After three mostly non-camping weeks with J’s parents, we are once again on the road and heading west. Not too far west—halfway across central Florida on our way to Sarasota. Tonight we are in Highlands Hammock State Park, a lesser-known gem just outside Sebring, a town known more for car racing than camping. On our way here we found ourselves behind a large open truck filled with oranges, which spilled a hundred or so as it rounded a turn on Route 68 south of Yeehaw Junction (I did not make that name up). As there was no other traffic in sight, we pulled off the road and scooped up a couple of dozen and will have fresh juice in the morning!This park has a very interesting small museum commemorating the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which hired young men from across the country during the Depression and put them to work building facilities such as this: roads, trails, lodges. They were paid a hefty $30 per month for their labor, of which $25 was mailed home.
As remote as we are here, we may have a situation tonight. Just east of us is the Avon Park Air Force Test Range, and we have seen—and heard—a number of military jets zoom overhead in that direction. But we are watching a beautiful sunset, Judy is building her usual campfire, and our air mattress has yet to spring a leak, so all’s well. -DJN
2 comments:
I love that you are heading west--on a narrow north/south peninsula and you weren't on the eastern edge to begin with....how long do you plan to head west in Florida?
tricia
If you like citrus roadkill, you should check out (the) I-5 in CA, where the trucks toting tomatoes run endlessly up and down the central valley, and the shoulders are always splattered with red goo. Interestingly, the trucks carry a big trailer full of tomatoes suspended in water so they don't squish. On second thought, those roadsize tomatoes are probably not very yummy, and I-5 is otherwise not very interesting.
Post a Comment