Just east of Jacksonville, Florida is Kathryn Abbey Hanna State Park is an unusual spot. To its north is Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve. In fact there are many reserves to the north and west. There is so much water in this area, it boggles the mind – Back River, St. John’s River, Pumpkin Hill Creek, Clapboard Creek, Trout River, Ribauld River and more. We went exploring some of these reserves, but they are so vast, one could spend a lifetime exploring all the waterways. But then, as often happens, the best was right in our back yard – in Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park, a great blend of beautiful beach on one side and a number of lakes on the other, where birds and alligators abound. While Martha, Ruff and Sandra took a Tuk Tuk tour of Jacksonville, I explored Kathryn Hanna.
Moving up to North Beach didn’t take long, and it was a pretty drive up the coast with the Inland Waterway to our west. We were in North Beach Camp Resort last year and we loved it. It’s a beautiful beach, a very nice campground with good facilities and a good staff and there are restaurants on either end. We met up with Ruff and Sandra, got settled and went to Aunt Kate’s on the Tolomato River for cocktails and dinner. We still rate Kate’s Key Lime pie as the best……well north of the Keys anyway.
Tolomato River
The next morning we walked on the beach for an hour, then went to the grocery store.
We drove east across Florida from Manatee Springs State Park to Tomoka State Park, passing near beautiful Ocala. It’s like Lexington, Kentucky, with gorgeous horse farms. This is the height of show season, and big horse trailers were traveling to events. Tomoka sits between Orlando and Jacksonville, just north of Daytona Beach and south of Flagler Beach. It is a very nice state park with well-protected campsites and sand roads. The Tomoka River runs through the middle of it, providing a great place to kayak.
We have never been to this park, so we drove around exploring “The Scenic Trail Loop”. It is certainly scenic. It was Bike Week, so lots or Harleys were also driving the loop, mixed in with local travelers. I came to a frantic stop at Boardman Pond, a beautiful spot on the Halifax River. I grabbed my camera, tripod and walked back up the busy road, and for 40 frightening minutes took a hundred pictures of ducks, little blue herons, big blue herons and great egrets as cars whizzed by a few feet behind us. It’s a dangerous place to shoot, but would prove to be the best of the trip. I would later learn there is a viewing platform on the other side, but we would not see so much at that location.
Green Winged Teal
Big Blue Heron
Little blue heron
Egret
Big Blue Heron
Blue Winged Teal
Little Blue Heron
Little blue heron
We drove over to Ormond Beach and went into Hull’s Seafood Market, maybe the best we have ever been into and bought a big Tripple Tail filet to grill over the fire. After lunch, we put the kayaks in and paddled Tomoka River for an hour or so. In the middle of the float, I was surprised by my phone ringing. It was Nick from The Apple Core. I find it difficult to understand people on a cell phone in perfect conditions, but with the wind blowing in my ears, I could barely make out what he was saying. He said he need to replace some chips and a board, that cost $450. The labor would bring it up to $920, and did I want to go ahead? “Yes, go ahead Nick.” That was an expensive bottle of wine!
This is the second time we have been to Manatee Springs, and we will be back! The campground is excellent and the springs and boardwalk are very cool. It is a short stream from the springs to the lovely Suwannee River, but don’t underestimate it. Depending on the time you come, there will be opportunities to see a large variety of wildlife. This site lists 179 species of birds sighted: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L127260. Of course, there are manatees which we were fortunate to see. This is a place for kayaking, swimming, picnicking, hiking and diving, so it is a popular spot.
We hiked a beautiful trail through the park, then went to dinner at Suwannee Belle Landing, a very good restaurant on the river. Using a shuttle service to take us up stream, we kayaked the Suwannee for two hours down to the springs. I wasn’t too excited about floating what seemed to be a docile river with little wildlife, so I didn’t take a camera. As luck would have it, I was once again proven wrong. The Suwanee is a beautiful river teeming with wildlife. We watched 50 Ibis fly into the trees, herons along the edges of the river, fish jumping, black vultures migrating and a tree full of wood storks. Sometimes it’s nice just to float along and enjoy the ride! Next time we will take a longer float and take the camera.
Suwanee River at duskBelle LandingAlligator tacosKey lime pie
How will I ever catch up?! After a few days on the road to Florida, my computer got drunk and became completely worthless. It all started with good intentions as I poured a healthy glass of wine and opened the cabinet above the table to get A&K music player. Caution! Things may have moved during travel! A book tumbled out of the cabinet, spilling the wine all over everything, including the computer. In such a hurry, I threw paper towels on the table to soak it up. It was dripping on the floor and couch. What a mess! Thankfully, the computer was closed as I grabbed a dish towel and wiped it off. Maybe it would have been OK if I hadn’t turned it upside down and sideways while drying it. Then, of course, it was covered with sticky, red wine residue, so I wiped it with a damp cloth – bad idea.
After everything was in order, I opened the computer, but it wouldn’t come on. I plugged it in, but it wouldn’t take a charge. I pushed the on/off button repeatedly until it finally came on……..briefly, but then went off. Drunken fool! I suddenly remembered previous thoughts of backing up, but ignored them. My last backup was from home a week ago. That won’t do me any good for four more weeks of travel.
A quick search took me to The Apple Core in Sarasota, Florida, rated 4.7 by 181 people. I called and talked to a very friendly and reassuring Mylissa. Since we were traveling, she told I could drop it off, and they would send it to me once it was repaired. On our way to Manatee Springs State Park, I took it into The Apple Core. Mylissa was busy talking to a couple at a small table to the left. Nick Nmey was talking on the phone while two young children played on the steps behind the counter. After the phone call, Nick listened to my problem. He said I shouldn’t have forced it to turn back on, which just gave it more more chance to arc or short circuit. He said some chips would have to be replaced, maybe the board and maybe the computer, but he felt confident he could restore it. I gave him the go ahead, and he took it over to his desk and opened it up. He called me over to see the inside, where there were still little puddles of wine and a couple of areas where it arced.
It takes a great deal of trust to leave your computer in someone’s hands. I thought of all my passwords, all my financial information, all my notes and all my pictures. But this is what he does for a living, and he is very busy, and they have a 4.7 rating by 181 people. I left it and headed for Manatee Springs.
My main purpose for the trip to Florida was to see Lew Farber and have him put more solar panels on the Airstream. Heading down I95, we stopped at Smith’s Red and White at the Dortches exit for some sausage Kelly told us about. He said it is the best, and we were looking forward to it. We took three days to get to Naples, staying in Little PeeDee State Park, Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park in Keystone Heights and Collier Seminole State Park. Martha planned the trip, and we liked all of these parks.
Little PeeDee StateMike Roess Gold Head Branch State ParkMike Roess Gold Head State ParkCollier Seminole State ParkWood Stork
Preparing for the trip to Grayson Highlands, I turned on the propane and started the refrigerator in the Airstream. Luckily, I went back for something and smelled smoke. Checking the refrigerator vent, I saw smoke coming out and quickly turned it off. I already have a leaking water tank – now what? A couple of hours later I turned it back on with the same result – smoking. OK, without fresh water or a refrigerator, what should we do? We decided to load the groceries in my big Pelican cooler and carry a case of bottled water. We might have been OK without water, because the campground has full hookups, but they have cut off the water at campsites due to drought.
I read up on a smoking refrigerator on Airforums, and there were several suggestions. One was to blow out the tube leading to the stack. Two – clean the stack by banging on it. Three – remove the refrigerator and clean the stack. Four – buy a new refrigerator for $1,500 – $2,000. Before leaving at 10:00, I blew out the tube with canned air. Three stink bugs came out. The refrigerator would not work on electric, so I opened the cover to the circuit board and removed 15 more stink bugs! Still wouldn’t work on electric, so I changed a small glass fuse. Still didn’t work on electric. I banged on the stack and more stink bugs fell out. I think the smoke was coming from roasted stink bugs. I then fired up the refrigerator on propane – no smoke 😀. I didn’t want to travel four hours with it on, so I turned it off and would fire it back up when we got there, keeping a close eye on it.
Description
Elevation: 3853 ft.
The extensive 4800-acre Grayson Highlands State Park provides any nature enthusiast premier wildlife watching potential within the mountain range home to Virginia’s highest peak, Mount Rogers. The park offers camping, picnicking, overnight horse stables, a visitor center, hiking trails, and access to the Appalachian Trail. The Rhododendron Trail can be accessed from Massie Gap in the park. Hiking along the summit of Wilburn Ridge can produce spectacular cliffside views. This trail connects to the Rhododendron Trail. The Rhododendron Trail then forks to lead into either the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail or the Appalachian Trail to Mt. Rogers (not accessible by horses). Habitats within the park range from open meadows, northern hardwoods, rocky outcrops, rhododendron thickets, sphagnum bogs, grazed pastures, Fraser fir groves, and red spruce forests. Nine trails originate within the park, but several of these connect to the extensive trail networks of Mount Rogers National Recreational Area and the Appalachian Trail. Mountain hikers should note that the least strenuous and shortest hiking trail, at 4.2 miles to the summit of Mount Rogers, originates at Massie Gap within this park. Sullivan’s Swamp can be accessed from Massie Gap, as well. This rhododendron bog holds many unique treasures, occasionally including alder and willow flycatchers. Wildlife watching in this park can be rewarding any time of the year. In addition to eastern hardwood breeders such as wood thrush, ovenbird and black-and-white warbler, in summer, visitors can look for nesting songbirds typical of high-elevation forests, such as black-throated blue, black-throated green, Canada, and chestnut-sided warblers, as well as scarlet tanager and rose-breasted grosbeaks. Spring and fall visits can produce a copious number of migratory warblers, thrushes, and vireos. This park is also home to a large diversity of other wildlife as well. Visitors should keep an eye out for black bear, bobcat, red fox, ruffed grouse, deer, and wild turkey. Salamanders can be plentiful, and this is one of the few regions where Weller’s salamander can be found.
We met our friends, Ruff and Sandra, Tuesday afternoon for a three-night stay in Grayson Highlands. They have a new camper, and were worried about pulling it up the mountain with their Honda Pilot, but they had no trouble. We enjoyed an evening by the fire catching up on the latest happenings.
Each morning I went down to the overlook for sunrise. With colors about peak, it was beautiful.
Martha and I hiked the Cabin Creek Trail the first morning. It is listed as strenuous, but really isn’t too bad unless you hike up Cabin Creek, which we did. This section of Cabin Creek is a tremendous series of waterfalls, all of which are pretty.
The next day we all hiked up Massie’s Gap Trail to see the ponies that remain wild here. We then walked up the Appalachian Trail south to the park boundary. A ranger at check-in said we would find horses there, and sure enough, three were there. A photographer was coming down and said there was a great overlook ahead, but it was socked in with fog. I love fog, as it often makes cool pictures, but I have recently had a fog overdose.
Sunrise at the overlook the next morning was cool with the clouds.
Martha’s chicken black beans and rice skillet dinnerCampground storeShower house and PepsiWayne Henderson is a highly sought-after guitar maker lives nearbyVisitor’s CenterVisitor’s Centter
We have barely scratched the surface of Grayson Highlands and will surely return. Happily, the refrigerator worked fine on propane, although not on electric. It might require a new circuit board, but I’ll read more on Airforums.
53° at 6:00, batteries at 45%, fresh water tank 0%
I went to the Museum of The Cherokee Indian. The town of Cherokee is in the middle of the Cherokee Indian Reservation, 57,000 acres of land, known as the Qualla Boundary. Their land covered large parts of North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Kentucky and measured in square miles before President Jackson threw them out, marched them on the “Trail of Tears” and took their land.
It is a large and excellent museum. It walks you through history starting at the Archaic Period 9,000 – 900 BC, showing relics from that period. In the Mississippian Period a new kind of corn was introduced, which changed things for the better. I was very interested in how they fired pottery when there were no ovens.
The history of basket-making was detailed with some huge baskets, at least one surviving from its original time. Also interesting were the tools they were able to make with wood, leather and stones. Hammers, picks, axes and of course, arrows and spears.
Their games were described, some with serious competition. Stickball was huge as well as Chunkey. Hunting and fishing would have been incredible in this area. There are so many streams and rivers.
And then the Europeans arrived. One sign describes it perfectly. At first they prospered with new tools, new ways to farm and guns. King George forbid whites settling i”n the Appalachians and all parts West. We thought we would be safe…..but then came the American Revolution.
Sequoyah, who wrote Cherokee language
Unimaginable today, a book I am reading compares “The Trail of Tears” to the “Bataan Death March”, along with the lies and dirty deals Andrew Jackson made. Some refused to go. Some hid in the mountains, so there became a “Western Band” and an “Eastern Band” of the Cherokee Nation. Thousands died along the trail, many by diseases spread by the Europeans. $3 million was given for their land, but the seller did not want to sell. It was called The Indian Removal Act, and involved not only the Cherokee, but the Chickasaw, the Creek, the Seminoles and the Choctaw, virtually all of the Native Americans in the southeast.
Charlie Roberts, the fly tier I met at Chasteen Creek, told me to try Kephart Prong and to start fishing where the stream makes a big turn away from the trail. My plan was to fish this all day. I’ve been distracted by other things, and the fishing has taken a back seat. I have fished every day, but today, that was all I was going to do. Two cars were parked in front of me when I arrived at 8:00. Now maybe that sounds late, but the sun doesn’t come up until 7:20, and it was only 50°. My guess is they were hikers. There are lots of hikers in this park, and why not? There are tons of trails that are well-marked and maintained. There are backcountry campsites all over the park. If you are a hiker, this is paradise. Of course the Appalachian Trail goes right through the center of the park along its highest ridges.
I didn’t bring the Garmin GPS, telling myself, “Why would I need it?”. I did bring the InReach, which is a satellite device that allows me to send messages and track where I go. Martha had sent a message on it asking where I was. It also has a map I can access with an app on my phone. Trouble was it wasn’t giving me any detail. Seems I need to download a map. OK, I was going to walk up the trail until I could see the stream turning away from the trail (a road really).
After crossing the beautiful stream a couple of times, I thought it turned away from the trail, so I started fishing. I came here for 9 days of fishing because I had seen so many beautiful streams on my previous trip, and this was another one. It’s the perfect size. With huge boulders, plunging pools and crystal clear water, I could see why Charlie recommended it.
I had on the purple fly with white hackle that had at least produced some interest. I don’t know what it is – maybe a purple haze. I got some small fish splashing at it, but after 40 minutes of that, I decided to switch. There was a serious hatch of tiny brown bugs, yet I didn’t see any fish rising. I was not going to fish anything that small, but I put on a # 16 brown Caddis. 20 minutes later with zero interest, I went to a Royal Wulff. Nothing. Climbing this mountain through one beautiful pool after another, there HAD to be fish in here!
It was not easy going, climbing over and around boulders, going up a steep mountain. I had to get out once to get around a waterfall, but that wasn’t so easy either. Wandering around the forest, climbing over logs and fallen trees, I watched every footstep for a moving stick. I don’t hear so well, and with a pounding stream beside me, I would never hear a rattlesnake trying to warn me. At least I didn’t want to step on one. I was relieved to get back in the stream.
There was a big hatch of these, whatever they are!
I have never seen so many hatches – constantly, all day long, and different kinds. I switched to a Light Cahill. First cast a hit! A voice said, “And now the fun begins.” Like the Purple Haze, little fish hit it, but not much else. One nice fish took it as the fly went under a rock. I thought I was caught on something, but it moved, wiggled and then it was gone. It was probably a good thing, as I would have kept it for dinner. It would turn out to be the only keeper I caught all day.
It’s bigger than this looks
“What’s the deal?” I thought. Are they full from eating all these bugs? Certainly, I have never seen so many hatches on an eastern stream, and with such variety. Was someone fishing in front of me? I didn’t think so. I hadn’t seen any footprints, although it’s all rocks, and most of those are covered with beautiful, soft moss. Or were there just too many fishermen and women in this park. I mean it’s the last place I know of where you can keep five fish over 7 inches. When I was growing up, five was the limit, but they had to be 8 inches. We used to catch and keep our limit every time out. But then, we only fished April 1st until June when the snakes came out. Summers were for smallmouth fishing or golf.
Hardly anyone walked 45 minutes up a mountain and fished all day for five 8-inch fish. The vast majority fished lower down, where the fish were stocked. Then a movie changed everything – A River Runs Through it. Now everyone fishes for trout. Still, most people are attracted to the bigger fish – trophy fish.
The stream was getting smaller and steeper with fewer pools, so I got out when I could see the trail and walked up. The shelter couldn’t be far. Usually shelters were for the Appalachian Trail, but I wasn’t sure the Trail came through here. When i arrived, two men and a woman were talking and welcomed me. They were all hikers. One man was staying at Mile High Campground “where they have showers”, he said. He likes to stay there and hike a variety of trails.
I was trying to film a hatch. You can barely see them on the left
The husband and wife were staying in a hotel where they have showers. He had knee surgery just 8 weeks ago! He said two fishermen came down earlier and hadn’t caught anything either. One said he had been fishing this stream for 30 years, and had always caught fish. He noted there are now over 100 fishing guides in the area, and it has hurt the fishing. I must say I felt better hearing that. I had worked hard all day, and although I am not the greatest fisherman, I thought I fished fairly well today. I had changed flies, tried to match the hatch and cast pretty well, but hadn’t produced a thing.
There have been articles questioning, “Are We Loving Our National Parks to Death?” Certainly, this park gets a ton of visitors. There are really only two roads in this huge park, and the traffic is heavy. The trails I have been on are well-traveled, and the campgrounds are booked solid. I could not get a site at any other campground in the park. They are booked solid, and the leaves are just starting to turn. In two weeks it will really be busy.
I love it here. These are beautiful mountains with lots of gorgeous trout streams. Yet, I caught two keepers in nine days. Kelly would have caught a lot more, but still, it is not what I expected. I had read stories of catching 50 or even 100 trout in a day. Hell, I bought a counter so I could keep track! I admit I don’t fish rainbows well, mostly because I’m not good at fishing under water. I prefer dry flies, and I prefer brook trout. I mean they smash the fly, then leap out of the water several times, run all around until you think you have a monster. Then it turns out to be an 8-inch fish. There is no better eating fish. You can clean one in 30 seconds. All you need to cook them is a pan and butter, and they are done in 5 minutes. They have a handle on each end, and when you are through eating, there is nothing left but a skeleton. Simply delicious! It has been a long time since I ate one. Even if you catch one, you can’t keep them – except here, and after a week of fishing here, I wouldn’t keep one if I did catch it.
My opinion is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park should join the rest of east coast and make the park catch-and-release, barbless fly-fishing only.
Batteries at 56% Sun only effectively hits the panels one hour a day, and it’s at a big angle then.
Charlie Roberts had told me to fish a stream up 441, the name of which I can’t remember, but he said there are two parking lots and to park on the right. Start fishing where the stream takes a big bend away from the trail. I passed Kephart Prong and stopped to check it out. I walked up the path for 10 minutes in my boat shoes before turning back. Crossing a bridge over the Oconoluftee, I wondered why I wasn’t fishing that.
I drove up the mountain, almost to the top without seeing any place with two parking lots. I did stop at several overlooks for some spectacular views. By now the crowds were out. 441 is the main road across the park, and it is also the most direct way to get to towns on the other side without driving all the way around the park. This is a popular place for motorcycles. It looked like a convention.
Coming back down the mountain I kept wondering why I wasn’t fishing the Oconoluftee, so I stopped at an access point, geared up and walked down a steep trail to the stream. I hate to be repetitive, but what a gorgeous stream, and what a gorgeous part of it. It’s smaller up here, but with big holes. I’ve never seen anything like it. There were pools, like big hot tubs as far as I could see. Sometimes there were three across the river, with little waterfalls filling them, then plunging down to the next one. The parking lot was rather large, and now I can see why. In the hot summer, what a place to come and cool off in your personal pool.
There was plenty of room to cast, and the stream is relatively easy to navigate and cross. Fishing each pool, I had a few strikes, but caught no fish in an hour before coming to a log jam. I could have gotten around it, but I wasn’t catching fish, and I remembered the book saying the fishing wasn’t good in this part of the Oconoluftee, for what reason I cannot imagine.
I went back to camp, had lunch and took a 30-minute nap. By then the day was fairly well shot. I cleaned up and thought about going to the Cherokee Museum in town, but they would probably close soon after I got there, so I opted to relax and read my book.
I went into town for a few things. Primary was to call Out of Doors Mart Airstream Dealer in Greensboro and see if they could help me with the leaking fresh water tank. Their first appointment was the first week of December, which is similar to what the dealer in Tennessee said.
Sitting in a parking lot where I could get cell service, I found a couple of Airforum posts on replacing their water tanks. They had pictures, so I could see how the system works. There is a pan that houses the water tank, protecting it against road damage. It is likely that a fitting is the source of the leak. What I was seeing was the pan draining. The cost of a new water tank is about $300 or less, but I didn’t have time to search.
At the Food Lion, I bought two gallons of water, since the water in the park tastes of chlorine. Also bought some fruit and checked out. While I was out, I decided to go check out Bryson City, just 10 miles away. It’s a cute, little town on the Tuckasegee River. It has the feel of a Fernie in British Columbia. There are lots of outdoor opportunities from here – Fontana Lake, the river, white water rafting and many trout streams across the lake. Martha would enjoy poking around the shops here, and there are interesting places to eat.
It took me a while to find it, but finally found “The Scenic Drive”, Rt. 91 along beautiful Tuckasegee River. It would be a nice river to kayak or canoe or fish. I passed a lot of RV camps in all flavors. Arriving back in Cherokee, I went to the hardware store and got the propane tank filled. The man looked frazzled. He said he couldn’t find or keep any help, so he is working six days a week. We agreed people are making more money not working. These are crazy times!
Back at camp, I had lunch and a cup of coffee and read my book for a while. I could have done that all afternoon, as it is very good, but if I was going to fish today, I had best get going. My options were to go lower on Bradley Fork that runs into the Oconoluftee at the end of the campground, or go up the mountain to Chasteen Creek. I opted for the latter. It is listed as a small stream, lightly fished, with brookies in it. I thought dinner might be coming my way.
I walked 1.2 miles up Bradley Fork Road and turned on the Chasteen Creek Trail. I have seen the horses take this loop every day. I turned to go into Backcountry Camp #50. I could see this would be a pleasant place to camp. A sign said the camp was temporarily closed due to aggressive bear activity. I checked to see where my whistle was. I had not brought my bear spray. I was carrying enough stuff as it was.
This is a tiny stream, choked with fallen trees and rhododendrons. I would have thought this unfishable, but the book said it was a pretty good stream. Now I wished I had reread the book. There was a foot path beside the stream, so I followed it up a bit to a nice, little pool, although casting would be tough. I caught a little brookie on the first cast and two more. OK, I was awake now.
I got out and walked the path to its end, where there was a very nice pool. I got caught in the laurels and moss before getting a fly in the pool. I missed a big hit and caught another little one. Well, maybe this was worth it, but I questioned that as I crawled over two logs to get upstream. There was no more footpath. I very slowly worked my way upstream to a bridge where the horse trail crossed. If I could get my fly into a pool, a fish hit it about 60% of the time. No wonder there were fish here. It’s a bear to fish. I worked my way upstream, with similar results, but it was like doing some kind of Army obstacle course. It was also a test of all your trout fishing tricks. I hadn’t bow-lined in a long time, but that one was useful. Dabbing into a hole was good, but the rhododendrons and mountain laurels were so thick, you could not walk beside the stream. Flipping the fly worked a few times, and every now and then I could cast, but not very far. I caught on laurels, bushes, briars and moss, but just had to try to be patient because the fish were here.
By 4:30 I did not have my fish for dinner, but I did not want to be caught in here in the dark. There were no trails into the stream, so the only way out was to beat through the thick laurels. I knew the horse trail was on my right, but didn’t know how far. A voice had told me to bring the GPS, but I didn’t. It would have told me how far the trail was from the stream, or if there was another bridge ahead.
I picked a spot and picked, ducked and climbed my way through the laurels, ever mindful of snakes. Luckily the trail wasn’t far away. I walked up it a ways to see what the stream was like, but I couldn’t really see it. Sometimes the rhododendron and laurels thin out up the mountain, and it looked like they thinned out a bit ahead. As I walked back down, I took a picture toward Chasteen Creek in a sea of mountain laurels. Maybe I would try this again up higher and start a lot earlier.
There are also three forks of Bradley Fork up higher, but that’s 4.5 miles up the road. That’s why there is a backcountry camp there. Maybe I am too old to backpack 4.5 miles, but it MIGHT be worth the trouble. I have seen a lot of people of all ages walking up this road, some with backpacks. On the other hand, I fished my way almost to that camp a few days ago.
