© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved
We traveled to South Florida this past weekend, where we enjoyed some much needed rest and relaxation from the same old grind. That's not to say there wasn't work involved but it was minimal and for the most part we just enjoyed our little mini escape from the same old song and dance. As always... the first thing I packed was my gear! Both camera's... check. Batteries, and extra batteries... check. Both flash units... check. 6 Flash cards... check. All lenses (including the fish-eye)... check. Polarizing filter... check. Tripod, and tripod clips... check. Not to mention other small items like lens clothes, remote, etc. Okay... I'm ready! Ooops... clothes, I need clothes! And food... can't go without food! Damn... back away from the equipment bag and get the rest of your stuff together! This is a camping trip, but not totally primitive... You do need some supplies!
We traveled the back roads over to the East coast and down to Hobe Sound, Florida. It was a leisurely drive on a beautiful sunny, fall day (we don't get too many of them here). We arrived at Johnathan Dickinson National Park around 5:00 pm. and set up camp. We have converted our pick up into a self contained camper. I think a little thicker pad on the bed is in order, but the only issue we had. All in all it worked out pretty well. While traveling, we folded the pad in half towards the front of the bed to leave room for coolers, back-packs, and camping gear. We didn't have the whole hassle of setting up a tent, since there were only two of us and the truck was our bed. Before night fall we unloaded the coolers and gear, put our clothing packs in the cab, and started our fire. Clamped a light to my tripod (just one of it's many uses :D), Threw the table cloth over the pick nick table, and plugged in the radio (always gotta have music)! And sat down for a good game of Rummy, under the stars!
Johnathan Dickinson is 11,500 acres of wide open space, and is located on the Loxahatchee River. We drove 4 miles to our campsite of 123 campsites. It was perfect since there were only a few spaces occupied. That made things even more peaceful! We chose a spot right on the river, even though there was so much foliage that we couldn't actually see the river without walking right up to it. We were also located right where the racoons run from the river bank to the trash can in hopes of finding some good eats! It wasn't long after dark that we heard rustling in the bushes, and sure enough... with the flash light in hand... we spotted several little bandits in the brush. They definitely were not afraid of us and had to be chased away from our trash can and cooler several times. When it was time to rest all of our gear and food went on top of the truck. Still... sleep did not come easy, as we had to continue to chase them away from climbing on the bumper and trying to get to the goods! Since we couldn't see the river anyway we moved our camp for the second night, and it was much more peaceful!
Johnathan Dickinson was once Camp Murphy... During WWII the land was actually home of the top radar training school. It was home for more than 6,000 personnel and had it's own power plant, sewer system, theater and church. No one really knew what was going on there, only that a secret Army base had been constructed. Camp Murphy was deactivated in 1944 and the operation shut down. It became a State Park in 1945, soon named after a Quaker who's vessel ship wrecked there in 1969. There is so much to do at this park on the Loxihatchee besides camping... There are boat tours down the river for those who don't want to launch their own vessel, there are bike trails, and equestrian trails for those who love horses. Not to mention fishing, canoe rentals, concessions, and a restaurant. The Rangers were awesome... friendly, and informative, and if sleeping under the stars is not your thing... they also have cabin rentals.
We really enjoyed our stay at Johnathan Dickinson... and plan on visiting some other State Parks in the near future, while the weather is nice! Stay tuned for my blog about Hobe Mountain, which is located in Johnathan Dickinson Park!
Love, Laughs, and Photographs,
Wendy
All images captured with the Olympus E500 on Lexar Digital Media.
No comments:
Post a Comment