Just Camping

View of our campground from the fishing pier

Another laid-back day soaking in the tranquility of Lake Blackshear.

We had wanted to go fishing today, but it was extremely breezy all day until late afternoon.  And by then, we were out of the mood, so I settled for just taking photos.

When I got to the fishing pier, a huge blue heron (I think) was sitting on the railing.  He let me get closer and closer without moving.  But finally he had enough, and with a loud, raucous RAAAACCCCKKKKKKK!!!!! he flapped his wings heavily and took off.

I think this is a blue heron. I am terrible with bird identification.

I took several photos of him, and one after he took to the air, but I was facing into the sun and he was almost the same color as the gray wood of the pier, so the photos didn’t turn out.

But later, as I was walking back to the campground, I saw him perched near the edge of the lake.  This time he didn’t wait nearly as long to take off, but I did manage to get a shot of him.

Geese

We have also seen ducks, egrets and geese here.  And many squirrels.  But no other wildlife — except for the fish that jump and tease us with their presence in the lake.

I am really enjoying our second autumn here.  At home most of the leaves have fallen, and the ones that remain are all brown.  Here there are still patches of brilliant color.

More autumn in December. 🙂

I thought I’d share a couple of small mods I’ve done to the Casita.  One is a fold-out towel rack in the kitchen that holds 5 dish cloths and towels.  It keeps them out of my way in the tiny kitchen, and also allows them to dry.  I had it in the Aliner, and it’s one thing I made sure I kept, since I’m not sure I could find another one.

The other mod was copied from Andy Baird’s Travels with Gertie website.  I put clear epoxy around the outside holes of the

Fold out towel rack

Modified shower head

shower head, leaving only the center holes open.  Now instead of a broad, soft wash of water, we get a nice, high pressure stream with no additional water usage.

Back to High Falls

The Aliner at High Falls

The Aliner tucked into a private site of the Lake Campground at High Falls.

We stopped by Mom’s for a couple of days after we left Salt Springs, then headed north toward home.

Our stopover point was High Falls State Park.  We loved the Lake Campground when we were here earlier and wanted time to explore the river trails.

The River Campground is huge and accommodates large and small rigs.  The Lake Campground only accommodates rigs up to 25 feet, so you mostly get the campers instead of the

window view

View out of our (very dirty) front window. The peace was pervasive here.

RVers here.  And the campers are our kind of people.

We were shocked when we saw the Falls.   They were a raging torrent when we were here before.  But the weather had been very dry and now they were a fraction of what they had been.  Where there had been white water rapids before, now there was a lot of bare rock exposed.

We took the River Trail to see if there were more interesting sights downstream.  Hiking in temperatures in the 90’s was

Two weeks difference in view of the Falls

The Falls during our visit two weeks ago and this visit.

not a lot of fun, but the scenery made it worthwhile.   Even though a lot of the rock riverbed was exposed, there were still a series of smaller, scenic waterfalls to enjoy.

One nice surprise on our walk was seeing a mother waterbird (heron?) and her two little brown babies.

Lower falls

Lower falls downstream

We also met a very friendly couple, Barbara and Butch, who had bought an ’84 34′ motor home in great condition.  They preferred the Lake Campground to the River Campground, and the office told them if they could get the motorhome into a site, they could stay there.  By backing onto their picnic table/fire ring pad, they made it!  Grandkids joined them for an overnight visit.

There was something so special about our time here.  A timeless sense of peace and well-being enveloped us.  We never wanted to leave.

Heron and babies

Heron (?) and her two little brown babies

But budgets are budgets, and after three nights, we had to pack up and head home.

And now, we are anticipating our October trip to North Carolina.

Downstream

Downstream

river rocks

River rocks

End of our walk

This is where we ended our walk and turned around.

river trail

A view from the trail

Ron and Sunny

Ron and Sunny on the River Trail

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