“Get close to the wildlife,” they said. “You’ll love it.”
YAH? Well guess what? You were WRONG!
At least about loving the wildlife…This morning I heard some noise on the side of the tent and there was an effin’ squirrel clinging to the netting window. Little bastard left over a dozen holes that I’ve now got to try and fix.
Because it’s in a state park you’re not allowed to kill the tick-carrying rodent, more’s the pity.
Nothing is a bigger incentive to putting the rainfly over the top of the tent than the sound of loud, approaching thunder.
After having the THIRD alternator installed in the last couple of months but the good people at Jim’s Auto Repairs in Lake City, Florida, I returned to the Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park. I got to Jim’s just as they opened at 8 a.m. When I explained that I was traveling they put me on “urgent” status, apparently, and I was back on the road before noon. If you have to break down in north Florida, try and arrange it so you’re near Lake City and Jim’s. They did me right.
Not being sure of when the repairs would be finished I didn’t look for any parks closer to home and decided to return here. I like the place and at $10 a night with water and electricity at the site it’s an unbeatable deal. Will be here through the weekend.
My most important breathing med, Trilogy, was on its last hit, though I still have some of the Breo Ellipta left, I called the Lake City Wally World Pharmacy and renewed the prescription which will be ready this afternoon, Fri.
It was sweltering when I got back to the park. Willy Weather says the heat index was between 106F to 108F! It took forever to get the tent pitched. Do a little, stop, sit and catch breath, repeat. Of course it finally got done but it was a real battle. I didn’t put the rain fly on since it was bright and sunny. But a couple of hours later what had been distant thunder became a lot louder, and a lot closer. I went out and struggled getting the rain fly over the tent. Only the second time I’ve done it but I think I’ve figured out how to do it a little easier next time. Practice makes perfect, they say.
About a half hour later it started to pour. Lightning all around. This lasted for well over an hour and the rain continued on into the night. I slept well, though, on my new Osage River Camping Cot…
Except for a couple of old man moments in the middle of the night I got almost eleven hours of shut eye. Didn’t sleep well at the motel the other night. People back and forth all night. Noisy. Even worse in a lot of ways then the constant drone of traffic I encountered when overnighting at Cracker Barrels.
Don’t know how far down it I am. Can’t see it from my camp site at the Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park. Arrived here a little after 3 p.m. Couple of big rigs came in after me.
This is a LOT different than Three Rivers. Shade in spades.
Suwannee Camp SiteHeavily woodedSee the difference?
Undecided about putting up the tent. Would hate to do it and then have to strike it in a couple of days because of Fred. Willy Weather is predicting 90% chance of rain on Saturday. Eighty percent on Sunday, dropping to 70% on Monday. The storm center is expected to be well north of us by Monday morning. Heat index here is outrageous. Upper 90s to 103F.Just going to sleep in the SUV ’til the storm is past.
I quite like this camping thing. But, like everything else in life it has its good and bad sides. The bad for me here at Three Rivers State Park in Sneads, FL, is that I seem to have chosen a site that offers very little shade. On Saturday and Sunday ,many of the campers departed. I’m writing this at the picnic table two sites away towards the water. It is gloriously shady. There’s also a slight breeze, and over by my tent it’s becoming stifling.
I’ve been living small for quite a few years. Twenty-two foot sailboat with just sitting headroom. Now SUV, but can stand up in the tent, Then I look across the street at a guy, all by his lonesome, getting ready to hit the road in his 5th-wheel camper with slide outs. Makes no sense to me. Same as when I was driving for the airport pickups in southeast Florida. I’d take withered, elderly people to mini-mansions and it was like dropping a couple of BBs into a 55 gallon barrel.
Then he spotted me and came over and started chatting. Telling me about how the FBI, the DOJ and others were trading him. Blocking his internet service. Placing tracking devices on his truck. He wasn’t going to let anybody stick a needle in his arm with “no vaccine.” I just sat silently nodding my head and “tsk tsking” along. When I told him I’d been invaded by an army of tiny ants that bit like crazy he went over to his rig and brought me some spray as well as a six pack of Miller Lites.
Got food and drink to last me the rest of my stay here.
One More Good Adventure 