Highlands Hammock State Park, FL

We spent five days this week at Highlands Hammock State Park near Sebring, FL, and were unimpressed when we arrived.  It was Sunday afternoon before all of the weekenders had left, while at the same time some of the new tenants (like us) were arriving early.  

The camping area is mostly wide open and rather oddly laid out, though the restrooms were conveniently located.  Our site shared an electrical panel and water source with our neighbor, meaning that the hookups were located on the correct side for him, but not for us.  As a result, even for our tiny camper, it was a struggle to get close enough to the power and water to get setup, but we eventually made it work.

No privacy at Highlands Hollow Campground.

But aside from the inauspicious start, things have gone well.  One of our fellow campers noticed our blog address on our van.  After reading a bit of the blog they came and introduced themselves: Dr. Deb Walters and Chris Percival.  Deb had recently kayaked from Maine to Guatemala in an 18-foot kayak to raise money for a charity, Safe Passage.  And Chris had bicycled across the U.S. on the Trans Am trail in 1997. 

Dr. Deb Walters' "street cred" photo.

They were intrigued by our approach to traveling and staying fit, since they are acutely aware of the increased need for recovery time after exercise, which we all experience by the time we are in our mid-fifties.   So they liked the concept and were excited that something similar might be right for them.  We, in turn, have since been pondering trips (likely years in the future) that might add kayaking into our tagteam bicycle travels.  In particular, we could do parts of Adventure Cycling's Atlantic Coast, Great Rivers South and Lewis and Clark Trails for significant distances, giving us the option to avoid congested legs of those routes by paddling downstream on the adjacent bodies of water.  And the thought of at times being on the water in the dog days of summer sounds far more appealing that slogging along in the heat by bicycle.  So they have greatly expanded our future possibilities for fun, inexpensive travel!

For Deb's kayak trip, Chris provided support, helping her launch and providing any needed supplies.  And there were a lot of other similarities with our travel experiences:

• Often the support vehicle would have to travel significantly farther than the self propelled traveler.  
• Often there would be a level of anxiety when the GPS tracking device wouldn't show any movement for a while (Oh no!  Has the kayak sunk?).  
• At times we both covered small distances in the reverse direction of travel, when finding a campsite had meant driving ahead along the route.  
• And so on.

Tree pollen is turning out camper yellow.

They were also kind enough to teach us a new card game, Manipulation (or Manipulation Rummy).  The rules are very similar to an Italian card game, Machiavelli.  It was a simple enough game in concept, but much more interesting, since it requires an abstraction of thought that isn't immediately apparent when first attempting to learn to play.  So we are also grateful that they have expanded our repertoire of card games.

We got together with Deb and Chris a couple of times during the week to swap stories of where we'd lived, interesting experiences that we've had and sharing tips for living on the road.  This campground seems like an odd place to have met another pair of well seasoned travelers, but we are very glad that our paths have crossed. 

Interestingly, Chris had been wondering if they needed to find a more spacious camper than their A-Liner Expedition (a hard-sided pop-up camper).  But after meeting us, they are now wondering if it might be possible instead for them to downsize to a teardrop.  Despite our camper being smaller and lighter than theirs, they could see that it didn't lack any important amenities, plus it is a simpler, lighter and more efficient design that better addresses some perceived shortcomings of their camper.  And like us, they are also interested in a tiny house of some sort for their next home, so the thought of a smaller camper was all the more appealing.  

We took a long drive to Big Cypress Swamp and The Everglades on our second day here, which is the farthest south that we have been on this trip.  It was a chance for Alea to reminisce a bit about when she and her family had come through the area in the 1970s.

The main road through the park and preserve is the Tamiami Trail, which was constructed by blasting a canal out of the limestone bedrock and then using the crushed limestone rubble as the base for an adjacent road.  The canal has become a highway for alligators, so there was no shortage of opportunities to stop and see them up close (though Lana was not allowed anywhere near where there were gators).  And we also managed to see a manatee and a sea otter, but weren't close enough to get decent pictures of those critters.

Three gators soaking up some sun...

...which is a common pastime.

We chose the right day to be away from the campground, as when we returned to the campground it was clear there had been a prescribed burn adjacent to it earlier in the day.  And that night the wind picked up and shifted toward us, filling the campsites with dense smoke.  We resorted to closing up the camper and relying up on the air conditioner to filter out some of the smoke, which only helped slightly.  By morning it was a bit better, but the smoke at times returned when the wind blew in the right direction.

'Wildlife' outside of the CCC Museum.

We explored most of the trails at the campground, many of which Lana was not allowed on, since there are gators here as well.  And we visited the CCC Museum in the park, which was definitely worth a visit.  Of all of FDRs New Deal programs, the CCC and Social Security are probably perceived as having been the most successful (unless you are in the Tea Party, though I suspect they would squeal pretty loudly if Social Security were ever to go away).  In addition to the legacy of important public buildings left by the CCC, it also served to improve the health, fitness, discipline and skills of thousands of young men.  So when World War II broke out, there was a ready supply of ideal young soldiers, which was likely a big part of our success in that war.

Alea walks along a catwalk on the Cypress Swamp Trail.

The remnants of an oak tree that is 30 feet in circumference.  The crown was lost during a storm in 2010.

Now we are once again back at Camp Jean for the weekend, providing us with a chance to wash clothes, get a haircut, wash vehicles, drink brewed (not instant) coffee and take advantage of some free wi-fi.