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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.

December camping at Stephen C Foster State Park — Site # 30

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.

December camping and on a boat tour — View from Ranger boat tour

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.

December camping at Silver Springs State Park — Site # 31 was great

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.

December camping and kayaking on the Silver River — Kayak Launch at Silver Springs

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!

Camping at Falling Waters

This trip was primarily to visit family in Tampa, but we did not want drive the ten-hours to get there in one day. Falling Waters State Park is roughly at the half-way point, which worked very well for us.

We reserved site #3 and were very happy with it. It was on a pull-through concrete slab and, for the first time, I parked us at our campsite. My husband is the back-up king and getting us installed at campsites has always been his job.

This was our first Florida State Park and we really liked it. It was a small campground, but very well-maintained. Typical of state parks we have visited, it has electrical and water, but no sewer or cable. There is an older bathhouse and two newer family bathrooms with heat. There is also a dishwashing area.

We did not disconnect from our tow vehicle as we were not leaving the park until the next morning. We had a late lunch in Dothan, Alabama, at the Thai House, so dinner was only minimal snacks. By the way, the food at Thai House was delicious.

Teardrop camper at Falling Waters campsite — Site #3 Falling Waters State Park

We removed items stored in the cabin and set them under the galley door to protect from moisture. We did not set up any tents, not even the privacy tent, as the bathhouse was very close. In the photo below, you can see the bathhouse from our site.

The Waterfall and Sinkhole

We had a couple of hours of daylight left, which we used to check out the waterfall and the sinkhole into which it flows. It was an easy walk to the waterfall with a path that was mostly level trail with an abundance of boardwalks along the way.

Trail to Falling Waters waterfall — Trail to the waterfall

Boardwalk at Falling Waters Campground — Boardwalks along the path

We had inquired if the waterfall had very much water and already knew it had been dry in the area and it was only a trickle, so it was not a disappointment. It was interesting to see it with the sinkhole below. It was certainly worth the pleasant walk to get there.

Waterfall at Falling Waters — The waterfall

The sign below reminded me that we are in Florida and alligators are everywhere. Not a pleasant thought when you think about getting up in the middle of the night and walking to the bathhouse. I kept my flashlight close.

Alligators have been known to attack humans

Our Evening

We showered when we arrived back at our camper and had some snacks, then we settled in for the night. We are off daylight savings time and it gets dark early. It was cool to be outside, but very comfortable in our camper.

We tested our little makeshift air antenna and were pleasantly surprised to see that it pulled in ten stations, all with a great picture. Of course, results would vary greatly by location. I like it because it is so small and easy to store and retrieve.

Air antenna on teardrop camper — Air antenna

There was a gentle rain most of the night. We had our fan vent slightly open but rain did not penetrate our cabin. We were warm and comfortable.

On the Road Again

The next morning, there was very little to do before leaving as we were having breakfast on the road. Next stop, Hillsborough River State Park, which is in the Tampa area. This link will take you to our main page if you would like to follow our adventures.

HAPPY CAMPING

Tag: Florida

December Camping with Friends, 2021