristine” which should probably be translated as “no paved roads”.  Considering its proximity to St. Augustine, it feels very remote, with a small campground of 30 sites, each of which is tucked back into the vegetation allowing some privacy.  I have no “bars” out here so I’ll probably need to post this later in the day.

Our drive yesterday took us through Georgia and into Florida.  It felt great when we stopped at the Florida welcome rest area for lunch to leave the winter jackets behind.  Highs yesterday were around 60, which, while not beach weather, is a great improvement over recent temperatures in Montpelier.

We arrived early enough (around 3:30) to take Ranger for a walk around the campground and the little nature trail that goes along the salt marsh & river area.  Dan grilled our dinner and we sat around a campfire for awhile, though Ranger remained restless the whole time, hearing critters (probably raccoons) behind our site.  Sure enough---after we had moved inside for the night, after dark, and Dan stepped outside for a moment to get the water dish---off he ran, escaping into the woods!  I thought he would never be found, but shortly afterwards, he circled back to visit a couple of dogs at another site.  Dan had headed that way after hearing dogs barking and recognizing Ranger’s voice, and the woman at that site grabbed Ranger’s collar and held him so that Dan could put on his leash and bring him back.  Phew!  Too much excitement for me.

Today we will continue south on I-95.  I hope to have a strong enough signal soon to post some photos.

Our third annual "escape from the cold" camping trip began yesterday, Feb. 1.  We left home on a cold, clear morning, fortunately without the snow flurries that were in the forecast.  It was, however, extremely windy, and it continued to be so all the way to our first stop at Santee State Park in South Carolina.

We stayed at Santee last year as well.  It's located just a short distance off I-95 on the shores of Lake Marion, and at this time of year it's a quiet place .  We arrived early enough to take Ranger for a walk, but as soon as the sun went down, the temperatures dropped, so we retreated into the RV to enjoy our little heater.  A good night for soup and grilled cheese sandwiches!

25 degrees this AM, but the wind has died down.  One more long day of driving, and we'll be in Florida.

And this vacation will henceforth be known as “That fall camping trip when it rained so much”.

The trip ended as it began: camping in the rain. 

We left Fancy Gap, VA on Saturday morning, heading north on the Blue Ridge Parkway (MP199).  The day started with bright sunshine, but clouds moved in as we went around Roanoke, threatening rain.  We continued on the parkway to the south shore of the James River (MP64), exiting toward Lynchburg on route 501.  From Lynchburg, we traveled on to Appomattox, then to Holliday Lake State Park. 

The park is small, only 37 campsites, and it was full on a Saturday in October.  On our arrival, the clouds had disappeared, and in mid-afternoon as we set up, I switched to shorts and t-shirt in the upper-70 degree sunshine.  We took Ranger out for a walk to the lake and took a short hike along the Lakeshore Trail (0.8 miles).  The evening was pleasant enough to grill dinner and have a campfire.  The campers in the next site came over to share our fire; they were from Hawaii and spend several months each fall and spring traveling in their Class B motor home around various regions of the US.  The night sky was full of stars, and it was hard to believe the weather forecast called for high of 50 and rain on Sunday.

And at 1:30 am, the rain arrived.  It continued most of the day Sunday, with falling temperatures.  We talked about heading home early, but decided to just relax and hope to pack up in drier conditions on Monday morning.  So another day was spent reading in the RV.  The rain let up enough to get Ranger out for a number of short walks.  (I was cautious about getting too far from the RV after a disastrous early morning walk when we both were soaked to the skin by a downpour.)  By evening, it was heavy overcast, but the rain had stopped, and we had a quiet evening of TV and indoor dining.

The trip home from Appomattox should be easy one, perhaps two hours of driving.