The Q Chronicles #81-07

January 21, 2008 (Mon)
Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF to Blue Spring State Park (44/1408 miles)

Moving day. Up at 7:15 (37°) and off at 8:50 (44° clear). After some housekeeping (dumping, laundry, shopping, and email) we headed East out of Eustis on CR44A then Northeast on SR44 & SR42. And finally South on SR15A and US17 to Orange City, 44 miles in all. When we got to Blue Spring State Park, we found ourselves joining a long line of cars waiting to get in. As we sat there we wondered about the wisdom of our choice to come here. We tried to attribute it to being Martin Luther King, Jr day and people wanting to get out after a cold weekend. That must have been it because there was no problem getting a campsite.

Well, that's not exactly true. The reservation computer connection to the internet was down. The gatekeeper said to go ahead and set up, she'd call us when the system was functional again - an hour or so. She didn't. Not wanting our campsites to be reserved out from under us (officially we weren't really there) we went back up to the gate to register late in the afternoon. The connection was still a problem, so much so, in fact, that the gatekeeper apologized repeatedly and finally gave us a nice 50% discount.

January 22, 2008 (Tue) Blue Spring State Park (2) - This is where hundreds of manatees come to spend the winter. They come to bask in the constant flow of 72° water from the natural spring. It is not just a resort for them but a haven for survival. They would not be able to live long in the nearby St. Johns River as its water temperature drops below 60°. Manatees are mammals that live in the water as do whales and dolphins. They are the closest living biological relative of the elephant and are the original mermaids.

We walked down to the Blue Spring run early this morning, before the crowds, and meandered along the boardwalk. At the first viewing platform we counted over 20 of them and  saw well over 100 of them as we moved down the run toward the St. Johns River. They were fascinating to watch swimming along in their slow undulating fashion. Occasionally one would surface to breath or roll over to discourage the attached fish. Several times this performance took place so close we could almost reach out and touch them.

We had a bit of excitement this evening. A spider bit Joy! She was winning at a lively game of dominoes when she screamed, jumped and started brushing at her leg thinking she'd been stung by a bee. By the time we'd found and killed the culprit, and determined that it was a spider, everyone was quite shook, especially since we'd seen a recent news story about a problem with Brown Widow spiders (poisonous but not deadly the Black Widow) in the area and the carcass was brown. The ranger said that it was neither the Brown Widow nor a Brown Recluse and she shouldn't have any problem beyond the local irritation, like a bee sting, she was feeling.

Q041142 Blue Springs State Park #41 e/w $11.25 A (x2)
__________________________
January 23, 2008 (Wed)
Blue Springs SP to Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (51/1451 miles)

It was a fairly warm night (53°) but uncomfortably humid. Joy was feeling no ill effects from the spider bite when we got up at about 7:15 so we looked forward to an uneventful last look at the manatees and move to Clearwater Recreation Area. It didn't happen! We'd forgotten to bring our camera when we went to see the manatees yesterday so we'd hoped to get some pictures this morning. But, except for a few, the manatees were gone. Yesterday the sun was just right for photography and the water was mirror smooth - this morning was overcast and a breeze roughed up the surface of the water making viewing (and picture taking) very difficult.

The National Forest Campground Guide in our library lists a free campground (Forest River CG) on the St Johns River just outside Deland, FL. To check it out, we turned onto a dirt road that both Hildene and a road sign indicated led to the campground and followed it to the end - a private residence with barely enough room to turn Q around. The owner(?) was working on his rain gutter and paid us little attention. He must be used to seeing motor homes turn around in his driveway.

Clearwater Recreation Area campground turned out to be under construction. Which meant that the facilities (not great to start with) were very limited. i.e. showers were available only at Alexander Springs RA 15 miles (or 8 miles by dirt road) away. We decided to go on and camp over there instead of going back and forth. Hildene routed us via roads that were mostly unimproved (dirt) through the national forest (the 8 mile route), quite beautiful but rough. Our dishes hadn't been stowed for rough travel so when Joy opened a cabinet after we'd gotten here a small bowl fell out and shattered all over the sink and floor. She was not a happy camper for a while.

January 24, 2008 (Thu) Alexander Springs RA, Ocala NF (2) - The campsite we had last week was not available when we came in yesterday so we settled for site #38 which, among other things, was uncomfortably close to the site next door. There was no one in that site but will be when the weekend comes. When our old site (#31) opened up this morning, we moved to it. Other than that it's been a quiet day. The weather has been partly cloudy all day with the sun coming out every now and then to make it seem warmer that it really was.