In March we did our yearly five day camping trip. It is the only long (for us) trip we do because we have cats and they have to come along if we are gone more than a couple of days. We choose a place that is close to Gainesville where the Gator National Drag Races take place. Every year we have stayed at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch campground.
Ridiculous Heat
This year we stayed in a new campsite and it wasn’t as great as I had hoped. In fact we checked out a day early and it was mostly because of the weather. It was hot! You never know what you’ll get when it comes to March in Florida. It can be cold, hot, rainy, stormy – or a little of all of it. This time, it was simply hot. I do not camp well in the heat.
Even though we went north, it was hotter than at our home! It was just a freak hot spell. I don’t even know how my son handled it at the racetrack. He was born in Florida and has lived here all of his 43 years – and he likes the heat – but he admitted it was too hot.
The Campsite
I’d always thought that site #17 would be awesome. It is very spacious and not close to the other sites, except for the one across the road – which we have also stayed in. But site 17 is very sandy. There is not much to see, and I’ve decided that I like being on the outside of the loop where I can see the forest and grassy fields. Site 17 is going to become a Host site, meaning it won’t be available for booking. I discovered this when I was called and asked to change my Thanksgiving reservation – which would have been site #17.
The Flora
Except for a few squirrels, I saw no wildlife on this trip. I took a walk on one of the cooler mornings and saw nothing! I was hoping for deer, or a gopher tortoise, but no luck. However, I did find some really cool flora.
From what information I have seen online, this is the Florida purple thistle.
My son and I took a drive – because this campground is very large and spread out. We went to check out one of the lakes – and the water was very low. We are having a drought. This thistle was growing along the side of the road in this remote area. It was stunning!
As we headed back to the campsite, I spotted this area of blooming plants. I had no idea what it was. Later as I looked at my photos, it reminded me of lupins that grow in New England. Sure enough this one is a Skyblue Lupin. How gorgeous is this patch of flowers?
We were lucky to be camping in Spring when these wildflowers bloom. The lupins are mostly found in north Florida it seems, while thistles grow all over the state. Of course you will never see these plants unless you venture into the Florida wilderness – what’s left of it.
The Cats
My cats mostly stayed inside the camper. Fontana is old and just likes to sleep. She gets nervous when taken outside the camper. Skittle is not one to sit happily indoors, so she got to walk on her leash and spent time in her crate in the shade. But we had the AC running most of the time, and the cats were inside. I had to sit inside too, which is not what I like to do when camping.
Skittle likes to have a view. And out this window, down over that little hill, is where the tent camping area is. The whole section was closed at this particular time, so it was a great place to walk and explore.
I discovered that the tent sites each have their own water and electric hookups. This is pretty sweet because I believe that most tent camping areas do not have water at each site. I’m not sure about electric. I wrote a post about tent camping in Florida.
This was one of the few times I really didn’t enjoy myself while camping. My son went to the races and loved that, but next year we plan to do it differently. Maybe book a site down at the Lake Loop, where we have never stayed.
Thanks for reading…. Do you have any camping stories to share? Please leave a comment.
