2019-4 Horseshoe Beach Florida , the Big Bend area

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:

Horseshoe Beach Florida