Yes, We're STILL in Florida

We do like to move slowly when we can. We've been snailing along through central Florida, staying a week at a time at a series of pleasantly surprising campgrounds. I'll just mention the last few here for those who are interested, and get on with the story.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Hobe Sound, FL 

https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Jonathan-Dickinson

This one is just about perfect. Reasonably priced, large, full hook-up sites, close to the ocean and shopping yet quiet and surrounded by nature, great hiking/biking trails, well taken care of. We'd go back and spend a month in a flash.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park - Site #79 (paved!)

             

River Ranch RV Resort, Lake Wales, FL

http://www.riverranchrv.net/riverranchrv/outside_home.asp

A kind of odd place. It's an ownership resort that the owners all seem to be leaving. Many lots for sale. It's affiliated with a dude ranch kind of resort with a rodeo, teepees, glamping - all beautifully landscaped jungle style and very well cared for.  The sites were kind of tight getting into and it was pretty pricey. 

River Ranch RV Resort - Site #278

             

Wilderness RV Resort, Silver Springs, FL

wildernessrvparkestates.com

This place is all about the location, right near Silver River State Park and close enough to Ichetucknee River. (More about those later.) The park is known for it's little restaurant and sweet shop that makes great whoopie pies.

Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park, White Springs, FL 

https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Stephen-Foster

This is a very nice state park, but kind of far away from almost everything. Good for catching up on the blog and some nice hiking. There are some very nice long pull-throughs, but very few sites that would get satellite reception. All the sites are 30 amp and have no sewer.

Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park - Site #34

Florida is like three totally different worlds: the beach-focused, busy, wealthy east and west coasts and the Keys; Orlando and all the theme park culture; and the central wild and agricultural stretch that starts at the Everglades, squeaks around Orlando and continues all the way to Georgia. Some call it the "old" Florida. Since leaving Jonathan Dickinson we've been hanging out in the latter and enjoying it a lot. It's rural and surprisingly remote in places, but full of hidden treasures, like the many rivers and crystal blue springs.

But back to Jonathan Dickinson on the beautiful east coast of Florida for a moment.  Much of the east coast is heavily developed, but there are little windows of undeveloped seashore, like between Jupiter Island and Hobe Sound, where this state park is located amidst miles of undeveloped rolling sand dunes.

It's a great location to visit some really excellent beaches, including the amazing miles-long Juno Beach where dogs are always allowed off leash. They're treated like one of the family- no fuss about it. The dogs have miles to play and swim, are not crowded into a nervous little area, and are pretty relaxed as a result.  The ocean was divine - perfect temperature, manageable waves and pretty colors. Ahhhh....

We also visited the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and took the guided tour.  Rick was fascinated by it all and walked up to the top. 

I opted out of the climb and lounged around under this spectacular ficus tree. Florida does have some amazing vegetation.

As we were leaving we saw this fisherman (with the gold necklace) haul in an amberjack after fighting with it for a long long time.  He and everyone around him were pretty excited and full of admiration for his accomplishment.  I guess it doesn't happen every day.

While at the River Ranch Resort near Lake Wales we spent a very pleasant afternoon at Bok Tower Gardens.  Near the entrance gate there is a visitor's center, gift shop, cafe and plant shop. In the patio garden they had created a wall of epiphytes (air plants) that happened to be in bloom. Not something you'd see anywhere else in the USA. They also had about 15 varieties of baby airplants for sale in the plant shop.  I was seriously tempted.

Bok Tower was built in 1929 by author and publisher Edward Bok.  It has a carillon that gives  automated concerts several times a day... 

...but occasionally it is played live. We just happened to be there at the right time for this unique experience at the end of our guided tour through the gardens (designed by Frederick Law Olmsted!). Our guide dropped us off at the base of the tower at a seating area where a closed circuit TV allowed us to view the carillon player as he gave the concert.  Watching the grace and finesse of his playing gave us a whole new appreciation for carillon music, which can sound kind of clunky and off key.

Closed circuit TV at the base of Bok Tower

We aren't big on the theme  park experiences that central Florida has to offer, so we passed on all that (except for one very fun visit to Epcot with our friends Lynn and Glenn) and spent more time hiking and paddling. While at the Wilderness RV Resort we kayaked the Silver River from one of Florida's newest state parks, Silver River State Park. 

Silver Springs is one of the largest fresh water spring in the world, putting out 550 million gallons of water daily.  It has a long and varied history as a water-based entertainment park. At one point monkeys were brought in and put on one of the islands to create a jungle theme. The imaginative owners didn't know the monkeys could swim, so now their descendants live a relatively natural and free existence at several points along the Silver River. (I don't know why they aren't all over Florida by now.)  

I learned another fascinating fact while visiting the lovely Appleton Museum, a small art museum at the College of Central Florida in Ocala. There was a short term photography exhibit about Paradise Park, a twin park to Silver Springs, which was for about a decade "exclusively for colored folks."  In the spirit of "separate but equal" it had all the same features and fun. How easy it is to forget that before the 1960's most of Florida's tourist attractions were segregated or unavailable to people of color. Silver Springs was eventually integrated, and later the state of Florida bought all the land surrounding and including the spring, and recently re-opened it as a state park. Now visitors have access by boat to the source of the spring and the river system that flows from it, and the state does its best to preserve the beauty and natural state of the springs. (There is no longer any swimming or fishing allowed in the spring or river.)

Rick and I paddled our kayaks from Silver River State Park to our campground, an easy downstream trip that took us about three hours.

The river passes the remains of the old tourist attractions, along with varieties of wildlife, including alligators, turtles, gar, jumping mullet, herons, egrets, wood ducks...

Mama wood duck and three ducklings

...swallow tail kites (one putting on a flying show for us, here skimming the water for a drink)...

...and yes, monkeys. We saw about three families or troops going about their business along the river.  This is a mother and baby, but you'll have to take my word for it.

For the first time we also saw why those growths at the bases of cypress tress are called "knees." Here is one example of a long chain of knees extending from the cypress tree on the left. The water  must have washed away the ground that usually hides the infrastructure of the knobs/knees above ground that we usually see, leaving behind this fence-like structure that does look a lot like knees. 

Silver Spring is impressive for its size and the monkeys of course, but we still think the Ichetucknee is the best spring in Florida.  We just had to paddle it again.  

The beautiful Ichetucknee River

We basically just replayed our paddle of three years ago, but got off the river at the southern most point in the Ichetucknee State Park before the river joins the Santa Fe and becomes a grueling six hour paddle against the wind.  This river is like nothing else we've ever experienced - like a magical wild river in a fairy tale. 

Afterwards Rick took a dip in the Blue Hole - the source of the Ichetucknee.

 It was cold and the current coming out of the hole was very strong. Here he is right above the upwelling of the spring.

We're finishing up our four months in Florida in Jacksonville at the Pecan Park RV Resort. It's just a stop along I-95, and right under the flight path for the commercial and fighter jets from the nearby airport. Wouldn't recommend it, but it's easy on and off with big concrete pull-throughs. We're here so I can check out some furniture stores in Jacksonville. We'll also spend tomorrow on Amelia Island before we go back to Brunswick, GA to see our future home on Jekyll Island next week. We're so excited!

The Badlands of Montana and North Dakota

Teddy Roosevelt National Park, North Unit

Who knew there were badlands in Montana and North Dakota? Not us! We always thought THE Badlands were in South Dakota, at Badlands National Park. But now we know that badlands is a generic name for a kind of eroded landscape of soft soils and clays found all over the world.  Interestingly, their color and shape vary depending on their geological history, mineral composition and local climate over time. Thus, the badlands here in Montana and North Dakota are rounded, in shades of grey, beige and yellow (above) while those in South Dakota are more peaked, in pink, gold and brown.

We are in Medora, ND now, having passed through eastern Montana and stopped at Makoshika State Park on our way.  Makoshika is the largest state park in Montana, and based on our visit, one of the best kept secrets in that state.  We saw only a couple of cars during our visit. There is a scenic drive that must be about 6 miles long, but we stopped about half way for a picnic lunch and then headed on our way east.  There is no big rig day use parking at the park, so we left the truck and fifth wheel in a K-Mart in Glendive just off I-94. The park is about 5 minutes from there.

Map from the Makoshia State Park website.

It has been smoky in Montana for weeks from the many fires in the western states, so our photographs are hazy and muted and the skies are always white, but you can still see some variation in the colors of the hills. 

Our destination was Medora and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). We are staying at the Red Trail Campground (which I wouldn't necessarily recommend) and we've been joined here by our good full-timing friends Lynn and Glenn.  The TRNP is another best kept secret, this time of North Dakota and the National Park system. 

Our adventures began with a journey to the North Unit of the park, about 1.5 hours north of Medora, but our first stop was the Visitor's Center at the Painted Canyon, just off I-94, where we were surprised by a herd of bison passing through the parking lot.  You don't get a photo of the national park sign like this very often.

Honey liked the bison too.

Did you ever notice how tiny a bison's feet are? Look at those delicate little hoofers!

After that excitement we passed through the southern edge of the North Dakota "oil patch" where there is evidence of the oil industry in pumps, rigs, temporary housing and commercial enterprises that serve the people here to work.

A very comprehensive truck stop in an otherwise remote landscape.

The smoke was pretty heavy, as you can see in the next photo from an overlook. 

A smoky overlook at the North Unit of TRNP

Closer photos fared better. These are the cannonball concretions that are found within the eroded hills in some areas. The top photo of this post was taken from this location as well.

Another smoky view. Despite how it may look, the landscape is large, colorful and impressive.

Later that day, Lynn and Glenn arrived and we invited them over for dinner. Then I roped them into a full moon hike in the park with a ranger. Being good sports and usually up for anything, they agreed. We got really lucky on our drive to the trailhead and spotted this badger (a first for all of us!) in a prairie dog town.  Although he was really entertaining, running between prairie dog holes and digging around, we had a hike to catch so we headed on.

Then we saw these wild horses and had to stop and watch them. The horses are one of the most frequently seen animals here. In fact there are people who know them all, have named them and can trace their lineage. There's a book published and sold locally that documents them all with photographs and biographical data. 

We passed several bison in groups and alone, but the most picturesque was this herd.

Our full moon hike was a couple of hours long and was off trail most of the way, through grasses, dirt and lots of buffalo and horse droppings. There was some scrambling involved that I might not have tried even in the daylight, but we all got through just fine by helping each other over the rough spots. There were only about 20 people and we used no artificial lights at any time. Although the moon was muted by the smoke, it still offered enough light.   

Next day we loaded up in Glenn and Lynn's truck and headed out for the South Unit Scenic Drive, a loop of about 30 miles. Our first stop was the Visitor's Center and Theodore Roosevelt's Maltese Cross Cabin out back. Teddy Roosevelt began coming to the area for hunting, but then retreated to his ranch to recover from the loss of his mother and wife. There are many stories about his time here. After his death the park was eventually created and named for him.

The park has two units, North and South, and both have scenic drives for easy access. There are many  trails, from easy to strenuous, criss-crossing the park.  There is no major elevation change in the park, so the hikes are not like in the Rockies or Sierras.

One of the most visually interesting short hikes is at Wind Canyon, in the South Unit (above and next three pictures)... 

Rick and Lynn on Wind Canyon Trial

...with gorgeous views of the Little Missouri River Valley.

These golden asters line all the roads.

Another rewarding and easy (though hot and without shade) hike is the Boicourt Trail.

Lynn, Glenn and Rick on the Boicourt Trail

Glenn, Lynn and Rick at the summit of the Boicourt Trail

View from the Boicourt Trail

The Boicourt Trail and Overlook both offer quintessential views of the badlands and rolling hills and valleys that are typical of TRNP.

After that hot hike we were ready to head home for an easy cook out and good night's sleep. Then, after a wicked overnight thunderstorm, we finally had blue skies again!!! It seems like ages since we've seen the sky and breathed clean air. What a relief. 

Of course we had to visit the cutesy Western town of Medora several times. The RV park is walking or easy biking distance from town. There are several restaurants, but we only tried the Badlands Pizza and Saloon, twice. We liked their pizza, especially when we asked them to cook it just a tad longer.  The whole town has a Disney feel to it, as much of it (including the Medora Campground, which I would recommend) is owned and operated by the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, committed to maintaining the town of Medora for happy visitors. Many employees and volunteers come from around the world to work here during the summers.

Scenes of Medora


In addition to pizza, we had a little good clean fun in Medora.

High-ho-Silver!

Rick & Glenn get serious

Lynn finds a new friend

No visit to Medora is complete without taking in an evening at the Medora Musical, a surprisingly high quality Disney-like musical review production in an impressive outdoor setting.  This year they celebrate their 50th anniversary! More good clean fun that leaves you feeling darn good about North Dakota and the USofA.

Lynn and Glenn left this morning but we will stay another couple of days and see what else there is to see here before heading south again. 

A final image from Medora