We briefly visited John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Florida.
An interactive map:
Entrance:
Visitor center aquarium:
Gift store:
Cannon Beach:
Far Beach:
We briefly visited John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Florida.
An interactive map:
Entrance:
Visitor center aquarium:
Gift store:
Cannon Beach:
Far Beach:
While exploring Everglades National Park, we drove through a portion of Big Cypress National Preserve, north of Everglades, checked out its two visitor centers, had a picnic lunch, and a stroll along some boardwalks.
Jenn collected her passport stamps at both visitor centers:
Exhibits at the Oasis Visitor Center:
A short boardwalk in front of the visitor center:
There were several alligators hanging out below the boardwalk; clearly on the park staff:
A bunch of birds, too:
Continuing on, we stopped for a picnic lunch at Kirby Storter Roadside Park:
There was also a boardwalk there through the swamp, a little less than a mile roundtrip:
Finally, Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center:
Also with a short boardwalk:
A bit different kind of swamp from what we saw in Everglades.
Biscayne National Park is one of the rare national parks that is mostly water, on the coast south of Miami, Florida.
We visited for a sail, paddle, and snorkel trip.
Our boat:
Heading out:
Birds:
Map; we sailed out to Coon Point on Elliot Key:
Snorkeling; I used my 360 camera, but had some technical difficulties, so didn’t get many pictures:
Other boats:
Raising our sail:
Some paddling into the mangroves:
Sitting up front on the way back:
Lighthouse:
A fun excursion.
We explored several areas of Everglades National Park in Florida.
A map of the park:
A map in a visitor center:
Entrance sign:
The Royal Palm area of the park was closest to our campsite, with some nice walks:
Can you spot a turtle?
Here it is:
Also nearby is a relic of the Cold War: the HM69 Nike missile base:
Gulf Coast Visitor Center was under construction, so they used a modular building:
West Lake:
We were amused by Rock Reef Pass, elevation 3 feet:
We stayed at Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort in Clermont, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)
TTO (as it’s commonly called) is the flagship Thousand Trails park, with over a thousand sites.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Our review on Campground Reviews:
The flagship Thousand Trails park
It’s good to know what’s what before showing up at TTO. Half the park is older, with rundown pads and a kind of state park feel, and half the park is newer, like a perfectly manicured RV resort. And if you’re used to the usual Thousand Trails “first come first served” rigamarole, you might be confused by how they do things here. I prefer the orderly check-in process with the rangers knowing what sites are available and guiding you to what’s there. This place is so huge, that you’d be crawling the lanes for hours before finding one on your own. I hate having to find a place at other TT parks. Our site was on the “older” side of the park, backed up to some trees, which was nice. There was a bit of a drop-off at the end of our pad, but it was long enough for our 40′ coach, and we were able to park our truck on the grass alongside it. It was kind of downhill in a hollow, so cell reception was not great but Starlink was just fine. We camped at Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
A rather steep drop-off:
I needed to use my power extension cord for the first time ever (other than at Mom’s):
I had fun tossing a ball for this very good boy whenever I went to top up our water tank or dump our waste tanks:
The nearby bathrooms were closed the entire time, but they had portapotties for the few people who needed them (and I did use one once, as we sanitized our fresh water tank while here):
There were a few big storms that rolled through; here are a couple of screenshots of one (with a potential tornado southwest of us!):
Big checkers board:
Rec center:
Mail info; they charge $5 per package, and suggest alternatives:
Group fire pit:
Mini golf:
Pickleball courts:
Boat launch:
Hibiscus flower:
Tortoise:
Grasshopper:
A large crane-like bird:
There were several that roamed the grounds:
Other sites:
One section has buddy sites:
A massive campground. We’ve already been back again since this, and no doubt will be back more times in the future.
A brief video of birds and a sunset at Meaher State Park in Alabama.
We stayed at Meaher State Park in Spanish Fort, Alabama. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A delightful state park with spacious sites and lots of wildlife. The I-10 freeway across the water isn’t ideal, but not too bad.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Gorgeous sunsets, distant hum of I-10
This is a lovely state park along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Gorgeous views of the water, and various shorebirds. I-10 is visible, but the hum is distant and pretty much just background white noise. There are many nice walking trails in the park, including a boardwalk through the wetlands. Sites were large and nicely spread out. We’d definitely stay here again. We camped at Meaher State Park in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site, backing onto the water:
Utilities:
Shortly before we left, I got out my telescoping ladder to clear off a bunch of large pinecones that had fallen on our coach:
Not too bad, though (a rare look at our roof; I’ve still never been on it, and this was only the second time I’ve used the ladder to clear stuff off it):
Behind our site:
“Do not feed or harass the alligators” — we didn’t see any, but they’re probably all brumating by this time:
We were warned that there were invasive ants in the area, and advised to sprinkle borax around the coach (which we did). We saw some ants, but none near our coach:
Other sites:
Cabins:
Tents:
The entrance station:
Baby turtle crossing:
Fungus:
Bathrooms:
Other bathrooms:
Picnic shelter:
Boat ramp area:
Kayaks etc:
Boat ramps and dock:
Kayak dock:
There were lots of birds in the area:
Some bees:
A small beach, popular for fishing:
A nice delta boardwalk:
A fishing pier:
One evening I went for a walk to the fishing pier shortly before the sun set, and enjoyed watching the sunset and hundreds of birds:
Back to our coach:
Another day, another sunset behind our site:
A very nice state park. We’d definitely stay here again.
Another very scenic and curvy road is Iron Mountain Road, that connects the Mount Rushmore area and Custer State Park.
An interactive map:
Bison:
There are three narrow tunnels on this road:
One-way road:
Another tunnel:
Pigtail loop road:
Low narrow tunnel:
The third tunnel:
This tunnel has a view of Mount Rushmore:
Pigtail loop road:
One-way roads:
Mount Rushmore view:
A fun drive.
We also visited the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.
The South Unit is easier to get to, and thus more popular, but in our opinion not quite as interesting. Still scenic, though. This post is about the South Unit; see yesterday’s post for the North Unit.
Here’s a map:
An interactive map:
Entrance:
Info signs:
Info signs:
Display:
Gift store:
Exhibits:
Jenn and David:
Prairie dog town:
Wild horses:
Bison:
Wild horses:
Hike:
We visited the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming — five museums in one, on western topics.
Map in the foyer:
Natural history museum:
Library:
Gallery of gunfighters:
Buffalo Bill museum:
AR:
Plains Indian museum:
Buffalo Bill’s house:
Bald eagle:
Art museum:
Gift store:
Some interesting exhibits.