Suwannee River State Park – Sixth Location

Monday, March 25

We awoke and prepared our RV for departure. The drive to Suwannee River S.P. took about 2.5 hours, mostly on I-10. We made a regular provisioning stop at a Walmart in Tallahassee. Upon arrival at the park, we setup our RV after a tight squeeze into the campsite. The park is very nice and right on the Suwannee River. There are miles of trails for hiking and biking around the park. Kody and Kirby got to go on a quick exploratory walk to the river and to get our bearings. The park also is located at the confluence of the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers. We are near the town of Live Oak, about halfway between Tallahassee and Jacksonville.

As we were completing our rig setup, our RV neighbors came over to chat and pet the dogs. They are a very nice couple from Illinois, outside of Chicago. Hal and Sue are very friendly and we chatted for awhile and learned a little about each other. Sue loves dogs, so Kody and Kirby really enjoyed the petting and attention. As we were trying to figure out where to move the campfire ring, we discovered it was anchored to the ground. It was located within six feet of the front door of our trailer, there was no way we would be able to use that campfire ring! That was very disappointing to us as we love to sit around the fire at night. Kurt said he would talk to the ranger the next day to see if we could get it moved or get another one.

We checked the outfitter’s web page to find out the cost and what kayak trips were offered. We had decided to take the 7 mile downstream paddle. The weather looked the best for Thursday, so we planned to go on that day.

The weather forecast was for lows in the low 30’s for the night. We had dinner, watched some TV and then headed for bed.

Tuesday, March 26

After a chilly night we awoke and had our coffee and breakfast. When we took the dogs out, they didn’t want to stay out too long as they are not used to freezing weather, it was about 36 degrees at 9 am. After looking at the day’s forecast, which wasn’t even going to get to 60 degrees, we weren’t sure what we would do today. We decided to just hang out around the campground and park. Kurt went on a long bike ride in and outside of the park. There were some trails that crossed over the Suwannee River on an old highway bridge. On the west side of the river (opposite from us), the Florida Trail follows the river banks. It was a very beautiful trail.

Later, we took the dogs on a hike by the river and they really enjoyed it. The river view was awesome and there was a very nice boat launch at the park. We let the dogs run off leash to release some of their energy. They do like the cooler weather when hiking, it gets them all revved up!

The rest of the afternoon I relaxed and read some of my book. I wanted to get finished before the end of our trip. Kurt took a drive to the kayak put-in so that I could shuttle him up there tomorrow for the 7 mile paddle. The weather forecast was again calling for freezing temps for the night and highs tomorrow upper 50s.

Later that afternoon, Kurt showed me that a campfire ring had just appeared on our site behind the back of the trailer! Actually, he “borrowed” it from the site next door, which was vacant and that campfire ring was not anchored to the ground. He would put it back before we left. Kurt and Hal had already collected a big load of wood, so we were ready for a fire!  Hal and Sue came over and shared the campfire for the evening. We all started Happy Hour with wine and beer. Sue brought some yummy sausage and crackers to snack on. We enjoyed the company and warm fire until late into the evening.

Wednesday, March 27

Despite the cold weather, Kurt decided to do the 7 mile paddle today. The temps were still in the 40’s, so he waited until noon to head out.  Since we had found the put-in location, we loaded up his kayak and gear and then drove to the park. It was a small county park (Gibson Park) on the Suwannee River, and it had a few campsites with electric and water. He launched his kayak and headed down the river. The paddle trail would end right back at the boat ramp in our park. Kurt had dressed in layered clothing and even wore his hiking boots so that his feet would not get cold. The sun was shining, but the temps and wind were chilling. While unloading the kayak, a HUGE white dog approached us and he turned out to be a big baby! He looked to be close to 150 pounds and looked like a white golden retriever. I think that he is a Great Pyrenees. He was friendly and beautiful. We thought he belonged to one of the campers, but they told us he belonged to a local neighbor and routinely hung out with people camping at the park. His dog tag showed that his name is Sidney.

Kurt went on down the river, then the dogs and I headed back to camp. When we got back, we went on a hike around the park. The boys really love hiking in the cold weather! Later, as I was sitting and reading, a new RV trailer pulled into the site other site next to us.  I watched them setup their rig and they seemed to be looking for the campfire ring!

The dogs and I walked over to the park boat ramp, as Kurt would be arriving soon. While waiting, a large group of college kids were arriving in canoes. There were about 25 kids and a few adult chaperones. Some of the kids came over to pet the dogs, and we chatted for awhile. They were West Virginia University students on spring break and had been campground and river camping. It was so refreshing to speak with these young, respectful college kids that would rather be camping than on Panama City Beach getting drunk. There was also not one cell phone in sight! What a great group of young people!

Kurt pulled into the boat ramp shortly after that, so we took his kayak and gear back to our campsite. I went over and introduced myself and invited them to join us in our campfire for the evening. I explained the campfire ring dilemma and they said it would be no problem, as they were just staying for one night. They were going to join us shortly.

Later, Hal and Sue came over for Happy Hour and the campfire. They had already met our new neighbors, Tom and Michelle, who soon joined us at the fire. We all sat around the fire and exchanged RV camping stories. Tom and Michelle were leaving in the morning; I think they were going to Blackwater River S.P. where we had been a week ago. Hal knew we had planned to paddle the river tomorrow and volunteered to drive us up to the put-in. That was great as it would save us the $50 shuttle fee from the outfitter.  Finally, everyone was tired and cold, so we all retired for the night.

Thursday, March 28

After breakfast, we finally wandered outside. It was sunny and getting warmer, at least the temps were supposed to get up in the upper 60’s today. Kurt spoke with Hal about the drive to the put-in. They decided that we would load our kayaks in our truck, then we would drive up there and Hal would drive our truck back to the park. It was a perfect plan! We decided to leave a 12:30.

We had all our gear loaded and headed up to the put-in, Gibson Park, where Kurt had paddled from yesterday. It was an easy drive and Hal was so kind to take our truck back to the campground. The float down the Suwannee River was awesome! The scenery was lovely and it was sunny and warm. It took us about 2.5 hours to get back. We stopped on a large white sandbar for lunch and to stretch our legs. We really enjoyed the nice river and saw a few other kayaks and canoes on the water. The Suwannee River is wide and swift flowing, especially at this time, as the water level is a couple of feet higher than normal. After getting back to our campsite, we relaxed for awhile and began prepping for our departure the next day.

Kurt was preparing the fire when we noticed the new RV neighbors had purchased some firewood and had made a ring of rocks for their fire.  We went over and asked them to come over and share the fire, especially since we had borrowed the campfire ring from their site. Rick and Debbie came over to  join us. We found out that Rick and Debbie are from Jensen Beach, which is about 30 miles north of our home. They had recently begun RVing and loved it so far. They also had kayaks and it was great to meet friends from our area who we can paddle with in the future. We all had a wonderful time exchanging RV and camping information. Hal and Sue had been so many places; it was great getting their feedback and advice. It was a fun to hang out and get to know our RV neighbors. We stayed out by the fire until we got too cold and tired.

Friday, March 29

We got up earlier than normal today, since we have a 5 hour drive to get home. We completed our departure tasks and were ready to leave by 10am. We exchanged contact information with Hal & Sue and Rick & Debbie. We would love to keep in touch with them all and continue our RV travel discussions. Rick and Debbie will be great local friends to kayak with in our area.

Our plans for the drive home included a stop at Camping World in Ocala, to get our replacement stereo installed. The drive to Ocala was about 3 hours, and we arrived after 1pm. On the way down, our tire pressure monitor indicated that the right rear trailer tire was getting low. We had been aware that during the delivery of our trailer to the Cocoa Camping World, that there had been a flat tire and it was repaired by Camping World and put back on the trailer. We were assured that the tire had been properly repaired. We barely made it to Camping World before the tire pressure became too low. We unhooked the trailer and Kurt removed the tire so we could take it to get repaired, as that Camping World did not work on tires. After removing the tire, Kurt realized that the tire had not been repaired properly, it was a radial tire and they had “plugged” the hole, instead of patching it. Plugs on radials are not recommended and can be dangerous. After going to three tire stores, which all said they would not patch a radial after it had been plugged, we found a Goodyear store that at least inspected the tire and said they would be able to patch it. We left it there and went to get some lunch, as it was already 3pm and we were starving! We picked up the tire, headed back to Camping World and found that they had installed the stereo. Kurt put on the repaired tire, hooked up the trailer and we headed out. Prior to leaving, Kurt asked if he could plug in our small compressor to air it up, in case we needed it on the rest of the trip home. After getting down the interstate about 20 miles, Kurt realized he had left the compressor at Camping World. We called to let them know he was coming back to get it, but they were closing in about an hour. We were approaching Wildwood, where I-75 connects to the Florida Turnpike. There were truck stops there, so we parked in the back, unhooked the trailer so Kurt would not have to haul it all the way back and through Ocala again. The boys and I stayed with the trailer and they were able to get out and walk around and have their dinner. Kurt made it back in time to get the compressor and drive back to the trailer. We hooked back up and went on down the road. So, the planned visit in Ocala turned out to be almost 4 hours instead of 1 hour. We finally arrived back home at 10:30 pm. We were so tired and ready to get some rest. We parked the RV in our driveway and only unloaded the fridge contents, so we wouldn’t have to leave the electric plugged in. We finally collapsed into bed before midnight.

Overall, the entire trip was a lot of fun and we got to visit, experience and paddle new places we had not yet been to. However, we were all happy to be home, especially Kody and Kirby. When we let them out of the truck, they disappeared into our property to run and enjoy their space at home. We now have about 7 weeks before we head out West to Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and states in between.