Fort De Soto, Part Deux

12/14 – Reluctant to leave my great spot on the Peace River but excited to hang out with friends, I broke camp and made the short drive back to the Gulf coast and Fort De Soto park campground. I met with Andrew for lunch in Bradenton and after some great shrimp and chips we headed to the campground to get set up.

Arriving at the park we headed to our spots and I found that even at 24ft I was a VERY tight fit for the spot I had booked. It is always stressful at check in time, lots of people trying to get in and set up, and the tight one way road in the camp ground meant I was blocking the road while trying to stuff my square peg in a round hole. I had to pull forward and let people pass twice while trying to get into the spot. Andrew correctly observed this would be a divorce spot for a couple due to all the directions required to back in!

Finally I realized that due to the tight road lined with trees I would never be able to make the swing backing into the spot, but if I drove straight in and squeezed between the grill and the tree at the back of the site I could then turn around on the grassy area and come back into the site in the correct direction.

It was quite a relief to get parked and settled in. #Vanlife is looking good about now!

Later when I was looking at the campground map I saw the small print saying that sites 1-54 were for tents, pop ups and campers less than 16ft. Ooops 🙄

Anna was getting her VW Vanagon worked on to sort out an electrical issue that was causing the battery to drain and she would join us after getting repaired in the nearby town of Bradenton. Andrew and I decided to check out the paddle trail in the park. There is a great launch site with parking nearby leading to a marked 2.8 mile paddle around the mangroves. There is easy access to Tampa Bay, but on this day it was too windy and we stuck to the sheltered area. The water was super clear and it was fun to spot the fish and enjoy a leisurely paddle.

That evening Anna joined us and we headed to dinner at a Ramen spot we had spotted earlier. Token Ramen in St. Petersburg really hit the spot as I hadn’t had any ramen since leaving the Bay Area.

Up early the next day, Anna and I headed to meet the Dive charter in Nokomis harbor. The Captain had sent a text the night before advising us where to meet the boat and to bring sunscreen and a towel. For some reason (there may have been beer involved) I read that as “Trowel” and that made sense thinking we would need to dig like I had done on the Peace River. So in the morning we stopped and bought some cheap trowels at the hardware store. Only later did I realize he really said “Towel” 😆 in the text. The crew got a kick out of that! No digging required, the teeth are just laying there waiting for you.

The Keys Huka Dive boat was a small six-pack and was crewed by Sheldon, Nick, Taylor and Kaitlyn. Anna and I were the only guests. Nice! We loaded up and headed out just off shore to the hunting grounds. Nick was our Divemaster and assured us that he would lead us to the fossils. The dives were shallow in a maximum of 25ft and the water here was noticeably colder than the Keys! Due to the shallow depth, we were spending about an hour per dive and my 2.5mm wetsuit was not enough to keep me warm, the 2nd dive was pretty chilly. But it didn’t matter, once Katlyn showed me what to look for I quickly got in the game and started bagging shark teeth! The dive crew was generous and shared their finds with us as well and we ended the day with a bounty of fossils.

All too soon the 3 days were up and it was time to say goodbye and I would head North and Andrew and Anna would head South back to the Keys. My next stop would only be for a night as I head North on my way out of Florida. Manatee Springs State Park is near Chiefland Florida and has crystal clear springs where you can often find Manatees enjoying the warmer water. I wasn’t able to spot any during my visit but I did take a refreshing dip in the clear cool water.

There are boardwalks that line the springs area and lead out to the Suwannee River. There were many large Carp that were hanging around showing off for the visitors.

Packing up the next morning I hit the road for a long-ish drive to my next stop Bear Lake Campground in Milton Florida. I had chosen this stop so that I could be close enough to visit Pensacola before leaving the state.

12/18 – Bear Lake Campground, Milton FL. This campground is not a Florida state park, but rather is administered by the Florida Dept. of Forestry. Regardless it is a nice campground and looks like it has recently been refreshed.

Since it was raining I quickly set up and headed into town for supplies. It was weird to have to wear pants AND shoes again. During my stay it was rainy and only in the mid 50’s, quite a bit of difference from the lower parts of Florida.

I did manage to make a day trip into Pensacola to check it out and visit the Gulf Islands National Seashore. A great stretch of beach jutting out into the Gulf of Mexico. It was overcast and very windy during my visit, but on a sunny day the white powdery beaches would be a great place to enjoy the day.

I headed back to camp and did some “home” improvement work on the trailer. It had dropped down into the 40’s overnight and it got super cold in my bed area, the heater ran most of the night and was only able to maintain about 58 degrees inside temp. This is the one complaint I have about the trailer. The design of the murphy bed is such that it is right over the outer passthru compartment (which is not very well insulated) and this allows a lot of cold air to enter right under the bed and in the open area at the head of the bed. To fix this I picked up a roll of Reflectix flexible insulation from Home Depot and sealed off both the front window and the area under the bed that is open to the compartment. I also wrapped some cardboard in a double layer of insulation and made easily removable panels that can slide in on either side of the couch and seal off the outer compartment on either side.

I’m happy to report that this has really worked well and in the same overnight temps I can maintain mid 60’s inside and the heater only comes on once or twice a night. And it is much more comfortable sleeping!

Next up I’ll be exploring New Orleans for Christmas week.