Lower Hillborough Oak Ridge free camping

After spending two weeks at Winter Quarters Pasco, we now had to be out of the Thousand Trails System for one week. So we looked at the map and found Oak Ridge which is an equestrian campground provided by the Southwest Florida Water Management District that was only 25 minutes from where we were. We booked it and then decided to go see it.

Upon arrival it seemed nice enough - good road in, a nice large clearing with some shade, picnic tables and fire pits and a pit toilet. There was a young couple camping there and it looked like they had been there a while.

We decided to take the dogs out for a walk. The first thing we saw was this huge grasshopper with a striped bum - half grasshopper, half bee? We all started snapping pictures of it and, because we were so focused on this insect, Michelle stepped right on a fire ant hill. The ants invaded her shoes and her legs. I got some on my feet but I was wearing sandals which came off easily and I was able to sweep them off my feet quickly before getting too many bites. Michelle, on the other hand, had to unlace her shoes, remove her socks and then try to sweep them off. She got a lot of bites and was suffering the consequences immediately. Oh dear! For such small insects, they sure cause a lot of discomforts!

Michelle with her dog Sadie and of course Cheeka had to be in the picture!

Eastern Lubber grasshopper.

Michelle then decided not to camp with us at that site. She went on to a full-hookup facility near our next stop and we spent the week practically having the place to ourselves.

We explored the many trails surrounding the area, even getting lost one day which had us walk for about 1 1/2 hour. Thank God there was a lot of shade! We finally made it back to our trailer tired and thirsty.

Yep! We're lost!

A horse tree!

Not all the trails are well defined.

Zebra Longwing butterfly

The prairie

A tree with decorum

The pines in the forest surrounding us were definitely planted as they all stand in straight lines.

Oddly enough there weren't many birds around. We had the visit of one lone vulture who walked around the grounds looking for bits of food left by other campers. Unbeknown to her, Cheeka had already vacuumed the place of any food available. I had to pry a meat bone from her mouth three times. And she doesn't give up easily!  I also spotted a bluebird and a woodpecker.

Eastern bluebird

Downy woodpecker

While walking the trails we rarely heard birds and didn't see any wildlife. There were pockets of bird chatting where it seemed many had congregated but as soon as we continued walking we were accompanied by silence. There was evidence of wild hogs rooting for food in many areas but we didn't see any.

The hogs really turn the soil!

These free campground always have water available but it's normally not potable. We use it to flush our toilet instead of using the water in our freshwater tank. The well was equipped with a hand pump (we hadn't used one of those in a long time!) and the water coming out didn't look bad at first but it yellowed more and more with time. It was quite disgusting.

Cheeka enjoyed the freedom she gets at these places as we can let her go free even though we're supposed to keep her on leash. But really, when there is nobody else in sight what is the problem? MeMe also enjoyed her time outside but she suffered from diarrhea most of our stay there. Most of her accidents happened on the carpet in the bedroom so guess what our next reno will be? We will be replacing the carpet very soon with flooring that is easy to clean.

There was a vet clinic only minutes away so I went there to buy some I/D prescription diet for intestinal disorders but they wouldn't sell it to me without examining the cat. So I went to Walmart which was about 1/2 hour away and found some fresh refrigerated cat food with just chicken and pumpkin. I kept her on that for four days but it resolved the problem within one day. Phew! I was glad we didn't have to pay for a vet visit only to be told to feed her a bland, easy to digest diet. There was also a Publix grocery store, a medical center, and a Shell gas station at that same location. It was nice having everything so close by even though we felt like we were in the wilderness.

Are you feeling better?

I love you!

We would definitely return there as the campground doesn't seem to be used that much for camping. The trails are used quite a bit by dog walkers.

We are now back to having full hookups with all the amenities of a Thousand Trails campground at Peace River which we stayed at also last year.

Ah! Sunny Florida! Winter Quarters Pasco

The office/lounge with the shuffleboard court in front

Our first stop in Florida was in Lutz which is north of Tampa in an Encore campground called Winter Quarters Pasco. This was our first time here.

Entrance to campground

Our very first impression was that it was noisy with the highway being right there beside it. And yes, it is noisy. But the people here more than make up for this inconvenience. From the office staff to the annual and seasonal residents, everyone is friendly and happy. The staff is very helpful and tries hard to make everyone's stay here pleasant.

It is an old campground but the streets are paved and each site has a cement patio. They don't allow any campfires or even charcoal BBQs. Our site is close to the road which reminds me of our apartment in Hamilton sometimes. Our neighbours on both sides are very nice. One even took the time to make friends with Cheeka.

Paved streets lined with lights. Some permanent homes and some motorhomes or trailers.

The lounge area is quite nice and we go there often to take advantage of the free internet. Every Friday, there is Happy Hour from 4 to 6pm with free wine/beer and munchies. I have made quite a few friends there! They also have breakfast a few days a week for a very reasonable price. The food is good and the company even better.

The lounge building lined with golf carts which is the preferred mean of transportation here.

Inside the lounge

Our internet corner. We seem to be almost the only ones using this spot.

The small pool is lovely. Most times we have it to ourselves. We tried the hot tub but it was almost too hot to be enjoyable. Plenty of loungers line the pool and there is a HUGE umbrella providing shade in one corner. It is very comfortable and we also get use of the internet there too.

There are two off-leash fenced areas for dogs located at the edge of the park. One area is for small dogs and the other for larger ones. Poop bags and garbage cans are provided. The whole area is shaded by large trees. It's quite nice to sit on the benches in the shade while the dog sniffs every blade of grass and twig.

I forgot to mention the two small lakes and the pond. One lake is right behind the office where we can access a long dock that leads to a nice gazebo. The breeze can be a bit cool there so we have rarely gone there which is a shame since it is very lovely with the sound of the water fountain which sits in the middle of the lake. A lot of the mobile homes and trailers that line the lake have decks right on the water.

Across the road from our site is a small pond that attracts many shorebirds like Egrets, a Little Blue Heron, Ibis and a pair of Sandhill Cranes that have made the campground home. Around the corner, we always see the resident Tortoise that looks like a garden ornament until you see her blink. So cute!

Little Blue Heron

Sandhill Crane

An Egret with her catch

Our beautiful resident tortoise

Across the highway we have different stores, a vet clinic, a dentist and a medical center. We can walk to Lowe's and Walmart is just about 10 minutes away. Very convenient!

Our friend Michelle is quite enjoying all the attention her dog Sadie is getting here. Sadie, a lovely Greyhound rescued from the racetrack right here in Florida, is also a service dog for Michelle which means she can go everywhere with her. So she has become a favorite in the lounge area where she lies on her big cushion while we search the internet. Sadie has even become quite the social butterfly from all this attention and now gives kisses to anyone who cares to pet her.

Michelle and I

Sadie is never very far from Michelle

I must mention here that Sadie, being a boney Greyhound, must have a comfy cushion to lie on. While visiting our trailer, she had to make do with Cheeka's bed which was quite funny!

Everyone here keeps saying that we'll be back and I think they're right!

The trip to Florida

We made it! With some adventure of course.

We pulled out of our site at Bay Meadows without any problems and took off for the States. It was very windy which kept moving our trailer from side to side making the truck feel like it was slipping on ice. I kept having to correct our path and was hanging on to the steering wheel tightly. Then we were in New York and were met by a snowy area while hail was coming down. The wind was still blowing which made matters worst. We stopped at one of the many texting stops to gather our thoughts. There was a truck parked there and a police car so I decided to ask either of them if they knew how long these weather conditions would last. The trucker turned out to be a wonderful young French Canadian who told me how that area was known for bad conditions and that it was only for about 10 miles and then would be ok. So we continued our route going slowly and being very careful while I gripped the steering wheel with much more force than needed.

We finally arrived at our first destination, Highlands Campground, in Pennsylvania. The host/owner was really nice and we had a choice of sites. We pulled into one of the few pull-throughs since we were only staying one night. The campground was practically empty of people so Cheeka was able to roam free and explore the forest. Very quiet and surrounded by trees, this place feels like real camping. We will definitely go back on our way back home as they open April 15th and the fact that it closes Nov. 4th makes it a good stop on our way down.

Then we made our way to Chesapeake Bay Campground in Virginia where we stayed for 4 days. With the Thousand Trails zone pass, we can stay up to 4 days in one of their campgrounds and go directly to the next T.T. campground. We always enjoy our stays at Chesapeake Bay. The staff is very pleasant and it is a nice place even when most of the activities are shut down. There are trails where we can walk Cheeka off leash (not supposed to but nobody is ever on those trails).

Weird spiral tree

Entertainment during the seafood festival

Different vendors came to sell their wares

From there normally we go to The Oaks in South Carolina but they didn't have room for us so we booked at Carolina Landings which is further west. Our friend Michelle met us there to continue the trip down with us.

The first impression driving into Carolina Landings is good. The office building is cute and well landscaped and the campground is gated. At this time of the year they were decorated for fall and it looked really cute.

BUT, that's where the magic ends. As soon as you cross the gate, you see rows of RVs packed like sardines on the right (where Michelle ended up) and we went left down a terrible road to an area where we slid down the gravel hill as I was trying to keep our speed down to then trying to figure out where one was supposed to park the rig as the sites were so uneven and rough. We continued on to a flatter area where we finally found a spot. Each site has a cement patio so to be beside that patio we ended really close to our absentee neighbour. If that old motorhome had been occupied it would have been really uncomfortable. And.... there was no sewer connection. On a brighter side, the water pressure was fabulous!

Glen who likes to take showers in the public ones provided (don't understand why) couldn't get any of the showers to work as the faucets were all broken and half coming off the wall. I didn't check the ladies' room as I didn't care.

We did find a nice trail to let Cheeka run on. Once there it wasn't so terrible but it certainly will never be our first choice for a stopover.

Eastern Blue Bird

There was also a lake but it was such a hike to get there with lots of hills to climb that we took the truck. The beach was badly eroded but it was kind of a sweet spot. If we had stayed longer we probably would have spent more time there.

We decided to leave one day early and drive halfway down to Florida and stay at a rest area for one night. It's not the quietest place to sleep (a lot of large trucks run all night long) but it's safe and it's free. We were glad we did this as it made the next day so much easier.

So here we are finally in Florida at Winter Quarters Pasco. I'll tell you all about it in the next blog!