Wednesday, December 1, 2010 (Salt Springs, Florida)

Wow...it’s December! And it came in like a lion as wind and rain arrived in the wee hours of the morning. It didn’t last long but it definitely brought much cooler temperatures with it. We went from air-conditioner to heaters overnight! But it was a beautiful sunny day...not a cloud in the sky! A perfect day to go ATV’ing!

So after breakfast, we prepared to head off. I made sandwiches while Steve got the helmets out and cleaned our goggles. With our lunch packed in the cooler bag, helmets in the truck...and quad keys, we were on our way. We decided to go to Delancy West so we could check out the road into the campground and the campground itself. We drove 5 miles north up highway 19 to forestry road 75 and turned left on to the gravel road. It was very rough and “wash-board-y”...the only way to drive on this road was over 40 mph. No, I don’t think we will be bringing our 5th wheel on it. I also don’t think that we would have been able to manoeuvre it into the campground anyway. I’m quite happy where we are. There are 3 other trailheads that we can drive to and unload the quads, giving us access to different parts of the trail system.

Upon entering the campground, we stopped at the payment kiosk, filled out the trail permit envelopes, put our $10 each in our envelopes and deposited them in the payment slot. The permit was good for 3 consecutive days...guess what we will be doing for the next 3 days? Hope the weather cooperates!

After parking the truck in the day-use area, we unloaded the quads, checked the air pressure in the tires (added some air) and packed the cargo boxes. It was just after 11:30 when we hit the trail. The trails are well marked but a little confusing in a couple of areas when trying to compare to the map.

We had a great afternoon! The weather was perfect...we actually had to stop and put on another layer later on in the afternoon as it got chillier. What a change from the hot humid day yesterday! The trails are very different from what we have experienced before. They are all sand...like driving on sand dunes but not in the desert. The terrain is flat so there really isn’t much to see other than the trail itself...which varies from saw palmettos to forested grasslands.

We stayed on the yellow trail today which is 25 miles in total. At one point there was a “connector” trail (not shown on the map so it was new) that went to the Salt Springs Plaza...so we thought we would check out that one. It ended up being one of the better trails as it was narrower and much windier. It was also 5 miles long...which seemed to go on and on because at the point of starting it I was ready for a break...I needed to take my helmet off—it was starting to feel like a vice-grip on my head! The trail ended in a corral where you can park your ATV and walk across the street to the plaza. I suspect it was made for campers staying at Delancy West to go and pick up some supplies. Mind you, there isn’t a grocery store in that plaza—only a convenience store.

What a dirty face...it was very dusty riding behind Steve...

After experiencing one small blip on the trail (hmmm...which way do we go...), we ended up picking the right trail and arrived back at Delancy West and our truck at about 4:30 p.m. One advantage to riding during the week is the trails aren’t busy. .. only saw four other riders all day. We gassed the quads up ready for tomorrow and loaded them back in the truck. When we got into the cab of the truck, we noticed a note on the windshield. It was a request to submit $6 for using the day-use area. We hadn’t realized that we had to pay that as well...sheesh. So we had to scrounge together the exact amount...they ended up getting one Canadian dime in the deal!

After dinner we went for a walk around the campground. Brrrr...it was darn chilly out there! It was very interesting seeing so many RV’s decorated with Christmas lights. We had a brisk walk and were soon back in front of the fireplace watching TV...it is Wednesday...Survivor night!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 (Salt Springs, Florida)

The sky looked pretty clear as I peered out the window first thing this morning. After yesterday’s cloud and rain, I was expecting a repeat today but so far it looked pretty promising.

After exercises and showering in our own bathroom (YAY...for full hook-ups), I made bacon and eggs for breakfast. We generally have a “big” breakfast every other day or two. It wasn’t too long before we had the door open along with all the windows. It was going to be a hot, humid day (no use straightening my hair today)!!

Over breakfast, Steve and I discussed what we should do today. Should we take our riding clothes and drive to West Delancy to check out the campground there and go for a ride; or should we just explore around here today? We decided to stay here. So after we were finished breakfast and the dishes were all done up, we put on our walking shoes and headed out. But before doing that, we closed all the windows and turned the air conditioner on!

The campground map had a trail marked on it but there was no indication of how long it was... we thought we’d try it away. We found the start of “Bear Swamp Trail” and off we went. It was a nice walking trail particularly when we got to the boardwalk...very cool but being made of wood and covered with wet leaves, it was quite slippery so we had to be careful walking. At this point, we seemed to be in the heart of the swamp...a waterless swamp, mind you...but very pretty with lots of Saw Palmettos. The saw palmettos are akin to the ferns we have in the forests back home.

We walked and walked with no idea where the trail ended. We finally came to what we thought was another trailhead to the trail but it look awfully familiar, so I said to Steve that it looks like where we started off from. Sure enough, unknown to us, the trail was a big loop...very weird because we had no idea we were walking in a circle! Too funny! That hike took us just over 30 minutes and then we continued on through the park to the day use area where the springs are. What a very pretty area! The springs are not hot springs as we thought but cold springs, maintaining a constant temperature of 72 degrees. There were an incredible number of fish swimming and jumping in the basin...but no manatees  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manatee .

Look at all the fish in the centre of the picture...

On the way back, we stopped at the park office and paid for another 5 nights...so we will be here until next Monday. It was hot and humid and by the time we got back to the trailer, an hour and a half later, we were hot and tired! Ahhh...what a relief to walk into the coolness of the trailer and relax with a bottle of water!

We relaxed for a bit and at about 1:00 we decided to drive over to ‘Salt Springs Square’ and check out the Visitor’s Centre a bit better. We had been there yesterday when we arrived in the area but hadn’t really looked around much. When we got there, there was a sign in the window stating that the Centre would be opening later today due to a meeting. So we continued to check out the rest of the shops...there was a Laundromat, a restaurant (only open for breakfast and lunch), a Real Estate office, Post Office, a hairdresser and a fishing and outfitters store called ‘Buck & Brass’. Of course, we checked out that! A very cool store that had a variety of mounted animal heads from around the world lining the walls. There was also a back room that held live bait for fishing...a bin full of crickets, for one! The lady minding the store (who was the previous owner looking after it while the new owner was on a hunting trip in Tennessee) was very nice and we had quite a conversation with her about the store. I also asked her if there was a restaurant in the area that was open for dinner. Bass Champion is a restaurant and lodge about a mile back on the highway we came in on and serves incredible food...amazing, she said, for just a “hole in the wall” place out in the middle of nowhere! Excellent...I knew I could find a place for Steve to take me out for my birthday dinner this Friday!!

Steve decided to take a chance on a haircut at the hairdressers and got scalped again. He’s not pleased with the cut but it looks good to me. It’s just shorter than he is used to. By the time he had finished getting that done, the Visitor’s Centre still wasn’t open. So we decided to drive up the highway to check out the restaurant and see if we could make reservations for Friday night. Unfortunately, the restaurant doesn’t open until 4:00 and with no cell service, I guess we are going to just have to take our chances on getting a table Friday night.

We returned to the trailer and Steve noticed that it was wet under the trailer. His first thought was that our fresh water tank was leaking as we had filled it before coming here expecting to be dry camping at Delancy West. It turned out that our water hose was spraying from a few pin holes. This is the second hose purchased from Camping World that we have had to throw away! Steve also discovered two ant colonies next to the trailer that were very active so after changing out the water hose out came the Home Defence ant poison we just purchased at our previous stay. So much for a couple of hours of reading and relaxing for Steve before going back up to “the Square” to use the pay phone. It is Steve’s Dad’s birthday today and Steve wanted to call to wish him a Happy Birthday. We were hoping to be able to get enough of a cell phone signal but it was too weak so he had to use the pay phone. I absolute HATE being in an area with no cell coverage or internet signal!!! I thought I would be able to use Wifi at the park office but apparently not...sheesh!

It was after 4:00 by the time we returned home. We sat outside reading but after a few uncomfortable minutes of getting bitten by mozzies...they attacked my butt from underneath the chair again...I left Steve who wasn’t being bitten and headed inside to take a Benadryl and lay on the couch reading.

After dinner, I resumed my spot on the couch...I had felt really exhausted today. This cold is taking a toll on me...so it wasn’t long before I was asleep.