Lake Griffin State Park, FL

Located within about fifty crow miles from our house, this park is home to one of the state's largest live oak trees. A short trail near the park entrance takes visitors to the mammoth oak tree.

A canal connects the park to Lake Griffin, the eighth largest lake in Florida, where visitors can enjoy boating and canoeing, as well as fishing. Anglers will find plenty of largemouth bass, bluegill, speckled perch, and catfish and it is fishing that has brought us here.

The park sponsors a youth fishing derby each year. Enrollment is free and each child gets a free fishing pole and tackle box full of neat stuff. There was instruction on casting and a chance to practice catching land fish before dropping their hot dog baited hook into the canal. The Friends of Lake Griffin SP provided a hotdog lunch with soda, chips, and cookies that was complimentary for the kids and only a buck for geezers.

Barbara and I arrived mid-afternoon Friday to try to get set up before the afternoon storms set in. While I got things ready in camp she drove back to Cleremont to pick up her grandniece Jocelyn. 

By the time they got back the weather had turned wet so we hunkered down inside. After dinner Barbara helped Jocelyn get her homework out of the way, and eventually turned in early to be rested for the early morning fishing.

Saturday turned out to be cloudy with some occasional light rain, but better than was forecast. The week had been very stormy and a lot of people cancelled from the derby, but there was still a decent crowd. Jocelyn did catch a small bluegill at the outset, but things turned quiet quickly. Entertainment was then limited to trying to get her hook out of the tree on the opposite bank.

After lunch we did some hiking, and thankfully there were not too many other dogs in the park so Nia was able to go along. 

Barbara found her second geocache. She finds this almost as much fun as shelling on the beach! 

The ladies also rented a canoe and paddled out to the Dead River, but did not make it all the way to Lake Griffin itself. They were happy to see a lot of great birds as well as an alligator that had its eye on Jocelyn.

Sunday was more fishing, hiking, and fishing again. We grilled hotdogs for lunch and had more of the home made blueberry pie Barbara baked last night using fresh berries she picked Friday morning. After lunch there was time to do, well, nothing.

The weather today is magnificent, and the temperature is just right. No need for air conditioning. Hey, we are camping, but there is no need to be miserable. Sure we have air conditioning!

Richloam Wilderness Management Area, FL

Ten jeeps showed up for our May Wednesday trail ride. Our riding area today was the Richloam Wilderness Management Area near Webster, FL.

A good bit of the ride was through dry terrain. At one point we were slowed by a tree that had recently fallen across the road. After considering cutting it and moving part of it aside we elected to drive over it to the side where it was on more level ground.

Richloam is noted to be a wet ride area through the rainy summer months, and since it had been raining a good bit this week we found plenty of mud and water crossings. 

Barbara and I prefer drier rides, but getting some experience in dealing with mud was valuable. Still, getting the stuff off quickly is important before it sets up like concrete under the jeep’s structure.

We managed to get through without getting stuck.

Others were not so lucky and had to be winched/pulled out of the muck.

 After the fun comes the cleanup. Dust is easier to remove!