A Tale of Two Camp Sites

Hi all -- Dianne here.   This blog is a study of contrasts.   There are all kinds of camp sites, obviously; no two are alike.   The contrast between our two sites this week just has to be shown!   

We left the KOA in the Florida Keys on Wednesday, February 11 for two weeks at the Corps of Engineers campground at Franklin Locks, just east of Fort Myers.  These camp sites are very hard to get; I sat perched on my computer last August 11 at 10:00 a.m., the moment they opened up, in order to reserve one of the handful of sites that became available that day.  I could not tell on the computer from the reservation map what the sites really were like, so I picked site #10.

  WOW!!  Our first clue as we pulled in to register was the campground host saying, "You have the best site in the campground.  People will be asking you how you got this site." 

  We weren't really expecting as much from this campground as our next one, another Corps of Engineers campground east of here at Ortona, also on the Caloosahatchee River.   To say this is a pleasant surprise would be the understatement of 2009!

Roger here...

This story really starts with our arrival at the Key West campground.  The KOA staff had people who assisted everyone as they maneuvered into each site - an absolute necessity there.  We took a few photos of the telephone pole that was less than a foot from two of our windows

 - a lot of back and forth to get this close, but necessary in order to have any space at all outside the RV door.

  The sites were gravel.  They were exhorbitantly expensive.  Everyone was packed in like sardines. The slide-out from the RV next door was only a couple feet from our picnic table, which was only a couple feet from our RV.  When we left, we had to ask the people on our other side to move all of their patio chairs and tables so that we could back into their site to exit.  It took two KOA staff members to get us out of the site.

In the sense of fairness, we knew ahead of time that the campground would be expensive and crowded.  There were also some very positive aspects to the campground.   ALL the staff members were extremely friendly and helpful.  I am sure that their positive attitude diffuses a lot of stressful situations.  The amenities were also excellent.  The pool was excellent.  The adjacent bar area was excellent - beautiful views of the small beach, turquoise water, bridge, and marina.  There was a boat launch and marina on-site (no traveling to launch).  An excellent band played a couple of the nights that we were there.  The camp store was upscale.  Key West was only a half hour away.  There was a small area to let the dogs off-leash.  

In retrospect, it really depends on what you want.  Dianne and I tend to prefer calm views and serenity to the hustle bustle.  Dianne will talk about our current beautiful site.

Dianne here --  Talk about serene!   It's so calm and quiet here at the Corps of Engineers campground at Franklin Locks that when birds fly over us, we can hear their wings flap.   From our patio we can watch boats, yachts, even a paddle wheeler go through the lock.  We are situated at the point of an island in the Caloosahatchee River.   We have a view of water from both sides.  There is an eagle nest in a dead tree across the river, and we can watch the pair of bald eagles who live there roost in the tree.

  They also usually fly right over our site at least once a day.  (I have included a photo of them perched in their tree, but hope to get a closer shot of them flying over while we're here.)

Every evening we sit outside on our patio, have a glass (or two) of wine, and watch the sunset.  

 More than once I have muttered to Roger, "It just doesn't get any better than this!"    (I am a cheap date).

We have watched Tarpon cavorting right at our doorstep, 

and other 3- to 4-foot fish of unknown type leap out of the water right in front of us.  The egrets, ibises, and anhingas line up on the buoys right at our site and put on quite a show during the day as they find their dinner. 

 We are able to launch the "SS Minnow" right from our site into safe waters.   

The first evening we were here, after we were all set up and enjoying the patio, we had a discussion of whether we'd ever had a site this good before.   The only one that might equal or top this site is the remote site we enjoyed in the summer of 1998 right on the north rim of the grand canyon.   I'm including a photo of Roger at that site. 

 (As a side note, the reason I am able to include this old photo is that I spent the summer scanning our photo albums onto the computer so we could take our photos with us without the bulk and weight, and so that we can show them on our digital photo frame.  It took a lot of time to do it, but it was time well spent.)

Our site at the Grand Canyon was something we could not do now in our large motorhome.  At the time we camped there, we had a tent that fit onto the back of our minivan.  We were  60 miles from the nearest civilization down a gravel lane, in a free camp site the park rangers directed us to.   Our patio chairs were set up literally on the edge of the north rim.

I don't expect to ever be able to top that camp site, but this one here at Franklin Locks is about as good as it gets in a motorhome. 

 I look forward to other happy surprises down the road as we continue to explore this beautiful country!

Launching the "SS MINNOW" + Key Deer Hike

Roger here...During the last blog we talked about our day at Key West. There were a lot of other great things to do in the Keys that more than occupied our time while we were there.
One of the most exciting things for me was the launch of the "S.S. Minnow." Our Sea Eagle inflatable kayak was a retirement gift from the Parents in Partnership group in the school corporation where I worked for 36 years. This was our first time to visit a place conducive to a first paddle :-) We had not inflated it yet, and were a little nervous about using the foot pump in the midst of the many, many people at the Sugarloaf Key KOA, but the worry was for naught. The inflation was simple and only took about 30 minutes, including time to read the directions. The next time it should be even faster.

Dianne and I carried the kayak from our campsite to the boat launch about 50 yards away. It was a windy day and the water was a little choppy. We both got in and realized that the center of gravity with the seats fully inflated was a little high. As a former science teacher, I knew this could be a problem. We were OK, but a little wobbly. I could tell that Dianne was a little uncomfortable as evidenced by the statement "I DO NOT WANT TO TIP THIS THING OVER IN THIS COLD WATER!" Honestly, I was a little concerned, as well. After a quick trip around the marina area and a snapshot of a group of pelicans in the mangroves

we headed back to the launch area. Mission accomplished - successful inflation, successful transport, successful launch, successful return, dry wife. Dianne deboarded and I went out again for about a half hour while Dianne watched from a beach chair.

I know that the next launch (in calmer waters) directly from our campsite at Franklin Locks, will be smoother.

Our next adventure, well really just mine, was an all-day trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park, a two-hour one-way trip by high-speed catamaran. We both intended to take the trip, planning to board the dogs for the day, but because our main reason for going was to snorkel and the water temperature was pretty cold, Dianne opted to enjoy a quiet day at the campground with the dogs. As previously mentioned, she does not like cold water.

I boarded the Yankee Freedom II in Key West at 7:15 in the morning, ate breakfast on the boat, and found a seat for the two-hour ride. Early in the trip the crew indicated that, as we neared the Dry Tortugas, the sea would be rough and encouraged people with motion sickness to see them at that time for some Dramamine. Since I have not had motion sickness since I was a kid, I was not too concerned. The first hour and a half was great - lots to see in the turquoise water including the spot where Mel Fisher discovered the Atocha. With about 30 to 40 minutes left in the trip we entered the rough part. I noticed that a lot of the people were laying down on their seats and kind of green. I still was not concerned, but then it hit. I wobbled to the back of the boat to ask for Dramamine, but was told that it would not do any good at that point. I was given a carbonated beverage and a barf bag and directed to the back of the boat to join five other ill passengers, one of whom lost his breakfast, as I did. Very embarrassing.

The Dry Tortugas are exceptionally beautiful for a couple reasons. The surrounding waters are several shades of turquoise, and nearly the entire island is occupied by a huge masonry fort that was constructed during the civil war. The fort had three levels, each exceptionally high and is surrounded by a moat created by a brick wall that separates the fort from the sea. It was the size of nine Yankee Stadiums - lots of fun to walk through, on top of, and around (on the sea wall).

After lunch I went to the beach. The crew told everyone that it was probably too cold to snorkel, 64 degrees! I was so disappointed because snorkeling was the main purpose of going. At the beach I noticed that a couple of people in snorkel gear did get in the water. I sat there for a half hour, angry that I was acting like a wimp, and then went back to the boat to suit up. With fins on feet, goggle on head, and snorkel in mouth I slowly waded into the water - yikes it was cold! Another, much younger guy, was wading in at the same time. When the water reached thigh level, I decided that I had to dive in before the shivering young guy, or be embarrassed for a second time. In I went. Yousa! I quickly adjusted to the water and actually stayed in for about 45 minutes. The snorkeling, though not the best I have done, was fun - especially with the coral formations next to the wall of the moat.

I took Dramamine before the return trip, and although the water was even rougher for the first 45 minutes - very much like a roller coaster at an amusement park - it was actually kind of fun since I was not sick :-) That was not the case for about 20 passengers who were lined up in the back of the boat with their beverages and barf bags as I had been earlier that day.

After reading all this, you are probably wondering about photos to document the experience. Sorry, we decided not to risk losing or destroying the camera, so I left it at the campsite. But I really did snorkel in the cold water - really, I did.

Jasper and Chaplin enjoyed a few tidbits of grilled steak one evening, and here are a couple photos showing them waiting patiently for the handout

they knew they would eventually get!

Dianne and I both enjoy hiking and nature. We discovered that the National Key Deer Wildlife Refuge was only a few miles from our campground. We decided to go exploring there on one of our afternoons. The Key Deer are an endangered species that only live on Big Pine Key. They are dimunitive in size, only a couple of feet tall.

We took a mile-long hike through the mangroves - interesting and fun, but did not see any deer :-( BUT, then as we returned to our car we spotted three of them walking along the road.

Don't they know they are supposed to be in the woods?! We quietly stalked them for a while and got some pictures before they wandered into the vegetation where they belong :-)

Dianne here - I must say that I'm glad I missed out on Roger's Tortuga adventure. The rolling boat ride would have done me in.

What Roger said about both of us enjoying nature and hiking is very true. For that reason, the KOA on Sugarloaf Key was not my kind of campground. The sites have 50 amp electrical and full hookups. There are lots of amenities, even a very nice open-air bar with excellent live music, large pool area, hot tub, marina, and very nice camp store. Check out the frozen delicacy sold in the camp store: Frozen chocolate-covered key lime pie on a stick.

It was DELICIOUS, and really was just frozen key lime pie (including the graham cracker crust) dipped in chocolate on a stick.

We did sit around the pool one afternoon, took advantage of the $1 ice cream sundaes on Sunday, had a beer in the open air bar. We did use the dog park, although it was too small for our dogs to get any real exercise in. BUT, it is the kind of place where your shades must be closed (no view anyway other than other rigs), there was no room or privacy to sit out at our patio, and after a couple of days I'd had enough of it.

I had never been to the Florida Keys before and wanted to see it. Key West reminded me of New Orleans (another place I can take or leave), and now that I've been to the Keys, seen it, I feel no need to go back. But check back soon, because we left the gravel parking lot for a little piece of heaven, which we'll write about next!

A Day at Key West

Roger here...

We are still a few days behind on our blogs.  The Florida Keys are a busy place - lots of things to do.   Now that we are settled in at the Army Corps of Engineers Campground at Franklin Locks, (lots more about this place in a later blog) just outside of Ft. Myers, we will do some catching up.

Last Saturday we spent the entire day at Key West.  We had heard that Key West was an extremely dog-friendly place, and since we planned to stay until sunset, we took the boys with us.  After we parked the car in an all-day lot, we began our random wandering tour.  We walked a few blocks on busy Duvall Street, past Sloppy Joe's, down to Mallory Square on the waterfront.  A cruise ship, the Norwegian Pearl, was at the dock.  Dianne took a picture of it as it is similar to the Norwegian Jade in the Mediterranean where our daughter is a performer.  As we walked along the waterfront Dianne snapped a picture of some roosters on a wall in front of one of the hotels.  Chickens run free all through the town.  Jasper was on full alert every time one of the roosters crowed.

We then headed across town to the "Southern Most Point" site.  We took a less crowded street because Chaplin did not like the noise and the chaos on Duvall Street - loud music, street performers with a 20-foot python, and people of every description.  Along the way we passed a trumpeter who was playing and singing "Back Home Again in Indiana".  (We did not expect to hear that in Key West - pretty ironic that he played it at the exact time that we were walking by.)   We also passed by the Truman Summer White House and the Hemingway House.   At the end of the street Dianne and the boys waited in line to pose for a picture at the monument. 
We knew that we wanted to stay to see the sunset and the performers on Mallory Square, and had some time to kill, so we wandered back up the other side of Duvall Street.  By the time we got back to the python in the crowded area, we found ourselves in front of Sloppy Joe's (Hemingway's nightly drinking place) again.  We had seen dogs inside when we passed by before.  This time, we were kind of hungry.   There were a couple of empty tables, so I asked the hostess if we could bring the dogs in with us, and she agreed.  We each had a beer and an Original Sloppy Joe sandwich - delicious.  Dianne went out on the sidewalk to take a picture of me and the boys at the table - take note of Jasper hiding under the table.  She also took an interesting picture of an awning across the street with a tree growing through it.

After eating, we headed back to the car to drop off the extra things we had been carrying around all day (jackets, new t-shirts, etc.).  Between the drop off and the walk to Mallory Square, we stopped at an ice cream place where Dianne bought each dog a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

 By this time Chaplin had reached his limit of walking, demonstrated by his frequent attempts to lay down in the middle of the sidewalk.  The ice cream perked him up.

Mallory Square at sunset was great fun.  During the hour before the sun settled over the ocean, dozens of street performers entertained the hundreds of people (and dogs) in the square.  There were fire jugglers balanced on ladders and unicycles, 

psychics wearing turbans, magicians, fire swallowers, the country's southernmost bagpiper in a kilt, and (of course) mimes.  

By the time the sun set, the dogs had reached their limit (so had Dianne).  Dianne's pedometer indicated that we had walked over eight miles.  The dogs were starting to get cold from the evening chill.  We had Jasper's coat with us, and Dianne sat down on a bench and covered Chaplin with her sweatshirt (the shirt off her back) to rest up for the trip back to the car.   (Dianne here - I can't believe we actually outlasted the dogs!)

 Just as we were getting up, there was a commotion at the main entrance to the square as a group of people in a purple, green and gold Mardi Gras parade danced by.  It was actually a wedding party let by the bride and groom as they led the dancing and twirling group carrying umbrellas - the kind of thing that just makes you smile.