Florida 2011

[PopRichie77]

Recently returned from 2 1/2 months in Florida. The total trip miles was 5011. Here is some pics.

 

[PaulS-HILO]

Nice Pics, what kind of bird iz that.

 

[JMDoering]

Pop,

What area of FL were you camping in?

Jim

 

[PopRichie77]

The bird is an Anhinga, it gets it's food under water and then dries is feathers out in the sun as it has no oil on the feathers like a duck.
We were kind of all around Florida but spent most of the time in Big Cypress National Preserve, the first 2 pics are at Monument Lake camp ground on route 41 and Everglades National Park. Spent 21 days at Long Pine Key a national camp ground, no hook ups of any kind. Also spent 9 days at Flamingo camp ground.It is as far south as you can go on the main land.

 

[RichR]

That sure looks like the Everglades. I'm pretty sure the bird is an Anhinga drying its wings, when it swims most of its body is submerged in the water.

We were there about three weeks ago and saw a few of those birds and a bunch of alligators. We ate part of one of them. Like they say, "It tastes just like chicken."

Seeing your photos makes us want to go there and camp the next time. We just did a short down and back trip, taking in the Everglades, Sanibel Island, and two Pirates games in Bradenton.

 

[PopRichie77]

Here is a few more pics.

 

[JMDoering]

Looks like a great place to get close to the native critters. Also looks like a place where you look where your stepping when coming out of the trailer... to make sure the bottom step doesn't have a jaw two feet long filled with really BIG teeth!

How full was the campground (with other human campers)?

Jim

 

[PopRichie77]

When we first got to south Florida the National camp grounds were pretty full, $8.00 a night, we got the last spot where the 2 pics of our 2209T camper were taken, At the next one we got there at 7AM and waited 2 to 3 hours for someone to leave, $10.00 with electric. The bigger ones had some empty spots and towards the middle of March there was a lot of empty spots. We stayed mostly at national camp grounds as they are half price for Senior card holders. County parks are the next cheapest, then state parks, then private ones. The Army Corp of Engineers Parks are very nice and most have electric and water hookups and they honor the Senior Card for half price also. They require a reservation up to around the end of March.
The weather was nice in the 80tys most days with only a few sprinkles, all the rain and storms were further north, which we ran into when we started north on east cost of Florida.

 

[boater454]

Thanks for the info. If you have any suggestions on particular parks to avoid or "must see" let us know. We are planning on going to FL for a few months next Winter. Especially close to the Gulf coast, Ft. Myers area.

 

[PopRichie77]

This wasn't our first camping trip to Florida. There are no National Campgrounds near Ft. Myers. There are 2 Corps campgrounds near by. Ortona Lock and W.P. Franklin Lock They are nice campgrounds in our opinion. Hard pads with water and electric. If you are a senior with the card you get in for half price. You will need to make a reservation as soon as it is available on line, Sept I think. They are very popular. We only stay at private campgrounds if we have to, because they pack them in and being able to touch your neighbor out the window is not to our liking, we our old and don't need the amenities that they have for kids, which you pay for. Can't say as I don't know but if the private camp grounds near Ft Myers charge similar to the ones in Sarasota, around 75 a night, this is winter rates. Go on line and check, most private ones advertise on line and give a phone number to call.

 

[boater454]

If they're $75 a night we can get a nice house rental for the same price! Hopefully we can find something cheaper. Or maybe we'll stay inland some.

 

[PopRichie77]

Go on line and see what you can find, there is only one state park south of Ft Myers that has camping.(Koreshan), the state parks run about 26-28 a night. In winter thousands of snow birds flock to Fl. all the cheaper camp grounds are filled up by reservation. This has been our experience, the ones in north FL. are cold in winter, and empty. We like camping along route 41 and south of there because you can fine a camping spot, they are cheap and it is warm. Dec,Jan, Feb,and most of March are the busiest months. There may be county parks in the area also. We have books for National, Corps and State parks in FL.