Lake Dorr and a new battery

 

After having a great week at Myakka River SP we wondered where do we want to be for the last part of our winter get away?

Don’t quite understand the pull but here we are back in the Ocala National Forest, dry camping at Lake Dorr.  I felt like I had entered another paradise when we drove in on Sunday afternoon.  The camping loop was so quiet, a welcome change from the weekend chaos at the  state parks.  There’s not much here….a campground with about 30 sites, less than third full, and a boat launch with a few picnic tables.  And the big beautiful Lake Dorr.

 

And the price was right!

We looked for a site to accommodate our solar panels….the sites all had sun filtering through the tall pines.

The pines were interspersed with palmettos….the sites were spacious and private and the bathhouse looked new.

This was the first time in a long while that we could leave the blinds up at night….no neighbors!  Above is our back yard.

 

Our solar system had been living in the back of the truck for weeks.  I had wanted to use it but we had electric hookups everywhere that we had been.

We jumped right in and got it set up, but, wait, something was not right!  Last year I always saw a 13.1 V or more coming up on the monitor.  It was reading 11.6! I unhooked everything and checked my wiring…tried again and got the same results. Gave up as the sun went down. 

It was cloudy the next morning and I was through fooling with that cursed battery.  It had been overheating for the past three weeks…once got so hot that my pillow was warm on the bottom!  (Yes, the battery was in a ventilated enclosed area accessed from the outside like most Casitas.)  So off to Umatilla where we found a NAPA store….so far I am pleased.

 

Wish I had bought a new battery weeks ago! 

Update on the refrigerator problem….

It seems that the propane regulator was not applying enough pressure.  We have had great cooling since Gist RV adjusted it.

Currently doing laundry in Umatilla just so I can finish this post!  It really had been a long time since we had washed but a depleted laptop prompted this laundry visit.

Enjoying being close to a few stores after being way out in the boonies for weeks.   Treated ourselves last night and drove five miles into town for a McDonald’s ice cream!  Simple pleasures that we always take for granted, like ice cream and long hot showers, are so much more appreciated after their absence!

Magical Myakka

 

Hot, crowded and cramped were the adjectives that I used to describe our arrival on a Sunday afternoon.  Now, with the weekend sightseers gone, magical is a more appropriate description.  Myakka River State Park is located east of Sarasota, 8 miles west of I-75, and it is one of the oldest and largest state parks in Florida.  A nature lover’s dream park with biking, hiking, kayaking, birding and fishing. 

The Myakka River winds through the middle of the park for 17 miles.  The river (which looks like a creek to this southerner) is full of alligators and birds.  It’s surrounded by a prairie of grasses, ancient live oaks, palm trees and Spanish moss.  There are 3 small campgrounds and we landed in Big Flats, located in the middle of the park. 

A short path takes us from camp to the lake and the busy area of the Myakka Outpost which sports a gift shop, kayak rentals and a boat tour.

Myakka Outpost

Site 21 Big Flat cg

Time to paddle

The Myakka was calling us!  Excited, we got an early start and put on the river before 9 AM.  It was decided to paddle upstream as far as we could and relax on the return trip.  Neither of us knew what to expect…except alligators and birds.  The still water reflecting the blue sky and the old oaks astonished us at every turn.

As we traveled upstream the river would narrow, the banks closing in on us, and then it would stretch out widening like a small lake.  In one of the narrow channels, an alligator floated in the center with only his midsection above water.  Sending my brave husband to go first, I followed, paddling as hard as I could!  I expect alligators to sink down under the water when humans approach….this guy knew he was king of the river and we were trespassing.

Saw lots of birds….I was hoping for a roseate spoonbill as they inhabit the park but just the usual ospreys, herons and egrets were seen.

The lack of a reliable internet signal got me depressed yesterday.  Went into some kind of a funky mood, feeling lost and cut off from those I care about.  Woke in the middle of the night, turned on the cell and had a solid signal from 1 to 3 AM!  Got caught up on my favorite blogs, news, weather reports for the different cities I follow and Facebook.  Woke up happy this morning!

I wanted to see the ocean again so we took off this afternoon for Turtle Beach, a very small beach just south of Siesta Key.  It’s hot so I took my bathing suit.  After the first wave hit my ankles I realized why no one was in the water.   Still had a great time walking on the sand and looking at the waves.

Found a great kayak launch just across from Turtle Beach.  We could put in and travel up the intercostal waterway!

A cold front is coming tomorrow and the highs will be 15 degrees lower!  I am secretly looking forward to a little cooler weather…say around 70. 

We have just a few more days here…not sure where we are heading next.