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
