Wild Wild Life

 

After leaving Scamp Camp I took a brief break from all the constant travelling to attend to various chores I had been putting off, including some minor trailer repairs.

I stayed at the Thousand Trails Peace River campground for a few days.

I found a nice little spot under some trees where the big rv’s could not fit.

And there were plenty of them.

Aside from a little touch up painting and a thorough interior cleaning, the main thing I wanted to fix on the trailer was the screen door frame.

I forgot to take a “before” photo so you will have to use your imagination.

Part of the frame consists of a piece of wood 1/8” thick, 8 inches wide and 5 feet long. 1/2” from one edge were four screws about a foot apart that went into the trailer frame.

The screws had torn through the wood sideways to the edge, so the frame kept coming off the trailer. I had tried adding washers of various types to hold the frame in place but that didn’t work.

Time to break out the power tools.

What I ended up doing was drilling new holes and filling the old ones and the seam with white silicone sealant. Here is a photo showing the finished job.

The screws on the left are not them. They hold the fire extinguisher. Look at the white line in the middle. At the top you can see a screw head, as well as near the bottom.

I used masking tape to create a neat edge. I laid down a bead of silicone and formed it with my finger. I removed the tape almost immediately before it could set and lift when I pulled the tape off.

I think it looks OK. I probably should have used wood putty to patch the holes but that stuff is expensive. The frame is very secure and weatherproof now.

Allright. Enough of that stuff.

I rambled down to the Peace River and found some interesting birds.

They had long curved beaks that they used to dig in the mud for food.

I’m not sure what type of bird they were, but since their beak strongly resembles my sister’s beak, err, nose, I will call them a White Lesley.

Farther down the river I saw this sign.

I was shut out again in the gator gazing department but I saw a small snake swimming across the river. Or trying to. About halfway there an Osprey swooped down and grabbed him and landed in a nearby tree.

Almost dropped him. The little snake looked pleadingly at me.

But the Osprey regained his hold.

And stretched him out a bit.

Two slurps later the snake was gone. Like eating spaghetti.

One slurp.

Two slurps.

It made me hungry.

So when I arrived at my next Thousand Trails campground that afternoon near Orlando I made some tacos.

Afterwards I happened to look at the front of the trailer and noticed it covered in ants.

Upon closer inspection it seemed that they were eating the dead bugs that had gone splat while I was driving.

They left it surprisingly clean. And then went away on their ant business when they were finished.

Cool.

The food chain is very much in evidence in Florida.

I was pondering that when I noticed something in the sky the next day.

Balloons! Big ones!

If they landed into a gator infested swamp, would that be considered part of the food chain?

I pondered this some more. All that pondering made me hungry so I made a couple of sandwiches since I was out of taco meat.

Very tasty, but not taco tasty.

So on Saturday I made a fresh batch of taco meat.

It smelled pretty good and apparently I was not the only one who thought so.

Several large black snakes dashed across my campsite and into the bushes right behind my cooler. By the time I had picked up my camera they were almost gone.

I was about to give chase but the skies opened up and the rain came down.

Hard.

Sunday morning I ate some tacos while wandering around the campsite, hoping the scent would attract some snakes.

It did. At least that is what I thought.

They were Black Racers, a non-venomous snake but still fairly aggressive. Meaning they will try to bite you if you try to pick them up. Trust me.

Adults are around four feet long and they like to eat lizards and birds among other things. Not tacos.

The reason that they kept coming by was that the bush next to me was full of little lizards.

Which got me thinking about this photo from several years ago.

A possible franchise opportunity. Hmmm…Do snakes carry a wallet? A snakeskin wallet would be pretty ironic. But they have no pockets and a purse would just slow them down.

Before I left on this latest trip my brother Mike gave me small HDTV, figuring I’d use it when I could get reception.

And I got some on Sunday, enough to watch a bit of the WGC Match Play golf tournament. I set it up in the screen house. But just for a bit because the weather got nasty again.

Yeah.

This storm happed to coincide with the biggest race in NASCAR, the Daytona 500 which was taking place nearby. The result was the longest weather delay in history, over 6 hours.

Meanwhile, in Southern California it has not rained all year.

Coincidence? I think not. The nasty weather just seems to follow me, taunting me.

After my campsite flooded I gave up and went inside my trailer. My warm dry trailer. Did I mention dry?

Monday morning I had another visitor.

A big ol’ tortoise came barreling down the left side of my campsite next to the trailer’s power cord. Over two feet long and almost that wide. The tortoise, not the cord.

He was moving fast. Look at his feet, or whatever they are called.

Could probably outrun a hare, that one.

I walked closer and he hissed at me and gave me a nasty look. He was on a mission.

So I ran around the trailer and sat down about twenty feet in front of him for a photo op.

He just kept coming on. Straight at me. With a maniacal grin on his face. That grin looked familiar. Then a thought bubbled into my brain. I now had a name for him.

The Lesley Tortoise.

I rolled to the side as he went by me. Still hissing and scrabbling. I could almost understand the hisses.

“Not a Lessssley, not a Lessssley”.

He continued down the grassy slope behind my site and disappeared.

I have three more state parks I want to visit in Florida before I venture into Georgia next week. Following the coast to Savannah and then the Savannah River northwest.

Should be fun.

I will be passing through Augusta a month before the Masters. Figured I might stay a day or two and give Lefty some tips if he happens to in town. Say hi to Amy and the kids. Maybe give Bones a break and do some caddying.

You just never know what will happen around that next bend in the road.

Regards,

Greg

Scamp Camp Tramp

 

Last week, Seattle, Washington and Portland, Maine abruptly rose 10 miles into the air. You may have seen it on TV. This turned the country in a giant funnel and all the little egg-shaped Scamp trailers rolled down to south Florida. They wound up in a campground. This curious phenomena was named “Scamp Camp” by Fox News.

I spent one night there, leaving yesterday, Thursday. It was interesting, to say the least.

But I need to catch up on the past 10 days or so first.

One word. Rain. Most of the time, anyway.

So it was appropriate that my first stop after leaving Rocky Bayou State Park was this place.

It is a small campground with only two dozen sites but it has several claims to fame.

The campsites are located on one of the highest mountains in Florida. 324 feet above sea level. So make sure to acclimate yourself to the altitude if you are arriving from lower elevations. Like Death Valley.

A boardwalk path leads you the state’s highest waterfall.

They claim it is 73 feet high.

That number includes the sink hole it drops into and disappears from…

…those nutty Floridians. I demand a recount.

There is also a little lake with a little beach.

I was very impressed with this place. Highly recommended.

Next stop was Florida Caverns State Park.

The caverns are closed for tours on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I arrived on Tuesday for one night. Bummer.

There are 38 sites here including 4 equestrian ones.

The swimming hole is spring fed and looked kinda spooky in the morning mist.

The view beyond the bridge was even spookier.

How about a black and white photo just to turn up the spook factor.

Don’t you just want to dive in for a dip? And listen to the banjo music?

The mist followed me to Three Rivers State Park.

The 30 campsites are located near the shore of Lake Seminole. Several are right on it, like number 15.

There are canoe rentals.

A fishing pier.

And a fancy-dancy cabin.

So why is it called Three Rivers instead of Lake Seminole?

Well, since you asked.

The Flint and the Chattahoochee rivers join up to form the lake just above the Jim Woodruff Dam. Below the dam, the combo is called the Apalachicola River, which flows into the gulf. Hence “Three Rivers”.

So there you go. Informative and educational. I try to do my best.

Torreya State Park and déjà vu were next.

Torreya is the boonies, about 25 miles from any real supplies, so keep that in mind. What keeps this campground’s 30 sites full are the hiking opportunities. This is Florida’s version of the Texas Hill Country.

The sites are on a mini-mesa and I nabbed a western facing one, number 27, to enjoy some brief sunshine.

Two sites over, someone pulled in with a teardrop trailer.

It was the exact same type I dragged around for 8 months last year.

It looked small…yet cute. Right Glenn?

The brief respite from the rain retreated as I drove 150 miles east, passing through Tallahassee.

All these double letters are driving me nuts while I type this post.

I drove past Florida State University and got a lousy picture of the sign.

Because I was simultaneously looking across the street at this sign.

Just what every college student needs. Drive-thru beer.

“Hey Dad, tuition just went up. I need some more money to cover the cost of, umm, err, expenses”. Been there. Done that. Sorry Dad.

Anyway, Suwannee River State Park was next.

There are several state parks in Florida located along the Suwannee River, a very popular canoe trail.

This one has 30 sites like number 10.

And the coolest cabins I have seen yet in Florida.

I could live in something like that. Seriously.

A boat ramp led down to the river.

Nearby was a park named after some guy.

He wrote several songs including “Gators Grabbed my Girdle” and “Old Folks at Home”.

I am teasing about the first, but the second one became a world-wide sensation.

You may know it better by the first line.

“Way Down Upon The Suwannee River”.

Yeah, that guy. He eventually composed over 200 songs.

But none as famous as that one, which made the river famous as well.

So the Florida Federation of Music Clubs decided to do his memory proud and the state opened this park in 1950 in White Springs.

There is a museum.

I could live in that as well…

A big tower.

And even a riverside gazebo.

Alongside the river.

But no swimming. At least in this campground…

There is a lot more that I didn’t get a chance to photograph. An auditorium, an amphitheater, a craft village, where large men wearing aprons pound on horseshoes, and lots of other things to while away the day.

Oh, there is also a campground. 45 sites with the largest pull-thru’s I have seen. Like number 15.

You could park a 200 foot rig there.

Just don’t try to park anything here on Memorial Day Weekend. Unless you have made reservations well in advance.

The first Florida Folk Festival was held here in 1953 on that weekend and the tradition continues.

Sorry for the glare. It was actually sunny for a bit.

I started to head south with a stop at Ocean Pond.

This medium-sized forest service campground has 67 sites. None are reservable. But check this out.

Sites 1-19 have electric and water for $18.

Sites 20-47 have just water for $12.

Sites 48 and up are primitive for just $8.

The bonus is that Florida honors the “America the Beautiful” pass in it’s national forests. Not just the Access Pass or Senior Pass but even the Interagency Annual Pass. This gives you half off the rates. Almost.

The prices drop to $12, $6, and $4.

Since I had a current IAP it cost me $6 per night. I stayed the whole weekend.

Flush toilets and free showers made it perfect.

There are many sites by the pond. Number 16 was good and I stayed in number 40.

A boat ramp and beach are included at no charge.

Those pictures were shot last Friday. Saturday was sunny and folks were enjoying the pond. Well, it’s called a pond but it’s close to 2000 acres in size.

So I decided to build a campfire. With some help from some neighbors.

They brought the big logs.

Not too shabby.

Monday was onward to O’Leno State Park.

This is one of the first state parks in Florida. There is a suspension bridge and other buildings built by the CCC back in the 1930’s.

Why don’t they build houses like that nowadays? I want one.

There are 61 sites and most look like number 14.

There are canoe rentals.

And a swimming area in the Santa Fe River.

See, the gators are not allowed into the roped off area.

Sometimes gators don’t play by the rules, so the park has thoughtfully provided a warning sign.

The red underline is mine. I always read the fine print.

Silver River State Park is no more. The name has changed to Silver Springs State Park. Ergo the shiny new sign.

The state annexed a water park next door in October and plans to provide a connector road directly from the campground.

There are 59 sites with some pull-thru’s almost as big as Stephen Foster offers.

Yes, that is one campsite. Number 4. I stayed in number 34, a smaller site.

Miles and miles of trails surround this park and I walked the river trail on Wednesday morning.

Which brought me to this sign.

I like most bears, grizzlies not so much, so I looked forward to an encounter.

Hearing some thrashing in the bushes I readied my camera.

I guess bears look different in Florida. Skinnier and more tanned.

But at least I saw one.

I passed a bizarre tree. It looked confused on which way to go.

I can relate.

Found the canoe launch.

And the misty Silver River.

At the last two state parks I visited I ran into other Scamp owners. They told me about Scamp Camp. They also mentioned that any available sites for the weeklong event at Highlands Hammock State Park had been long sold out.

Being ever an optimist I looked online Tuesday night. And found one spot for a single night. Good enough.

So I went there on Wednesday afternoon.

Yikes! I could see 9 eggs from my campsite.

Scamps everywhere. You could not move without stepping on one.

And the potluck dinner was for that night. Cool.

Until Moisture Man reared his head. Sorry Scampers.

The awnings quickly unfurled. I made my own, kinda.

Then the clouds burst open , the rain intensified, and that was that. No potluck dinner.

Yesterday morning was better so I walked around the campground, ogling the other Scamps. Talking to the owners and picking up tips.

Random Scamp Camp pics.

You can tell by the photos that there is not a lot of separation between campsites.

Unless you are doing a group gathering or are an exhibitionist, I don’t recommend this campground. There is absolutely no privacy.

Thursday I headed west 25 miles where I am currently encamped at a Thousand Trails spot. Just for a bit.

Doing laundry, replenishing supplies, processing photos and writing this blog.

I did learn something in the past two days. I am no longer a camper. I am a Scamper. And darn proud of our nutty clan.

Regards,

Greg