Ashley Campground

Hello all, happy Saturday! We are on our last noght here at Ashley Campground, part of the green Swamp Wilderness Preserve in Pasco County Florida.

We found this campground using Campendium, then created a free account on the county's water management webpage using a link on Campendium. It is listed as an equestrian site, but regular campers are allowed too. It is free to stay 6 nights at a time, you just need to get a permit, which is digitally sent from the website.

When we arrived, there were just 3 campers here, and we were all dispersed and had plenty of room around us. We are surrounded by Living Oaks draped in moss and large old palm trees. Behind us is Florida wilderness... reeds, palms, and trees. I took a walk around a few days ago and saw evidence of some kind of wildlife, possibly alligators, so we have all steered clear of the unimproved areas.

The pups have really enjoyed running around here, and they have been very vocal as the campground has begun to fill up. All around us is some kind of greenery/ weed that sticks to you when you walk through it. The pups look like they have been attacked by green porcupines when they explore. It's really quite funny.

The park started filling up 2 nights ago with "horse people". We have a circle of campers next to us with 3 horse campers (half horse stalls half camper for the people) with 5 horses total. This morning 2 more trailers pulled up and the 7 horses and riders all took off for a long ride (they aren't back yet).

Mike made friends with a couple across from us yesterday. They repainted their rig blue, and remodeled the inside as well. They have been on the road since Feb 2018. He got a lead on some possible work I can do as we travel, which sounds fun and right up my alley. We'll see if it pans out and if it does I'll share more details!

So it's our last night boondocking for a while. We've managed to not run out of the water we brought in with us, and our black tank still isn't full, so we're doing well. Mike is able to use the solar panels half of the day, when the sun clears the trees. He supplements our battery with the generator about an hour each day, usually in the morning for coffee and then again just before dark. He reports that the battery recharges at the same speed whether we are using solar or a generator. (In case you were wondering).

In other news...

School is going on for me. I nailed my first essay in one class, so maybe my brain isn't as old as I had thought.

Callie is doing great in her school work. She qualified for a team on Roblox, an online gaming community, and has a bunch of competitions coming up. The whole thing is very confusing to Mike and I, but she's proud and excited, so we are too.

We toured Dade City, which is where we are located, and were less than impressed. It was advertised to have attractions and a historic restored downtown. We found none of that.

We also attended the Plant City Strawberry Festival on Thursday. Mike's grandparents (Charlie & Jean), and my grandparents (Don & Phyllis) all had winter "homes" in Plant City, (Jocko & Adelle were just one town over in Lakeland) so it was a nostalgic trip.

We've mostly just been laying low this week and enjoying the warm weather... I hope New England is warming up for you as well!

Love and hugs to you all! Until next time... Stay Tuned!