Fishing buddies
I was surprised to see an egret calmly scouting for fish next to the fisherman. They did look like they appreciated each others company. The egret let Sheba and I approach fairly closely, but then started getting a little agitated. So I moved around him in a wide arc, and when I looked back, he was searching for fish again.
This man and his wife are camping with a cat, dog, and 22 year old bird.
We have camped at Salt Springs 3 or 4 times before, but when we drove into the park this time its beauty really struck me. I had forgotten how pretty it is.
We have been unable to go to the day use area and springs this time. When we were here before, we could leave the dogs in the truck in the shaded parking lot while we explored. But now, in addition to rules against leaving pets unattended, and no pets in the day use area, there is a new one forbidding leaving them in vehicles. Maybe Ron and I will take turns pet sitting so we can enjoy it one at a time.
Our site
Nevertheless, we are loving being here. We had a couple of chilly days, but now it’s up in the mid 60’s again. Wonderful walking weather!
We are planning to have lunch with my cousin tomorrow, then friends from Silver Springs are coming to visit us Sunday. I’m looking forward to both visits!
Bird prints in sand
There are 6 camp hosts here. The others have big rigs. One has this little not-quite-restored vintage trailer. 🙂
This is as close as we can get to the spring area with our dogs.
One more picture of Sunny sleeping on his “binky.”
There are still things blooming — even in January! I’m not sure what the red things are.
Cell service is almost non-existent here. Sometimes we can’t get on the net at all. Sometimes we can send text emails. And once in a while we get two bars and can upload photos. Apparently there is wifi available at the office because I saw 4 campers working on laptops when we checked in.
Tinycamper's Blog 
Marcia GB in MA
/ January 30, 2015Salt Springs looks very pretty. The rules seem pretty tough on pet owners though. We sometimes leave Tanya in our RV for up to 3 hours. She doesn’t like to ride in the car anymore and can only take short walks, so we are grateful we can leave her. She just sleeps and because she’s very hard of hearing, nothing disturbs her. We haven’t heard her bark in over 2 years!
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Sharon
/ January 30, 2015Marcia, you just explained to me why Sunny doesn’t bark anymore! I hadn’t put that together.
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Carol Warren
/ January 30, 2015We love Salt Springs….we normally do it in a small houseboat. The Herons and Egrets stick by the fishermen because some of them toss them the small fish. We should be taking another river trip…if we do…we’ll check the camp ground and see if we can find you. Our house boat is “Meander”…
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Sharon
/ January 30, 2015Wow! That would be the ideal way to see Salt Springs! And Meander is the perfect name.
The reason the egret was hanging out with the fisherman makes perfect sense — although it bashes my romantic bird loves man story! 😀
If you do come while we are here, I’d enjoy meeting you!
Our friends who will be visiting us Sunday built a house boat that doubles as a camper. They have also mentioned bringing it here before.
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Christina
/ January 30, 2015When I encounter this I put my dog in a backpack – the benefits of having small dogs 🙂
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Sharon
/ January 30, 2015Christina, I might could do that with Sunny, but it would take a big strapping Marine to backpack Sheba!
I’ve already decided that if I ever get another dog it will be toy sized! 🙂
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nancy lewis
/ January 30, 2015/we have an aliner and welove it…..my question is where the table is we have extra space that we dont use i was wondering if there is a way to bulild a cabinet in that space.
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Sharon
/ January 30, 2015Nancy, you can just unscrew the existing furniture and replace it with whatever you would prefer there. It’s not hard — just takes patience. 🙂
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Judy Crankshaw
/ January 30, 2015I have this picture in my mind of a great fight between the man and the bird for the same prize as the man tries to land the fish!
The struggle to find a bit of signal or WiFi is one of the banes of camping. But, I guess that I’m happy campgrounds aren’t located downtown where there’s lots of signal!
So happy that you are enjoying life as a Snow Angel.
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Sharon
/ January 30, 2015Maybe I should have stuck around to see what happened when he actually caught a fish. 🙂
This campground is out in the boonies of a National Forest, but has a small grocery store, restaurant, laundromat, post office, etc. in a little Salt Springs Square. New this trip is a Dollar General. We did have to go to Palatka to do some real shopping today, but it’s nice knowing we can get most of our daily needs just down the road a bit.
I am LOVING being a Snow Angel!!! Thanks again for the new terminology!
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Jo
/ January 30, 2015The bird and the fisher men is great. Maybe the bird plans on stealing his bate. haha Another great place and I sure wouldn’t mind have the camp host’s vintage trailer.
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Sharon
/ January 30, 2015It would take some work, but I think it would be fun to restore one of those little canned ham campers. Would have to find a better way to mount an air conditioner, though.
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Jo
/ January 31, 2015There is one for sale on Craig’s list for 900. but I have no place to park it to do the work. Yes the a/c should be mounted on top for a more tidy look I think.
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lynne
/ January 30, 2015Hey…here are some ideas re cell reception from our last trip two years ago.
The Recreation barn had a cell booster on it roof. I had phone conversations in its yard. I used my Wilson amplifier…do you have one? Also remember the coverage changed different times of the day. The restaurant (hamburger place) has wifi. The laundry had it years ago. Also ask around…everyone wants to be online…there may be something new. Good luck. Oh….that site looks familiar!
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Sharon
/ January 30, 2015Lynne, I used a Wilson antenna with a cradlepoint router years ago when we had the Aliner. I haven’t used it in a long time, but it’s somewhere in my camping stuff room.
Maybe I could get a new fitting that would work with the mifi. I’ll check it out. There’s another thing — a Slick or Sleek something that boosts the signal. I’ve read about it on at least two blogs.
We’re in 38. It’s fun thinking you might have been in this site. 🙂
And it’s good to know there is more wifi available.
Hope you had a great day!
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cozybegone
/ January 31, 2015We have the same neighbor…everytime they leave the birds chatters constantly!!! Nice site…paved! Have a fun time with friends…ours arrive today!
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Sharon
/ January 31, 2015Lunch with my cousin was wonderful! And the food was great, too.
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Jerryc
/ January 31, 2015We’re going to visit there one day, hopefully. Lots closer to home than Arizona. Love this desert, though. Keep on having fun.
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Sharon
/ January 31, 2015I love it more each time we come back. If you kayak, the Ocala National Forest will be a very special destination.
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Diane (Teardropping in Paradise!)
/ January 31, 2015This looks like a beautiful spot to camp! Is it very crowded at this time of year? And, thank you for always mentioning the birds…from a bird lover!
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Sharon
/ January 31, 2015Diane, Salt Springs is always busy in the winter. But people still come and go daily.
I love the birds but seem to have a mental block about trying to identify them. It just won’t stick with me. 🙂
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happytrailsga
/ January 31, 2015Those pet rules do seem rather harsh!! Our Casey hasn’t barked in years…she can’t hear a thing and would prefer to just sleep in her basket. We have never left our doggies alone in the camper for more than an hour or two without checking on them. It is unfortunate that so many pet owners allow their pets to disturb others and the owners don’t always clean up after them then we all have to live with the harsh rules.
We have never camped at Salt Springs but it is now on our bucket list. It looks so nice and peaceful. I look forward to hearing more about your stay there. Have fun!!
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Sharon
/ January 31, 2015I love my dogs enough that I put up with the rules. Dogs are not allowed in the vicinity of any of the springs in Florida. I think that’s a little extreme because I figure our dogs are cleaner than some people. But I do understand their wanting to keep the springs pristine.
I keep Bags On Board on the dog’s leashes plus keep a roll of bags in my pocket in case they use the last one and I need an extra one. Plus the parks usually have free bags placed strategically. So there is no excuse for people not picking up after their dogs. Some people just don’t care.
The funny thing is Salt Springs is beautiful and warmer than Ocean Pond. But I haven’t found another place that feels as peaceful to me as Ocean Pond.
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