greenroads: March 2010

Rock Crusher Canyon Campground at Crystal River Monday, March 22/10
We left Sanlan on Monday morning and only had to drive a little over 2 hours to get here. As usual when moving with the RV it felt strange and wonderful to arrive at a totally different place but still be living in the same “home”. We have never been to Crystal River near the Gulf Coast north of Tampa Bay. It is exciting to explore uncharted territory after staying in one place for over 4 months.

So far we have not been disappointed. Rock Crusher Campground is beautiful. The sites are big with lots of trees and palmettos dominating the undergrowth. It has changed hands since we booked here but that has not affected us much except that the Wi-Fi is now only available at the office/clubhouse. ARRGGHH. When on the road as much as we are it really is a pain to not have access to the internet in the RV. Elite Resorts took over Rock Crusher 2 years ago but as of March 10th it has reverted back to the original owner so is now called Rock Crusher Canyon again. It’s a much more appealing name anyway! Hey Luckrafts, I would call this campground Little Mass. There are many from your home state wintering here.

Withlacoochee River Kayak Tues. March 23/10

We met with a Kayak group that had a notice posted in the Clubhouse and went on a paddle down the Withlacoochee River today. It was great!

I was a little nervous when I saw the access point since it was just below a lock and the water was moving fast.

But the current looked faster than it was maybe due to the foam. It was a great paddle down current but into the wind from the lock to the Coast Guard Station…Inglis to Yankeetown. We were on the river for about 2 hours.

Lovely homes and river properties passed us by but also some abandoned and neglected homes and boats were evident. We saw a few sunken boats and they were not treasures. I am surprised they have not been removed.

We had our picnic lunch in the truck on the way back to camp. Nothing like fresh air and exercise to stimulate the appetite and we did not know if or where we would eat. It was great to meet new people and learn about the area. Dick from Cape Cod paddled alongside us much of the way and was a wealth of information about this area. He told us about a great place to eat called “The Freezer” in Homosassa. We went there for supper. What a fun place! I am not sure if I can describe it well, it is not just a meal but an experience. We got 2 and a half pounds of steamed shrimp with a rub and garlic butter on it. It was fresh. The draft beer was only $1.25. I ate more shrimp than I have ever eaten in my life in one sitting. Those of you who know me will realize this is quite a feat! .

The Freezer

The Freezer is actually just that. It is in a hard to find warehouse building on the Homosassa River with a sign on it that says “Cedar Key Fish Market.” Cedar Key is also the name of an interesting coastal town not too far north of here that we visited last year. I can’t help wondering if the fish and shrimp sold here were caught up there at one time or maybe still are. To enter the restaurant you go through a large opening in a metal wall that has plastic hanging down but acting as a door. Once inside the atmosphere is like a bar with neon beer advertisements and happy people. On closer scrutiny I saw some interesting design features…totem poles on the roof beams, colourful rope lighting…etc. One side is open to a harbour and we sat there so we could enjoy the view. Plastic was up between the rails for the “winter” but it was clear and kept the heat from the large outdoor heaters inside and gave us the illusion of the sun doing the warming. It was a sunny day but never got above 65 and now that the sun was moving down it was getting quite cool. You order your food and drinks at the bar and they shout to find you when it is ready. This is a restaurant I am sure Jimmy Buffet would have liked. He was likely there come to think of it.

We sat near a couple of characters who made me wish I was writing a novel. They loved to talk about themselves and their escapades. He never removed his shades and talked John’s ear off. I think John learned more than he needed to know about the car brokerage business. She seemed to help in business…she took responsibility for scouting the “jeep deal.” We learned a bit about their circumstances and families. They came to “The Freezer” at least once a week and have their eyes on a boat that is for sale in the harbour. It needs work but is a great deal of course. This couple lives in the guest house on her mother’s ranch in central Florida, somewhere between Tampa and Orlando. The guest house is only 600 sq. feet and has no central air or heat. I think maybe they have lost their shirts a couple of times. When she wasn’t watching he mouthed an obscenity about her mother. Do you see a plot developing? It was quite entertaining! They smoked like fiends but strangely the smell of smoke was not detectable.

Three Sisters Kayak Wed. March 24/10

Wednesday was a full day despite a slow start from me sleeping in! Commander Keen was not impressed. We took the kayaks down to Hunter Spring Park about a 10 minute drive into central Crystal River. This is a public park and launch for canoes and kayaks. The town of Crystal River is around King’s Bay where manatees come when the Gulf of Mexico is too cold for them. There are many springs in this area so the water is very clear and warm near those. We paddled past marinas and homes out into the open water of the Bay a bit and then past Pete’s Marina. We headed down a canal and past the finger canals with big and beautiful homes in private areas only to be seen by us lowly people from the water. We arrived at the The Three Sister’s Springs only accessible by kayak, canoe or swimming. It is a small but stunningly beautiful area with 3 springs. We passed several manatees on the paddle in and there were about 6 once we got in.

Most have started swimming out now that warmer weather is arriving (and hopefully staying). You can get very close to the manatee and the people who were snorkeling were touching them. Most snorkelers were with a pontoon tour boat that waited outside The Three Sisters. They were wearing wet suits but I think you could snorkel for a while without them since the water is a constant 72 degrees out of the springs. It was incredible to be sitting in our kayaks in this peaceful clear water. Simply amazing!

Withlacoochee Bike Trail
After lunch and grocery shopping we took the bikes to the nearby town of Inverness and finally found the Trailhead for the Withlacoochee Bike Trail. This is a converted rail trail, only one of many similar trails all over Florida. They have done a much better job of using old rail trails than we have in Ontario. We biked 8 miles out and then back on a wide paved trail through forest, a state park and some back streets of Inverness and Floral City. (Most places are called cities here but are often towns the size of Bervie). The weather has really warmed up and it was great to be out biking in summer weather. We came home and went up to the pool and hot tub. Rock Crusher Park has beautiful facilities. The pool is heated and stays warm in the 80’s all the time and the hot tub was 100. You can imagine how good this felt after a day of kayaking and biking!

Citrus Hills Golf Club Thursday, March 25/10
Today we drove over to Citrus Hills in Hernando about 20 minutes from here on a recommendation of a camper. It was a great course! It was reasonably priced with a cart and we got a free hat each. Nice ones, by Calloway! What a beautiful course. The fairways were the best we have played on this season. It wound through many oaks and homes that kept distracting me. The resurrection ferns are vividly green due to rain lately. It makes the oaks look like they have clothes on! I golfed fairly well however. We were pretty much on our own. We didn’t see any fellow golfers until near the end when we caught up to the ladies.

Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park Friday, March 26/10
It poured rain last night and took a while to clear up today. We did some chores and this afternoon headed over to a discount golf shoe store. When the sun was out full force we went to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. This is the centre of a freshwater spring of the first-magnitude which produces millions of gallons of clear freshwater every hour. There are many springs of varying magnitudes in Florida and in this area in particular. Again I was stunned by how crystal clear and warm the water is. It is very inviting. The manatees are naturally attracted to springs in the winter months when the gulf water is cold. A few stay in this spring all the time but this is unusual. Manatees actually travel far and wide, all the way up to Chesapeake Bay and who knows where else. This park is actually a rehabilitation centre for injured and orphaned manatees as well as other native wildlife that cannot survive on their own for various reasons. Wow!! We thought we had seen it all when it came to manatees at Apollo Beach and The Three Sisters but this venue really let us get up close. We saw several huge ones and watched them feed and roll around being much more active than any we have seen before.

An underwater viewing area gave an incredible look as the manatees rubbed up against the glass. Some of them looked 3 feet wide!

This wildlife

park is more like a zoo and the only

obvious non-native was a hippo. In reality we saw several non-natives which are actually causing havoc with the Florida eco-system. Over the years, exotic fish, snakes and plants have been released here and have become invasive choking out native species. We saw flamingos and other Florida birds, alligators, bears, bobcats, panthers and lots of reptiles.

When we got back to home base I was surprised to hear from a camp employee that a Pigmy Rattlesnake had been spotted near our campsite. Yikes! We asked how dangerous it was and she said it could put you in the hospital if bitten. They are small but mighty. I was worried about John when he was out BBQ-ing the burgers! Also, I am on the lookout for black bears. At the Wildlife Park today we learned that Citrus County is where they are often seen wandering. I thought I left that problem back in Northern Ontario!

Homosassa Spring Headwater Paddle Sat. March 27/10

There are so many places to kayak around the Crystal River area that it was hard to decide where else to go. Rivers, canals, lakes, marshes, swamps, springs…all over the place. Potential for getting lost seems high to me and with only 2 of us a river paddle may be difficult since we can’t really shuttle. We decided to go to Homosassa and put in at Riversport Outfitters. Riversport sells and rents canoes and kayaks and you can use their launching area at no cost. Bonus! You paddle out of the canal past Riversport’s Monkey Island.

Why do they have Monkey Island? I guess it is an attraction but not for me! I did take a couple of pictures of the poor little buggers who are prisoners on this small Island. John threatened to put ME on monkey Island when he thought I was misbehaving!! Who me? Hmmmpphhh.

Once past Monkey Island we paddled for about an hour up river and ended up at the Spring which heads up the Homosassa River and is also the location for the Wildlife Park we visited yesterday. This time we got a view from the water. There is not much current here so paddling up stream was not difficult. It was a bit of zoo on the water too. But the critters were human. It was a beautiful hot and sunny day and also the weekend so this brought many boaters out to enjoy the day.

There were lots of pontoon boats as well as yakkers and other varieties of boats. One very loud and gaudy pontoon boat carried 3 teenage boys with beer and rap music! Ugggghhhh! Not peaceful. They rammed into a shore near the park and I saw one guy fall off. We gave them a wide berth. Several boaters were in party mode even early in the afternoon. I was surprised there were no water police around. We would not get away with this in Ontario! That is one thing I notice down here…people have much less interference by law enforcement in some respects. No wonder the manatees get hit by boats. There are many more restrictions in manatee areas than there used to be however and some sections are off limits. Still, without policing, not everyone follows the rules. We saw a mother and baby near the park but that was it. We were not really expecting to see many manatees. The warm weather is taking them out to the Gulf. We are lucky to have seen as many as we have this late in the season, thanks to the cold winter. This area reminded me of the Muskoka’s in some ways.

Many homes reminded me of cottages and there were bars and places to dock. We also took a tour down Hall’s River which runs into the Homosassa and it was more natural. We were getting tired though and did not go too far on it.

After landing we drove over to the Margaritagrill, a famous watering hole.

We were too thirsty for margaritas however and settled for a beer. The margaritas come in three sizes; the large looks more like a fish bowl on a stem. It must be a good place to eat too. It was packed. We then went over to the Freezer again and had some more shrimp. This place is hard to resist. We figured that would be our appetizer for dinner. I cooked grouper to stay in the Florida theme.

Ozella Trail Drive Sunday, March 28/10

We drove out to Ozello Island before the storms moved in. This would have been nice in clear and sunny weather and would have been a good place to kayak. It reminded me of the coast around Jekyll with lowland tidal marshes and complicated looking waterways.

We stopped for a coffee and as with many restaurants around here there were bikers around. We have noticed many “Geezy Riders” in this area. No insults intended Richard but you would love it here. Boating and biking. In fact, there are many senior bikers in the park. They have all the gear and huge bikes with deep rumbles. It is a little intimidating until they get off their bikes and you notice their arthritic movements! Across the road from us are 4 campsites with “bach-ing” bikers. I am not sure how they have gotten away without their wives or sweethearts since they have been here for a while. We met Doug from Massachusetts the other day. From a distance he looks pretty tough in his cami pants, black shirt with ripped off sleeves and dark glasses. One day when he arrived home from biking he rushed to let his dog out. He picked her up and let her lick his face. She is a chi-hua-hua! There goes the image. I thought her name should be Bruiser but he calls her Stinky. He got her at a flea market and said she stunk. She has papers but Doug said for all he knows she could be a Great Dane. She is only 4 months old and does look a bit suspicious. When Doug takes his glasses off the tough guy look really disappears. He is just somebody’s Dad. There are many people from Massachusetts here, as well as Michigan, New York and Ontario. Several have spent the winter months in this park.

I have to admit, the Crystal River area reminds me of Sea Hunt and Flipper; the REAL Florida! We could easily spend 2 weeks or a month around here. We love the campground and the kayaking is excellent. There is so much to do and I am sure we will be back in the future.