Learning Curve

To tell you the truth, this was not our favorite camping trip, however, we did get to use our awesome new lights, so there is that to celebrate.

And by the number of photos I'm fixing to share, you would think it was our best trip ever, but in spite of the weather, we did manage to see some interesting things that I hope you will find the same.

Let's start with packing the cooler, shall we? It is the last thing I do before we leave and this time I tried out some new containers to keep things out of the melted ice.

On the left is a box with fitted lid where I kept things that had paper, or I just did not want to freeze. It worked beautifully, so now that is something new we've learned. Thanks to Marshalls clearance aisle. The other one is so the eggs don't freeze which happened once, an unpleasant surprise.

The day was quite warm and mostly sunny making the drive pleasant although setting up our site was not as much due to the blazing mid-day sunshine.

Not to mention that there was absolutely no shade on site #48, although the close proximity to the bath house was good.

As a reminder, this is where we were camping.

One bummer we learned upon arriving was that there is no fishing in the campground itself, however, the helpful woman gave us directions to the dam and reservoir which was but a mile away. So the distance was no problem, but as it turns out, they were on a draw-down on the reservoir so no fishing on that either. Yikes! Things were not getting off to the best start.

After a lunch of fried chicken and pasta salad, we took off to see said dam and reservoir.

The reservoir is on the other side while the side where we were standing is the Oklawaha River where there were plenty of folks fishing and loads of Cormorants,

along with plenty of Osprey flying high above looking for their next meal.

We watched one swoop down, catch a fish, only to lose part of it, so that was neat. Not so neat were the number of Vultures which numbered in the teens. Generally you will not find photographs of that bird because they give me the creeps, but it was interesting to watch this one pick through the trash,

and come away with something to eat.

With no bites, Bruce was ready to take off, so we headed back, stopping in the other part of the campground where there is a canal. As you can see, the clouds were gathering.

I think this canal runs out to the reservoir, but don't quote me on that. All of this has to do with the aborted Cross Florida Barge Canal which if you are curious, here is a link to the history. For environmental reasons, it was shot down several times, however, I've come across a photo of LBJ at the ribbon cutting ceremony in 1964. If I had to guess, this was about the same time he visited Orlando and stayed at the old Cherry Plaza Hotel on Lake Eola. Bruce's Mom took them to see his arrival!

Back at the campsite we enjoyed the later sunset as it does not get dark now until well after 6:30, an hour later than when we were at Ocean Pond where we sure could have used lights like we have now. Of course we did not have electricity at that site, so forget what I just said. Because of our late lunch, I made French bread pizzas which are super easy. The night before I took a can of diced tomatoes, fresh garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano and basil, salt and pepper and whirred them all up in my baby food processor. At the site I heat the sauce before putting them together, using our wonderful oven which we are still loving.

Woo hoo....I love those lights!

The night was warm allowing us to leave one of the "windows" open. Before long, it was really dark, so the lights went out for proper stargazing ,which is but one of my favorite things about camping.

No extra blankets necessary on Monday night and after a good night's sleep, we awoke before sunrise to the music of birds chirping. I popped out of the tent to get a look at the sunrise and with an open field behind us, it was no problem. Except, I was not thrilled with what I was seeing. If you, like me, believe in the "red sky at morning" adage, you get my drift.

I did manage to cook Bruce's favorite camp breakfast,

but it wasn't long before the rain began. Nevertheless, I took a walk because it was not torrential. The other loop in the campground abuts yet another canal, or maybe the same one that we saw previously, but anyway, look what I saw.

There is some money spent on gear right there! I wonder if they caught anything?

Bruce had a tip from a friend that he wanted to check out, so we got in the car and drove across Hwy. 19, entering this property.

Gosh, there is so much to say about how nice the ranch is and who these folks were, but let me just say that Homer Rodeheaver was the author of the beloved hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross" among many, many, others. Mr. Westbury was interesting in his own right, but should I tell you all that I've learned you will undoubtedly want to bail on me!!

We took a side road that led us to yet another part of the canal, in this case locks where Bruce put his line in the water.

Might I just add that it was raining off and on, although not too hard. Yet, anyway! We also came across some logging that I thought might be of interest.

Because, by now we were fairly close to Palatka, we kept on going. Using the iPad, I found us a route that took us right to Ravine Gardens State Park, a place, you guessed it, that was built in the Depression.

It is known for the wonderful yearly display of azaleas.

I'm pretty sure we missed the peak, but it was nice nonetheless.

Neither of us is certain what kind of citrus these are, but it was a welcome sight on this dreary day. We crossed the suspension bridge, me first, and when I turned around, Mr. Peck had his arms outstretched and I said FREEZE!

In that moment he looked so happy, my heart was bursting! After working SO hard for so many years just to be able to walk around in the dreary weather enjoying whatever happens is such a blessing.

As we drove that back route under an oak tree canopy, I might add, the amount of historic homes blew my mind. An example below.

Built in 1916, this is but one among dozens and dozens of old homes which presumably were owned by either the steam ship captains that brought winter visitors on the St. John's river, or lumbar barons. Honestly, Orlando does not have nearly the same number as we saw.

Do you suppose they will make their goal? One thing about this particular campground is that there is NO wifi or cell phone coverage. NONE! During our short time in Palatka, I found a Wikipedia page  that I read to Bruce on our drive back to the campground. Had it not loaded while we were there, well, I would have been left wondering how the city, at one time, was so darn prosperous.

Upon our return I said to Bruce, I'm going to get a start on the chili which I'd planned for that night in a bowl, and the next over spaghetti, one of Bruce's favorites that we call chili mac. Anyway, I got a good start,

Bruce lit a fire, and well, it began raining harder.

Meanwhile the chili is cooking and the rain kept pouring down, although I was under the canopy. After our last trip, Bruce sprayed the whole canopy with water proofing and it worked for a while, but eventually steady drips kept popping up. Somehow we managed to eat our chili quickly, rinsed all the dishes, and sadly, had to take shelter in the tent. The good news is that while it rained steadily most of the night, we stayed dry in the tent. And it never got too chilly. The ranger said the same was expected for Wednesday.

Hmmm....

When we awoke before sunrise, after sleeping for like ten hours, we were dry and it was not raining. Looking at each other, we both agreed that another day of rain did not sound one bit pleasant. The sunrise confirmed our suspicions.

Our tent, wet on the outside and dry on the inside.

Another thing about this campground we did not like was the large gravel that we set up our tent on. Most places have pea gravel for drainage instead of these big rocks, but then again, we stayed where there was electricity amongst all RVs. The tent only campground is on grass but those lights--I need electricity!

Had the campground been more to our liking, perhaps we would have taken our chances, but as it was, I cooked a quick breakfast and we took our gear out into that open field to dry while the sun shone.

Yet another thing that we did not like was when a ranger came by saying that we could not set up out there. Well, duh! The good news is that Bruce got his shower, the gear dried in the sun, and we packed up without incident, ready to head home. Of course you know us, we took a different route to check out another campground and then it was time for lunch.

A lot could be written about the lunch place, yet most of it would not be good.

I say most because by the time the food came after about 45 minutes, it was not bad. When we finally emerged to really head home it was pouring like mad and continued most of the way home. To say that we were glad not to be at our campsite is an understatement!

Not wanting to end on a downer, Bruce spotted this Catbird while we were making breakfast.

So, what did we learn on this trip? Rodman Campground is not for us for one thing. Another is that we need a more waterproof canopy which we are now in the process of looking for.

Me--today I worked on our income taxes while Bruce was back working on projects at the church.

When is our next adventure? Don't know, but hopefully it won't involve too much rain!

your friend,

Gail