Our Canadian neighbors are staying in south Florida for several more
weeks, fore spring does not come to the provinces until May. The northeast is
being battered by a strong nor’easter as I write this; I don’t miss those cold rain
swept winds. For Millie and I, winter is about over. Spring is popping in Myrtle Beach and we are
migrating home.
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| roughly 200 mile trip to our next stop |
Leaving South Florida this year we drove a different route north, for no other reason than
we’ve run the spine of the state (route 27) many times and wished for some
different scenery. We left Southern Comfort RV Resort in Florida City on Krome
Ave, the straight as-an-arrow road that runs north between Miami and the
Everglades. At the intersection of Krome and the Tamiami Trail we turned due
west onto the 75 mile causeway across the ocean of grass and water.
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| We're not the first ones to think it would be a good idea to "Drain the swamp!" |
The state has already built one long bridge on the Tamiami
Trail and has another longer one under construction. The adjacent causeway is
being removed to allow a more natural flow of water through the glades. It is man
correcting the mistakes of those in the past whose master plan was to drain the
swamp for farmland and development. Where did they think all those alligators
and mosquitoes were going to live!
On the western side of the state we moved onto I-75 to avoid
the congestion of the gulf coast cities. Much like the rest of Florida there is a lot
of commercial and residential building going on in the southwest coast. Most of
it looked high end to me, no poor people retiring over here.
Just shy of Ft Meyers we angled northeast on secondary roads
into the very rural interior. Cows grazing on the tropical savanna
dominate the landscape with an occasional village or small town at the intersection of long lonely roads.. One of these
towns, Wauchula, is our destination for the weekend.
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| Before the electrical power grid these stationary engines provided power for farms and industry. |
Hardy County Pioneer Days is an annual festival held in
Zolfo Springs. It has grown each year we have attended with its main attraction
being the antique tractors and stationary engine gathering. There is also a
large flea market, food trucks, live entertainment, and historical displays.
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| This tractor was sold with the claim it would run on almost any combustible oil and would pull its rated horsepower. That was probably a good selling point back in the great depression. |
In addition to walking past miles of flea market tables we
watched the Antique tractor parade and enjoyed a performance by a local gal who
sings in the style of the British singer Adel. Nineteen year old Nola Price was
a contestant last year on “The Voice”, and made it to the battle rounds.
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| "The Voice" contestant Nola Price |
Our campground for the weekend is the Thousand Trails
campground which is just down the street from Pioneer Park.
About half the campground sites are out of service due to damaged electric and
water lines. They say they are waiting for construction permits to rebuild, I
suspect the county is taking a serious look at the wisdom of rebuilding in a
flood plane of the Peace River. This part of the campground floods several times a year.
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| Now closed lower campground was built in a flood plain |
