Wilderness RV Resort, Silver Springs, FL

May brings the last of the season’s outings with the Suncoast Allegros, a chapter of the Tiffin Allegro Club. While several members have already departed for points north and west, we managed a pretty good turnout here at the Wilderness RV Resort in Silver Springs, FL.

Wilderness RV Resort has a long history. It is located along the banks of the Ocklawaha River and is only a few miles from the Silver Springs attraction. Silver Springs closed as a commercial entity a few years ago, but was acquired by the state of Florida and is now part of the state park system. The spring and the beautiful river still draw many visitors year round, and provide draw to this area for snowbirds escaping the colder winter weather up north. The resort offers deeded ownership of the individual lots, and over time has expanded into three sections, each with its own clubhouse and pool. We were in the older section, which offers slightly smaller sites and some have asphalt pads in need of resurfacing. In this section there are many semi-permanent residents in trailers and fifth-wheels, and most take pride in landscaping their sites nicely. There is a newer section that is primarily populated with park models, and a recently opened Class A only section. The entire facility is nicely kept and a pleasure to walk Bella through. The folks are all friendly.

The park borders the Ocklawaha River and has a wonderful walking trail along the river. Bella got to swim in the clear river waters, and also enjoyed running free in the larger dog park. The park is very dog friendly. There are two dog parks, and receptacles throughout the park for cleaning up after your pet. Kayaks, canoes, and a couple of pontoon boats are available for rent. The latter looked a little weary, but the canoes would probably be fun.

Our group had a great time. There were sufficient facilites for us to hold our potlucks and other activities. There is a restaurant on the premises that offered breakfast and lunch. During the winter season they are also open for dinner and it is known for its all-you-can-eat fish dinners on Friday nights. Because we are a relatively large group they opened the restaurant for us to enjoy the fish dinner on Friday. It was great! This is a family owned café so popular in small towns where everyone gets to know each other, and where the waitress calls everyone Honey. The food is good and atmosphere is welcoming and relaxing.

I was able to get on the air with my ham radio after an afternoon of working on issues with the recently acquired Alpha EZ Military whip antenna. The antenna is made of several tubular sections held together with bungee cord running through their centers in such a way that they connect and form a 13’ whip. As it turns out, there was little or no electrical continuity between the segments greatly reducing the effectiveness of the antenna. I used a Dremel tool and wire wheel to remove the anodized coating from the mating surfaces and was able to improve the antenna’s performance. In the brief time remaining before dinner, I was able to make contact with a station in Pope County, Arkansas with the antenna clamped to the picnic table. I was unable to break through the pile-ups at a Houston station and another Arkansas station. For non-Hams, a pile up is pretty much what it sounds like. A popular station has many people trying to get its attention and make contact. With many stations transmitting at the same time, the stronger stations have the advantage. When operating portable with a compromised antenna, it is harder to break through all the stronger traffic and be heard. I was also picking up strong interfering noise from an electrical appliance or motor nearby, and that made it uncomfortable operating for too long.

Sunday morning we got together as a group for a farewell breakfast where everyone gave a brief outline of their planned summer travels so we might link up on down the road. It was then time to pack up and move on.

We elected to stay another day and return home Monday. This gives us a very relaxing day without organized activities, and allows us to return to our storage facility after the weekend boaters have deposited the boats. The small marshalling area for departing and returning RVs and boats gets a little crowded Sunday afternoon, particularly when the weather has been as nice as it has been.