Walmart Overnight in Windsor, Ontario

After our tour at Grand Design we headed for the border, crossed over and stayed at the Windsor Walmart location at 7100 Tecumseh Rd East. We called ahead to make sure it was Ok to park here and were told that it wasn't a problem just please park on the perimeter. So we did.

In the morning we woke up to find that overnight the whole parking lot had been repainted...excepted for the spaces we were covering. If they had told us that we could have parked elsewhere. I felt kind of bad.

We left here and headed to Bronte Creek Provincial Park where we will stay a couple days to transfer over everything from the Surveyor to the new 367BHS! So excited!

REVIEW Dispersed Camping at Mammoth Caves National Park Campground, Kentucky

This was our first time visiting Mammoth Caves National Park and our first time to ever camp at a National Park. I should have done a bit more research apparently to learn that it was dispersed camping here before we arrived. Hopefully this review will help you if it is your first time camping here too.

Site #82

We entered from the South. Take intersection 65 to exit 48 (Park City exit). Turn left on to 255 and follow it until it becomes the Park City Rd into the park. It will join the Mammoth Caves Pkwy; turn left and follow it to the Visitors Centre.

VALUE 3/5

To be honest $20 was a bit expensive to disperse camp here. If There was even water and electric hook ups the rating would be higher. I understand there is garbage pick up, water near by, washrooms to clean and a dump station available so perhaps $10 a night would be fair in my opinion. 

SITE QUALITY 3.5/5

No hook ups available in the campground at all. It is all dispersed camping. That being said we had a level, paved, pull-thru site. There was a cement picnic table and one of the best fire rings we have ever seen that lifted up on a hinge for easy cleaning.

FACILITY FUN 4/5

We loved the cave tours available here. There is a large variety of different tours to do so every time you come back you can see a different part of the cave system. There are many nature walks you can go on and different daily events put on by the rangers. There is a lot to keep you busy. The girls would have appreciated a playground at the campground.

NATURAL SURROUNDINGS 4/5

The natural feel to the park is wonderful. You are nestled amongst mature trees in a well manicured campground. That being said without electricity,  listening to everyone else run their generators took away from the beauty of the park and I am thankful we spent the money for solar on our rig.

BATHROOMS 4/5

Very clean bathrooms throughout the campground. However paid for showers were located near the camp store and I did not go to look at those. Laundry was also available near the showers.

STAFF 5/5

Every Ranger we spoke to was helpful and pleasant to speak with. If someone didn't have an answer then they made sure to find a Ranger for you that could answer your question. Tour guides were well educated on the tour info.

LOCATION 3/5

This is not a campground I would stay at to go and do any other touring. You basically come here for the caves and trails and leave.

OVERALL 3/5

We enjoyed our time here but the running of generators was really a damper for us. I expect people to run generators when boondocking in the middle of no where but when we pay for a campground in such a beautiful natural area the generators were a big negative for us. The cave tour was wonderful and we do look forward to returning and doing a different tour next time. The hiking trails are beautiful and plentiful. I felt the price to disperse camp was high. We honestly could have just came here for the day and parked by the visitor centre while we did the tour and walked the trails and moved on to another campground and not felt like we missed anything. The bonus to staying here was you could collect dead fall from the ground for your campfire.

You are allowed to collect and burn dead fall

Another campsite

More campsites

The washrooms behind our campsite

Inside the washoorms

 and read THIS post before hand.

Luckily our site was close to the water tap and we had empty black tanks. Our solar was very helpful here too as there was no electricity. Something I guess we should have researched and known about ahead of time and not just assumed that there would be electricity and water at the site. Generators were permitted but we relyed on our solar and were fine. The solar may be more expensive then a generator but boy oh bot the peace and quiet is nice. Listening to others running their generators for power was kind of a downer as it too away from the peace and tranquillity of the park.It was basically dispersed camping.

Mammoth Caves National Park, Kentucky

We loved our Cave tour at Florida Caverns State Park so we decided to stop and visit the longest cave system in the world at Mammoth Caves National Park.

We headed to the campground to get set up first.

Had a bike ride...

Played in the leaves...

Did some crafting...

At some point we went and got our Jr Ranger books from the visitors centre and booked our cave tour for tomorrow, then came back and made a campfire. You are not allowed to bring firewood into the park but you are allowed to collect dead-fall from the ground so we were all set for firewood. 

A favourite campfire pastime is lighting sticks on fire and creating torches.

As the moon came out there was more playing in leaves followed by lots of gymnastics. Sierra made a ton of gymnastic videos tonight. 

Looking forward to our cave tour tomorrow!

REVIEW Goose Pasture Boondocking, Suwannee River Water Management District, Florida

Goose Pasture was our first experience staying at a water management area and we LOVED it!

To get to Goose Pasture from Perry, Florida: Travel 22 miles West on US 98 to Powell Hammock Rd. Turn Right and travel North for about 4 miles and then turn left onto Goose Pasture Rd. Travel West for about 2 1/2 miles and the tract is on both sides of the road (Fork in Rd, keep Left). Continue another mile and you end up at the campground.

One note of caution this area is subject to flooding. There was a flood warning while we were there and we didn't think too much about it as we kept our eyes peeled on the river level and there was no rain in sight. Flooding can and DOES occur on the roadway in, even when the river is fine. If the road floods you are stuck here until the water subsides and the road dries up. We spoke to one fisherman who was stuck once for close to a month. When we finished camping and were on our way to Tallahassee this fork in the road pictured below was under about a foot of water and looked like a mini lake. I was freaking hoping we made it without water damage and didn't stop to take a picture but I should have.

I heard mixed reviews about about the size of trailers that can park here too. Some places said no RV's, some said small RV's so I called the district office and they assured me we should have no problem finding a place to fit so we gave it a try. It's first come first served camping area so you have to drive there in order to find out if there is space or not. It is free to camp here and you can stay for 10 days but you do need to fill out a form when you arrive which is available at the self serve Kiosk. ***Note this Campground does close during hunting season so be sure to check the website for closure dates.

VALUE 5/5
Being free (10 night limit) it doesn't get any better then that!

SITE QUALITY 5/5
Our site was level, large had a fire ring and picnic table provided. It was off to the side and private with no near neighbours.

FACILITY FUN 5/5
If you love nature you will think this site is a lot of fun! There is so much wildlife to observe, river to kayak on, trails to bike on, areas to walk, and there is a boat launch if you want to head out on the river to fish. Keep in mind if you want to go out for dinner or a show this won't be the place for you.

NATURAL SURROUNDINGS 5/5
Being in the middle of no where you are in the heart of nature. Mature trees, river, trails...100% natural. Dark night skies, clean, fresh air.

BATHROOMS 3/5
Port o'potties on site for tent campers. No potable water so make sure you bring enough with you. They were very clean when we were there and easily accessible.

STAFF ???
We didn't speak with a ranger while here. The ranger did drive through a couple times but he didn't stop to chat. The person I called to ask about RV size and our ability to fit was very friendly.

LOCATION 3/5
It is way out of the way on roads that aren't great to travel on when you are towing a 36' trailer. The roads are bumpy and muddy in places and really not meant for large RV's. It is about an hour from Tallahassee. If you needed to run for groceries there are a couple closer towns but who wants to drive over those roads more then they need to.

OVERALL 4.5/5
We LOVED it here! We were surrounded by nature, it was quiet and calm. It did get a bit busier as the weekend approached and more campers arrived. Most of the time it was fisherman and kayakers coming and going. There is no noise here, only the sound of nature for miles. The sky is dark and the stars are bright. The wildlife is abundant, the trails are great for bike rides. We hope to be back again. Did I mention there is an RV dump station here? No potable water but dumping our tanks before heading down the bumpy road again was a nice surprise.

Entrance to the campground and Kiok for permit behind the sign

Map of Goos Pasture campground

The view of our camping area from the road

River inlet from our campsite. This area was where we
had a small alligator basking in the sun daily.

Mr Alligator

Another campsite right on the river.
It's for tents only as rocks block trailer access.

Close up of the river campsite. 

Boat launch

River view

Another campsite

More campsites around Goose Pasture

Nature at Goose Pasture, Suwannee River Water Management District, Florida

Goose Pasture offered so many opportunities in nature. I am so thankful for our solar system on our trailer so we can have these natural experiences away from the hustle and bustle of regular parks.

"Those who find beauty in all of nature will find themselves at one with the secrets of life itself"... L.Wolfe Gilbert

There were a large variety of butterflies in the flower patch beside us as well as in the forest areas and out on the trails.

Palamedes Swallowtail

"Until you spread your wings you'll have no idea how far you can fly"...unknown

Cloudless Sulpher? and another Palamedes Swallowtail I believe.

I thought this next one was a Wood Satyr but I am not positive and the next is a Buckeye 

 

I chased this Zebra Swallowtail for 1/2 an hour trying to get a half decent picture and this was the best I could get.

"Important lesson: Look carefully; record what you see. Find a way to make beauty necessary; Find a way to make necessity BEAUTIFL"...Anne Michaele

 There was lots of other wildlife too like damsel flies and dragonflies.

"We spun our dreams like spider webs across the globe, casting webs through countries, spanning gaps over oceans, hoping one day our silk-thread vision would weave the life we always wanted"...board of wisdom

Lots of spiders...

Sierra really wanted to catch this little baby turtle and the Black Racer below but she had no luck.

"Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was"...Richard L. Evans

"Courage is not the absence of fear. It is doing one thing despite the presence of fear"...Michael Hyatt

That didn't stop her from happily trying.

She was so excited to spot this Five Lined Skink but he was way too fast to even think of catching.

So she settled for this Green Anole Lizard and one of his friends.

We kept these two lizards overnight and it was such a beautiful experience. You may think he looks stressed in this picture as he is turning brown but he was actually brown when we saw him, before we caught him. Probably because he was moulting.

You can see in this next picture where his skin is coming loose. He is also eating one of the damselflies Sierra caught for him showing he isn't stressed at all to eat. Catching food, providing water and setting up a natural habitat (sometime that requires some research) is a requirement for even just one night. If Sierra wishes to observe her "pets" for a night or two she must make them a home and be able to feed them or else they will be let go of right away. Luckily we were able to catch many damselflies for these two Green Anole's while we observed them.

"One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to GIVE UP, instead of what they have to GAIN"...unknown

In the morning when we came outside to check on the Green Anoles we had quite the surprise. Apparently when Sierra dipped some water out of the river inlet area by our campsite, she scooped up a nymph. We (OK I may have been the most excited) were so excited to see a nymph had crawled out of the water and this beautiful dragonfly emerged. Learn about the dragonfly life cycle HERE.

Then it was time to let the lizards go and pack up the trailer. 

I showed you the alligators in the last post but I have to add one in here too as we enjoyed visiting with them everyday. Watching to see if he left, when he arrived...over and over each day.

So much nature, so much natural beauty and so much fun was had here. We hope to return again someday.

"Time in nature is not leisure time; it's an essential investment in our chidlren's health (and also, by the way, in our own)” ...Richard Louv