Southwestern Trip 2014 - Florida Blackwater River State Park

On our way!
After months of planning, preparation and loading the RV, we finally left our house on Monday, March 24^th.  Our plans are to travel and camp in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. After that we will make our way home with unplanned stops. We will travel in whatever direction we feel like at the time.

Our first night was spent at a Walmart in Lake City, Florida. We were just making our way to our first camping location. The next morning we headed toward Blackwater River State Park.

Blackwater River State Park

Monday, March 25 – Wednesday, March 27

Picasa picture link:
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The park is north of Pensacola Florida and is one of our favorite state parks. We were there the previous year on our north Florida tour and really love the campground and the river for paddling. We met our friends, Rick & Debbie, at the park to begin the official start of our Southwest states tour.

We setup camp and prepared for dinner. Later, in the evening, Kurt built a great campfire and we all sat around with adult beverages and enjoyed the evening. The next morning Kurt woke up with some kind of stomach problem and was out of commission for the entire day. Poor thing, he slept most of the day and later in the afternoon began to feel much better. Rick, Debbie and I rode our bikes on the forest roads and trails around the park. It was great exercise to get outside and enjoy the natural surroundings. We all went to bed early as we were tired and wanted to rest up for the next day, when we would get on the river.

The next morning we shuttled our kayaks to the put-in and paddled the Blackwater River downstream for 8 miles. The winding river has numerous, beautiful sand bars along the way. The day was cool, but sunny; perfect for a paddle down the river. The paddle was very relaxing and fun. Kurt was fishing along the way and caught 4 bass, with one being about 9 pounds. He was so excited he started screaming like a girl! The fish was so large it began to pull his kayak around. He finally landed the big bass and released it, after we got pictures. This made his day on the river even better!

The last evening we had another great campfire and enjoyed our time there. We also prepared what we could to get ready for our departure. The next morning, we awoke to rain and storms. On this rare occasion, we were ready to leave at 9 am, but due to high winds, lightning and storms we had to wait in the trailer until about 11am.

Our next stop is in Houma, Louisiana to spend some time with Kurt’s family. His brother passed away a few years ago, but the nieces and nephews are still there, along with their mother. It will be great to see them all again.