Salt Springs Rec. Area – 2/28 – 3/3

The final spring for us, Salt Springs was really pretty. Our campsite backed up to a fishing canal that was groomed with picnic tables. Around the corner was a boat ramp into a section of the St. John River and just a bit further was the spring. There were several manatees, otters, fish and birds. Although my favorite, it was also where I had my worse experience of getting into a nest of nymph size ticks all in my hair! After showers, permethrin and a sleepless night, I won the battle. Steve relayed the story to another camper who had many more horrific stories I won’t repeat but he did have good advice for a remedy – take a shower, lather up with shampoo and let it sit for 5” before rinsing. This suffocates the ticks making it easier to wash them out. Right! Thankfully, the weather turned colder sending the buggers back underground somewhere! The rest of the stay was a series of walks, cycling and a trip to Ocala to charge batteries, restock the refrig and our stomachs with great barbecue at Champion BBQ. Salt Springs has the only campground with full hookup (elect, water and sewer) – land of the snowbirds! The first 3 nights, we stayed in the primitive area but the last night was going to go down to freezing so we moved over to the electric side.

Tomorrow we are headed back to the coast and Little Talbot Island. From there, we will be working our way ever so slowly back through GA and SC. S & E will probably leave us somewhere around the Skidaway area in GA.