Return to Hillsborough State Park, Florida

I had stayed at Hillsborough State some years ago in my Teardrop camper and had enjoyed my stay there, so I was interested to revisit. One of the things I wanted to do was hike some of the trails across the river as I had not done that previously.

Once again, it was difficult to reserve a site longer than a single night in any park, so we had to get out an explore quickly and then pack up and move along.

There were more trails than we really had time to explore, but we did cross the river and head down one fine trails. We were surprised to discover it soon came to a fence forcing me to turn along it and then head back into the forest and back to another bridge! Crossing the bridge, we followed the river for a while seeing an alligator and some paddlers in the water below. Where's my kayak! It seemed odd to be in Florida without one...

Turning back along a trail which headed towards the park road, we discovered around a dozen or so vulture like birds in the trees and on the ground. The odour of a large rottening animal permiated the air. The birds were enjoying themselves, feasting away on this find.

We continued along the path and arrived back at my camper. It was time to pack up and leave. On the way out we drove around the park looking for where I had stayed before. It wasn't easy to find the exact site, but it was most likely in the open area furtherest from the river sites. The park certainly was full. I had inquired at the gate about any cancellations, but the ranger didn't seem to want to bother looking. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. A lady volunteer  working in the office smiled and rolled her eyes...

We headed down the road...