To Juniper Springs RA - #71-03

January 15, 2007 (Monday) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF To Juniper Springs RA, Ocala NF (47 miles Today 1350 total) - 47 miles to go 14 miles, and enough adventure to hold us for the seven days we'll be here. We got off at 8:45 (55°) and headed south to Umatilla, FL to the laundromat. Not much adventure there - Mark did email while Joy did laundry. The Publix Supermarket a few miles south yielded another week's worth of supplies. As we pulled out of the Publix parking lot we heard a strange noise that seemed to be associated with the turning of the wheels. (Truth be known, Mark had heard it earlier and thought it was because the parking brake hadn't been fully released.) Joy went into the back and reported that it seemed to be coming from the right rear wheel area. We pulled into the same parking lot where we'd been earlier to do our laundry and email to check it out. The inside rear dual tire was flat! Well not exactly flat as the outside tire was holding things up but it was soft. FMCA emergency road service kindly put on the spare for us and a tire repair facility down the road pulled a 3/8 inch dia bolt out of the tire, plugged the hole and put the reassembled wheel back on the motorhome. 4 1/2 hours after leaving the Publix market we were on the road again headed north for Juniper Springs Recreation Area.

We are in a campsite across the road from one of the sites we were in last year.

January 16, 2007 (Tue) Juniper Springs Recreation Area, Ocala NF - We have a fairly strong non-Verizon wireless phone signal but the data (email) signal wouldn't go through. Verizon has definitely cut off accepting data calls from outside its network. There is a jack on the pay phone at the visitors center but Mark couldn't get it to transmit a dial tone to the computer. The clerk at the counter in the center seemed to be computer literate but didn't know anything about the phone jack on the pay phone. After several attempts she said we could use "her" phone inside. Mark did and sent the newsletter he'd forgotten to send when we had a connection yesterday.

January 17, 2007 (Wed) Juniper Springs Recreation Area, Ocala NF - It's overcast and chilly (61°) today. We had thought we'd do the 7 1/2 mile canoe trip down Juniper Creek but decided not to. If we went overboard - a distinct possibility on that challenging run - we would be thoroughly chilled through before we could change into dry clothes.

Last year when we were here the boardwalk along part of the creek was under construction. It's finished now and is an interesting and beautiful walk. We made it the beginning of a 2 1/2 mile walk through the campground. There are very few campers here. It will probably fill for the weekend.

January 18, 2007 (Thu) Juniper Springs Recreation Area, Ocala NF - We got off to the big city of Ocala, FL at 8:18 (56° and dreary). The first order of business was a stop at Sears to have the house batteries checked. We'd replaced one battery before we'd left home but the folks at Middletown, NJ Sears said the other one was OK. But we suspected there was a problem with its ability to hold a charge. There was. We got a new one. We wanted to have the refrigerator checked out too (since it stopped again during the night) but the FMCA recommended RV repair facility didn't work on refrigerators. In fact we suspect they didn't work on much other than diesel engines since the words "Cummins and "Power" were in their name. We decided to wait and see what effect the new battery has on the problem. We did some grocery shopping in a Wal-Mart (since it was handy), ate lunch in a Chinese buffet restaurant, did a small laundry and were back in our site in Juniper Springs Recreation Area at 3:40. The thermometer only got up to 66° so it was a good day to be gone.

January 19, 2007 (Fri) Juniper Springs Recreation Area, Ocala NF - Our site here is large, open and sunny most of the day - yet quite private. Our chairs and small folding picnic table sit on the rug outside the main cabin door. From there we can see clearly only one other rig - a trailer. The owners have been away most all day every day so it's as if we are alone. The morning started out chilly, low 50s, but steadily warmed to about 70° in the afternoon. The morning we spent reading in the sun and after lunch we hiked a bit of the Florida National Scenic Trail that passes nearby. We also made some needed adjustments to our "egg crate" bed pad. (Q's bed is just under queen size. The queen size pad we'd bought last summer needed to be cut down for a better fit.) Working on the picnic table was no picnic, there were hundreds of small black flies floating around, not doing anything special, just being annoying!! -J

January 20, 2007 (Sat) Juniper Springs Recreation Area, Ocala NF - Just after dark last night six South American men (tourists we think) took up residence in three tents in the site next door and two young families, (with pre teenagers) set up tents across the way. Our walk through the campground this morning revealed that almost all the sites are now occupied - even those in the tenting area which has been all but empty at other times. Weekends are busy and noisy but all was quiet, in our area of the campground at least, by 10:00 (quiet hour).

There is an observation deck, of sorts, across the creek from the canoe launching area. We spent some time there watching people start their adventures. It was easy to guess which of them would finish their day wet. There was a baby, between 1 and 2 years old, with parents and sister, in one canoe - a fool-hardy thing to do on this challenging run - but dad seemed to know how to handle a canoe. We sure hope they made it without turning over. None of them, even a pre teen girl who was sitting up on a thwart rather than down in the canoe, were wearing life jackets! Next to leave in three canoes were our neighbors the tourists. They were obviously not experienced canoeists, but seemed to be enjoying the adventure. Within the first 20 feet one of them had already gone in the drink, along with an open bag of potato chips, which floated merrily away. When they returned to their campsite late this afternoon they were very wet and cold. They've strung a clothesline for wet clothes and have a roaring fire going. Makes us cold just to look at them!!

The sky, when clear at night, is magnificent. Millions of stars that can't be seen in the northeast, at least around the NY area. This morning early, I was watching the stars and saw a huge meteor streak across the sky. Wonderful!! - J

Q035167 Juniper Springs Recreation Area, Ocala NF #21 dry $8.50g B (x6)