The day after Mother’s Day, Rusty and I left Amelia Island heading west toward Florida’s panhandle. We had planned to do this trip out west last year, visiting distant trails, historical sites, and wilderness areas that had been on our bucket lists for too long. But then the Covid Pandemic hit and we were stuck. Now, after months in lockdown, and months more traveling around Florida, we’re itching to get back to our grand plan.

Although it’s only a little over 200-miles from Fernandina Beach to Apalachicola, it took us all day to get to our first campsite in Apalachicola National Forest. We only drive state and county roads when we can, avoiding the rush and semi-trailers that define todays interstates. We also stopped for a couple hours in Lake City to get supplies and go to the town library to finish some work and download some movies for the first leg of our journey. Rain was in the forecast for the week, so we knew we’d have some down time in the van.

We decided to stay at Porter Lake where there’s a free campground. Upon arriving at about, though, we were immediately disappointed. It was a sad little spot right next to a dirt forest road, with no designated campsites, no tables and no fire rings. It looks to be used mostly by anglers fishing a nearby swampy lake. But the pit toilets were clean, and there was only one other camper, and it began to rain… and it was already 6pm. So we set up camp for the night

The next two days were overcast and rainy, including one big front that came through with an hour of constant thunder and lightning that preceded a torrential downpour, lasting another hour and leaving the campground a soaking mess. But we cozied up and occupied ourselves with reading several books we’d gotten from the Lake City library, doing yoga inside the van, watching downloads, and preparing some really awesome meals, including mussels marinara. On Wednesday, the sun came out for a while, and we took a 4-mile hike on the Florida Trail, which runs right through the campground. It was very wet with lots of ankle-deep wading, biting flies, mosquitos, and spider webs. But it was good to be on the trail again.

After the third night at Porter Lake we were ready for something new. The weather cleared and we headed to Camel Lake, a more developed campground with flush toilets, showers, and a beautiful swimming beach. Upon arriving though, we discovered a close friend of ours had died of Covid-19, and we spent our first day feeling very sad for him and his family. The next day, Rusty decided to go on a 10-mile hike on the Trail of the Lakes, while I stayed behind to write, do my yoga, and enjoy the lake. I was just thinking about what to eat for lunch, when Rusty returned in just 3 ½ hours, which seemed impossibly fast to me. He just laughed and proceeded to tell me about his adventure, show me pictures of the trail and the flowers he’d seen. He was a little smelly, and still a little wet from wading through the wet sections, so I shooed him off to shower while I had my lunch before I got “hangry.”

The rest of our short stay at Camel Lake was just lovely, with warm sunny days and cool starry nights. And every night, we were surrounded by the song of one of my favorite birds – the whippoorwill. I’d never heard so many at once, and they seemed to sing all night long. It was magical.

Next, we’re traveling to the westernmost edge of Florida to Gulf Islands National Seashore and a stay at Fort Pickens State Park.