1/26/13

Crystal River and more FL Fun

It’s 8 PM on Saturday night and I am 4 days behind on my self imposed posting schedule.  Wondering if I have it in me to write lucidly after another fun but tiring day?

This has been a full week!  We packed and left our favorite place, Salt Springs, last Sunday afternoon hoping to spend the night in the Crystal River area and get into the RV shop early on Monday.  Our converter’s fan had been running frequently and since I had never noticed it running before, I was worried.  The voltage monitor on the battery was also showing some weird readings….or so I thought!  And our old problem of the refrigerator not working on gas was disturbing my peace of mind.

The good news is that the refrigerator is now working on gas and I am very thankful for that.  The bad/good news is that they could not find anything wrong with the converter or the battery.  And the fan is still coming on regularly.  Someone suggested that I ask about it on the forum.  Maybe I will….soon, if I don’t chicken out.

Tonight we are camped at Tillis Hill Recreation Area, 226 feet above sea level, the highest point in Citrus County!  This camp is in the Withlacoochee State Forest and it’s primarily a horse camp with a barn  and 50 miles of trails for horse riders.  Our little Casita looks like an outcast among all the large 5th wheel horse trailers.

This past week was spent camping in a friend’s backyard in the Crystal River/Inverness area.  We had a sweet setup with an electric hookup and great company!

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Also had a great view out of our back window!

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Side dinette window shows the privacy of our little nook.

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The week was spent doing tourist stuff and kayaking the surrounding springs.

One memory, the pink flamingos at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, is permanently imprinted on my brain.  These birds acted like they were in a chorus line running back and forth in sync with each other.  I was tearing up with laughter.

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A hippo was also posing for the camera….. a hippo with very bad teeth!

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River otters also gave us a great show.

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And, of course, there were the manatees.  One of them kept coming up to a park volunteer, who was sitting in a kayak, and she would pet it.  Amazing!

The manatees travel hundreds of miles inland to the warm 72 degree water of the springs in order to survive the cold of the winter.  Almost every spring we visited had manatees.

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The week ended with a kayak trip up the Rainbow River to Rainbow Springs State Park.  No manatees were seen but we did find clear deep water that made me wish for my bathing suit.

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Snook in the springs

Tomorrow will bring brand new adventures as we are traveling 150 miles south to Myakka River State Park where we plan to spend 6 nights.  Looking forward to seeing a different part of Florida!

8 comments:

  1. Could it just be that since you are in a warmer, more humid, area than you normally are, the fan is running more than you are used to? Sounds like ya'l are having a great time.

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    1. I wondered about that, also. But the fan kicking on frequently in the middle of the night when it's 45 degrees made me think something is wrong.

      When the RV people checked the converter, they found a lot of dust and a dead lizard! I think the converter's thermostat thingy is broke.

      You and Wanda drive safely and have lots of fun! See you in March.

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  2. Looks like you finally found your winter paradise! :)

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  3. Don't know if we've found paradise yet but having a great time looking for it!

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  4. YEAHrah for a freig that is working...cooler and ice makes not for a happy camper :O) Beautiful pics of such paradise! Happy for you!!

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  5. Thks! Life is good with few worries (today).

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  6. You two are on terrific adventure ......super photography....when you can make people wish that they where there...you know you've "done good"!!! So..I guess you're going to change your blog name and add "Casita in Florida"..haha...enjoy yourselves Horst

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  7. Hey, you are not the first one to suggest that I add to the title! It was my ineptitude that created it.

    Thanks for all your positive comments...looking forward to enjoying more of your photos.

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