Monday, December 27, 2021

Zolfo Springs, FL - 12/27/21

Zolfo Springs, FL - 12/27/21

We arrive at Pioneer Park. This is one of our preferred campgrounds in central Florida. We will spend about two weeks here.

12/27/21 - Monday
Depart From: Fort McCoy, FL
Depart: 10:30 AM
Odometer: 142,310
Arrive: 1:30 PM
Odometer: 142,464
Trip Mileage: 154
Trip Time: 3 hr 0 min
Google Map: 157 miles - 2 hr 55 min

Destination: Pioneer Park
Address: US-17 & FL-64
City: Zolfo Springs
State: Florida
Website: https://www.hardeecountyfl.gov/departments/pioneer-park
Campsite: 19
Cost/Night: $20.00 + tax

Comments:
Pioneer Park is one of two campgrounds located within Hardy County, Florida.

We have camped at the Pioneer Park campground over the past years, Visit the following links for information about our past visits to this campground.

Pioneer visit on 01/25/2014.

Pioneer visit on 01/03/2017 with drone video.

Pioneer visit on 03/23/2017.

Fort McCoy, FL - 12/27/21

Fort McCoy, FL - 12/27/21

Heading to central Florida seeking warmer weather.

12/27/21 - Monday
Depart From: Gainesville, FL
Depart: 2:20 AM
Odometer: 142,254
Arrive: 4:00 AM
Odometer: 142,310
Trip Mileage: 56
Trip Time: 1 hr 40 min
Google Map: 54 miles - 1 hr 2 min

Destination:
Salt Springs Recreation Area
13851 FL-19
Fort McCoy, FL 32134
Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/florida/recarea/?recid=83647

Comments:
On 12/26 we had a late-afternoon conversation with a Salt Springs staff member. She informed us they would have 5 or 6 first-come-first-serve, full hookup, campsites available. We were told to arrive between 5 and 6 am to secure a site.

We wanted to ensure we arrived early in the morning at Salt Springs to secure a campsite, so we departed Ganiesville, FL at 2:30 am. Horrible decision! Visibility was terrible the entire trip due to a dense fog covering the region. During the 56 mile trip we probably averaged a speed of 40 mph.

We arrived at 4:00 am and parked in the entrance road. We were the first RV to arrive. The access gate to the campground was locked. A woman, driving a white pickup truck, arrived behind us at 4:15 am. She had an access code to the gate and let us in. We parked in one of the check-in lanes to wait for the office to open at 8:00 am. I sat in my camping chair by the office entrance to make sure I would be first in line. At about 5:00 am a 5th wheel arrived at the entrance behind the locked gate.

At 8:00 am the office opened. By this time 6 campers were waiting to register for a campsite. We were told to put our name and telephone number on their wait list. Our name was the first one on the list. The office staff informed all campers on the wait list they would have to vacate the property and await a call from a staff member when a campsite became available. Checkout time is 11:00 am, so we departed the property to await their call.

Camping has become quite expensive here compared to our last visit in April 2017. At that time our camping fee was $19.50 with our senior pass. Camping is now $50 per night without a senior pass and $30.50 with a senior pass. We decided Salt Springs RA has priced themselves out of the market for this senior couple. A Salt Springs staff member called us at 10:45 am. We told them we had changed our mind and to give the site to the next person on the list.

Fortunately, during our travels we generally always have a Plan B when traveling from one destination to another. This trip was no different, so off we go!

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Gainesville, FL - 12/26/21

Gainesville, FL - 12/26/21

Another travel day. Heading to central Florida seeking warmer weather.

12/26/21 - Sunday
Depart From: Bainbridge, GA
Depart: 12:50 PM
Odometer: 142,047
Arrive: 5:00 PM
Odometer: 142,254
Trip Mileage: 207
Trip Time: 4 hr 10 min
Google Map: 191 miles - 2 hr 48 min

Destination:
Bass Pro Shops
2650 Bass Pro Blvd
Gainesville, FL
Website: https://tinyurl.com/2476ynm9
Campsite: Parking Lot
Cost/Night: Free

Comments:
We were looking for a place to spend the night, other than a Walmart, near Gainesville, FL. We discovered, on freecampsites.net, that the Bass Pro Shop in Gainesville allows RVs to park for free in their parking lot. We called them and they confirmed they allowed free overnight parking for RVs. There is a very nice dog park located adjacent to the parking lot along with a scenic forrested area and a pond. We saw numerous deer grazing during the evening and morning hours. Nice place to walk your dog or let your dog run loose in the dog park.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

>Bainbridge, GA - 12/21/21

Bainbridge, GA - 12/21/21

Finally getting to an area with warmer weather. We will spend two nights here.

12/21/21 - Tuesday
Depart From: Montgomery, AL
Depart: 9:15 AM
Odometer: 141,819
Arrive: 1:30 PM
Odometer: 141,998
Trip Mileage: 179
Trip Time: 4 hr 15 min
Google Map: 171 miles - 3 hr 21 min

Destination: Eastbank Campground
Address: 153 E Bank Rd
City: Bainbridge
State: GA
Website: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232580
Campsite: C35
Cost/Night:

Comments:
Eastbank Campground is a COE campground, located on Lake Seminole on the Georgia-Florida state line. The lake has a surface area of 37,500 acres of water and 376 miles of shoreline.

The campground has 65 campsites with electric and water hookups and many with 50 amp service. Most campsites have views of the lake. All the roads are paved and the campsites are either crushed gravel or paved concrete.There’s two nice restroom facilities with private, individual showers and a laundry facility. A dump station is located on the way out of the campground. There is a boat ramp and several picnic sites.

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Montgomery, AL - 12/19/22

Montgomery, AL - 12/19/21

We have arrived at one of our favorite campgrounds in Alabama. This is a well maintained COE campground. We will spend two nights here.

12/19/21 - Sunday
Depart From: Lewisburg, TN
Depart: 8:20 AM
Odometer: 141,572
Arrive: 1:00 PM
Odometer: 141,819
Trip Mileage: 247
Trip Time: 4 hr 40 min
Google Map: 241 miles - 3 hr 46 min

Destination:
Gunterhill Hill Park
561 Booth Rd
Montgomery, AL
Website: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232593
Campsite:
Cost/Night:

Comments:

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Lewisburg, TN - 12/18/21

Lewisburg, TN - 12/18/21

After a full day of travel, we will spend the night at Walmat.

12/18/21 - Saturday
Depart From: Watson, IL
Depart: 9:00 AM
Odometer: 141,221
Arrive: 5:00 PM
Odometer: 141,572
Trip Mileage: 351
Trip Time: 8 hr 0 min
Google Map: 348 miles - 5 hr 12 min

Destination:
Walmart Store #737
1334 N Ellington  Pkwy
Lewisburg, TN
Website: https://www.walmart.com/store/737-lewisburg-tn?cn=Tracking_local_pack_1
Campsite: Parking Lot
Cost/Night: Free

Comments:

Friday, December 17, 2021

Watson, IL - 12/17/21

Watson, IL - 12/17/21

We're finally able to head south for the winter. Dental and medical appointments have delayed our departure. So happy to be on the road again. We will spend this winter season in Florida.

12/17/21 - Friday
Depart From: Chicago, IL
Depart: 12:30 PM
Odometer: 140,986
Arrive: 4:30 PM
Odometer: 141,221
Trip Mileage: 235
Trip Time: 4 hr 0 min
Google Map: 231 miles - 3 hr 40 min

Destination:
Percival Springs Airport & RV Campground
6900 US -45
Watson, IL
Website: https://www.percivalsprings.com
Campsite: #3
Cost: $21.00

Comments:
Nice spot to spend the night.
24 site campground with 30/50 amp service and water hookups on gravel parking surface.
Overnight pull-through sites can accommodate the longest rig.
Large area with grass areas to walk dogs and get exercise.

There were only three campsites available during our visit. All of the other campsites were occupied by long-term residents or transient workers. The camp-host occupies site #1 and collects the camping fee. It rained the night were were there and the water pooled up quite a bit on our site, but the gravel pad area remained firm, so it was no problem departing the campsite the next morning.