DESERTS-TREES-SUVS
Date Visited: 12/9/2019 While in Homosassa Florida, we took the opportunity to visit the Historic ruins of the Yulee Sugar Mill located off of County Road 490 West. Although we've visited many of these such mills around Florida, this one was of particular interest due to it's association, not with the Seminole Wars, but with... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 12/9/2019 Before telling you about the rest of our trip to the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs State Park we need talk about the elephant, or rather I should say the Hippopotamus in the room. Lu, short for Lucifer, has been a resident of the park since 1964. He was born on January 26,... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 12/9/2019 Our first stop of the day was at the 710 acre site of Fort Cooper State Park. Established in 1972 this park was a great place to start our morning with a relaxed walking tour through the history of the surrounding area. Historical Significance As is the case with most of Florida,... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 12/8/2019 After our return trip to Washington Oaks Gardens we headed toward the west coast of Florida for an overnight stay at Lake Griffin State Park. The campground was typical of most Florida State Parks; it was clean, the sites ranged in size, they were a little pushed together in some areas (as... Continue Reading →
There are Rocky beaches in Florida? Yep, it's true. Date Visited: 12/7/2019 Now I have a confession. Previously when I wrote about our first trip to Washington Oaks State Park I wasn't 100% sure that the beach across the street was actually part of the park property or just fortunate enough to be within close... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 12/7/2019 Sometimes when we visit a state park we are motivated purely by our interest in discovering whether we would plan a future camping getaway at the location. Our trip to Faver-Dykes State Park located south of St. Augustine, Florida was such an occasion. Or so I thought. As it turned out, I... Continue Reading →
If there is one thing you can find in Florida with relative ease it's the ruins of a sugar cane plantation. Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park is a 150-acre state park with hiking, canoeing and a brief, but interesting history. Around 1821 Major Charles Wilhelm Bulow began to develop his 4675-acre tract into the... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 12/5/2019 Timing is everything! When we decided to explore Ravine Gardens State Park in Florida it was after a fairly productive hurricane season. Not only that, we were a little to early for the Azalea bloom which is what the Gardens are most known for. However, we weren't going to let that deter... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/12/2019 Our next day trip takes us to the oldest surviving plantation home in the state of Florida. The property is located on Fort George Island and part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve managed by the National Park Service. A Brief and Incomplete History In the late 1700s Planter and American... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/11/2019 After leaving Gamble Rogers we headed north along A1A to Washington Oaks Gardens. Like Gamble Rogers, this park is also on a barrier island and has two distinct destinations straddling Oceanshore Blvd. To the east is the beach and the location of one of the largest coastal coquina formations in Florida. To... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/11/2019 After returning home early from our trip up the Natchez Trace Parkway we had a few vacation days left to enjoy. Over the next several weeks we'll share what we discovered as we traveled around Florida hopping from one state park to another as we find a few gems as well as... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/7/2019 If the kids are reading this they know that I have a little problem with heights. It's not that I'm afraid of them, or of falling, or of the sudden stop at the end. My problem is that I have a bit of vertigo. No matter how hard I try, when I... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/4/2019 As we headed north the bad weather we had been warned about earlier in the day was quickly beginning to roll in. We made brief stops at Bynum Mounds (MP 232.4) and Witch Dance (MP 233.2). The mounds at Bynum Mounds were built by prehistoric people between 2100 and 1800 years ago,... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/1/2019 After a not so pleasant start to our new adventure we finally made it to Gilchrist Blue Springs where we were able to secure a camping spot for the night. The sky remained overcast, but the rain had finally stopped. Although we are both native Floridians this is a park neither had... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 5/2/2018 We left Dinosaur Valley SP in Glen Rose, Texas and headed for Fort Parker State Park to camp for the night. We found a nice secluded spot in the back of the park and set up camp. We were the only residents in our entire loop. The weather was mild and we... Continue Reading →
