Land Between the Lakes Rally (TN)

 

One week ago we are in the middle of the LBL rally.  We are first timers to this gathering but it does not feel new as many long time friends are already there.

The Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area was created by the federal government in the 60’s.  It’s the area between the Tennessee  and Cumberland Rivers before the rivers flow into the Ohio.  There are 170,000 acres, 300 miles of shoreline and 500 miles of trails between the rivers.  This link gives a 15 minute video of the area.

Piney Campground, located near Dover, TN is a 5 plus hour drive for us, mostly on I-24 W.  Our only problem is Nashville traffic which is worse since our last trek through town. 

It’s a huge campground!  We back in and see no water hookup…after another tour of the loop, we settle in with a full tank.

Soon after arriving I discover my Nikon camera is not functioning!! The Sigma lens is not telescoping.  Resorting to the Canon point and shoot, I find it’s not cooperating… telling me to charge an already full battery.  Frustrated, I do the best I can with photos.

View from our friends’ campsite.

This rally has a variety of trailers attending…one even pulled by a model T!  The group has many activities to attend including a raffle and Dutch oven demonstration.

Notice the jackets!  We went from running the A/C to running the heater in just 24 hours!

Took a drive up the Trace to see the buffalo.  This herd is on the main road close to the Homeplace, a 1850’s farm.

It’s raining off and on during our visit to the old farm.  Enjoyed seeing the old buildings.

Loved seeing this old farm.  It’s the only attraction we managed to squeeze in….lots to do in the campground!

Next week we will be journeying to the Cherokee, NC rally.  This is our fifth year to attend and my first year as a rally host. 

Will see how it goes….this may be my first and last encounter with rally leadership!!!  Meanwhile I must go find a new camera lens!

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!

 

Also had a great view out of our back window!

Side dinette window shows the privacy of our little nook.

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.

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

River otters also gave us a great show.

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.

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.

Homosassa Springs

 

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!

Kumquats, Sandhills and Wooden Bowls

We’re still at Salt Springs; can’t seem to leave this place!  The campground is like a small city….something I usually dislike in camping but the feeling of community is strong and we have been just too comfortable to leave.
I love getting up and sipping that first cup of coffee while watching the Spanish moss wave from the live oaks.  In the distance I hear sandhill cranes with their unmistakable call. 
Our neighbors have been very good to us.  Maybe we look poor (and hungry) because our 16' Casita is dwarfed next to other trailers but we have been receiving an abundance of fruit and food.  Neighbors on the left have given us 3 pints of fresh strawberries and leftover chili, neighbors behind us have donated a couple of pounds of kumquats!

They are quite tasty…you eat the peeling and all!   Within a few minutes we each had scarfed down five.
The hubby has always been the artistic one and yesterday he got the opportunity to make a wooden bowl as the recreation barn has woodworking tools and a helper.  I thought he did a great job!

While he was playing with wood, I was playing with the Casita.  Got the water tank sanitized and, with help, opened up the area above the refrigerator controls.  The insulation had fallen; it was secured and the rivets were replaced with stainless steels screws.
We have been having some electrical problems as the converter fan has been running way too much.  Thought that a new converter was needed but it may be the battery so an appointment has been scheduled for a professional to look at it.  A downside of too much community closeness is that everybody wanted to help us.  We got too much help and lot of the advice was not valid for the Casita.
This week has flown!  One day we paddled 10.4 miles down the Ocklawaha River with a group of total strangers from the campground.  This river did not have as many birds as the Silver River but way more alligators.  Wonder if there’s a connection?  There were 9 boats in our party..8 kayaks and one canoe. Picture is from our lunch stop.
       
This is our last full day here as we are moving on tomorrow.  We’re already talking about coming back in February, maybe camping in the non-electric sites?
Hope to paddle again today with the manatees…supposed to be 75 degrees this afternoon.
I am missing my friends who are at Quartzsite!  Hope the weather has improved for those attending the big tent show.  Oh well, can’t be in two places at the same time!  And we are having a great trip…..love to my desert loving friends!

Perfect Weekend

This past weekend the weather, the company and the scenery all came together to provide the most delicious experience.  We picked McKinney Falls State Park as it was close to Austin and I wanted to see an old friend that lived there.  And I did think that there would be an outside chance that my blogging acquaintance would be in the area.  Glenda called it "serendipity" that she read my email as they were traveling by.  (This is Glenda from casitaescapes.blogspot.com.)

Campsite 66

Saturday we hiked from camp and saw both falls.  It was 70 plus degrees and shorts would have been more comfortable.

Bald cypress at the water's edge

Loved the rocks

Lower Falls

Such a great weekend!  Said our goodbyes (for now)
and got back on the road late.
Overnighting at a RV park in Ozona, TX.  I am not sure that we will get out of Texas by tomorrow night...such a huge state!

Saying Goodbye

I did not realize how hard it was going to be to say goodbye to our cats. When the time came to load them up and take them to their new temporary home,  we almost changed our minds.  We discussed taking them and, again, the fear of them getting out of the trailer was too great!
So here we are 291 miles from home and the trauma of leaving, not just the cats but our home, friends and family, is beginning to fade.  Hello to Meridian MS!  It is 5:30 AM, 30 degrees at the Bonita Lakes RV Park.  My husband is sleeping and our new TV is thankfully off and I am snuggled into my seat with wool socks and a blanket tucked around me.
We have questioned this quest to the desert.  Why are we going  somewhere that's cold at night?  Florida has always been our winter destination.  We have decided that this is a trial and we will see; this maybe our one and only winter Arizona trip.  Our ultimate destination is the Quartzsite Casita gathering during the middle of February and meeting some of our Casita friends.  Our plans today include dewinterizing, I hope we don't regret it but we are heading south, going an extra distance just to get away from the cold.  Austin is the plan for New Year's Eve.





Most of this post and the pictures were taken with my samsung tablet.  Still experimenting....I don't like the pictures but not enough to redo.  The Virgin mobile MIFI did great in the car (but we are still east of the Mississippi) although my speed has slowed considerably.