Chapter 11: Highland Hammock (Feb. 18-23)

Saturday, after getting everything packed and closed, we decided to stroll over to see if the owners were “home” at the other TrailManor just around the loop from us. Paula was there but Phil wasn’t when we got there. She is very friendly and chatty so she invited us in and showed us all around and had us sit and talk. Phil called twice to say he was on his way and then that he was delayed at another campsite. As we began to leave he came home so we ended up staying a good bit longer to talk with him. He is a GM retiree who took his first opportunity to leave and they are about our age. We really enjoyed talking to them and learning more about how they had gotten to know Louise at the pancake breakfasts last year. It would be great if we would run into them another year on a visit to Oscar Scherer, a park to which we definitely would like to return. It was after 11:00 by the time we got away from there but it was only a couple of hours’ drive to Highland Hammock so it didn’t matter. We got set up and walked around a bit to reacquaint ourselves with the Park. We were here exactly one year ago, when we found the campground crazy-full of families with a gazillion kids because of Presidents’ Day weekend. But this time we know it will empty out considerably on Monday, leaving just us old people here for the rest of our stay. Marv cleverly hitched up the luggage rack to his bike and used it as a little trailer to get a load of firewood from the camp office. We had a fire to cook our hot dogs but it turned out to be pretty green pine which barely did the job. Afterwards we got back on our bikes to ride out on the “Loop Drive” to the Amphitheater, where we had been told there would be a Ranger Program at 7:30. But the gate was closed and we couldn’t figure out how people were supposed to get there. As we stood puzzling about it, a Police Van drove up and told us we couldn’t enter because the park closes at sun down. When we explained our predicament, he told us there was another Amphitheater in the campground. We hurried to find it and were relieved to get there before 7:30 but chagrined to find she had started at 7:00. It was an okay presentation of how animals are adapted to use other senses after dark. But the sky was full of stars so it was pleasant to sit there in the dark with half an ear on the presentation, looking up at the stars.

Sunday we made the 9:30 service at nearby Emmanuel UCC, a church which takes its charge to be welcoming of all people very seriously. We were greeted several times on our way into and out of the sanctuary. We were very comfortable with the service and intrigued with the projected PowerPoint which was used to good advantage for the whole service. We talked to Chuck and Cindy(?), who invited us to the Coffee Hour afterwards and then sat with us and chatted, making us feel very welcome. From there we went to Publix in Sebring for groceries and got back soon after noon to make lunch and settle in to watch MSU beat Purdue on our TV in the camper. It was very hot, humid, & windy, with a high wind advisory and the threat of severe weather so we took down the awning and put away the table & chairs. But although we had a few spitting showers, it never really rained like we feared. There were some good gusts of wing so it is good that we took down the awning. When the game was over we rode our bikes on the loop drive, going about 4 miles, and stopping once to do the Fern Garden trail. We saw one alligator mama with babies along the road in the about same place we saw one last year. We read for a while before making meatless spaghetti for dinner, doing the dishes, and trying to figure out where all the little ants we’re seeing are living. We’ll have to do some serious spraying tomorrow.

After a nice breakfast of bacon and pancakes, we spent Monday morning picking up a few things in Sebring, including ant spray and a supply of quarters, and then Marv worked on securing the trailer from ants and we both did laundry. Highland Hammock has 3 washers and driers in the nearby modern bathroom and it’s only $1.00 per wash load and 75¢ per dryer load. That’s the best deal we’ve found and it’s so convenient to just walk it all over there and get it done at one time. After splitting our usual sandwich for lunch we rewarded ourselves with a nice long bike ride. A 4 mile Rotary Club bike trail took us to US 27, which we could cross with a light. We proceeded clockwise around Lake Jackson. It was an easy pedal for the most part, usually within sight of the shoreline, past homes that ran the gamut of price and size. Most had docks or lake access of some sort, but they nearly all stopped well short of the lake, which is clearly several feet down from its usual level. About halfway around the lake there are some new, palatial homes, but the majority were older and more modest. Many were for sale and we had to wonder if the lake level had anything to do with that. We didn’t go through the downtown area of Sebring, which was a block or two off of the lake view drive. We had planned on stopping someplace for ice cream as a break, but we never saw a place to do that. Before we knew it we were back to US 27 and to our cross street to go back to the park. With the wind now to our backs we stopped at a gas station a few miles from the park and got a Snickers ice cream bar. When we got back to the campsite we had ridden just over 18 miles. We relaxed for a bit then showered and were surprised to find it was after 6:00. A performer named Darryl Conrad was singing at 6:30 at the campfire area so we elected to delay dinner to go hear him. We had enjoyed him last year and found he did a similar program this year. We stayed for most of it before I was uncomfortably cool and we both were getting hungry. Grilled salmon, angel hair pasta and a salad never tasted better.

After that full day, Tuesday was the opposite. We took our coffee for a walk on the short Allen Alvater trail in the area across from our campsite. It was interesting to see how it had changed since last year, when they had done a prescribed burn that was much in evidence then. We talked to Ross & Pat, who said they’d arrive about 1:00. We took it easy the rest of the day and read and Marv fixed a few things. Leftover salmon made for nice Caesar salads for lunch. Ross and Pat got there a bit later than expected because of all the lights on US27. We chatted and caught up on each other for the rest of the afternoon then ate separate dinners. Ross brought his telescope over and the three of us went stargazing until his battery was giving out. He came back to our trailer for a while because Pat was watching a video and we continued talking until bedtime.

Marv went to the office first thing on Wednesday morning to get Tram tickets for all four of us. Despite being there soon after 8:00, they had sold out the regular 1:00 ride, added and sold out a 2:30 ride, and then added a 10:30 ride, which would be Ranger Judy’s last tour before she leaves to go to another State Park. He got tickets for that so our day’s plan changed a bit. We did things at the campsites before riding bikes the short distance to the CCC Museum, where we boarded the Tram. Like last year, we saw many alligators (including lots of babies), black vultures, and turtles. We also saw 2 egrets and a Great Blue Heron, along with some small birds. The people who were riding backwards saw about 5 deer running into the brush but they were gone before the rest of us could turn and look. It was a pleasant hour and a quarter, after which we visited the CCC Museum. Marv & I ate lunch and read while Ross & Pat ate lunch and drove into Sebring to get some groceries. When they returned, Marv, Ross and I rode our bikes on the Loop Drive, stopping to walk to The Big Tree, hike the Cyprus Swamp Trail, and hike the Ancient Hammock Trail, totaling about a mile and a half and bringing our walking to just over 2 miles at this park. For dinner each couple made a large salad to take to the Potluck dinner, which is held every Wednesday. There was a nice spread of food, with 5 different plates of deviled eggs. While we ate I noticed an armadillo (the first we’ve seen on this trip) walking in the parking lot. Ross & Pat left after eating to go to an Ash Wednesday service at St. Agnes in Sebring but we stayed and listened to a couple who played guitar and mandolin and sang. They usually have a third person with them and it seemed like they were really missing his voice. Walking back to our campsite afterwards we saw three deer. Back at the camper we both took showers and then settled in to listen on Spartan Radio to MSU playing at Minnesota. They managed to pull out a win in the final seconds of the game—PHEW!!