Marv had found Ross Prairie when we were looking for anyplace we could make a reservation over a weekend (not easy to do in Florida). It was only about an hour from Juniper Springs campground and we weren’t in a big hurry, but since we had to drive right through the city of Ocala on our way it took awhile. We got to Ross Prairie and were set-up by about noon. It was built in 2003 as an Equestrian-only campground in the Ross Prairie State Forest but it seems like it has been taken over by the State Park system—it’s all a little unclear. There are only 16 sites, all pull through, in a sandy “field” with few trees, and it’s right on the Highway. But there were only a few sites taken (one which has horses with them) so it was pretty quiet other than the highway noise. We ate lunch and then took the 2.1 Holly Hammock hiking trail. Even to our untrained eyes, there was a different look to a holly hammock than an oak hammock. The forested part consisted of mostly long leaf pines with a few old, big live oaks, and an assortment of other oaks. But the understory was made up of a couple of kinds of holly and fewer palmettos than we had seen in other areas. And there wasn’t as much Spanish moss hanging from the oaks. We also saw several dry low areas, as small as 5 acres and as large as 50 acres, which apparently fill with water in the wet season but are dry and prairie grass-filled now. It was pretty in its own way with the breeze blowing the grasses and no sound but the wind and occasional birds. Later, after relaxing at our camper for half an hour or so, we headed into nearby Dunnellon to do 3 loads of laundry, get a bite to eat, and get groceries. This was also our chance to do some “housework” as we cleaned all the counters and the bathroom, swept the carpets, and wiped up the linoleum floor. That should hold us for another 2 weeks.
For having no plans at all, Saturday turned out to be a very nice day. We saw that the Crystal River Archaeological State Park, Crystal River Preserve, and an historic sugar cane mill were about half an hour away so we packed a lunch and left for the day. The Visitor’s Center at the Preserve was technically closed but a very helpful guy was locking it up to go across the canal to a meeting and he gave us lots of information on the area. He also told us that a group of volunteers was working across the canal on building a replica of a Civil War-era flat bottom boat. First he showed us the scale model that was finished and then he encouraged us to go over and see what they were doing. It was very interesting to watch the 10 or so people work and they were friendly and willing to chat. Next we drove to the Archaeological Park. It is a complex of mounds left from native people who built and used them between 400 BCE and 500 AD. Two are temple mounds, two are burial mounds and others are thought to be “priest” mounds and shell “middens” or trash heaps. There is a nice visitor center and an elderly but very knowledgeable volunteer gave us about a 20 minute introduction and demonstration of the exhibits and then we watched an 8 minute video about what they have discovered about the area. We walked more than a mile on the paths, pausing to listen to the recorded messages on boxes at different points. We also enjoyed our picnic at a table right on the river as it leads out into the Gulf of Mexico. The volunteer also told us of a nice bike path we could take that was about 10 minutes away. It is a paved rail-to-trail along a wide canal that was very nice to pedal. It’s very natural and wild all along it and leads first to a tidal estuary and then to the shore of the Gulf, looking out towards many islands. Along the way we saw an osprey nest on which a pair of osprey were sitting, two deer, and many fisherpersons at the frequent roofed shelters along the canal. The day was sunny and 80 degrees and it was a most pleasant 10+ mile ride. We stopped for ice cream on the way back to camp and the servings were so large we both took about half back to put in the freezer to enjoy later. At the campground we both took showers before we enjoyed a hearty salad of couscous, canned salmon, feta, and lots of veggies.
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