May 11, 2010

We don’t have an internet connection tonight so I will post this when I do.  So if it seems late that is why.

Today we got on the road at 10:00 AM.   We stayed an extra day in Saint Cloud with our son and gave our air conditioner one last going over.

We made our way up the Florida Turnpike to I-75 then on to I-10 westbound.  We finally feel like our adventure has really begun.  In the movie RV they named their big ugly RV the Big Rollin Turd.  We felt our RV needed a name too.  I suggested we call it the Bread Truck because I think it drives the way I think a bread truck would drive.  We didn’t come to a firm conclusion so discussion will continue on this subject.

Darlie took her hand at the wheel for the last 100 miles of the day.  It takes some getting used to with the 18 wheelers going by and blowing you off the road.  She learned to steer into the blast as they approach from behind and steer away as they suck you back towards them as they go by.  It is great fun.  I have to admit I was hanging on a couple of times.  All in all she did real well for as little time she has had behind the wheel.

We traveled just 358 miles today.  We wanted to stop at Falling Waters State Park for the night.  This is a great place for an overnight stop.  It is away from the interstate so you don’t hear any noise but songbirds chirping away.  There are 24 campsites here that can accommodate RVs up to 40 feet.  The sites are fairly level with 50/30/20 amp electric hookup and water.  All of the installations look new.  There are clotheslines provided at each site for wet towels and bathing suits if you want to take a dip in the little lake in the park.  Firewood can be bought at the ranger station.  There is also a dumpster and a wastewater dump station.

The best part about this park though is just a short walk down a trail.  Falling Waters is the tallest waterfall in Florida at 73 feet.  It drops down into a very deep sink hole and vanishes into the limestone presumably to an under water stream through a cavern.

You must walk down to the lowest level of the boardwalk to be able to see clear down to the bottom.  

This site is also one of the highest points in the state at 324 feet above sea level.  Native Americans once made their home on top of this hill and artifacts have been found in the area.  Back in the early 1900s someone got the idea there was oil under the ground here.  They began to drill at a site not far from the falls.  At about 3900 feet the earth belched up some gas which encouraged them to drill deeper.  However, after drilling to about 4900 feet they gave up when only a very small amount of oil was detected.  This was the first oil well drilled in the state.  The trail passes right by the capped off well pipe.  

We finished off the day with a simple dinner and a nice hot shower.  Tomorrow we will set out for Louisiana.  We plan to do about 400 miles.  If you ever pass by this way be sure to stop at Falling Waters State Park for the night.  It is just off exit 120 on I-10 west of Tallahassee.