Oscar Scherer SP – Wednesday, Jan 14 to Tuesday, Jan 20, 2015

Our trip to Florida was delayed as we had to wait for the new truck bed cap to arrive and be installed.  That meant we had to scramble to cancel reservations and find new ones.  Anyone who has been in South Florida in the winter knows that can be a real challenge.  I needed to find 6 days.  I could not find anything for 6 days and made a 3 day at Santos SP and a 3 day at Ortona COE.  Everyday I kept checking and as luck would have it, a 6 day slot opened up at Oscar Scherer SP in Nakomis, Florida!!!

We had two 300 mile travel days to get there:-((  Fortunately, they were uneventful and we were so happy to be away from the cold and wet weather that had moved into South Carolina. 

Our first travel day, Tuesday - January 13th, ended at Walkabout RV Park in Woodbine, Georgia.  This has been an overnight for us regularly on our way to Florida.  However, we may be looking for another as they are having a real problem if it rains.  The sites get very wet and muddy…not a good place for a heavy big rig!!! 


Wednesday, January 14                      Arrived at Oscar Scherer State Park

Finally… South of Tampa and some WARMER weather!!!

02 - Oscar Scherer Location Map     02b - Oscar Scherer - Entrance

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02c - Oscar Scherer - narrow bridge to campground
02d - Oscar Scherer - Campsite 22   02e - Oscar Scherer - Campsite 22



Thursday, January 15                          Tampa RV Supershow

Since we were only an hour away, 
we decided to check out the RV Supershow in Tampa.

Sherry and David, who are camping here also, joined us.

I have NO photos of the show since I left my camera in the truck;o((

Check out Sherry’s Blog to see the fun we had!!!



Friday, January 16                                   Time For A Day of Rest!!

Sherry and David decided to drive back to the Supershow today.  We decided we needed a day to just chill and NOT be driving.  So we stayed here and did a little exploring. 

Oscar Scherer is an older park in the Florida State Park System.  I believe I wouldn’t bring a rig larger than Baby (35 ft) here.  But if you fit and love the natural types of park, this is a wonderful place!!!

Bill and I decided we really needed to get out and walk.

Here are a few photos of our walk along South Creek 
which runs through Oscar Scherer State Park.

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02c - South Creek - 'Old'  Florida type trail  02b - South Creek Picnic Pavillion and Huge Grill
02a - South Creek Canoe Launch
02d - South Creek - View along the creek   02e - South Creek - View along the creek

Bill spent the rest of the day catching up on things around the rig.  Several travel days in very rainy weather did leave their mark on the new truck and Baby;o((  Rest assured that Bill took care of them!!!


I decided to get out and explore the Green Trail 
which can be accessed almost from our campsite.

There are two loops to the Green Trail, but only the highlighted on is open right now.

03 - Eagle Walk - Map
The second loop is closed because Eagles are nesting there until May.

As I headed out the trail, I could see the nest way off in the distance.

Look closely right in the center of this photo.03g - Eagle Walk - Eagle Nest from a distance

My next nature treat was to see an American Kestrel.

Haven’t seen one of these since our time in the Everglades 2 years ago:o))

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03b - Eagle Walk - American Kestrel03a - Eagle Walk - American Kestrel
03c - Eagle Walk - American Kestrel03d - Eagle Walk - American Kestrel



Finally, I reach the area that is blocked off. 


I stood up on the bench on the left in the photo above.

Guess what I saw coming down the trail on the other side of the orange barrier???

03e1 - Eagle Walk - Gopher Tortoise

A Gopher Tortoise, the first I have ever seen in the wild :o)))

It got stuck at the orange barrier 
which I lifted to allow it to continue down the trail to its burrow.

03e2 - Eagle Walk - Gopher Tortoise 03e3 - Eagle Walk - Gopher Tortoise03e4 - Eagle Walk - Gopher Tortoise 03e5 - Eagle Walk - Gopher Tortoise Burrow entrance

I continued along the open loop and arrived at the Eagle nest viewing area.


03f - Eagle Walk - Eagle Sign

This is as close as my camera could get me to the nest.

03g - Eagle Walk - Eagle Nest full zoom 700 yards away

03g2 - Eagle Walk - Eagle Nest cropped nest



On the way back to the campsite,
I saw several more birds. 

Paul Dahl... I could use some help identifying them ;o))



After dinner, Sherry and David came down to play Mexican Train.

I’m not sure why the three of us are all smiles???

04 - Mexican Train

We were soundly beat by Mr. Bill ;o(((



Saturday, January 17                                        Biking and Drumming!!!

We love to bike Rails To Trails.

The Legacy Trail runs right through Oscar Scherer SP:o))

If you ride south about 5 miles and cross the Circus Bridge,
you can connect with the Venetian Waterway Trail 
and 
can ride all the way to Caspersen Beach. 

02 - Legacy and Venetian Waterway Trail Map

We packed a lunch and headed toward the beach!!!

Leaving Oscar Scherer and heading down the beautiful rail-trail.

04 - Oscar Scherer road to bike trail  04b - Legacy Trail

Along the trail are several bridges and nice pull-offs 
where we enjoyed watching these Osprey!!

04c - Legacy Trail - taking a break on the bridge
03 - Osprey03b - Osprey

There are also bridges over major highways!!!

04d - Legacy Trail - the BIG bridge

At the southern end of the Legacy Trail is the historic Train Depot.

04e - Legacy Trail - riding past the Old Train Station


Just past the Depot, the Venetian Waterway Trail starts.

05 - Venetian Waterway Trail - The Start

This bike trail runs down both sides of the waterway.

05b - Venetian Waterway Trail - The Mural05c - Venetian Waterway Trail -  Approaching Circus Bridge

To get to Caspersen Beach,
you need to cross The Circus Bridge to reach the trail on the other side of the canal.

05d - Venetian Waterway Trail -  Crossing Circus Bridge   05e - Venetian Waterway Trail -  under Circus Bridge and back on the trail

One final small bridge at the end of the trail leads you to a beautiful park and beach.

05f - Venetian Waterway Trail - trail ends at Caspersen Beach
05h - Venetian Waterway Trail - lunchtime - beautiful view

We found a nice spot with a great view to enjoy our lunch.

05g - Venetian Waterway Trail - lunchtime on the boardwalk
Then we headed back for a round trip of exactly 20 miles !!!

After a bit of a rest,
we were off to Casey Key Beach to join Sherry and David for a unique adventure…

The Casey Key Drum Circle!!!

Sherry and David had spent this beautiful day at the beach.

They saved us a great spot to watch the party!!

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01 - Venice Drum Circle - Drummers01b - Venice Drum Circle - Crowd grows01b - Venice Drum Circle - seats near the front row01c - Venice Drum Circle - Bill taking it all in

Anyone can join in the dancing…

02b - Dancers02c - Dancers02c2 - Dancers02c3 - Dancers


This Dancer had ALL the moves and patent leather sneakers :o))

03a - dancer03b - dancer03c - dancer03d - dancer
        
     
  The scarves were really pretty!!! 
  
     02a - Dancers02d - Dancers


The Sunset was SPECTACULAR !!!!

04 - Sunset 


Sunday & Monday, January 18 & 19            Our Last Couple Days

Sunday morning we decided to headed back to the Tampa RV show.  The weather during our first visit wasn’t so nice and we didn’t get to look at too many rigs.  Not that we are looking to replace Baby, but it is always fun to see what is new. 

Actually, we didn’t find anything that was truly innovative.  But we did find this garage-able condo for our friends Bill and Chris… just in case they want to take the grandkids with them;o))

01 - 900 pound condo

Yep, only 900 pounds and it will fit in the garage!!!


Sharon and David, a new full-timing couple we met at the Sevierville rally,
purchased a Heartland 5th wheel at the show.  So we had to check it out:o))

02 - Nobody's Home03 -  Massage Chairs - Yea Baby
It’s a BEAUTY!!                                                  We love the Massage Chairs:o))



On Monday, our last day here, we decided to ride the north section of the Legacy Trail.

Just before getting on the trail, another Gopher Tortoise was there to greet us:o))

01 - another gopher tortoise

We made a left out of the park and headed north.

02 - heading north - rest stations

Along the route, there are rest stations, port-a-potties and picnic areas!!!

02b - heading north - portapotty and picnic area  02b2 - heading north - portapotty and picnic area

The trail is well marked and has very safe highway crossways:o)

02c - heading north - well marked and safe highway crossings

It was a nice 5 mile ride to the north Trailhead where we turned around and headed back.

03c - Legacy Trail - Turn around and The start heading south03c4 - Legacy Trail -  beautiful day for a beautiful ride


A SUMMER SUPPER… 
baked potato, fresh corn, broccoli, tomatoes and Florida Citrus!!!

04 - Perfect Summer Dinner

Perfect ending to a  fun time at 
Oscar Scherer State Park!!!