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Published: January 21st 2010
Gator Country
Florida EvergladesUnlike the trip from Sanford to Marathon, we wanted our journey back to New Mexico to be slow-paced and relaxing. Between Florida and West Texas, we planned to avoid the Interstate system as we ventured North along the Gulf Coast. I wanted to stop in Naples to see my friend and fellow retired firefighter, Paul Pirello, who had stopped in Silver City earlier this year. We turned North on FL 997 in Homestead and headed for US 41 that would take us across the northern boundary of Everglades National Park and through Big Cypress National Preserve. Even though we made several stops and the opportunities abounded, we saw little wildlife and (most importantly) no gators. Sortta like going to New York and not seeing a taxi. Hmmmm!
Campground guides and web site directions are not designed for the RVer taking the road less traveled. Somehow the directions in Woodall’s (designed for the I-75 traveler) were initially mistranslated, and we were treated to an unplanned tour of Naples. Finally, I called Paul who directed us to his house. We chatted with him and his friend, Sharyn, for a while before they escorted us to the KOA. I felt much better about
my Boy Scout skills when I saw the directional sign for the KOA had become obstructed by vegetation. We arrived at the KOA and set up before Paul gave us the grand tour. After finding several of their favorite restaurants not yet open for the snowbirds, they treated us to some excellent seafood at Capt. Brien’s Seafood & Raw Bar on Marco Island. In the morning we had breakfast with Paul and Sharyn before setting out towards Tampa on I-75.
We opted to exit I-75 onto I-275 and drive the surface streets through St. Petersburg to make our way to US 19 and a scenic drive along the Gulf Coast. Both Kay and I had been impressed with the scale of the bridges we had cross over the Arkansas, Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and the numerous bridges connecting the islands of the Florida Keys. The Seven-Mile Bridge in the Keys is long, but the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay is BIG! After leaving the St. Petersburg metro area, we continued North on US 19 until reaching our destination - the Yellow Jacket Campground Resort near Old Town FL. We did some laundry and spent some time on the
Gulf Coast
Near Mexico Beach FL boat dock enjoying the peace of the Suwannee River. Yellow Jacket is a nice, quiet, shady campground which (I’m sure) would abound with brazen mosquitoes in season.
Saturday, September 25, 2009 found us northbound on Alt. US 27 to Perry FL and then westbound on US 98 along the Gulf Coast. A stop for a novel lunch in Mexico Beach (amberjack for both of us) provided an opportunity for me to have a relaxing look at the waves lapping the beach. We continued our drive along the white sand until we reached the Geronimo RV Resort in Destin FL. The resort is small, quiet (off the main highway), clean, modern and spacious but shadeless. The owner lives upstairs from the office and, if necessary, was quite willing to re-open to accommodate our late arrival.
In the morning, we continued West on US 98 until we reached Pensacola where we crossed Pensacola Bay and made our way to I-10. We continued westward across Mobile Bay to Mobile AL and through the Bankhead Tunnel under the Mobile River. In Pascagoula, we diverted back onto US 90 where we soon happened upon the Mississippi All Veterans Walkway in Ocean Springs MS.
Any Mississippi veteran is eligible to be honored through the placement of a brick in the walkway. Kay is a big Elvis fan so we looked all over the walkway several times for his commemorative brick but were unsuccessful. As one of the photos below shows (near the top edge), there is one brick missing from the walkway. Our speculation is that the (vandalized?) spot had been the location of a brick honoring Elvis - perhaps replaced on numerous occasions until officials said, “Enough!” Purely our speculation, but plausible. Within the memorial there are sections for the various wars. The most significant to me was the Vietnam area. Congratulations to the creator of this veteran’s memorial and to the State of Mississippi.
After leaving Ocean Springs, we passed through Biloxi, Gulfport and Pass Christian with an unobstructed view of the beaches to our South. On the North side of US 90, we could see the vacant home sites left after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Cuts remain in the curb where a driveway might or might not exist. A few foundations hark back to a time that this stark landscape was once a vibrant neighborhood. Some four years later,
MS Vietnam KIA
MS Vietnam Veterans' Memorial - Ocean Springs MS only minimal rebuilding has been completed - or even begun. In Bay St. Louis, we stopped for a quick lunch in the Pilgrim and then moved back onto I-10 for the trip through New Orleans LA. In New Orleans, we resumed our journey on US 90 toward our Morgan City destination. I had selected a campground from Woodall’s identified as the Cajun Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau. Skeptical though I was, I found nothing else appealing so we went for it. I should have followed my instincts and stopped sooner. We ended up spending the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Lafayette.
In the morning, we backtracked towards Morgan City, caught LA 14 at New Iberia and headed West where we planned to have breakfast at some Ma & Pa Diner. In Abbeyville, we turned South on LA 35 and then West on LA 82. None of the diners we found had parking accommodations for my rig so we pressed on until we found a wide spot in the road near Pecan Island. We stopped, and I cooked breakfast. By the time we reached Cameron LA, it had started to rain lightly and we were confronted with a
choice to turn back or to take a ferry across a small body of water that connects Calcasieu Lake with the Gulf of Mexico. Since two eighteen wheelers were already on board, we chose the ferry. We turned North on LA 27 toward Leesville and then onto US 171 toward Many LA. When we arrived at Hodges Wilderness State Park, we learned they no longer have RV sites. The ranger was extremely helpful, said they could not get Woodall’s (or the LA State Park web developers) to revise the information and referred us to the nearby North Toledo Bend State Park in Zwolle LA. Both parks are very nice, and North Toledo Bend has a great-looking lake. The Toledo Bend park ranger told us they had a complimentary laundry - we took advantage of that perk after dinner!
There was only a short drive remaining in Louisiana before we hit Texas. No more sightseeing. No more stunning scenery. Pretty much, point the truck West and go for it. We started northbound on LA 191 towards Logansport where we connected with US 84 westbound until we reached Waco TX and caught I-35 South to US 190 westbound. The drive was
pretty in places but was, for the most part and comparatively speaking, quite the “plain Jane.” We hit a major construction area and the Fort Hood rush hour in Killeen so I called the Boone RV Park in Lampasas to advise them we would be arriving later than anticipated. The office was closed by the time we arrived, and the park was heavily populated with what looked to be permanent residents so I took a vacant spot near the office and settled my debt in the morning. Since the park was quite full in late September, I would suggest you have a reservation.
From Lampasas, we went South on US 281 and West on TX 29 past Buchanan Dam. There was no marked vista and no good place to stop so we kept on trucking until we reached Llano and US 16 southbound through Fredricksburg and on towards I-10. Once more, we headed West on the Interstate and stopped in Fort Stockton at the Ft. Stockton RV Park. The park has little shade and is quite a distance from town. There are no other businesses in the area, so they have a small diner in the park where we
MS Vietnam POW and MIA
MS Vietnam Veterans' Memorial - Ocean Springs MS ate dinner and breakfast the next morning. Not bad food and good prices. Off for the home stretch on I-10 through Van Horn, El Paso and Deming and then onto US 180 westbound for Silver City. We arrived about 2 PM and realized we were exhausted. I think that the mental component of being “home at last” is one of the toughest parts of traveling. We had made it safely with only a couple of bad meals, a health issue or two, a few wrong turns and only minor mechanical issues. Overall, a good trip of 48 days that covered 8739 miles.
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