Living the Impossible Dream?

As I drove away from Ocala this morning, the radio was playing "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha.  I'm here to tell you that dreams are possible, because I'm living mine today. Don't ever let anyone tell you your dreams are not possible. At least, like Don Quixote, don't give up the quest. "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

I drove the Interstates today, and those who know me know that's something I rarely do. But traffic was light, the skies were blue, and wildflowers were strewn along the roadside.

My destination was Three Rivers State Park in the Florida Panhandle. The park is so named for it's location where the Flint and Chatahoochee Rivers combine to form Lake Seminole, and below the dam, the Apalachicola River flows south to the Gulf of Mexico.

Entry road was newly paved. The camp host says I'm lucky I never came before it was done. Guess it was pretty bad.

Living the dream...Bandit in his screen room, Roe on his tie out. Time to rest from the long drive.

Tomorrow there are trails to hike and geocaches (3) to look for. (Notice I didn't say find)

And waters to kayak.

And lots of birds to identify. This one, I think is a barn swallow, and they may be nesting under the fishing pier.

Roe says he's rested long enough. Time for a hike.

Geocaching

My rv forum friend Alice is an avid geocacher, especially at State Parks. She shared the website with me a while ago: http://www.geocaching.com/ 

From the website:

“Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.”

The best way to find a geocache is to have a handheld gps. So this week I got mine back from my daughter who was no longer using it. And today I found my very first geocache right here in McIntosh.

First you go to the website and enter your city or zip code. Then it tells you the gps coordinates for geocaches located near you. The closest one to me is only .4 mile away from my campsite. Let’s go!

Had to stop and take a picture of this shrimp plant growing on the white picket fence.

My gps says we’re only 35 feet from the geocache. It’s located in Van Ness Park in the center of town. 

I had some trouble finding it at first because every time I walked under the trees I lost the gps signal. Plus, the gps is only accurate to 15 feet. So it took some looking around.

Let’s check out that pole.

The clue on the website says “gone fishin’.”  Do you see the fishing line tied there?

My friend Angela stopped to see what I was doing and helped me look. She found the geocache!

It’s in an aspirin bottle covered with black tape.

Inside are some pink and green beads and a paper to write your geocache username and date found. Someone else also found this geocache today...how about that!

After I logged my find on the website, I earned a virtual souvenir!

That was fun. I’ll have to look for another one soon.

Rough Day on Orange Lake

It wasn’t easy, but it had to be done. Whew! What a workout! Notice all those ripples we had to try to paddle through?

The 2 mph wind was drying the sweat faster than I could produce it.

So many obstacles to maneuver around.

My neck aches from all the looking up I had to do.

Dangerous beasts were lurking all around.

 Popping up when we least expected...

 Surrounding us...

 Smiling their evil grins...

 Disguised as innocents...

 Lurking, I tell ya.

And the noise, my ears, my ears! Listen! What is it?

Oh, I can tell she’s exhausted....her back must be killing her.

Yes, it was a very rough day. We might have to rest tomorrow.

Prairie Creek and Newnans Lake

My friend Angela and I went kayaking today on part of the Potano State Paddling Trail, named after the Potano indians who once inhabited the area. The trail circles Newnan Lake and meanders down Prairie Creek to Paynes Prairie State Preserve. We put in at Kate's Fish Camp, a quaint piece of history in itself.
Note the flock of resident geese:

Angela has a really nice lightweight Swift Adirondack Kayak.

And here I am in my slightly under-inflated "Esprit." I need to get a new pump, although the helpful fish camp owner worked on fixing a leak in my foot pump while we were gone. Nice guy.

The geese all came out into the creek to see us off.

Since neither Angela nor I thought of insect repellant, we opted to paddle out to Newnans Lake and save Prairie Creek for another day.

Cypress knees, knees, knees...

Entering the lake

With it's beautiful calm paddling waters.

We explored the shoreline

Great blue heron in a tree

Snowy Egrets

The red-winged blackbirds were singing their hearts out.

There were Boat-tailed Grackles....male

And female

Moorhens were Common

Little Blue was too

We drifted by lily pads,

And watched Bald Eagles soar

We saw many eagles...or a few eagles many times. I think this is a juvenile Bald Eagle

Now I know how it feels to be a "sitting duck." I think this was a decoy.

Getting hot...time to turn back

Back up Prairie Creek

 which has gotten rather sultry.

And the geese came out again to welcome us back.

Back at my site at Sportsman's Cove, artists have come to capture the view.

 I used to paint...

 Now, I'd rather just take a picture.