After Louisiana we stayed one night in Mississippi on our way over to Florida. Our time in Flordia was a little all over the place. When we first arrived we realized everyone heads to Flordia to camp in the winter so all of the beautiful state parks by the beaches were completely booked out. We found a campground in Apalachicola National Forest were we stayed for a night and tried to regroup. We both really wanted to see the beaches in Florida and since the state parks and campgrounds were all booked, we decided to just start our journey north.

This ended up being a mistake after we realized that the weather was still freaking cold up north. We spent two nights in Nashville where it was super windy with a high of 40 degrees. After Nashville we decided we had to go back to Florida and make it work until the weather started to warm up. We will talk about Nashville in a later post when we cover that area.

We stayed in the Osceola National Forests up north, got lucky with some cancelled reservations at state parks along the beaches, went to the Everglades, then spent five days in the Keys.

Osceola National Forest

Hog Pen landing. Crazy to think this spot (campsite #10) we have spend the most nights at in our entire trip. This was a great campground. Located directly on Ocean Pond, the campsites are extremely private and quiet. At the time when we stayed they were not collecting fees. There were a lot of mosquitoes, but they only became a real problem after the sunset. This was a great spot to relax for a bit, catch up on some sleep, and research our next moves (2-3 bars Verizon and AT&T). While staying here, we were able to get the truck serviced (20k mile service), do laundry, and stock up on food. After a much needed reboot, and some planning we were off to conquer Florida.

Tate’s Hell Wildlife Management Area

We drove from Hogs Pen landing (Lake City) to Saint George Island. We cruised around the island for a bit, where there are some small shops apon entering the island then the island turns residential with houses along the bay side and gulf side. There was a state park at the end of the island with some camping options. After Saint George Island we made a pit stop at Eastpoint Beer company for some pizza and a local brew. Our camping location for the night was a remote campsite in Tate’s Hell Wildlife management area. Apon entering the area we were hit with a wall of smoke due to a prescribed burn. While nessecary for the ecosystem, it is a little disheartening seeing small palms, and other foliage burned to ash. Our camp site was located on a river system that connects to the Gulf. This site was especially unique because it was on a peninsula with small streams on the left and right and the larger river system in the middle. One thing that stuck out to me about this place was the black water. The water in the rivers of the area are as black as the night sky. Weather was overall mild in Tate’s Hell, we indured a day of rain showers but besides that it was beautiful. Nature always finds a way to surprise me in new ways, here it was the beauty of watching the river gradualling fill as the rain came down. Then once the rain stopped watching the stream pick up speed as it displaced million of gallons of water into the gulf, returning to its normal water level. On our departure we were able to watch a river otter cruising down stream.

State parks along the Gulf Coast

The goal after Tate’s Hell was to make it to Key West, while taking our time to stop and explore the Gulf side of Florida. The next stop was a small campground outside of Cedar Keys. While the campground was not great the surrounding area was beautiful. This was the first stop where we had entered a more tropical landscape. Mangroves! The island and community around Cedar keys was small and rustic. Lots of fishing boats, and many people coming over for day trips from Gainesville. After a well needed cooked meal at a local restaurant we went back to the campground (Shell Mound Campground). If you have not picked up on this yet in our blog, the goal when it comes to developed campgrounds is to spend as little time as possible there. The goal of this adventure is not to spend nights next to other campers in a packed campground. The goal is to get off the beaten path and enjoy nature to its fullest. After Cedar Keys it was off to the next place along the Gulf.

The push down Florida continues. The next stop is Oscar Scherer Campground (Yes, another campground… For being a campground Oscar-Scherer was not awful. We got a site along a slow moving creek. After a quick examination of the campsite, we headed to Siesta Key. We were on a mission for some warm clear water. The island was mainly comprised on large hotels and resorts, with a few public beaches scattered throughout. We found a beach and immediately headed to check out the condition of the water. Damn… Not crystal clear but fairly warm at 68 degree. It was good enough, and we were in much need of soaking our insects bites and cuts in the healing salt water. After a quick swim we headed to the downtown and got a quick bit to eat before heading back to the campground. The next morning after a nice cup of coffee we headed out.

The next state park we were able to get a campsite at was Collier-Seminole, outside of Marco Island. We got there around mid day and it looked great entering the park, but then you turn the corner and saw the campground which was less than ideal. It was comparable to a large parking lot by a busy road with no trees and no privacy. The campsites were directly next to each other, and crazy loud with all of the other campers and road noise. Knowing it would be a less than ideal night of sleep we tried to take our minds off it by heading over to Marco Island. It was a very interesting island, comprised on large hotels and resorts on the beach side and residential neighborhoods and strip malls on the other. We were surprised to find that there was no downtown with cute restaurants and shops. Not what we were expecting, but lets make the most of it. After a struggle to find parking we made our way to the beach. We pulled up our chairs, had a quick swim then headed out. It was a rough night sleep with a lot of traffic noise, loud campers, and screaming kids. We had two nights booked, but no way we were staying a second night. After a quick google search we found another campground to the north that had a cancellation for the night, so we decided to give it a try.

The next state park was Koreshan, where we were hoping to find campsites with a little more privacy and driving distance to the ocean. This was a much better campground, at least a little space between sites and the people were much more respectful and quiet. We spent a total of three days at this site. One day we went into Naples and checked out its downtown area. Another we rented kayaks and paddled our way through the tangle of mangroves south of Cape Coral. No manatees but lots of fish and birds. The final day we explored Bonita beach, Sanibel, and Captiva. We did not realize the devastation that Hurricane Ian caused but after turning the first bend onto the island it was clear. Nothing left. It was very eye opening to see the power and devastation that hurricanes can cause. Houses completely flattened, boats in trees, sand and debris everywhere. Our hearts go out to all that suffered from this disaster. Back to the campsite, off to our next destination in the morning.

Everglades

One of our biggest National Parks. The Everglades was truly a unique experience. No dispersed camping for vehicles, only camping at campgrounds allowed in the park. Lucky for us the campground we stayed at (1 of 2 total in the park) Long Pine, was almost completely empty. Being positioned so close to Miami a guess a lot of people choose to stay out of the park instead of camp. After 30 minutes of entering the park we were on a hike. About 2 minutes into the hike we quickly spotted a Florida Spotted Gar, a variety of cichlids (most invasive), and turtles. We pushed forward in hopes of finding the iconic alligator. There it was floating like a log on the surface, completely still. What a sight to see, large teeth protruding from its gigantic jaw, thick black scales dark as night. The creature radiates power, and demands respect. Then we saw another, and quickly after that another! So many alligators, it was really an amazing experience. After the hike we went back to our campsite and set up camp for the night. It was hot… REALLY hot. We had to sleep on top of our sleeping bags and were still sweating throughout the night. It’s crazy to think this was only March, still considered a cool temperature for the area. The sun will wake you up quick there. From a tolerable temperate to sleep to 90 degrees. No sleeping in here, that’s for sure. The next day we slowly made our way down to Flamingo, the southern most point of the park. We stopped along the way for sight seeing and hikes. My favorite of these stops was the Mahogany Hammocks hike. This hike takes you to an old growth Hammock with large Mahogany trees and thick jungle. If you were wondering a Hammock is a small Island, 4-5 feet above water line where hardwood trees, such as the Mahogany tree, and others are able to thrive. These Hammocks are also home to the most wildlife as they provide a shelter against the inevitable flooding of the area. After two nights here we were ready to move on. Next stop, the Florida Keys!

Marathon Key

A short drive later and we were on the famous Florida Keys. We decided to stay on Marathon Key, located about half way down the chain of islands. This Key was much cheaper than Key West and also way less busy. We checked into our beach cottage. This was a really cool place, it was a small cottage with an outdoor shower! We unloaded our stuff into our new home for the next few days, then headed to scope out some of the local beaches. To our surprise there are not many beaches along the Keys. Most of the beaches are man made, and fairly small. We found a state park that came highly recommended and planned for a day at the beach the following day. That night we ate at a local food truck that was by our cottages. We ended up meeting a very nice couple from Michigan who had a vacation home near by. They were very interested in our trip, and I was able to show them our rig and our camping setup. It was really cool to see the amazement and excitement in there eyes when we explained our trip to them and what we were doing. After a much needed night sleep with A/C we got up early the next morning and headed to the beach.

Bahia Honda State Park is a small Key about 30 minutes from our cottage. It cost money to enter, which helps to keep it from becoming too busy. This park has 4 beaches, one on the Gulf side, and 3 on the ocean side. The Gulf side beach was smaller, and way busier, while the Oceanside beaches were more spread out and open. This was my first time snorkeling in tropical waters and it was truely amazing. Being a fish person, I was in heaven! We saw lots of different species of fish, some of my favorites included the Cowfish, Spiny Lobsters (bigger than your arm!), Parrot fish, Needle fish, and Queen conches! We ended up going back to this State Park three more times, spending more time in the water than out. Another cool activity we did while in the Keys was renting SUP’s (Stand Up Paddle boards). We rented them outside of Key West after spending the morning walking around downtown Key West. SUP’s are really special because unlike in a kayak, you look directly down into the water instead of across it. This viewing angle provides a better between sight on fish and the ocean bottom below. While renting SUP’s we saw large Nurse sharks, Barricuda, and Horseshoe crabs! It was a great experience. After spending 5 days exploring the Keys (1 of which included my birthday!), we were ready to head north to Miami to see Jordan’s family.

Miami

We spent one day outside of Miami in Fort Lauderdale to see Jordan’s family. We met up with her brother for an amazing brunch at the Key Club in Miami and had a great time catching up with him. Then we headed to Fort Lauderdale to grab lunch with her parents and grandparents. Since we were still full from brunch we shared a meal and spent a couple of hours chatting, telling stories and catching up with her family. After lunch we went back into Miami to spend the evening walking around Miami Beach with her parents then grabbing food and drinks to end the evening. It was a great chance to recharge by seeing familiar faces and spending time with family. After the busy day we crashed in a hotel then started our journey up north to find some cooler less humid weather.