Trip on Ocklawaha in cool weather

[Lazyriverguy]

Good Morning
Well it went well. The Barge foated and handled fine had plenty of room and the lawn chair sat great. Here are some of the pics from the trip.

The load worked great.

This was my friend Russ he volenteered to go. Never thought he was that guttsy.

This is what we looked at for the trip beautyful river.

Better shot of Russ he was havein a good time. Only his 3rd time on the river or in a kayak. I carried the gear in my boat.

Got a fire going and set up the tent. Need a tent for the night goin into the low 30's for the cool or high which ever you call it.

Got supper cookin just after dark. T-Bone steaks on the grill baked spuds in the fire. GOOD COOKIN Weather was cool not real cold Yet. Half full moon shinin down on the camp. Owls hootin 2 deeer walked thru the timber behind us. Had plenty on cool beverages (adult style)

Morning Coffee and a look at the fog liftin off the water. Now that is one of the LORDS creations that is worth gettin out of bed for. Temps in the Low 30's

Gotta have your morning food. Got some DO bread left and cheese what to do now. I say cut it up and add meat and more coffee.

OK add spam and we are good to go for breakfast. RED NECK FAST FOOD

Shot this of some thing movin in the brush along the river. Looked like some body I know but I ain't fer sure. Maybe Chuck was sneekin around?

Nope It was'nt Chuck maybe a reletive of his. This one just sat there and had a drink before movin on into the tree line.

This little fella just walked out to say hey to us on the trip. As soon as I moved to pick up my paddle he headed back to the safety of the fold.

Had a great trip and found out some things that need to change before the St. Mary run. Need to increase bedding. Needed a warmer bag. And shoes that keep feet drier. Ordered a pair of those high top fancy kayakin boots.will be in this week. This was a great time to see how it will be next Month with the group up state. It will probably be cool on the St. Mary I will carry the Hessessy just in case it is usable. But the tent will be in the boat. I also had and used a cot. It kept me up off the groud and made life better when after consumtion of liguid refreasments till Mid Night I had to put my boots back on to make the trip out side to visit the trees.
Over all: Fantastic trip.
Joe

 

[oldsparkey]

Boom , boom , tap , tap , boom ,boom , BOOM.... Transulation....... the jungle drums were beating and telling the locals that you were camping in the area. :lol:
You had some cousins of ours at Osceola Landing . (Or were they at a different location ) I guess that sounds logical since they are up river from there and we have seen them down river also. Looks like you better grill some bananas for them on the next trip.

Appears to be a good trip and it's a shame you had to suffer with so little to eat since you forgot the Vienna's and Ritz Crackers. But what can anyone say , you just have to do with what is packed in the canoe. That must be why we call it roughing it out there on the rivers. :roll:

Chuck.

 

[oldyaker]

Dang Joe! Fine trip report and great pix. You took me on a nice river trip and I'm laid up. I really need to paddle that river and camp at your famous resort. Maybe I can make it with Chuck and get some interesting photos. Of monkeys that is.....of course that can include Chuckles!:roll:

Love that Redneck food!

Cold huh? Was 20 here this morning with some blowing snow, bed was wonderful......after some of my meds side affects.....it is truly a fart sack! :cry:

Good trip...Wish I was going with ya in a couple of weeks.

 

[Paddlin'Gator]

All the geezers wish you were coming on the St. Marys trip, too. Also, you need to find time to make an Ocklawaha trip so you can meet our non-native cousins Tarzan brought to us a few decades ago It's a great river.

 

[Lazyriverguy]

Oldyaker: You are sur welcome Friend it was a very pleasurable trip and we will see ya on this river some day I am sure. Hope the Meds are makin ya feel better that p-nomua is a bad thing.
Joe

 

[oldsparkey]

All the geezers wish you were coming on the St. Marys trip, too. Also, you need to find time to make an Ocklawaha trip so you can meet our non-native cousins Tarzan brought to us a few decades ago It's a great river.

Joe..... (Paddlin'Gator)

Look at it this way ..... since Oldyaker went and got himself sick ( actually paid the Doc to make him sick , some folks will do anything to get out of one of our trips ) now we have someone to talk about on the trip.

If laszyriverguy can capture one of those critters from his river and bring it along we can pretend ( without a lot of effort) that oldyaker is with us. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Chuck.

 

[Paddlin'Gator]

Chuck, we can depend on you to see the bright side of every situation

 

[oldsparkey]

Joe (lazyriverguy)

You .... " Ordered a pair of those high top fancy kayaking boots " ... If you are talking about the Chota's , they are good paddling boots and will keep your feet dry. You can even cinch down the top of them to keep water out if you go over the top of them.

I'm sure you know this but I need to remind you. Your sleeping bag will get a lot warmer if you locate a Flannel sheet , fold it over and sew across the foot of it and about a 1/4 up one side. Just slip it in the bag for extra warmth when it gets cool out there. With a mattress under you it does help a lot.

Now you mentioned the cot... That is almost like hammock camping since you are up off the ground , can swing your legs out and not have someone help you get up like when in your own bed . Not like when camping in a tent on the ground with the moan and groan when you do it yourself.
I would say that cot camping is the next best thing to hammock camping. I have used a cot in some of my tents and they sure are a blessing. I even used one in the Smokies for just camping fun and it was fun.

Heck some of the folks on here use a cot , tarp and that is all for camping.
There are even those that do not hang the tarp but use it as a blanket over them when camping for extra warmth. At times they forget the cot and just use the ground with the tarp for camping , we call it Cow Boy Camping.
That my friends is one easy camping set up to use , simple , relaxing and easy. When everyone is putting out there tents or whatever ... you have camp set up for you.... Does not take more then a minute and an after thought.

Chuck.
Paddlin'Gator .. That's me .. A little ray of sunlight on a dark day. :roll:

 

[hairymick]

Great report and piccies Joe, Thank you.

I didn't even know you guys had wild monkeys there.

Every time I see piccies of some of your rivers, I am dumbfounded at the similarities between yours and ours, though you temps are getting very close to being too cold for me.

 

[bearridge]

I hear they are the only ones that aint cooped up in Northern America. They swam off frum a ole Tarzan movie.

 

[oldyaker]

There are wild snow monkeys in Texas. There was an attempt to eradicate them but I don't believe it was successful. I had a college buddy years ago who's wife took a sharp left turn and joined a group(Led by Wayne Newton) to save the wild Texas snow monkeys. :roll:
Anyway, the snow monkeys are now living on some sanctuary. Ya just can't make stuff up like this..... :?


Invasive species can be dangerous. Western US Frog populations are being endangered from a fungus brought over from an African frog in the 50's used for research. Some were released and now an alien fungus is taking over ponds and lakes one by killing native frogs.
Even in our Lake Erie we have been invaded by zebra mussels and gobi fish coming in ballast water from the Black Sea. The gobi invades native fish nests, but the smallmouth thrive eating the gobi. The zebra mussel clogs storm pipes.
Really....I don't know what's good/bad.....right or wrong anymore. :cry:

 

[Lazyriverguy]

Bear: These here monkeys actcually came from a River Boat Captain named John Teuy. (My have misspelled the last name) In the late 20's early 30's. He put a troup of em on an island on the south Ocklawaha. He was on one the founders of the Tourist trade on this river. Did steam and power boat tours for the Yankees to see the wilds of Florida. WWEEELLL it weren't near wild enough fer him. Him bein a world traveler and all. So monkeys will make this here place a more wilder and attractive tourist spot. Getts the monkeys puts em on an island in the river slows the boats down fer the tour walla monkeys. Well on the rest of the story: Ole Captain John not bein of sound thinkin didn't take the time to do no research on this here little furry fellas. The darn things swim. So now they is runnin all over on the wrong bank his investment was movin all through the forest and breedin. It is estimated that they're are in the range of 450 to 700 in the forest area around the river. They only have a couple of preditors. Big cats; bob cat and panther, gators, eagles. Most other critters I have seen don't mess with them. They can and are mean little dudes. Average height of a male full grown is about 30 to 32 inches tall. I have seen alittle taller but not many. We try to discourage folks in the tourist practice of feedin the little critters this way they still have they're natural fear of man and will stay back from us when they see ya. In the Silver Spring tour area this was a problem a few years back folks and the tour guides throwin food to the banks and with that the furry rascals found a good sorce of vittels. The state dept. of stupid deciedes they gonna get rid of em to save the world from the hairy little folk. They spend big bucks git one O those high faluttin hunters to come in gonna trapem out. (side note) From the rummors he was from up world that NY place..
So here comes this fella that could trap the fleas off a dog and count em to show he gottem. Putts traps out stalks em drives em toward the trap area. WOW was we all impresst.
Son O gun spent days in the persuit of the critters. Had TV and radio interviews news paper coverage. Say's (we gottem on the run on)
2 weeks into this and he ain't even so much as layed eyes on a dang monkey. Some o the local politico folk say this might not O been our shinin moment. DUHH They told this feller ta go on back North it ain't workin,So here we are still got the monkeys and still got the dumb a$$'es
in charge of the county.
So we try to edumacate the folks and just let the little hairy guys do what they do best. HIDE FROM BIG NO HAIR MONKEYS IN FLOATIN LOGS.

Long winded story but the truth needs to be out there. Wismiller movies never had rhesus monkeys in them.
Joe ( the monkey saver)

 

[bearridge]

The frogs disappeared round here, but the hawks, armadillos, coyotes 'n house sparrows iz thick az a spoon fulla crunchy peanut butter.

Joe, I wuz laggin' behind the geezers the last time I come down yer river. There wuz this big palm tree leanin' way out over the river. The rest of the fellas had passed under 'n gone round the bend. All of the sudden this big monkey stood up out on the end (amongst the leaves) 'n walked the trunk back ta the bank. Nobody had seen him. He jest laid low 'n watched everbody float underneath him.

Later I wuz up on point. I heard this racket off in the woods....sounded like somebody droppin' some 2' x 4's....really noisy. I moved in slowy, halfway figgered I'd see carpenters. Then I noticed all the leaves rustlin'. Then I seen monkeys......everwhere. Little monkeys, big monkeys, tall monkeys, skinny monkeys.......it musta been 40 of 'em. I watched 'em fer a minute 'er two 'n they begun ta move off back in the woods.

The next day Tarzan dropped by fer a snack. Harry give him a can of sardines, but made him promise not ta yell out like he does. We didnt wanna see a heap a elephants runnin' through camp.....mite have tore up a hammock. The "T Man" (that iz what he wants all the monkeys 'n white folks ta call him these days) oughta take a bath ever now 'n then. No wonder Jane went back ta town. The T Man 'n Mac got ta talkin' bout how soap jest aint good fer folks. Neither of 'em spends much on deet. :wink:

regards
bearridge

Here comes the orator! With his flood of words, and his drop of reason. Benjamin Franklin