The weather switched from below normal temperatures to above normal today. It was still cold overnight, but during the day the temperature climbed to the mid seventies. The normal daily high is in the low seventies. Tomorrow is forecast to be even warmer.
View of Paynes Prairie from the Cones Dyke TrailHigh zoom picture of the birds and wild horses on the prairie from the observation tower near the visitors center.
I took a hike out onto the prairie this afternoon. I wasn’t alone there were a number of other hikers taking advantage of the nice weather. I only took the Cones Dike Trail about an hour out into the prairie before turning around. It was getting a little muddy and I wasn’t wearing the right footwear. In addition to avoiding mud, I had to avoid a lot of horse excrement. The wild horses weren’t in the immediate area this afternoon, but had clearly been there recently. I also so tracks in the mud that I think were from the bison known to roam the prairie. I’m not sure if it was good luck or bad luck that the bison weren’t in the area today.
The campground was quiet today with only a small amount of turnover. During my walk through the day use area late in the day, there were very few people visiting. Most of the people I passed were campers walking their dogs.
It was a little warmer overnight, but it was still a very cool start to the day. The inside temperature was forty four at 7:30 this morning. I turned on the furnace and the little electric space heater to get things to a comfortable level, while I went back to bed. It wouldn’t be a problem if I ran the furnace all night, but I really don’t like the noise it makes. If I need it to keep the pipes from freezing, I’ll run it. That wasn’t the case last night.
Today’s high temperature was in the low sixties. Generally that is fine to heat up the inside of my RV home and maintain it at a comfortable level without running heat all day. In this location the trees keep the sun from reaching my RV home until after 3PM. That sun angle is the only one that makes it through the trees. I got all bundled up expecting cold temperatures before my first walk of the day. Once I got out of the trees I was ready to strip off layers. It really was a nice weather day, I just wasn’t dealing with it in the best way.
Yesterday it didn’t seem like this was a holiday weekend, but today it was a different story. The turnover in the park was consistent with the end of a holiday weekend. The families all packed up this morning and were gone by the 1PM checkout. At the day use area of the park there were a couple of big family picnics going on for most of the afternoon. This evening the activity seemed to transition to fishing. There was much more activity than an ordinary Monday.
It was cold last night, but not as bad as the Christmas weekend cold snap. The temperature got down to a little below thirty just before daybreak. It climbed into the mid to upper fifties before the end of the day. Tonight’s overnight temperatures are not forecast to be as low.
I rolled over in bed a couple of extra times this morning to allow the inside temperature to get a little warmer. By the time I raised the blinds most of my neighbors had departed. I was surprised so many departed on the Sunday of a three day holiday weekend. The TV news is making a big deal about the fact that on the Martin Luther King holiday tomorrow schools and other business are closed. I assumed many of my fellow campers were here for the three day weekend. Either way the sites were filled again tonight.
There were several large groups gathering in the day use area this afternoon. It was more active than I have seen in any of my previous visits to this state park. More people were using the fishing pier as well. I think all the people kept the water birds away. Except for the Anhingas in their favorite trees, I didn’t see any of the usual suspects today. It was still enjoyable walking the trails and along the lake checking up on all the activity.
Around my RV home today, I hooked the water back up after last nights freezing weather precautions. It is nice to get water without the sound of the pump coming on. I spent most of my inside time watching the football games on TV. The games I’ve watched have been competitive, but not the best quality football. I don’t really have a favorite in the quest for the championship, but I have a few teams that I don’t like for no rational reason. It makes watching the games interesting.
This is the second significant cold spell I’ve experienced this winter. The temperature only got up to fifty today. Two or three short stretches of cold weather are normal during December and January in Florida. Most years I’m further south on the peninsular so it isn’t as big an impact. In this area, near Gainesville, it is a bigger issue. Tonight’s temperature is forecast to be in the twenties. I’ve disconnected the outside water for the night so it won’t freeze.
Outside activity today was very similar to Friday. While you were back in the woods sheltered from the wind it was possible to stay comfortable. Out in the open, particularly along the lake shore, it could be very chilly in the wind. Along the shore of the lake there was a Great Blue Heron that demonstrated the weather perfectly. It was scrunched up in a little ball standing in an area protected from the wind in the bright sun. I walked by the area several times today and the bird only moved about six feet. It just looked cold and never seemed to extend its neck to look around. At least it was photogenic. I’ve included several pictures in this blog post.
Since it is a weekend, the park including the tent camping area is full. Since it is necessary to reserve sites well in advance, I’m sure none of the tent campers expected to have such a cold night to deal with. When I walked by the area just before dark most of the sites had big fires going in their fire pits. It isn’t bad when you are bundled up for the cold, but do they have warm sleeping bags? I sure hope so.
The only people that didn’t seem to mind the cold were the college students using the University of Florida’s recreation facility across the lake. There were sailboats, kayaks and powerboats all over the far side of the lake. It couldn’t have been very comfortable in the wind while in the middle of the lake and possibly wet.
Today’s high temperature was at midnight before the storm front arrived. There was heavy rain overnight. I slept through most of it, but the puddles on the ground this morning provided plenty of proof of the deluge. It was a very windy day. Clouds dominated the sky most of the day. The sun tried to make an appearance a few times, but it was soon replaced by more dark clouds. The daytime temperature made it briefly to sixty. It was more than fifteen degrees cooler than Thursday. Tomorrow is forecast to be even cooler.
Cold wind coming across the lake. There were plenty of leaves down from the wind and rain to line the walkways.
The cool weather had an impact on my activity today. I had intended to drive into Gainesville on a grocery run, but stayed at home instead. It turned into another two hike day, but I needed to bundle up a little more than usual. In the woods of the campground and along the trail the wind doesn’t reach the ground. It is clearly present in the tree tops. They are waving back and forth along with a howling sound. In the open, near Lake Wauberg, the wind is at ground level and very uncomfortable. There were very few people enjoying the day use area of the trails today.
On my late afternoon walk there were a few brave soles out on the lake. Across the lake is a University of Florida recreation area. Students can checkout kayaks, sailboats and other recreation equipment. This afternoon there was a couple of people in a sailboat that really got moving in the strong wind. There were also a group of three kayaks on the lake with the sailboat. I think they could have picked a better weather day for their fun.
Boating from the University of Florida Recreation facility.
This was the last sunny warm day for a while. A cold front is due to pass through the area overnight. By Saturday the daytime highs are forecast in the fifties. Today was in the upper seventies with a strong wind out of the northwest.
A White Pelican in the middle of the lake.
The wind brought lots of dead leaves out of the trees overhead. The small leaves land on the roof with a sound similar to rain. It takes real concentration to know it is not rain. Some people really seem to get annoyed by the leaves. One of the campground hosts was walking along the campground road with a leaf blower this afternoon attempting to clear all the leaves. An hour after he passed by the leaves covered the road again.
The state forest service was conducting controlled burns in the park today. These small fires to clear out dead materials and underbrush really got in my way today. My attempt to drive to the visitor’s center parking lot at the prairie was blocked by thick smoke. A park ranger advised me to wait a couple of hours. Although she didn’t say I couldn’t drive through the smoke she strongly implied I’d be better off waiting until tomorrow.
Armadillo in the brush.
I returned to my campsite and set out on foot in another direction. I found all of the forest service vehicles staging at the day use area. As I continued on the trail toward the picnic area, I found the trail blocked by caution tape and a sign. I had once again managed to find the area they were burning. My understanding is this is a one day event, but I’m surprised they picked the windiest day of the week.
Today’s bird sightings were mostly Anhingas, but out in the middle of Lake Wauberg there were several large white birds swimming. Using maximum zoom on my camera and a little additional cropping on my computer it looks like they were White Pelicans. It is to bad they weren’t closer to my side of the lake.
The day started cool and ended seasonal. The overnight temperature got down into the forties. The day was bright and sunny resulting in a high temperature in the low to mid seventies. It was a nice weather day.
A beautiful sunny January day on Lake Wauberg.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog entry my campsite is in the trees. It is a very nice shaded and quiet site that I like very much, but this morning it worked against me. I got up at 7:30 and turned the heat on to raise the temperature from the overnight fifty degrees to a comfortable level. Once the heat was on I got back under the covers to stay warm and watch the morning news on TV. That didn’t happen. I woke up a little after 10AM. The darkness and quiet worked against me. It was clear today was going to be a very lazy day.
Today was a chores around My RV home kind of day. I needed to work on eliminating some of the dust and dirt that had built up over the last few weeks. The transition from needing to cool the interior to heating it, seems to expose or maybe create dusty areas that need cleaning. Nobody who knows me well would call me a clean freak, but I try to keep up with the accumulation when I find it. The next cleaning chore I’ve been ignoring that really needs help is the microwave oven. Soon.
It was another two walk to the day use area day. The first was around the noon hour and the second as the sun was setting across the lake. Each time there was a fare amount of activity. On the early walk there was a lot of boating and on the second trip most people were waiting for the sunset. The view of the sun setting across the lake is perfect.
The temperature got down into the forties last night. My campsite at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is in the trees. While I prefer this type of site, it doesn’t allow the sun to warm the inside of the RV quickly. I have to help Mother Nature with the heater. Overall it was a sunny day with a high temperature just shy of seventy degrees.
A lonely swim.
Today was a park exploration day. I was last here in February of 2021. Not a lot has changed in two years. There has been some maintenance and repairs to benches and walkways along with a few cut up trees. More people seem to be using the day use area as well.
View across Lake Wauberg in the morning.
I took two walks to the day use area from the campground. The first was in late morning and the second was around sunset. I wasn’t dressed warm enough for the morning walk. I needed pockets or gloves to keep my hands comfortable. There were a lot of fishermen out in boats on Lake Wauberg this morning, but none in the late afternoon.
View of the prairie through the hanging Spanish moss. Flock of very noisy birds on the prairie at maximum camera zoom. A couple of wild horses.
During the afternoon I drove the approximately two miles to the prairie and visitors center. The prairie observation tower was busy this afternoon. With the unaided eye it was possible to make out a flock of very loud birds near the water several hundred yards out in the prairie. With the my camera zoom it looked like they were primarily sand hill cranes, but that is just a guess. A couple of wild horses were near the birds grazing under a big palm tree. Even further out on the prairie there were blobs of black and brown visible with the aid of the camera zoom that were probably cattle and bison. Knowing that they are inhabitants of the prairie is the only way one could possibly identify them at long distance. I’ll return to the observation tower many times over the next two weeks and will probably hike out onto the prairie a time or two to get a better view of all the creatures.
This morning began cool in the mid fifties. It warmed up quickly as I worked inside and outside to prepare for my travel day. By the time I pulled out of the RV resort at 10:50AM it was warm enough that I had ditched my sweat shirt. The temperature topped out in the low seventies.
My travel day was only a short distance, but needed to take more than two hours. To make that happen, I ended up traveling sixty plus miles to travel twenty five. My plan was to travel north on Interstate 75 about ten miles north of my intended exit to a rest area and wait until 1PM. Unfortunately, all of the suitable parking places were full. Strike One. I could see empty spaces across the highway at the southbound rest area, so I continued north about a mile to the next exit and reversed course to the southbound rest area. All of the empty spots I had identified from the other side of the highway were gone. Strike two. I returned south on the Interstate and reversed course again at the next exit which so happens to be my ultimate destination exit. When I return north to the rest area my timing was right and I found a spot. An hour and a half later I repeated the cycle back to the proper exit about ten miles south.
I arrived at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park about 1:20PM. The ranger at the check in station chastised me for arriving before the 3PM check in time. I didn’t care as long as she let me into the park. Which she did with the admonition that the site my still be occupied or dirty. It wasn’t. The previous occupant departed before the 1PM checkout time and the park hosts had time to do their cleanup thing.
Site 37 at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park south of Gainesville Florida.
With the exception of the extra miles to find a way to kill time, the trip was uneventful. I didn’t see any signs of the fuel leak that kept me sidelined for an extra two weeks. I’ll continue to monitor the issue, but I think my level of trepidation before my next travel day will be a little less.
I’ll be at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park for two weeks. I missed this State Park in my winter rotation last year. Not a lot has changed in the campground. I’ll check out the rest of the park in the days to come. I can already see that the water level is a little higher than I remember. The sunset across the lake was very pretty, but I didn’t get a picture. That is another thing for another day.
It was another nice Florida winter day. The temperature climbed into the low seventies from a start in the low fifties. There was bright sunshine and a gentle breeze all day.
With any luck, today was my last full day in Ocala Florida. I’ve been here for four weeks and I didn’t even plan to be here at all. My first two weeks in the middle of December were a replacement for my stay at Myakka River State Park. That campground didn’t recover from hurricane Ian until later in December. The second two weeks here were the result of a fuel leak problem in my motorhome. While that was fixed within a week, I chose to cancel my two weeks at Lake Manatee State Park in Bradenton Florida. My next stop is north of here in the Gainesville area, so traveling 150 miles south and them back again for around a week didn’t make sense. Let’s hope everything works when I crank the engine in the morning.
I stopped at the Ocala Wetlands Recharge Park to say good bye to all the birds I’ve been taking pictures of for the last month. I’m pretty sure it has been the same set of birds I see every time I stop there. Today, the ducks were out in the middle of the ponds rather than back in the weeds. The water level today was the lowest it has been since I arrived. For some reason I expected there to be more water in the park during the winter than there was in August and September when I first visited. That is not the case. There also seems to be fewer birds this time of year than in late summer. Migratory birds apparently do not consider the Recharge park a good winter home.
Tomorrow I’m traveling north to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park in the Gainesville area. It is only about twenty five miles from here. Since I need to be out of here by 11AM and checkout at my destination is 1PM, I need to kill time along the way. I will probably stop at a rest area on Interstate 75 to give the people on the site I’m destine for time to depart. The official check in time is 3PM, but I’ll try shortly after 1PM. Once I arrive at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, I’ll be back on my planned set of winter reservations. The next potential problem is six weeks out at Collier Seminole State Park east of Naples Florida. The campground at that state park is currently closed do to hurricane Ian damage.
Rob's Rambling Road Trip 