Nice Camps

Hillsborough River State Park Part 3

2010-08-15T10:29:00.001-04:00

Some additional photos of Hillsborough River State Park in Tampa, Florida

Click on photo to enlarge!!

Wekiwa Springs State Park

2008-08-03T11:58:00.023-04:00

Welcome to Wekiwa Springs State Park! This park is located north of Orlando, Florida. We saw numerous animals which is surprising with the park located by housing subdivisions.

This is view looking from the spring back towards the parking lot and bathhouse. There is an awesome grass hill to get a suntan and to watch the people in the springs. Also, at the top of the hill are picnic areas with grills and a playground.

This is another view of the spring from a bridge that crosses the output of the spring. This was in the evening after most people have left the park.

This is a close-up of the actual spring. This spring has 42 million gallons a day flow out of this opening! Wow!!!

The springs flow into a river. The park has canoe and kayak rentals available to explore the river.

Here is a couple of typical campsites in the park. The park has 2 camping loops, all sites have water and electric hook-ups.

Another campsite. Some of the sites do not have shade. Additionally, the campsite is close to a main road and if you are tent camping you may hear the cars. There is a nice dump station located on the way out of the park.

Each camping loop has a bathhouse located in the center of the loop. The bathhouses were in good condition and kept clean.

There are numerous hiking trails located through out the park.

The family enjoyed the hike. The night before the kids were hiking this trail and came upon 6-8 deer on this trail. We saw some the next night, see the pictures farther down.

My beautiful wife enjoying the hike. She never leaves without her cellphone or water!!!

The park has a trail called "wet to dry" it has a section that is a boardwalk that goes through out the woods.

My brave son leading the way!!!! Keep us safe!!!! :)

The whole group on the bridge crossing the spring... The baby loves hiking...

The wife and I.....

The road from the spring to the campground.... The spring is about a mile from the campground. You can drive, bike, or walk to the spring. However, if you drive, make sure you get there before 10:30 on the weekends to get a parking spot. If you bike, be prepared for a good hill climb on the way back...

The group is ready to get back to the camper and SMORES!!!

The park warns campers that bears are very active in the park!!! Maybe, you will be lucky and see one......

WE WERE!!!! While biking around the campground, a car stop and told us about a bear on the other loop in a tree... Cool... It was 1-2 years old..

Another view of the bear, I was told that it was running down the campground road when people saw it and it climbed the tree!!! It started eating berries that were up high in the tree...

Check out the claws!!!! I would not want to tangle with a bear....

Watch carefully as you are hiking and you should be able to see a gopher tortoise... They burrow deep into the ground...

There are some colorful spiders..... and they are BIG!!!!

Deer!!! Did someone say deer....

There were 4 bucks that walked across the road while we were biking to feed..

Check out the antlers on these bucks...

How many deer can you see??

These deer did not care if I even walked closer to them..... I guess they knew they were safe in the park....

Wife did not want to walk through the brush....

Neat flower.....

Pretty cardinal in a tree by our campsite...

Look close and you will see an armadillo in the undergrowth...

The family enjoying the 72 degree water from the spring....

Deciding who was going to dive down into the spring.... It is about 20' feet down and the flow is so fast it pushes you quickly down stream...

There is nice places you setup a blanket around the spring to enjoy your day... There are 2 ladders to get in and out of the spring...

Dinosaur Poo?? or just a big old log??? Your guess is as good as mine....

Wife said "water is toooooo cold for me......"

Grandbaby said it feels good to me and Daddy.....

I want to look at the fish and spring tooo!!!!!

Group watching others dive into the spring....

Hope you enjoyed my pictures and review of the campground...

Hillsborough River State Park Part 2

2008-05-17T15:00:00.023-04:00

This is part 2 of our Hillsborough River State Park visit. This post will only be about the campground area and will show some of the nicer sites. At least in my opinion...... My wife is worried by sharing these sites, we won't be able to get any..... I think the more we share with everyone the better it is for everyone....... Please let me know what you think in my shout box at the end.

If you missed part 1 click on the link on the right side of this page.

Enjoy the tour......

This sign is at the main entrance of the park on US-301. Hillsborough River SP is located just north of Tampa, Florida.

This is the canoe launch for the campers to use. It has a small road/path leading to the launch site. However, you will need to park your vehicle back at your site due to the limited space at the launch location.

There is a community fire pit located right on the river. During our stay the ranger put on a presentation for the children. Please check with the office when checking in to see if there are any talks scheduled.. It is a great way to learn about nature...

This is a nice place to enjoy the river or fish. If you look at the right side, just beyond the concrete wall. This is the location of the campground canoe launch.

Here is one of the 3 bathhouses located in the campground.

Bathhouse #2

Bathhouse #3 This one is the newest of the 3 and has washing machines for your laundry. The bathhouses were kept clean and good shape.

There are parking spaces located by the bathhouses for extra car parking. You are limited to 2 cars per site. However, the park allows additional vehicles, but they have to be parked at these locations. Hint: If you are having friends visit during the day and you don't have more than the 8 maximum people, tell your friends to tell the ranger station that they are staying the night with you at the campsite. This will save them from the paying admission charge.

The park offers a free tram ride around the whole park on Friday evenings. They drive through the campground and all you have to do is wave them down as they pass your site. It is a nice way to see the park and it's FREE!!!!

Here is our camper on site #43. It is a really nice and secluded with lots of trees.

Another view of our spot.

I found this sign on a dead tree in the park. It helps you understand why they don't want you to gather wood from inside the park.

There is a recreation hall in the campground. It is located by the river and community campfire ring. It is not very nice, however, if you are tent camping, it would be a good place to get out of the summer thunderstorms....

The following are pictures of campsites located throughout the park.

Site #27

Site #28

Site #28 It had a small bridge along the back of the site. The bridge is a part of a trail that runs along the river.

Site #29

Site #34

Site #35

Site #36

Site #38

Site #39

Site #42

Site #43

Site #50

Site #56

Site #60

Site #64

Site #65

Site #69

Site #71 Some of the sites are paved. These are located close to the bathhouse for people who need paved sites. I love the dirt sites.... It is the kid in me....

Site #73

Site #83

Site #100

Site #101

Site #102

Site #107

I hope that it was not too boring with all of the site pictures... Part 3 will be shots of the river and the trails in the park.

Till then..... Have a Great Time Camping!!!!!!

Hillsborough River State Park Part 1

2008-05-09T19:36:00.058-04:00

We visit Hillsborough River State Park quite often since it is only 20 miles from home. Isn't great to have such awesome campgrounds so close to home? Yes it is!!!! :)

I will be doing my Hillsborough River State Park blog in 3 parts. This post I will show you what the park has to offer, Part 2 will all about the campground, Part 3 will highlight the river and the awesome trails, so keep checking back to see all 3 parts. Remember to check out my other posts on the right side.....

The park is located between Tampa and Zephyrhills Florida on US301. Here is the entrance sign on 301.

Our Campsite... Gotta love the trees......

This is other Granddaughters 1st Camping Trip.... Grand mommy is sooooo happpppyyyy!!!! Have to start them early..... We had to wait a whole 5 months to get her camping......

What about those lovely little toes.... Aren't babies great!!! It always amazes me how little everything is.... :)

Proud daddy.....

Looking for the next canoes to paddle by or does she take after daddy? He loves the Alligators.... This is nice place to sit by the river in the campground..

Here is another view of the river from the campground. Lots of people bring their canoes and kayaks to enjoy the river. Also don't forget the fishing poles....

The park has a free tram tour of the whole park every Friday night. They drive through the park and all you need to do is wave them down to take the tour. It is a great way to see all of the fun things to do around the park...

Believe it or not!!! This park has a large swimming pool.....

See I told you so!!!! However, if you plan on going to the pool you should get there early. They shut the gate when more than 230 people are in the pool area. I do not understand this logic because this pool is huge!!!! Also, make sure you get your pool passes when checking in to the campground. This saves you $2.00 per person per day.

There is a nice store and restaurant located next to the pool. However, if you require ice, make sure you get to the store in the morning.... They sell out fast......

Here is the front of the store... The pool is only a short walk or bike ride from the campground. There is a shortcut out of the campground...

There is a large bathroom by the pool and lots of picnic tables.... I did not get pictures, but if you take a evening bike ride to the pool at dusk this area is full of Turkey Vultures!!! You can ride your bikes right through the packs of them... Sort of spooky........

Back to the fun stuff...... The pool picnic area has a great playground....

You can rent bikes and canoes at the store..

Here are the rental canoes.... They have an easy launching system to get the canoes in to the river...

At the rental canoe launch area there is a shelter that shows how high the water reached when this area flooded.... Do you see the marking???

That's right!!!! It is all the way up on the Roof!!!! Holy Cow!!!! The water was really high in 1988.....

There is a public canoe launch of the main parking lot by the pool. Part 2 I will show you the campground canoe launch area... Make sure you check back...

The park has a rec hall, I don't know how much they charge to rent this hall. There is another rec hall located in the campground.

There are numerous playgrounds throughout the park...

This playground is located near the park rec hall. I do not think many people know about this playground since it is back in the park aways..

The park has numerous picnic shelters located in many places scattered throughout the park...

Nice fishing location in the park...

What a better place to teach your children to fish!!! I cannot wait until our grand baby is ready to hold her fishing pole.... No doubt... Uncle Stephen will be the one teaching her.....

The park offers a tour of Fort Foster State Park. This park can only be accessed by taking the tour from Hillsbourgh River State Park. You catch the tram at the interpretive center. The tram takes you down a dirt road. Then you have to walk along the old Florida road. As you get closer a fort appears. Just image how great it looked if you were a soldier venturing through Indian territory to be back safe...

Here is some information from the parks website:

Fort Foster State Historic Site is part of Hillsborough River State Park, though located on the East Side of US 301 from the park. Fort Foster is a reconstructed fort from the Second Seminole War. The Fort is located 1800 feet from the parking lot and has no restrooms available. Tours of the fort are offered (weather permitting) on Weekends and an annual Fort Foster Rendezvous with skirmishes is held in February.

As we get closer you can see the gun openings in the fort...

Inside they have is equipped like it was in the old days.... Here is the dinner table...

Bunk beds..... I think I will stay in my motorhome, thank you very much.... :)

Inside the picket fence walls it is quite nice....

The supply house and store for the troups...

They carried all kinds of goods!!!

The lovely Wife thinking what she should get us for dinner..... I think I will pass tonight... Wait!!!!

I do most of the cooking while camping.... Just kidding.... I do the grilling she does everything else....

The hospital was located above the store... I do believe this type of hospital would make you desire to get better in a hurry...

Checking out the old bridge to the fort... See the Ranger? They give a great tour of the fort... Not to long or short..... That's what I like.... :)

Enough for today.... Time to get the fire going.....

Must have our Smores....

Check back soon for part 2. It will be all about the campground...

Till next time..... Have a Great Time Camping.....

Front Hitch Mounting Instructions

2008-04-29T17:14:00.045-04:00

Here is how I mounted my front hitch on my 2004 Winnebago Winnie 31C on a Ford E-450 chassis.

I purchased my hitch from etrailer.com, they had the best price that I could find.

The instructions that came with the hitch did not say that you had to remove the front bumper. However, there are only 4 bolts that hold the bumper on, so I just removed the bumper for the installation.

Here are the tools you will need:

13/16 deep socket
3/4 socket
ratchet
drill
9/16 drill bit
Diagonal cutters (wire cutter)

Helper (I drafted my Son for this)

It took us about 1 1/2 hours to complete this project in my driveway.

Lets get started.....

Camper before we began

You will need to remove plastic shroud under the bumper. Use the diagonal cutters to carefully pull out the plastic pin and then the plastic rivet. There are 2 of these, one on each side. The shroud will be easily removed after removing the 2 plastic rivets.

This is the outside bumper bolt on the passenger side. It takes the 13/16 deep well socket. Only remove the large nut, the small nuts stay in place.

Here is the inside bumper bolt on the passenger side. It is a tight fit with the horns right beside it. You can put a hand through the opening in the grill to help with this.

This is the outside bumper bolt of the drivers side. Again, only remove the large nut.

This is the inside bumper bolt on the drivers side.
This is an easy bolt to reach. Warning, I left one nut on slightly, on each side until I could get my son out of the house to help remove the bumper. He was studying for his college finals. Got to have my priorities... Ha Ha Ha... Just joking....

We removed the bumper and set it off to the side. The bumper is not to heavy.

The 2 hitch mounting holes on the passenger side. We will be using the oblong hole in the back and the smaller hole (inside the frame) in the front of the picture to mount the hitch.

The mounting holes on the drivers side.

You don't have to do anything to install the back mounting bolts. Use the carriage bolt and the plate that comes with the hitch. Looking the the side holes, I have no ideal how you would get these items inside the frame without removing the bumper. I know some people have done it, but I would rather remove the bumper.

This is the passenger side.

This is the drivers side. The hitch instructions show the metal plates are suppose to be mounted across the frame. However, they are to long to do this.

I could not resist to test fit the hitch, looks pretty good to me.... You have to slide the hitch towards the rear in order to get the front holes to align.

This is the front mounting hole on the passenger side. You have to enlarge this hole. I used a 9/16 drill bit, it worked for me.

The same hole on the drivers side. You also have enlarge this hole.

Here are the 2 bolts and plates installed on the drivers side. I forgot to take pictures of the enlarged holes and the passenger side. Forgive me.... :)

The hitch is installed!!!!!!!

We reinstalled the bumper. This is the inside passenger nut. It is still difficult to reach but can be done.

Warning: Tighten both outside nuts first, then check and make sure the bumper is level. There are some adjustments to level out the bumper.

Here is the inside bolt on the drivers side.

Reinstall the plastic shroud, rivets, and pins. This took a little finesse to get it back in place. I wanted to make sure that it was installed to make sure the engine cooling system was correct. You know it is very hot in Florida during the summer...

Hallelujah!!! We are done...... I think we did a good job... Let me know what you think by adding your comments in my shoutbox below... Also, if you think I did something wrong, please let me know...

This is what it looks like under the bumper. You do not have to cut any of the plastic to install this hitch.

Draw-Tite Front Mount Trailer Hitch #65001

Sorry for such a long post. However, I do better when I can see pictures when I do projects.

Also, I am not an expert and do not guaranty this is the complete proper way to install the hitch. It worked for me, but, you may want to use a professional to do your installation.

Till next time, have a great time camping......

Highlands Hammock State Park Part 3

2008-04-26T13:42:00.016-04:00

Here is the last of Highlands Hammock State Park information and pictures.

You can see parts 1 & 2 on the right side under Campgrounds I have Visited link.

This part will be a little less fun as I show details on the campground area.

One of 3 three bathhouses in the park. They were clean but needed some maintenance.

This was the newest bathhouse. However, it only had 2 showers on the men's side. I didn't check out the women's side, did not feel like visiting Sebring's jail....

The other bathhouse is just like the 1st one. Clean but needing updating.

One of the roads through the campground. Mostly the roads are dirt not paved.

The following are some of the sites that I liked through the park.

Caution!!! This park is laid out very strange!!! Make sure that you bring extra water hoses and RV electric extension cords, the heavy duty kind. Some of the sites have the water and power connections on the wrong side of the sites or all the way at the front of the site. Additionally, some sites fire rings will be behind the camper, very strange.

With this said, here are the sites that I liked:

Site #110

Site #69

Site #121

Site #128

Unknown site number

Site #122, this was our site. Nice drive through site with no neighbors on the picnic table side.

Site #10

Site #50

This is the end of our trip to Highlands Hammock SP. Next up is Hillsborough River State Park. I should be posting on Monday or Tuesday.

Have a great time camping.....

Highlands Hammock State Park Part 2

2008-04-23T15:43:00.014-04:00

This is part 2 of our camping trip to Highlands Hammock State Park. If you missed part 1 you can click on the link on the right side under "Campgrounds That I Have Visited".

I hope you enjoy these photos...

Road through the park. The road is one way it is around a 3 1/2 mile loop through the park. It is mostly shaded and a great ride after the park has closed to cars for the night. We even saw lightning bugs (sorry no pictures of them), it is the first time I have seen them in Florida for 20+ years. The road is never really busy, the reason is the parking area at the trail heads is limited and the only picnic area is next to the CCC museum at the entrance to the park.

The park offers a tram ride that takes you way back into the park that is not open to the public. It makes it's way through five different habitats.

It costs $4.00 per adult and $2.00 per child. However, it is well worth the money. I almost guarantee that you will see wildlife.

Can you see the baby gator? Look close.....

Here is another baby gator we saw along the ride. They are really cute when they are young... Notice the yellow stripes..

Beware though... whenever you see baby gators.. Momma is.......

CLOSE BY!!!!!!!! Watch Out........

We also saw a deer getting a drink of water.. But I was tooo sloooow on getting the camera up... dang it....

Beautiful Blue Herron searching for its next meal... The ranger told us that they will eat the baby gators....

But they better be fast or momma gator will eat them.... Isn't nature crazy....

Well this is end of the tram pictures.

Next we rode our bikes to the trail that had "The Big Oak" tree.

This is one big old oak tree....

Pretty lumpy... I guess even trees get lumpy as they get old....

Way back in the 40's or 50's the park saved 2 or 3 of these old oak trees by filling up the rotted out centers with concrete... The trees have grown around the concrete.

Here you can see a patch of the concrete..

I wonder what today's tree surgeons would think about this method? But the trees are still alive and growing...

Here is another trail boardwalk.

You see all kinds of creatures along these trails..

I think this is some kind of moth!

This spider web looks almost like a CD... I hope the moth does not get caught up in the deadly music...

This bird was going crazy eating the berries back in the woods. They must be some awesome berries......

Like I promised from part 1....

We came across 3 wild boars grubbing for some food. They ran way so I had to zoom in for these shots. Sorry they are a little blurry.

Here is a closer shot of one of the boar.

They were orange with black spots.

Good Morning....

Still smokey from the controlled burn. The ranger later told me they call it "prescribed burns". I guess it is more politically correct.... :)

Pretty smokey... Luckily it dissolved pretty quickly once the sun came up.....

Even 4 days after the burn there was still hot spots burning in the woods.

The ranger said they do burns year round and you can call ahead of time to see if they are doing any burns. This is important if you have medical issues.

The park has a large recreation room that the public can rent. Believe it is $100 per day.

There is a large playground by the rec room. This area is right off the main camping area and if you have children I would make sure you find this area to let the kids play. It is a nicer playground than the one right in the campground.

Well this is enough for now... There will be one more part of my Highlands Hammock stay, it will show more details of the campgrounds.

Have a great time camping......

Highlands Hammock State Park

2008-04-22T13:10:00.001-04:00

We visited Highlands Hammock State Park April 11 - 13, 2008. The following are our photos and some highlights of our visit.

Photo courtesy of http://www.centralfloridasearch.com/hhammock.shtml

Map of park.

Courtesy of http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/south/trails/highlands_hammock.htm

Our Campsite #122. They did a controlled burn a couple of days before we arrived. Notice the fire damage in the back.

Typical campground road. The roads through the park are paved. The campground roads are dirt.

One of the main road into the campsite.

Cypress Swamp Trail is one of the nicest trails in the park. It has a long boardwalk section that goes over swamps and creeks. Click on picture to better read the sign.

Entrance to the trail. The beautiful lady in these pictures is my lovely wife. Lucky me...... :)

The boardwalk is handicap accessible until this point. Then it becomes only 4 boards wide.

If your not careful you could fall in!!! This is me, I know..... How did he get such a awesome wife? I am trying to figure that one out tooo.....

The boardwalk traverses swamps and creeks...

What might be right under your feet???

Alligator!!!!!!!! Just waiting for the visitor to fall in...

Here is a close up view of these prehistoric creatures... Common in almost all Florida waterways... Please Do Not feed them!!!

Midpoint of the boardwalk has a nice place to sit and watch nature

The trail leads to a fern covered trail.

Another view of the boardwalk through the ferns.

Toppled over tree along the walk. It probably fell during one of the 3 hurricanes that passed over this area in 2004.

The park features a CCC museum.

CCC = Civilian Conservation Corps

(1933 – 42) U.S. unemployment program. One of the earliest New Deal programs, it was established to relieve unemployment during the Great Depression by providing national conservation work primarily for young unmarried men. Recruits lived in semi-military work camps and received $30 a month as well as food and medical care. Projects included planting trees, building flood barriers, fighting forest fires, and maintaining forest roads and trails. It employed a total of 3 million men during its existence.

Old grader in front of the museum.

One of the many displays inside. The museum is free, however please make a donation. It is worth. We spent about an hour looking at all of the displays.

Well enough for today...

I have added more information and photos. Click on Highlands Hammock Part 2 on the right side under the Heading "Camps that I have Visited".

Have a great time camping......

Different Use for Ladder Rack Bike Rack.

2008-04-20T17:17:00.000-04:00

Here is a neat way to haul my folding grill on the back of my camper. I was thinking about getting a rack that hooks to my receiver. But, i wanted to carry 4 bikes using a hitch rack.

I then debated on installing a front receiver. But I determined that I want to use the front mount for a scooter that I want to purchase. A scooter is all I need when I am camping to run to the store if I forgot (really my Wife, but we won't tell her) some items.

I remembered that I had an old ladder bike rack in my shed from the old 5th wheel, 6 bike camping trips, make the kids share 4 bikes now :) and thought, would this hold my grill?

Enough already... Lets see the pictures.... (click on photo to enlarge)

The grill is from Home Depot ($49.00) I placed the rack high enough on the ladder rack so my bikes can be on the bike rack without hitting the grill.

Here is a closer side view. Can you see that the lip of the grill fits perfectly into the V mounts that the bike would sit on?

I used a ratcheting strap placed through the grill handles around the ladder and back to the front to secure the grill. I know that I could cut the extra length of the strap! But, I like having options if I require a longer strap somewhere during my trips.

Another closer view from the other angle. I also use a bungee cord to hold the grill shut when removing the grill. The flimsy clip on the grill cover allows the grill to pop open when it wants... Had to many charcoal dusk showers... Learned my lessen. :).

I will be posting pictures from Highlands Hammock State Park and Hillsborough River State Park in the next couple of days.

Thanks for visiting my site. Please feel free to email me your thought at Blog@CallTampa.com

Have a great time camping....

Welcome to my Campground Blog

2008-04-15T18:33:00.000-04:00

I have been wanting to create a blog site that reviews campgrounds from my point of view and others. I also want to show photos and provide links so your family can enjoy the campgrounds.

Fort at Hillsborough River State Park, Tampa, Florida

http://www.floridastateparks.org/hillsboroughriver/