Left Zach and Shari's Miami house and
headed up South Dixie Highway (US#1) then Highway 95 and 40 for
Hopkins Prairie in the Ocala National Forest (NF) – about a six
hour trip. We snagged the best site, number twenty, and settled in
for a week of quietness. That night we found a sleezy Irish bar that
had TV coverage of the University of Michigan versus Washington State
football game; Michigan won handily to become National Champions.
The weather was great all week but a
big rain storm hit on Tuesday while we were shopping in Ocala. On the
MLK (Martin Luther King) long weekend we watched the Greenbay Packers
beat the Dallas Cowboys (using rabbit ears) in an NFL Wildcard game.
Pulled up roots on Tuesday and headed
to Alexander Springs which is still in the Ocala NF. Friends Carol
and Chris from Colorado with their son Nick (who lives in Oregon) met
us for a couple of days camping; we loaned them our two-man and
four-man tents for accomodations. Cindy was feeling a little under
the weather but we still launched the canoe a couple of times so the
Westerners could paddle in the Alexander River.
We had great evening
fires with Nick splitting the logs and fanning the flames. On the
last day, they visited Blue Springs State Park and saw over six
hundred Manatees that arrived during a cold spell; the springs keep
them warm.
From Ocala NF we headed to Tampa...
Stay tuned for that short Blog which will have tons of pictures.
Tidbits:
- Bar sign: Bad choices make good stories
- Alexander Springs Campground has too many dog rules
SPOT:
- Hopkins Prairie Ocala NF 2024 01 08-15: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=29.27619,-81.69370&ll=29.27619,-81.69370&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
- Alexander Springs Ocala NF 2024 01 16-18: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gJvHCeiwFXsRVT5S7
2025-02-17