Our first ten days at this park have been very busy ones. We had two days to get settled in and then we began to train for our winter jobs here.
Since we will be working with the inturpretive ranger staff and doing most of the things which they do, our supervisor asked us to attend the same class which all seasonal rangers go through. The class was pretty wide ranging and lasted about six hours per day for six days. Since this park is so very large, travel times were up to 2 1/2 hours as we had a class in each visitor area of the park. From Shark Valley to Flamingo is 88 miles.
This was a great experience and it was by far the most training that we have had for any of the volunteer positions that we have taken part in. It has been a very busy time but we have learned so much that we feel it will prove to have been well worth the effort.
We have arrived in our winter home for the next few months! We arrived here on November 29 and we began training for seasonal rangers on December 2. The training has been very intense but also informative. We have learned so much about the Everglades that we now realize that we have learned almost nothing of what there is to learn. What an amazing place that this has turned out to be!
Our first morning in the park and I thought that I would post a wrap-up for our trip from Texas to the tip of Florida. We traveled a total of 1,438 miles, from near Dallas, TX to about 30 miles west of Miami, FL. Since I had traveled some miles before our first fuel stop, and we also traveled another 35 or so after the last one, my fuel figures are just slightly off for the total trip, but they should be accurate enough to give a realistic idea of what we spent.
We purchased a total 175.3 gallons of gasoline for the motorhome and recorded a total of 1378 and averaged 7.86 mpg. This was done while traveling at a steady speed of 60 mph for nearly all of the trip and the route was mostly over interstate highways. It was no doubt effected by the fact that we stopped at Escapee and Passport America RV parks which typically lead to at least 10 miles of secondary road travels and in one case more than 50 (Rainbow Plantation). I suspect that fact probably accounts for the slightly lowered mpg as I typically get 8 or slightly better.
The total cost for fuel was $340, having paid a high of $2.089/gallon in Lafayette, LA and a low of $1.759 in Loxley, AL. We departed Texas on Nov. 17 and arrived here on Nov. 29, having spent 12 nights in RV parks along the route. The total cost of RV sites was $193.43 or $16.12/night. We did no dry camping along the way. Perhaps this information may be of some interest to a few people.
As one who grew up in Kansas, hearing all of my life about how flat Kansas is, I have been traveling the country comparing my home state to that of all others. What I have seen has tended to confirm my long held opinion that only the very western part of Kansas is all that flat, and as a state it isn't even close to being the most flat. Our travels to Florida have not only confirmed this belief, but I can tell you with no hesitation that we have now found the state which is flat. The clear winner of that title is Florida! Having now traveled (not all on this trip) most major routes around Florida, I will tell everyone that the highest altitude that we have corssed was less than 200 feet! The main body of Florida would appear to be one very large sandbar, with altitudes ranging from sea level to about 100'. Florida's highest point is Britton Hill, located in the unincorporated town of Lakewood, Florida in north Walton County.
Now I don't want to hear any more about flat Kansas, until you explain to me why Florida is not the flat state!
I missed putting anything up last night as we were busy and I was lazy! We traveled on Friday from Sumter Oaks RV park to Ft. Meyers, Florida, a distance of about 180 miles. We spent the night at Ft. Meyers Beach RV Resort, what appears to be a mobile home court that has mostly been converter to a place for RV snowbirds. The park is at exit 131 on I-15 and is a Passport park. The cost with tax was $25 and it was fairly nice with many activities for those who stay but the streets are very narrow and the sites difficult to get into. While it was all right, I would not be likely to return there. Since they had wifi but for $5 and I had things to do and I didn't bother to put up the dish!
We have now arrived at our home for the next few months in Everglades National Park. We live in what they call the Trail Center. This is a residence area for seasonal employees and volunteers. There are five RV sites and four housing uints for two people each. They are arranged near a small lake that has a dock and a canoe for the use of the resident staff.
In our opinion, we have the nicest of the RV sites here. Since we just arrived we have not yet met all staff who reside here, but did meet two of them and they seem very friendly. Tonight is a campfire down by the lake so we may meet some of the others.
Since we are now off of the road for several months so we will shortly get a new page started for this new experience. We do intend to keep the blog going, at least for the time being, depending upon how often it is visited.
As I sit here recovering from America's favorite Thanksgiving activity, over eating, I can but marvel at how fortunate we really are! In spite of all of the economical difficulties of the country at this time, we still seem to find ways to enjoy friends and family and to enjoy our lives. How fortunate we are to live where we do!
Our day was highlighted with the annual dinner in the clubhouse, joining into groups by table as is the Escapee tradition. With eleven Escapees sharing our dinner we made new friends and spent time with other who were not so new. It was a wonderful day with warm weather and ware friendships!
We spent some time exploring today and went up the road to see this attraction since we had noticed it as we came south on I-75. It is located on the south side of Ocala, FL.
If you have any interest in cars and racing this museum is worth a visit. The cost is $15 or $13 for seniors. There are two very large buildings full of cars. Everything from antique cars, hot rods, and serious drag cars. He has many of the record setting cars from the earliest days of drag racing up through some current world record holders. We spent about four hours there and a serious race fan could easily spend two days. We went because of the suggestion of a good friend and are very happy that we took his advice. There is even one early RV in the collection, which the family owned many years ago.
This morning was a bit cloudy and damp, but no real rain. Temperatures were in the 50's so we thought that we would go out and see what interesting things we might find nearby.
Not far from the town of Bushnell is a small but interesting state park. It was the site where the second, and probably the most destructive of the Seminole Indian wars began. Major Dade and 106 soldiers were defeated and killed by the native people, who felt that their homeland was being taken away. Only two severely injured privates managed to survive and get back to the fort for help. The war that followed lasted for seven years and ended with most of the natives removed to what is now Oklahoma.
We spent a couple of very pleasant hours roaming the grounds, reading the signs and in the visitor center. Should you stop by Sumter Oaks RV Park. do take the time to visit this very interesting site.