February 19, 2007 (Mon) Ochopee, FL to Flamingo, FL (184/2260 miles) - Off at 8:40 (42° sunny). The loop road is 23 miles of dirt, pot holes and stones through the Big Cypress and Everglades swamps. It was reminiscent of some of the roads we were on in Alaska except that there they were wider, two lanes in most cases. Two small cars might have been able to pass one an other on the Loop Road but not a motor home and a car - one of us would have ended up in the swamp. Fortunately our one encounter took place where an even smaller road turned off into the wild. The trip was well worth the detour though. It was a true tropical swamp environment with lots of birds and post card quality photo ops (if we'd had room to pull off the road).
A strip mall in Homestead, FL provided a laundromat, a supermarket, and a Chinese buffet but no WiFi signal. We found four retail propane stations. We couldn't get Q close enough at one (too small a space). Another was waiting for a license to sell it (new ownership). Another didn't have a fitting that would attach to Q's - or any motor home's - intake port. Then finally success. We tried several places for a WiFi connection. Found none. We arrived in Flamingo campground, at the very southern tip of Florida, at about 5:15pm (76°).
February 20, 2007 (Tue) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - This is a beautiful campground, one of our favorites. Quiet (when neighbors don't have their radio turned up high as they do right now or partying) and peaceful. The campsites are widely spaced on great expanses of mown grass. A scattering of palm trees and other tropical plants gives an air of the exotic. We are faced SSE so that we can see Florida Bay out Q's cab windows. If we had better eyesight we'd be able to see beyond to the causeway out to Key West and to Cuba across the North Atlantic Ocean.
We watched a motor home, shaped not unlike an old bread truck, with a European license plate check in. We'd seen it before somewhere in the last several days - how often do you see a motor home with European license plates? Sometime later we saw him again roaming through the campground. And later, yet again. Then it dawned on us that it wasn't the same motor home. It turns out that there are at least ten (not all "bread trucks") camping down on the other loop. A German tour we've learned. We can't help think about what it must have cost to ship all those motor homes over here. Why not fly over and rent RVs here?
February 21, 2007 (Wed) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - We took a walk this morning along the "beach" where the Florida Bay licks at the Florida mainland. The campground was closed last year because of the damage caused by Katrina so we were eager to see how things have changed. There were signs of the area having been flooded but not as much as we expected. There is a large area between where we are camped and the water that was all mowed grass the last time we were here. Now it's all dried mud. Very little vegetation has come back, probably because of the salt left behind. The amphitheater is gone, benches and all and some buildings nearby are shells with rotted blue tarp roofing. The motel is boarded up and overgrown, the gift shop at the marina is closed and empty and the viewing platform at Eco Pond is gone. And there are many places here where the taller vegetation is missing. Other than these few things there is little evidence that this whole area was covered with at least 3 feet of water during that storm.
It got really hot this afternoon - 91° by our thermometer and the sun found only a few clouds to hide behind. The road in front of Q has been a parade route for scantily clad folks on foot and bicycles. It's hard to think that only a few days ago we were wishing for warmer weather and that at home coats are needed outside.
February 22, 2007 (Thu) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - Our neighbors in the next site, 150 feet or so the the East, mother and son it appears, were away all day yesterday. They came back about 5:30, packed up their small tent and left. Just as it was getting dark and after the gatekeeper had gone home they pulled back into the site but didn't set up a tent. At about 5:30 this morning, before the gatekeeper came on duty, the car started up and they left. That's how one gets to camp free for a night.
Another neighbor, the ones who have been playing their class C motor home cab radio louder than necessary for the last three days, spent the morning under the hood. Just before noon he hauled out the coach battery and jumper cables. Then he disappeared and was gone all afternoon. During all this time the radio was silent. We're guessing that his battery died (from using the radio?) and he hitched a ride into Homestead, FL (45+ miles away).
February 23, 2007 (Shane is 3 today - Happy Birthday Shane!) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - Last night after we'd gone to bed a very large 5th wheel trailer came in accompanied by at least two pickups pulling large boats. They stopped nearby, had a loud discussion and finally decided that they were way too big to be in this part of the campground. On our walk this morning we found the 5th wheel up where it belongs, in the big guy area, but the pickups and boats were nowhere to be seen. We assumed they'd gone fishing already.
The campground has been filling up all afternoon - a lot of the traffic is cars or pickups pulling boats. There is a large group of college aged young people over closer to the bay. One of their cars is parked illegally on what used to be (before Katrina) a grass "lawn". The kids don't seem to be there but the Park Ranger is!
In the late afternoon one of the Park Rangers came by to tell us about their "campfire" program tonight. It would be in the Visitor's Center - so much for a campfire - and would be in the form of the Jeopardy game show with the Everglades as topic themes. Since the Visitor's Center is a mile away and we'd be walking on an unlit shoulder-less road after dark, we chose not to go.
February 24, 2007 (Sat) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - We have a hard time understanding why people have to have their radios on all the time. Every evening we looked for signs that our noisy neighbors were getting ready to leave. There were none - until last night. We rejoiced. But for a long time this morning the motor home sat on it's pad. It was completely ready to go but it just sat there. It's interesting how feelings change. For days we've been thinking unkind thoughts about these people and their radio. Suddenly, as we watched a tow truck back up to the front of their motor home, our hearts went out to them. A stay in a beautiful park was in ruins. Hooked to the back of a wrecker they finally pulled out of the campground bound for civilization 45 miles away and who knows how long in a repair shop parking lot. Bummer!
February 25, 2007 (Sun) Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park - We have known for some time that the black water holding tank gauge hasn't been working properly - it read 3/4 full when it is, in fact, empty. This is a chronic problem with most motor homes. This morning we learned that the gray water tank gauge lies too! It overflowed into the bathroom/shower when the gauge read only 3/4 full! To be fair to Q we were pushing the envelope, trying to go the whole week here without having to go over to the dump station. We almost made it!
A note now for the record. There is a strong analog cell phone signal here but it is Cingular and apparently Verizon has no network sharing agreement with them so we haven't been able to use our cell phone. Since the signal is analog not digital, email wouldn't have worked anyway but it would have been nice to have been able to be in touch with civilization by voice.
Q035934 Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park #14 dry $8.00g A- (x7)
To Everglades NP - #71-08
Still in Big Cypress NP - #71-07
February 13, 2007 (Tue) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - This campground is run by the National Park Service and up until a few years ago was free. So amenities are scarce. There is running water and flush toilets in the one rest room building but no hot showers. There is one communal outdoor cold water shower that one could use if modesty weren't a consideration. It's good that Q has shower facilities on-board. The only problem is an adequate water supply. We are solving that by carrying a one gallon jug when we go over the the rest room. That way we've been able to keep our fresh water tank topped off.
February 14, 2007 (Wed) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - The distance around Monument lake then out to the road and back is about a mile. We walked it three this morning before we took our showers and ate breakfast. That and walking the long way around the lake to the rest rooms once in a while was our exercise.
Our neighbors across the road left this morning so we pulled up stakes, so to speak, and moved across the road. Now we are right on the lake and our closest neighbor is a 6 foot alligator sunning himself on the bank. A big old turtle climbed up on a rock nearby at one point and when Mark went down to get a picture, a bee crawled between his toe and sandal and made his presence known. The bees, not the alligator, are keeping us away from the lake.
February 15, 2005 (Thu) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - Last night a pair of bicyclists, each with a small trailer, came into the campground. This morning Joy had a chance to talk with them. They are from San Diego, CA. It's not clear if they bicycled all the way here from there this time but they have peddled across the country in the past. They are on their way to the boat show in Miami.
Tuesday night the campground was full with 3 units in an overflow area. Last night there were several empty sites. Maybe about half the sites were empty at noon. There seem to be a lot of one nighters. We enjoy watching the rigs come and go. And adding to our camping pleasure this morning, a road crew with dump truck, scraper, roller and small scoop came in and began resurfacing the gravel road around the lake. It needed it. There were several pot holes that made walking after dark somewhat hazardous.
February 16, 2007 (Fri) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - It rained quite a bit last night which did a good job of turning the newly graded road into mud. It's packed down now that it has dried. Motor homes, trailers, pickups, motorcycles, cars, bicycles, and human feet have helped too.
Since we can't go 7 days without dumping our holding tanks we had to go out to the dump station (15 miles away) at least once. Today was the day. We went on into Everglades City (5 miles more) to look for a laundromat. None! Nor is there one in Chokoloskee, a small fishing village on an island (connected by a causeway) out in the Gulf of Mexico. Oh well, we'll be going through Homestead on Monday. There are several there. In the mean time hand washing a few things will have to do.
February 17, 2007 (Sat) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - It got down to 39° last night. That's cold for south Florida. In fact it set a record for this date. It did warm up during the day, 73°, but sitting outside was a bit uncomfortable with the brisk breeze. The campground wasn't quite full last night - one or two spaces stayed open - and a lot of units left this morning. But this afternoon they began to pile in. Right now there are six units in the overflow area. This is one of the few campgrounds we've been in that continue to let people in after the campground is "full".
The Ranger led campfire program tonight was about how Big Cypress has been, and continues to be, inspiration to artists. Very interesting. Joy was especially interested in how local native American textile design was influenced (Seminole patchwork). The young lady Ranger who gave the talk and slide show presentation was very knowledgeable and did quite a good job.
February 18, 2007 (Sun) Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve - Just before sunrise this morning we watched a rather spectacular weather front came across the swamp. We first saw it as a strip of dark blue - we thought it was the tail edge of the cloudy overcast at first - exactly parallel to the horizon. As it came across the wind picked up considerably whipping up little whitecaps on the lake and it began to rain heavily. The rain didn't last long though and the sun finally came out but the wind continued to keep the water choppy all day. There were no alligators out sunning today! The refrigerator kept going out until we turned Q around to face into the wind. (Maybe that's the problem!)
The campground, as over full as it was last night, emptied out this morning leaving only a few RVs and a couple of tents scattered around the lake. In the middle of the afternoon a family of 7 pulled into a nearby RV site, set up a tent, put loud salsa music on their boom box, and loaded up the barbecue with something that smelled delicious. We enjoyed watching the kids. At about 5:00 they folded up their tent, loaded everything in their pickup and left. In the late afternoon a Newmar Mountain Aire (a BIG class A motor home, very scarce in this no hook-up campground) pulled up to register. They circled the lake several times and finally pulled in across the road from us. We watched in amazement the variety of passengers that went in and out over the next hour or so. We counted least 7 kids plus a couple of young adults.
Q035934 Monument Lake Campground, Big Cypress National Preserve #3 dry $8.00g B- (x6)
To Big Cypress NP - #71-06
February 5, 2007 (Mon) Lakeland, Fl to Englewood, NJ (131 miles today 1852 total) - Off at 8:15 (50° cloudy, misting rain). We stopped for gas at the Flying J in Seffner, FL and got to Mobil Service (RV repair facility) at about 10:00. We were one hour early but the young man gave us (and Q) his immediate attention. He checked out everything having to do with the refrigerator on propane and tightened and cleaned along the way. He found nothing wrong and was unwilling to sell us a $140 circuit board without testing under duplicated conditions - battery somewhat less than fully charged - when his work could have corrected the problem. Rather than wait the 2 or 3 (or 4) hours it might take to draw the charge down, we decided to come on to Englewood and let the battery draw down in the parking lot here. We'll run back up to Sarasota and get the new board if there is still a problem.
Before leaving the Sarasota, Mark discovered that his new Palm PDA wouldn't turn on. No amount of persuasion worked. Hildene helped us find a Circuit City in Sarasota and after waiting in the Customer Service line for over a half hour, Mark was able to (easily) demonstrate the problem. The young man behind the counter couldn't turn it on either. Since they didn't have one in stock, our money was refunded. Long story (and afternoon) short, we stopped at every Circuit City, Best Buy, and Staples all the way down US-41 until we finally found one in the Staples in Englewood. Fortunately all our data was in the computer and transferred into the new PDA easily so nothing was lost.
February 6, 2007 (Tue) Englewood, FL - It's amazing how long the refrigerator will go on DC. We have always made it a habit to switch from DC to propane whenever we stop for a little while (to shop etc.) so as not to drain the batteries. This turns out to have been a useless precaution. It took all day, in addition to about 3 hours last night, to draw the charge down to below where we were having problems last week. No problem on now. Back to DC until bedtime drew the voltage down some more. At 11.3 volts the system shut down automatically to protect the batteries. Switching to propane allowed them to recover slightly. The refrigerator went on and stayed on.
February 7, 2007 (Wed) Englewood, FL - Over night the refrigerator shut down. Not surprising and not necessarily a problem as the battery charge is so much lower than we would normally let it get.
Other than this excitement we've been living a peaceful existence. Joy, her sister and her mother have been talking non-stop while Mark walked back and forth to the lot where Q is parked, caught up with the computer backlog (a month's worth of mail awaited us here) and tried to read.
Q035716 SunTrust Bank parking lot Parked (x3)
February 8, 2007 (Thu) Englewood, Fl to Le Belle, FL (84/1936 miles) - Bom and Franny were getting ready to go swimming as we got off at 8:39 (60° sunny with a few clouds). After a stop at a Publix Supermarket to pick up supplies we headed south on US-41 and I-75.
"Bumper sticker" on the back of a box truck - "Annoy the media and cry babies - vote Bush!"
Last year, when we stopped at Ortona South campground east of Le Belle, FL there was one campsite available and that one a double that we had to share with someone else. We didn't have much hope of getting a site this year, but we decided to give it a try anyway. It is, after all, a beautiful campground and well worth the extra miles to check it out. The sign at the gate said "campground full". "Yes it's true," the gatekeeper said when asked, "you need to make reservations 120 days in advance to get in here during the winter." As Mark walked away from the booth, the she said, "Wait, I have an idea." She looked on her computer and after much typing and screen changes she said, "Actually site 20 is open. It's being held for the volunteer [worker] but I haven't been told one is coming. You can have it if you want." It turns out to be one of the best sites in the campground. The only thing needed to make it better is for it to be on the canal. Even so we can see it across the road and beyond a row of RVs out our living room window. Behind us and out our dining room window there is nothing but flat tropical Florida landscape. Our site is on a corner end of the loosely packed campground and covers more area than our property at home.
We spent the afternoon sitting out in the sun enjoying 80° of warmth - much appreciated after weeks of cool dreary weather.
February 9, 2007 (Fri) Ortona South Campground - Other than a 4 mile walk (2 miles out to the highway through a Florida cattle ranch and back) we didn't do very much today. It was a bright sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky. The local weather people are apologizing for yet another day without rain, there is a drought in this area, but it really feels good to us. Mark even got a slight sunburn on his neck and shoulders.
February 10, 2007 (Sat) Ortona South Campground - Another slow day. We had expected more boat traffic on the canal and through the lock now that it's the weekend but it was very light this morning. It did pick up in the afternoon though. The next time we come here we'll get reservations ahead of time and try to get a site over where we can see the canal and lock better. It's really interesting to watch the different boats come and go and it's a bit frustrating to have to look past a row of RVs.
There is a eagle in the top of a tree across the canal. Our neighbor said he had been watching him hunt for some time.
February 11, 2007 (Sun) Ortona South Campground - It was a little on the cool side today - mostly because the sky was overcast. Joy did a small laundry this morning. Late this afternoon we took our bicycles out to the highway and back. The sky has been darkening all afternoon. The weather folks are predicting rain tonight. It looks as if they might be on to something.
Q035800 Ortona South Campground #20 w/e $12.00 A (x4)
February 12, 2007 (Mon) Le Belle, FL to Ochopee, FL (134/2076 miles) - It was sprinkling slightly as we walked down to take our showers - and as we walked back. There was more than a sprinkle as we broke camp and dumped - always fun! There was no fresh water available at the dump station so we had to go back to our site to fill up. We need a full supply because there are no hook-ups in Big Cypress and no way to fill Q's tank without driving 15 miles.
We finally got off at about 8:50 (62° and rain). In our never ending quest to shop at every Costco in the country, we headed for Naples, FL. A big mistake! The parking lot was so packed that we had to go next door to a soon-to-open Staples to find a space big enough for Q. Inside the narrow isles were taken up with an overabundance of retirees, elbows on shopping carts, strolling along as if they had no reason for being there and nowhere to go if they weren't. Leaving the area, after getting gas was like doing battle with hundreds of impatient New York taxi cab drivers caught in a parkway traffic jam.
The Third Fifth Bank is a bank in Naples.
Naples is unbelievable! Most of the roads we were on were under construction, and all along each road huge developments were being built. The traffic was horrendous, and I can't imagine what it will be like when all of the building is finished and everyone moves in, it is already so crowded. You couldn't pay me to go back!! It was a relief to get out into the boonies!!-J
We stopped at the countries (world's?) smallest Post Office (self proclaimed and about the size of a two hole outhouse) in Ochopee, FL to deposit some snail mail and pulled in here at about 1:39 (73° still raining).
Q035934 Monument Lake Campground, Big Cypress National Preserve #3 dry $8.00g B-
Back to Lakeland, FL - #71-05
January 30, 2007 (Tue) Lakeland, Fl - Today was mainly devoted to recovering from our adventure yesterday. In the morning Mark went with Ed to get propane for Ed and Kathy's big class "A" motorhome (it feels like it is about 18 inches too wide to fit on local roads) while Joy hung out with Kathy. In the afternoon Ken and Kathy, who had joined us in Disney World yesterday, came with their Bounder (Class "A" motorhome) to spend a couple of days in Ed and Kathy's yard. The evening was spent in lively conversation.
Q035518 Ed and Kathy's yard
January 31, 2007 (Wed) Lakeland, FL to Hillsborough, FL (39 miles today 1693 total) - We have found that the best way to get a campsite for a weekend in a public park (state park, national forest, etc.) is to arrive there on a Wednesday. Other campers tend to move on Wednesday freeing up sites. It didn't work this time! When we pulled in at 1:20 the gatekeeper said that there was only one site available and for only one night. The rest were full through the weekend. "This is our busiest time," she explained. When, after a discussion we decided to take it, she offered to look and see if there might be something available for two nights. There were two spaces. One was too short for Q. We are in the other. The site is indeed small, very small for a state park. But beggars can't be choosers.
Tom & Jane, a very nice couple from North Carolina who have a Chinook Glacier (25 ft with a slide-out), stopped by to chat. They are as upset as we are that Chinook is out of business. They said they thought another RV company may be in negotiation to buy the name and molds.
February 1, 2007 (Thu) Hillsborough River State Park - This park has several hiking trails. We chose the 3.5 mile Florida Trail. After walking a mile each way to the trail head and around the whole campground after we got back our pedometer read 6.73 miles. A respectable walk!
Rain is predicted for tonight and we've had preliminary showers off and on this afternoon.
Q035557 Hillsborough River State Park #13 w/e $20 C (x2)
February 2, 2007 (Fri) Hillsborough, FL to Lakeland, FL (28/1721 miles) - We woke this morning to the news that tornados had touched down in several places in central Florida. Fortunately they hit somewhat east of us. It wasn't so fortunate for people in Lady Lake, FL near Ocala National Forest where we were in the middle of January though. They say as many as 19 people may have died.
We got off at about 10:30 (71° rainy and dreary) and headed back to Lakeland. Ed and Kathy are going to be away for the weekend (and beyond) but were more than willing to let us crash in their yard anyway. We went with them to an Olive Garden for a soup and salad lunch, and then some shopping. With Ed's good advice and help Mark bought a Palm PDA - a toy he's been considering for some time. This one is equipped with WiFi which makes finding hot spots and downloading email a whole lot easier.
February 3 2007 (Sat) Lakeland, FL - At about 9:00 Ed pulled their big class "A" out of its oversized garage. After hitching their Tracker on behind, he and Kathy took off for their week in Brooksville, FL. We locked the gate behind them and then hung out to wait in vain for the weather to clear.
February 4, 2007 (Sun) - It was a little cooler last night, down to 49°. For our exercise we walked 2 1/2 miles to the chinese buffet restaurant over on US98. It wasn't a bad walk getting there but a bit of a push to get back on a full stomach! It's nice to see the sun for a change even though at 61° it's not quite warm enough to be comfortable in shorts.
We're back on the road again tomorrow - headed for Joy's mother's for a couple of days then on south.
Q035585 Ed and Kathy's yard (x3)
