Alexander Springs #81-05

January 13, 2008 (Sun)
Juniper Springs RA to Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (25/1294 miles)

Moving day. We awoke quite early and lounged in bed watching television for a while - ah what a life! We had only a short distance to go so we took the morning to pack up and get under way. We finally got off at 11:45 (71° threatening rain) and headed east on US40 toward Daytona. Hildene had given us the name of a county library in Astor so we took a detour there to see if we might find a WiFi signal. We did. We downloaded a bunch of email and sent off the newsletter. Mark also fixed the email filtering to hold back non-personal mail unless specifically requested. Bob stayed with Mark to take care of his email while Joy and Pat went on to the campground to register.

The campsite we'd been assigned turned out to be a bad one for Q - the end of the spur was defined by a barricade which would block his back (main) door. We picked another site but when we got back from clearing it with the gatekeeper, a squatter had taken up residence on it and disappeared. The gatekeeper wanted to find him and have him thrown off but we said we'd found another site and would go there. We didn't want it known that we were the ones who'd ratted on them.

Dinner was courtesy of Bob and Pat - a delicious London Broil - and dominoes closed out the day

Q041028 Alexander Springs RA, Ocala National Forest, FL #34 dry $8.50

January 14, 2008 (Mon) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (2) - At 12:30 last night the water pump burst into action - woke us from a sound sleep! It is supposed to come on only when there there is a reduction in water pressure in the system as when a tap is turned on. Another reason is a breach in the system. And that's what we found. If someone had come along the dark campground road, unlikely at 12:30am, they would have wondered about the two old folks huddled next to the little motor home in their nightwear. While Joy held a flashlight Mark tried to stop the water being pumped out through the city water intake port - not being used because there is no water hook up here. This morning we found some parts lying on the ground that when replaced made a better temporary fix then the jury rig installed in the middle of the night.

When we got back from doing a week's worth of laundry and a similar amount of grocery shopping in Umatilla, we found that the squatter in the campsite #31 and (apparently) his friends across the road had left. The gatekeeper very kindly let us move yet again. This is a much better place to spend a week. It is level (Q doesn't need to be up on leveling boards), there is no pot hole at the bottom of our step or under the awning and the area is more grass than dirt here. There are very few campers here now - we've since counted 12 out of 67 sites occupied - so we may as well have a site we are happy with!

January 15, 2008 (Tue) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (3) - Chilly night last night (37°) and almost as cold inside as out because we didn't use the furnace. It's too noisy and a drain on the batteries - a consideration when camping without hook-ups. We did turn it on before we got up though, so it would be warm for dressing and eating breakfast.

It was just a bit too cold to sit outside so most of our activity was confined to Q's 8 x 10 living space. We did have a nice walk around the campground in the morning and Mark took advantage of a sunny spot to play his guitar for a while.

January 16, 2008 (Wed) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (4) - The shower facilities here, and most other National Forest campgrounds, are unheated which makes taking a shower on cold mornings an adventure. Yesterday at 37° we declined. This morning at about 50° it wasn't too bad. The hot water felt good but the walk back to the campsite was bracing.

Bill and Margret, a retired couple from Michigan, and Dora, a single woman from New York State, spend every Winter in this campground. When we were their neighbors two years ago, they invited us to their campfire a couple of nights. They have a campfire almost every night from the wood they collect after other campers leave. We, Bob and Pat and a couple of other campers were invited to join them tonight. It was a beautiful fire and we all had a great time sharing our travel and camping experiences - until it began to rain around 8:00.