Steph was convinced that the area around Crystal River Florida had enough to see to keep us busy for quite awhile so she found us a spot at an RV park in the metropolis (not) of Inglis FL. After our meh campground in Carabelle I did not have high hopes. We’d probably be paying top dollar to be packed in like sardines on a giant concrete parking lot with crappy wifi and a pool thats closed or too cold. But Steph nailed it!! The area had LOTS to do, the campground was cheaper than a state park, had full hookups, a nice pool we used a lot, wifi that was useable (not superb), and HUGE grassy sites with lots of room between rigs.
Author: Huck
Nature preserved
We got into the truck a little after 9:00am…thats really good for us!! And it was a good thing because we spent the WHOLE day at Ellie Schiller Wildlife State Park in Homosassa Springs. The rangers here clearly love their jobs. Several times throughout the day they have programs where a ranger speaks about the animals. They were entertaining, educational and really left you fascinated by an animal that just moments before you thought to be ordinary. Other than the hippo, all the animals here are native to the area. And unlike a zoo, the animals here have been rescued from injury or other circumstance.
Low key day
Today was not that spectacular. We didn’t go to any tourist attraction or pay any admission fees or have a once-in-a-lifetime experience or see the rare spork billed crane or anything else. But I will write a short account of this low key day for posterity.
AC
Since Galveston we’d been having intermittent HVAC fan problems. Sometimes fan would work and other times it didn’t. When it didn’t, sometimes I could wack it in the right spot and get it to come on. While in Carrabelle I called ahead to a place in Crystal River to make an appointment. So I showed up bright and ugly for my appointment and they agree with the GMC dealer in New Orleans that both the blower and the resistor need to be changed.
Sunday and Saint George
We knew we would be in Carrabelle on Sunday so we were looking forward to going to church. When we checked in at the RV park they had given us a list of local churches and their phone numbers. But I headed straight to Google to find one for us. Not on the campground wifi though…it was completely useless. No I searched using my 1 bar of 4G through Verizon only to find the same list of churches but no web sites. We picked up the phone and started calling. I was not having much luck placing calls and Steph finally got a recording at First Baptist that listed their worship time at 11:00….perfect for our late morning family. Not knowing the dress code we figured it better to gussy ourselves up a bit…I even put on long pants…IN FLORIDA!!
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Pygmies, oysters and estuaries
On Leon’s recommendation we headed out for the pygmy cypress in the state forest. Its not too far off the highway and definitely bizarre. We saw lots and lots of tall pine trees then all of a sudden there is this giant patch of cypress trees growing in this swamp. Cypress normally get really tall I guess but these were only 10 feet tall or so despite being 300 some years old. They are not even sure why they don’t grow taller here. If you plant one of their seeds in other locations it will grow tall like usual. There are a couple other stands of pygmy cypress but these have bedrock very shallow in the soil…but here the soil is quite deep. They built a board walk so you could get out over the swamp and even over the trees. We really wanted to see some wildlife but we struck out…saw a bird and some minnows. Still, it was a cool place.
Nicest people ever
We have no clue what we’re doing as we travel through Florida. Without making reservations a year in advance you have pretty slim pickins on campgrounds. Its impossible to get a spot at a state park….how we got the one in St Andrews I have no clue. We found an RV park in Carrabelle FL that had space so we booked a few nights and decided to check it out. There is not a lot to do here but the people are really nice.
Donuts for lunch?
We had a short-ish drive day and wanted to enjoy every last minute of St. Andrews state park so we didn’t get gone till close to noon. On the way out of Panama City we decided to take a chance at Dan-D-Donuts. Supposedly they are the best donuts around and sell out fast. Would there be any left at 12:30 in the afternoon? We pulled onto a side street where Ava and the Beast were blocking an entire lane but, like the ancient Chinese proverb says, “when in pursuit of a donut let nothing stop you!” No, that’s not really an ancient Chinese proverb…it’s a Huck proverb though. The kids thought it was totally awesome that we were having donuts for lunch (I did too). Were they good donuts? Yes. Were they the best donuts? They were good donuts. Dunkin’ Donuts used to have a donut called the Dutch Crumb. And King Soopers has one, not sure what its really called, but the boys and I call it The Big Nasty. The Dutch Crumb and The Big Nasty set the donut bar pretty high for me…I don’t think Dan-D quite made it over the bar. It was a good donut though, and a lunch that I will remember for a long time!
Holy, wholly, holey roof
We had heard great things about St. Andrews State Park from the Bareneckers. They did have a little weather scare while they were there but surely that would not happen to us….right?
Backyard beach
We tend to like state parks. We typically make travel days about 3 hours. Put those two together and we targeted St. Andrews State Park in Panama City FL. Plus I had read great things about the park and the area from the Bareneckers who we met back in Louisiana. We called, got 3 nights reserved, put the hammer down and made it to our 7th state of the trip, FLORIDA!