Category: RV and Campers

stories and information about RV Camping in Florida

Only Two Weeks Left At Big Shoals

December 17, 2014 Jolene MacFadden

Only two weeks left at Big Shoals State Park and then we move down the road about 6 miles to Stephen Foster Culture Center State Park for the first 4 months of the new year. It has been so peaceful here. Yes, we get a couple of visitors each day and more of the weekend. We have even gotten a couple of visitors who asked questions or just wanted to talk for a few minutes. The work is not difficult and basically only needs doing a couple days a week. All the other times we just are available for the visitors and to close the gates at night. So if you are thinking about volunteering here we hope you will consider it in the future.

The good is definitely the peace and quiet here. The only bad we could say would be the sewer situation. You will have to buy about 80 feet of sewer hose to dump your black water and you can use a regular garden hose to dump your gray water. It would be nice to have a little storage building to use while we are here. But you can use the volunteer washer/dryer at Stephen Foster State Park for FREE. You will have the use of a Gator to run back and forth along the paved trail between Little Shoals and Big Shoals area as well as to explore the various trails while you are here. It has been nice here.

We are looking forward to transferring to Stephen Foster on January 1st. We know that it will be more work, more people and they don’t have sewers on site for the campground hosts either. We may not come back to Big Shoals as we have so many more places to explore. Nor, will we come back to Stephen Foster after we leave there at the end of April for the same reason.

We hope you and yours have a safe and happy holiday season. See you next year!

Campground Host Experiences, Funding Our Adventure, Holidays in the Parks, RV and Campers, Sights to See, Volunteer At A Florida State Park, Workamping

Happy Day It Is Done

September 30, 2014 Jolene MacFadden

Happy Day, it is done and available online at Amazon. We have been working on our eBook for full-time RVers who would like to volunteer in one of our many Florida parks including the State Parks, State Forests, Florida Wildlife and Water Management Areas as well as our Florida National Parks, Forests and Seashores. We hope you will try our eBook and give it a review on our Amazon page. We even went ahead and created an author page. We hope to use the proceeds from the sales of this eBook to allow us to keep going to various Florida public parks and volunteer.

If our eBook really starts to sell we will be able to donate a portion of the proceeds to various Florida public lands to keep them going, update equipment, maintain facilities and possibly fund more places to be set up for volunteers all year round. So far, we have only been able to volunteer at Florida State Parks but are working on assignments at some of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Management areas, county camping parks and even a couple of the Florida State Forests. They offer a different volunteer experience than the Florida State Parks we have visited and volunteer for so far. These experiences will be great to experience as well as to report to our readers.

Our Final Month at Woods Ferry

July 1, 2014 Jolene MacFadden

Our final month at Woods Ferry River Camp has been an eventful one. We have had over 400 visitors this month. Most stayed over and camped for a night or two and we even had some family members drop in on us to visit and take advantage of our lovely camping area. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and regular canoeing and kayaking people abound during the summer months along the Suwannee River. We will be moving to Adams Tract River Camp tomorrow to finish out our summer months with the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. It will be opened in time for the big 4th of July weekend!

Campground Host Experiences, Camping Resources, Funding Our Adventure, Park Info, RV and Campers, Volunteer At A Florida State Park, Volunteer at National Parks and Forest, Volunteer in Florida State Forests, Workamping

Help Needed at OLeno State Park and River Rise Preserve State Park

May 15, 2014 Jolene MacFadden

We have camped at OLeno State Parks twice in the last two years. However, timing and circumstances prevented us from visiting the River Rise Preserve State Park. We did ride by it and it looked like an interesting place to check out and we may still get a chance over the next couple of months. OLeno has two camping areas as well as a huge picnic area with primitive cabins for groups like the boy scouts to spend some time in right along the river. They, like most of the state parks in Northeast Florida have been troubled by river flooding. The park has the Sante Fe River running through it and that gets water from the Suwannee River. But the waters are receding everywhere for now and there will be a lot of clean-up needed. You can read our park review of OLeno State Park and look at the official web page for more information on both of these parks by clicking on the links below:

Campground Host Experiences, Park Info, RV and Campers, Volunteer At A Florida State Park, Workamping

DeLeon Springs State Park In the Summer Time

May 14, 2014 Jolene MacFadden

Deleon Springs State Park in the summer time may be hot and muggy but, hey, you got a nice cool spring you can jump into after working every single day. Now, Deleon Springs should not be confused with Ponce DeLeon Springs State Park. Ponce DeLeon Springs State Park is located in the Northwest Region of Florida and their volunteers are coordinated with the Falling Waters State Park Volunteers which we will address in another article later this month. Deleon Springs is a 600 acre State Park with a spring located in the Central Region of Florida closed to Deland in the town of DeLeon, Florida. They have canoeing, kayaking, fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, picnic area with pavilions, Visitors Center, Concessions with a full service restaurant, hiking, a boat ramp, boating, and even a boat tours. Some of you students and professors at Stetson University might want to consider volunteering for the Summer!

Campground Host Experiences, Park Info, RV and Campers, Volunteer At A Florida State Park, Workamping

Letter From Wekiva River Basin State Parks

May 13, 2014 Jolene MacFadden

We really enjoyed our short stay at Wekiwa Springs State Park over the Easter weekend. However, we just didn’t have time to check out the Lower Wekiva River or Rock Springs Run State Parks while we were there. We spent some time at Rock Springs when I was in high school but it has changed quite a lot since we lived in the central Florida area. We took lots of pictures of Wekiwa Springs, have written a quick review but thought it would be nice to share this email we received from the Volunteer Coordinator. They really could use some help this summer and who wouldn’t want to spend a couple of months in one of the three loveliest parks right around Orlando. It is a great place to start as live on-site volunteers and when it gets too hot you can always jump into the springs to cool off!

Hello Jolene,

Thank you for inquiring about volunteering here at Wekiwa River Basin State Parks. We are always on the lookout for great people with the desire to help others!

Read More “Letter From Wekiva River Basin State Parks” »

Campground Host Experiences, Park Info, RV and Campers, Volunteer At A Florida State Park, Workamping