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The last time we went to the Englewood beach we saw an iguana or large lizard. It has no crest so I'm doubting it's an iguana. Here are a few pictures. If anyone knows what it is, please let me know. He was about 2 feet long.
Leaving Harbor Lakes was the easiest hookup we ever did. The truck lined up perfectly to the trailer then the ball slid in and locked in without having to play with the tongue going up and down to find "the" spot where it's going to lock. We were amazed and proud of ourselves.
We set out to go to our next free camping spot at Green Swamp Wildlife Preserve (doesn't it sound like a great place?) which was a to be a 2 1/2 hour drive, just the way I like it. We punch in the address in the GPS and off we go!
The road that the preserve is on turns abruptly to the left as the rest of the road continues in a curve to the right. It really looks like you should continue to the right to stay on it. Our GPS did not alert us of this turn so we drive pass. We now have to do a U-turn which is not always easy when you're pulling a 32-foot trailer. First I try driving onto the large grassy area beside the road but I soon realise there isn't enough space to turn around. We continue to drive and I turn into a driveway from which I now have to back onto the road making sure not to fall into the ditch. I get that done and off we go again.
We turn onto the correct road and immediately there is an entrance to a park but the sign says in large letters: EAST TRACK, so I drive on. Anyway our GPS didn't indicate that we had arrived. We then pass another entrance which also says EAST TRACK. Weird, why would there be two of them? We drive on. Finally, our GPS announces: You have arrived! We look, there is nothing but fields. We drive a little further and decide that it can't be there since our GPS now shows the truck as being driven through a field - no road.
Again I drive into a laneway and back onto to the road to turn around. We decide to stop by the second entrance we had seen to see if we can get any directions. We see some people at the gate with motorcycles and ask them. They don't know about the Hampton Track but say that it must be further going back to where we come from as they had been the other way and hadn't seen it. Glen then sees a truck with the South West Florida Water Management logo on its side so goes to talk to the driver who tells him that the Hampton track entrance is about 5 miles the way we just came from. So off we go again!
That first entrance we had encountered with the large letters EAST TRACK does have Hampton entrance under it but it's not visible right away. The address is also on the post and is correct except that it's totally out of sync with the rest of the addresses on that road and should be much further down. Go figure! But now it's a sharp turn to go in coming from that direction so I attempt to do it with cars in the other lane preventing me from swinging out before the turn and cars behind me. But I get stuck as the trailer is going to hit the guard rail from the little bridge just before the entrance. I can't back up and I can't go forward. Thank God for angels at the right time! The driver of a large commercial truck gets out of his truck and gets the people behind me to back up and give me room and totally guides me to back up and then make that turn perfectly. THANK YOU! We have arrived and didn't dent or scratch the side of the trailer.
We are the only ones there. We choose a nice shady spot for the trailer with access to the sun for our solar panel. Shortly after we start setting up, another truck with trailer in tow drives in and it's Leon and Mary-Lou whom we had met at Deep Creek Preserve! They later tell us how much trouble they had finding the place and that they scratched their trailer on the guardrail on the way in because of coming from the other direction. Glad we're not the only ones damaging our trailer during our travels!
We spend a really nice evening chatting with them and go to bed to a very quiet and dark night. So peaceful! Leon got two new batteries for his trailer so doesn't need to run his very loud generator anymore as his solar panels are enough to keep his batteries charged up and being new, they keep up a charge better than his old battery.
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| Cheeka hugging Glen |
The next day we go into town to get internet access since our phone doesn't work at the campground. We come back to see that another trailer has arrived. It's our good friends Raymond and Francine! They too had a lot of problems finding the place and had to turn around a few times to finally get to it. It's so great to get to see people we know at those free campgrounds. Cheeka was really happy to get to run around with Mollie! That is where we have made lasting friendships and find that we can truly relax.
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| The gang on a bike ride Leon, Raymond, Francine and Glen |
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| Leon leading the way back. |
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| Francine |
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| Glen, Raymond & Molly |
This place is really nice with a lot of trails but it is so hot right now that I don't know how much walking we're going to do. Tomorrow morning we're invited to have breakfast with Leon and Mary-Lou for eggs in a bag (eggs are scrambled and put in a baggie along with the ingredients of your choice and then placed in boiling water to cook. Each can put in the ingredients of their choice). Raymond and Francine are also invited.
Breakfast was fun and peppered with lively conversation. Leon asked us if we ever had Hobo Chicken (or also called "chicken in a can"). Since none of us knew about it he proposed we have it for dinner the next day.
Hobo Chicken can be cooked anywhere. You lay down layers of aluminum foil on the ground (we did it in the fire pit) and you pierce a hole in the middle. You then drive a stake through it (preferably a metal rod). You then sit the chicken on the rod so it is upright - the chicken has been sprayed with oil (Pam was used) and seasoned with salt and pepper. You then put a can over the chicken (a large metal can that once had popcorn in it) and you put self-lighting charcoal all around the can and some on top. After the chicken starts sizzling you cook for about 1 hour and you get the best chicken ever! The skin is crispy but not burned like it can be on the grill. We had also prepared sliced potatoes, onions and carrots in a foil with lots of butter and cooked that on the grill. It was a fantastic meal with lots of wine and laughter. We all enjoyed it tremendously. Thanks Leon for the Hobo Chicken!
Talking about Leon I must mention that he's been bathing in the water throughs on site for the horses almost every day. Mary-Lou sent pictures to her family and they said he looked like a manatee. Such a funny guy!
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| Leon taking a bath - photo courtesy of Mary-Lou |
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| Hobo Chicken cooking |
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| Glen and Raymond |
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| The guys |
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| Glen, relaxed and happy |
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| The chicken is ready |
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| All that is left after cooking. Very easy clean-up. |
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| Leon and Mary-Lou |
The only problem with some of these places are the biting insects. Sometimes there are ants and other times tiny flies. Whatever they are their bites are very itchy and last for days. I got particularly bitten a lot during our chicken dinner. Raymond said that it must have been the wine I drank that made me delicious to the bugs. Well there must have been a lot of bugs flying around with a buzz because the next morning I discovered that my right arm was covered with itchy bites and both my legs. Obviously I didn't feel a thing the night before... Turns out it might have been an allergic reaction to a certain insect bite as it developed into a raised rash. My first allergy ever!
On Friday morning we bid farewell to Raymond and Francine as they were driving to another free campsite closer to their next destination. I was really sad to see them go as we get along so well! Francine and I promised to keep in touch.
We have seen different kinds of lizards here along with Swallow-tailed Kites. No pictures of the kites but some of the lizards except the bring green one that we saw twice but had no camera.
We decided to finally wash our trailer, scrubing the rubber roof carefully to get it as clean as possible. It was great since we had a water spigot nearby with plenty of pressure. Finally our trailer is looking somewhat new and clean and we're ready to take it to our next destination: Flagler's Beach on the east coast.
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