Florida and Warmth #81-03

January 4, 2008 (Fri) Mars Hill (6) - It only got down to 16° last night, short of the 8° forecast. We are disappointed only in that we don't have that low point to brag about - as in "One time we camped in North Carolina when it was only 8°".

Mark went with Bob to the local "greasy spoon" (The Wagon Wheel) for his weekly breakfast with the guys. There turned out to be only one other guy this morning but the discussion was lively and often contentious. In the evening we and some of Bob and Pat's friends helped Bob celebrate his birthday. The pizza was home made by Bob and Joy and it was delicious!r
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January 5, 2008 (Sat)
Mars Hill, NC to Savannah, GA (349/1034 miles)

It was 21° over night - a virtual heat wave - and up to 27° when we got off at 9:30 this morning. And most of the snow is gone. It got steadily warmer as we came down out of the mountains until finally reaching a high of 60° as we left South Carolina for Georgia at about 5:00. We're hoping that's the last of the cold for a while.

Our route was straight forward through North and South Carolina, I-26 to I-95. Our only deviation was to voluntarily leave I-95 for a few miles to avoid an accident scene. According to the CB chatter a camper trailer had overturned and was blocking most of the two southbound lanes. There were no reports of injuries or even ambulances on the scene so that was good but traffic was backed up for miles. Maybe 10 miles after getting back on I-95 the cars we'd been creeping along with earlier began to pass us. Our decision to detour around the accident was the right one!

Shortly after getting back on I-95 we passed a sign advertising the "Big Ass Farm". Apparently they raise and sell mules. According to an organization that keeps track or determines such things, the word of the year for 2007 is "sub-prime".

We pulled into the Walmart parking lot at about 5:20, picked up some needed supplies and settled in for the night. After supper we watched the Republican and Democratic debates from New Hampshire - most of them anyway.

Q040768 Camp Walmart, Savannah, GA
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January 6, 2008 (Sun)
Savannah, GA to Ocala National Forest, FL (235/1269 miles)

It was a quiet night, though well lit, and we both slept well. We picked up a couple of more things in Walmart this morning, ate breakfast and were on our way again by 8:00 (46°) driving just under the fog - the road was clear but we could see little much above Q's height. And it was that way all the way through Georgia. In fact it was so disorienting that we crossed over into Florida before realizing it and ended up having to pay 20 cents a gallon more for gas!

The route we chose around Jacksonville was the one we used to take when visiting Mark's mother in Penny Farms - I-295 to Orange Park (US17) but in stead of turning onto US16 toward Penny Farms we continued straight through Green Cove Springs and on to Palatka then south on US19. Soon after entering the Ocala National Forest we saw a sign for Lake Delancy campground, one we'd never explored. It was out a 3 mile long washboard surfaced narrow dirt road. Passing on-coming traffic (one car and a pick-up truck) was an adventure. The campground was in two sections - one catered to campers with ATVs and the other to ordinary campers, mostly with tents. The only facilities are pit toilets. As far as we could tell there is no running water out there and no dump station. Even so it might be an interesting place to camp for a couple of days.

It was 77° under a deep blue sky and big puffy clouds as we pulled into Juniper Springs Recreation Area - Florida weather at last! We dumped and took on fresh water on the way in - we'd been 7 days dry camping - and selected site #16 as home for the next week.

Ocala National Forest, Juniper Springs RA #16 dry $8.50 A

January 7, 2008 (Mon) Juniper Springs RA (2) - This morning we moved across the street. There was an uncomfortable drop from the parking pad to the natural surface of the campsite. Since the site across the way was empty and a better layout for us we moved. So now we are in #17. Other than that we spent the day decompressing. It was great to sit be able to sit outside in shorts and T-shirts reading, napping and watching other campers.

The stars are worth mentioning. They are magnificent! The sky has been virtually cloudless and without a moon or nearby city lights is very black. The view through the forest canopy is limited but what there is is fully of stars. We don't often see the sky like that. It makes going out in this very dark campground a real treat.