December Camping with Friends, 2021

December Camping

December was a great end to our 2021 camping year.  We camped with  Southeastern Tabs, Tags, and Friends (SETTF) at two great campgrounds, Stephen C. Foster State Park in Fargo, Georgia and Silver Springs State Park in Ocala, Florida.  We were also joined for a couple of days by two of our dance friends who formerly lived near us.  It was so wonderful seeing everyone!

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Stephen C Foster State Park is located within the wildlife refuge.  It is a small, but well- maintained Georgia State Park.  Though we now have a much bigger camper, there was plenty of room on our site.

We were only there for two nights.  Our friends spent their days paddling the rivers, but we didn’t think our shoulder issues would allow it.  However, we were able to experience the water on an interpretive tour led by a park ranger.

Our boat ride was mostly on Billy Lake, near Billy Island, the largest in the area.  It was a beautiful day to be on the water and we saw lots of wildlife, including birds, turtles, and alligators.  One alligator was quite large and we were fairly  close, but when the gator started moving, our ranger moved us away.

There were also several egrets on the water while we were on our ride.

Silver Springs State Park

We were at Silver Springs State Park for four nights and it has become one of our favorites.   The park offers an nice campground, excellent paddling opportunities, and good bike trails.  We were there with SETTF and were joined by our dance friends for two nights.

The Campground

Our site was nice, but pretty much all the sites in the campground were good—large and level.  All had electricity and water, but a few, like ours,  had sewer.  Unfortunately,  the sewer was located at the far back corner of our site and was not useful to us because our hose was not very long.

My husband was delighted to see a big gopher turtle in the road.  He moved it to an open area near our campsite and it disappeared quickly.

December Camping with Friends

We spent a couple of nights at campfires with members of SETTF and accompanied them as they were putting their kayaks in the water at the Silver River.   It looked like so much fun!  We learned that the padding was relatively easy there, so we decided to come back later prepared to try it ourselves.  So, we came back the next day and did the loop.  It was an awesome time!  There was lots of wildlife:  a manatee, and many turtles, alligators,  and birds.  However, we didn’t see any monkeys.

We had a few meals  with our dance friends and took a ride on the glass bottom boat in the park.  It was great to spend time with them.

Views from the Glass Bottom Boat

The glass bottom boat was a very pleasant time on the Silver River.  We learned that a glass bottom boat has been operating there since the 1870s.   The river, which is estimated to have over 600 springs,  has a daily flow of 500 million gallons per day.  It was clear with silver hues.   It was the setting for multiple Tarzan movies and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Through the glass bottom of the boat, we saw an ancient canoe and several of the major springs.

The view of the river from the boat and later in our tandem kayak was amazing.  It is such a beautiful place!

We saw a manatee underwater and many fish and turtles.

There were several ahingas on the river and it was easy to get a photo because they can’t fly well until their feathers dry.  I have never seen them before this trip.

Rawlings Historic State Park

A SETTF friend suggested a stop on our way home at Marjorie Rawlings Historic State Park .  Though the house wasn’t open, we are very glad we made the stop.  Rawlings is the Pulitzer award-winning writer of the “Yearling” and “Cross Creek”.

Her home and the land is much like it was when she lived there. The photo below was taken from outside.  She sat on the porch at that typewriter when she wrote her famous novels.

A really nice park ranger told us a lot about the place and Rawlings’ life.  He also gave us some grapefruits from the citrus trees.

December Camping Conclusion

We loved this last trip of the year.  The parks were extraordinary and spending time with our friends was wonderful.  More of our adventures can be accessed on our webpage, Retirement and camping!

Wishing everyone a merry Christmas and Happy New Year!