2019-4
Stuck in Horseshoe
Beach Florida
or
Whiling away time in
paradise
Campground:
Horseshoe Beach Park. $20 water and electric. Two sites have 50
amp, others have 30 amp. No dump station. Campsites are at one end
of active boat ramp/parking area. Small restrooms with shower. No
Over the Air tv signal. Excellent Verizon signal.
Rver Tip: this is
one of the few remaining places to camp right on the ocean/Gulf of
Mexico for only $20 a night. There are a couple others but I’m not
sharing them here. Mainly that’s because it is out of the way and
not on the tourist radar as of yet. Though if you like fishing this
is THE place to be.
Distance traveled: 67 miles
I’ve headed from
the center of the state to the Gulf side called the Big Bend area.
Horseshoe Beach is a small fishing community. In 1993 a hurricane
came through the area, flooding the small town completely. Many of
the residences gave up and sold their land and homes destroyed by the
flooding.
Today it is no
longer a commercial fishing area, but more of a second home for many
from the Gainesville and Ocala area. Meaning all those new homes on
stilts are vacant much of the time. The one restaurants and one or
two shops, a small library are only open Thursday through Sunday.
daily sunsets were awesome, each one different |
“You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me Loose Wheel”
As I started to back
into the campsite, the camper wouldn’t go back any further. Hmmm.
Got out of the truck and looked back and saw to my amazement that one
of the back wheels of the camper had literally fallen off. The axle
broke snapping off the tire and entire wheel brakes and all.
I had planned to be
here a week, but as it turns out, it looks like I’ll be here a bit
more than two weeks. I was able to find a local shrimper and all
around mechanic and son Little Buddy and Big Buddy who are ordering
the new axle and will replace it right at my campsite.
My plans to meet up
with Elaine and John are in disarray since I won’t be able to
arrive at the designated meeting place in North Florida. We’ll go
to plan B
Big Buddy welding on a temporary wheel hub so I could tow the camper to higher ground with big storm coming in |
Big storm a Coming:
While waiting for
the axle to arrive, one of those big storms is heading our way.
Weather reports for Horseshoe Beach is that flooding will occur with
possible 3 to 4 foot surge. Canals and land will get some flooding.
Now keep in mind I
have one broken axle and one less tire on the drivers side of the
camper. But Little Buddy came to the rescue by welding a temporary
hub and tire so I could move the camper to higher ground and away
from the few feet distance that I was sitting at next to the Gulf of
Mexico.
I secured a spot
along side the Baptist Church for the next day and a half before I’ll
move back to the Horseshoe Beach site. Thank goodness to so many
locals who have provided me with information, advice and aid in
making this temporary move possible.
boat docks being destroyed by wave action |
small waves crashing over sea walls and homes on stilts |
canal overflowing into yards |
On another note,
Progressive insurance couldn’t give me $$ for the axles as it
appears it’s a manufacturer defect but they did write a check for
the repairs and replacement from the damage done by the tire falling
off and damaging the skirting etc.
parked on the side of the Baptist Church |
History of Horseshoe Beach
The whole Big Bend
area was originally swamp land, but with many canals dug it has
gotten dry enough to support camps and a bit of cattle ranches. The
town of Horseshoe Beach was once just a commercial fishing village.
But after the March 1993 “No Name Hurricane” that inundated the
entire community and the Florida legislators banning gill net
fishing, around the same time, the double whammy decimated the area.
The hurricane hit with a 12 foot surge. It was so unexpected and out
of season the reason it was never given a name, rescuers were pulling
people out of palm trees and roof tops. Little to no aid was
forthcoming as no one was prepared for such an event so early before
the hurricane season even started.
Many of the folks
moved out and sold their flooded homes and land for cheap. A small
number of fishermen turned to shell fishing and shrimping. The cheap
land was purchased by investors for weekend retreats and many for
weekly rentals. New laws requiring all new homes be built on 12ft
piers or higher.
Current full time
population is between 90 and 160 people. The town has become a gold
mine for the country tax collector as they charge the new home owners
between 4 and 5 thousand dollars in taxes each year. While the old
timers who stayed continue to pay only about $100-$200 a year in
taxes.
It is now considered
a vacation spot with great fishing. As I mentioned earlier only one
restaurant, one high priced gift shop, local library and a marina are
in the backwater town and they are only open Thursday thru Sunday
Though everything is
closed for Easter Sunday.
after the storm things really calmed down |
Andrew Jackson Waterhole Park
Up the road a couple
of miles is a small picnic area with some historical significance…
the historical sign states:
“Dec 26, 1817
General Andrew Jackson was directed to protect citizens trying to
settle in Florida.
Jackson arrived in
Fl with the largest army ever to invade the state to date:
2,000 Creek Warriors
1,000 Georgia and
Tennessee militiamen
Winding up in
Suwanee – Old Town. His goal was to remove the Indians, destroy
their homes and confiscate their horses, cattle and food and slaves..
It was near this
spot on a “seek and find” mission that Jackson and his army
captured the Indian traders Robert Ambrister and Alexander Arbthnot.
British subjects who were supposed to be protected by a truce between
England and the U.S.
Jackson had
Arbuthnot hanged and Armbrister shot…. Which almost caused a war
between he two countries”
One could spend
hours discussing the merits of this countries actions in the past.
God knows there are enough books out there discussing the strategy,
reasons, wrongs, rights, in the name of creating this country.
Enough said.
My Lucky Stars
Well don’t you
just love when everything seems to align just right. Within the last
day or so things have just been falling into place nicely:
-
The axle arrived a few days early Monday (5 days early)
-
Axle to be installed Tuesday or Wednesday
-
I’ll be able to head out on Thursday to meet up with Elaine and John
-
insurance is paying for everything except the axle, to the tune of over $800, no deductible.
-
Mail arrived and I got a check from the IRS for having paid too much in taxes last year. When was the last time that ever happened
-
BlueSky called me back regarding my solar charger not working and they will walk me through trouble shooting Wednesday. Can you believe a human being called back and has been more than willing to help me out, wow.
-
ROKU stock has gone back up significantly and is projected to go up another $20+ dollar a share. I can almost hear the song “I’m in the money….”
PS I bought a lotto ticket today
Rv/Photography tip:
For those who like
to take lots and lots of pictures while traveling like I do, It had
started to become a hassle using the laptop to first download
pictures from my camera onto the laptop, then upload them to my
Google photo acct. using a fidgety software program. Always
time-consuming.
I found this little
device to connect my SD card from the camera to my cell-phone. The
smart phone then automatically scans the pictures on the card,
uploads and back them up to my google photo acct without my having to
do anything to initiate the process. How cool is that. I then
delete the pics on the SD card using the camera and I’m all set to
take more pictures.
Love being able to
streamline a process since I often use those photos as well as those
I take with my cell phone for FB posts and my Blog reports. With all
my photos in one location, it sure makes life simple. I might even
start to post my better pictures on Instagram again now that it’s
so easy to get to them.
On the Road Again:
I’m ready to get
back on the road again. If you ever need help “little Buddy”,
Lloyd Knight sure was a big help ordering a new axle, welding and
installed. Had a bit of a scare as he was installing the axle he had
a bit of a seizure, getting dizzy and sudden pain. Due to a bulge in
a disk/spine around the neck area. He recovered and we were able to
complete the job with the help of my biker neighbor and a little help
from me. Though I wasn’t all that much help.
new heavy duty axle replacement |
Cost: $429.99 Axle
$150.00 shipping
$260.00
installation and temporary installation of a wheel so I could move
camper out of storms
way.
Happy to have the
work complete making my journey back on the road quicker than
anticipated.
Onto North Florida
for a couple of days before exiting the state.
More photos:
1 comment:
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