Rainbow Springs State Park "Close to Home"

 

We are so fortunate to have several State Parks in this part of North Central Florida.

Rainbow Springs State Park is one of the closest to our house.

The campground is right near the Rainbow River with it's sapphire colored water.

So I walked down to the river a couple of times each day to see what birds and wildlife I might see.

It was a beautiful walk with palm trees along the path.

Anhinga

We've camped there twice now and one thing we learned is how different each experience can be, depending on where you are camped.

The first time we stayed there, we backed into our camp space and opened the back on the van up, pulled the screen down and our view from the back and from every window, was the forest.

That's my kind of camping! 

I love to be surrounded by nature.

Little Blue Heron

The next time we camped, our space had other campers close by, even behind us. It was interesting but I gave higher ratings to the secluded campsite.

This is the second campsite and it still looks beautiful!

One of the unusual sightings was the scuba diver.

You can see he has a float with a flag out front to signal that he is underwater to boats and kayaks.

It sure is fun to research State Parks in Florida and get away for a few days!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !

In search of the Reed Bingham Lake monster!

 

When we travel to a new state park we both do some research (hubby even more than me). I don't need to know every thing about a new place. It's nice to have an open mind and discover some things when we get there.

I did happen to see a headline in a article about a lake monster so I was hoping I got to see it.

One day we drove across the lake to walk around the beach area and another pond of water that flows into the lake. And we got lots of surprises.

The dam was spectacular with the Cypress Trees in there end of the year, rusty orange color.

And don't you love this Great Blue Heron right on the dam.

At the swimming beach there were some beautiful Killdeer.

I thought they were another type of water bird but I believe they are Killdeer.

We parked here and started walking around.

And now starts the photos of the Reed Bingham Lake monster! 

So skip right along to the end if you don't like these photos!

Because this was definitely a monster alligator!

One of the biggest I've ever seen.

I walked down to this pretty spot but realized I was lined up with the gator across the way.

I have a lot of respect for alligators and when I first zoomed in, his eyes were closed.

And then they were open a little more.....

and a little more!

So then I decided to back up and leave! 

One more quick photo and I'm back in the van!

Another 'monster' story for my camping journal!

Reed Bingham State Park is in Adel, Georgia and the website is HERE! One of our camping trips when we went across the border of Florida into Georgia to explore!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !

My Special day and a 'deer' story!

 

I thought I would interrupt the regularly scheduled blogging to have a 'special day'!

Yes, it comes around every year and this year it's a good chance to catch up on the highlights of last year.

When we are at home, I hike some of the same trails over and over. And it's amazing how different each hike can be. 

There's a small herd of deer that I am seeing in the same area. 

The Mama Deer came out onto the trail and grazed on the side of the paved trail. 

This is the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway. I don't walk on the paved part very much but use it to get to other forest trails.

I stood really still and it crossed in front of me.

But it didn't go away. It stayed put watching me.

And when I didn't leave, it crossed back over.

I looked into the forest and understood why. Several young deer were hiding in the forest.

And they were waiting for Mama to give them the go ahead to cross.

It was a neat sighting and when I decided to quit taking photos of them, they bounded away.

White tailed deer

I get such enjoyment getting out in nature and I always feel refreshed and rejuvenated after a hike. I really prefer hiking deep into the forest. And I'm very thankful for the good health and trails nearby.

Last year was a challenge. But I managed 142 hikes for the year and got to hike a lot of different trails with our camping trips. I want to give my sweet hubby a big thank you for hauling me all over the place to camp at state parks and hike new trails. 

Hopefully for my birthday this year, I'll be out and about doing what I love best! 

HIKING!

My sister, my cousin...

and I'm the tall blonde! 

Happy 'special day' to all my blog buddies, family and friends!

I'll save you a chocolate birthday brownie!

Reed Bingham State Park, Georgia - traveling in style!

 

We visited several State Parks in the month of December. 

And as much as we love camping in Florida, it's fun to 'spread our wings' a little and visit some of the state parks in neighboring states.

And it's much easier to travel now in this Coachmen Nova 20d Van camper. 

Our dealer, Sunshine State RVs in Gainesville, FL was the best ever! The link to Sunshine is HERE. And I'll put a link HERE if you want to look at the specs and floor plan. 

In these photos, the side door is open (screen closed) and the back is fully open with a screen pulled down.

We had the prettiest tree in the park at our campsite!

And this is the view of the lake from the window (and door)  facing the lake.

We loved our little travel trailer and Chevy truck but we thought this van would be easier for us to manage. Thanks so much to those who talked to us about the vans and answered our questions, especially my blog friend HERE! 

We spent a week at Reed Bingham State Park in Adel, Georgia last month and had a wonderful experience. A link to the website is HERE.

I keep a camping journal and I had so much good to write about this campground and not a single negative.

Even in December the trees had a lot of 'Fall' color! 

The Cypress trees were spectacular!

Snowy Egret

And I don't think I've ever seen such a variety of birds in a lake. 

Great White Egret

I went different times of the day so I got to see quite a lot!

It sure has been a wonderful experience to travel to so many state parks.

Great Blue Heron

Canada Goose

Mosaic of a few more! (not sure what the bird in the center is)

I may need at least one more post featuring Reed Bingham State Park. 

(We did go in search of the monster of the lake and found it...stay tuned!)

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !

'Forest to River' at O'Leno State Forest (a funny story)!

 Grab your walking stick and let's take a hike!

Even in December we enjoy colorful leaves in the forest here in the South.

This story begins deep in the forest.

 

I hiked to the youth camp first.

This is NOT where we camped! Don't worry we did NOT have outdoor showers! HA!

 

But I took a few pics of the beautiful forest and then made a turn.

I looked at my watch and I had been hiking for 45 minutes so I knew it was time to turn around.

And here's where the funny story begins. I came to a 'T' in the trail and when I looked to the left, I saw someone walking my way. A forest ranger on foot, deep in the forest.

We talked about all the wildlife in this forest. I was seeing lots of deer tracks and small animal tracks. He asked me where I had started my hike. So I said, I left the campground and walked to the Youth Camping area and then turned right down another trail and I was planning to turn around. He said you are not far from the river now and another group camping area. So I said, Oh great! I'll keep going. Well...for someone in their 30s, it wasn't very far. But for someone "my age" it turned out to be a 'fur piece'. Haha! 

 

I did get down to the river and I did make it back to camp but it ended up being about a 2 hour hike (which is about my limit these days). 

So that's the funny story.

An old raggedy hornet's nest.

A white feather.

 I saw some beautiful sights along the way!

Some gorgeous trees,

a monster or two!

And the Santa Fe River.

Happy Hiking!

We are praying for everyone suffering in the horrific fires in California and for those freezing in this winter storm. We still keep those affected by the hurricanes in our prayers, too. Take care and be kind. Everyone faces challenges in this life and everyone needs a kind word and a prayer.

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !