Back on the horse that threw you

As promised, the RV repairs were completed on Friday, however the camper was not ready to go until 3:00 pm. They did a great job and worked fast with all that had to be done, but paint, decals, caulking and such simply must have some curing time before you pull it out on the road. With our next planned stop 200 miles away, we wanted to delay our departure to the next day. Thankfully, the RV repair shop had offered that we could hook up to water and electric from their building and park in the parking lot. This worked great! We had our first parking lot experience (great practice for a future Walmart stop) and we got an early start for the next park.

Driving to Otter Springs RV park, we watched the countryside get more rural and more heavily wooded. The GPS had more and more trouble listing and tracing the surrounding roads. Approaching Otter Springs the GPS just pictured our truck in the middle of a pink sea without surrounding roads or even the road we were traveling on. We were so thankful that we were led to stay in the parking lot rather than groping through the dark in the woods searching for the rural roads.

We were struck by the rugged beauty of the park as we pulled in. I held a white-knuckled grip on the wheel as we wound along the main dirt road circling the park. Linda gazed wide eyed at the camp sites carved out of the majestic trees most of them larger than the one that took a bite out of the back end of the RV. The sites were loosely connected by vague grassy openings in the trees. Our first lap around the perimeter yielded no obvious fit for our 40 foot long home on wheels. Linda suggested we just park on the road and walk into the forest to form an entrance and exit strategy. Prayer and planning revealed a site that we could thread our camper through.

Scary as it was, the park was wonderful. Beautiful nature in the trees and springs, there were good facilities, few other campers, great sniffing areas for the dogs and (number one item with the boys) a heated indoor swimming pool!

Besides the great things to explore in the park, a short drive took us to Manatee Springs State Park. We did not get to see a manatee, but the other sights were amazing. The boys could wade into the springs as they bubble up underground. Despite the cold (72 F) water and a couple of water snakes standing guard near the stairs, the boys climbed right in. We then followed a great boardwalk that traced the path of springs as they flowed into the famous Suwanee (also known as Swanee) River. We are so blessed in this chance we have to build such rich and vivid memories for our family.