Tuesday December 6th 2022

Similar to Monday, today started cloudy and struggled to clear off as the day progressed. Shortly after five as the sun was setting there was enough clear sky to present a nice sunset. The temperature peaked in the low eighties. It was another day warmer than the average for the season.

After yesterday’s afternoon at the theme park I needed a day of recovery. Navigating the crowds takes a lot of energy. So many people forget everything they know about situational awareness when they get into the sensory overload of the theme park. The number of people that walk left while looking right and proceed to cross your path with little to no room to spare is huge. Then there are the groups of six or more that think walking side by side at half the speed of the crowd is a good thing to do. When they get into the middle of an intersection they invariably stop short and debate their direction. Add in a few Electric Convenience Vehicles with novice drivers trying to go to fast and you have a recipe for chaos.

Today’s hike was around Hammond Lake, the smaller of the two lakes bracketing the campground. Much of the area on the back side of the lake was a citrus grove sixty or more years ago. The trees were abandon long before the area became a state park in the 1970s. Brush, pine trees and a few hardwood now occupy the area. There are still a few random orange trees in the area. It is surprising to come across trees filled with orange fruit in the middle of brush and other trees.