Spring Camping

Just a few of the many beautiful wildflowers we saw.

Time for another trip to Jonathan Dickinson State Park! This time we camped for a couple of nights, rode bikes and horses, did some walking and barbecuing, watched some films and read some books. It was a beautiful little staycation!

The first order of business was to take a five-mile hike along the bike path. However, we parked in a new spot and Wayne wanted to explore the river area there a bit first. We discovered a brand-new amphitheater - dedicated in 2019! Then we set off on the paved trail.

The trail ended at a little "alligator" hole along the main park road. Although I've never seen alligators there, this time around there were some gorgeous cat tails, bromeliads, and new cypress leaves. We also took advantage of the bench at the pond we passed about 1/2 mile in.

I never tire of looking at the majestic pine/palmetto forests, especially when there's a beautiful blue and white backdrop. 

Lunch at the concession stand along the river

Checking out the "swimming hole" - on the itinerary for another day.

While waiting for the proper campground check-in time, we watched a short film at the visitor's center - part one of Florida's State Parks. (We watched parts two and three on subsequent days.)

Site #118 at the River Campground

The next day's main activity was biking along that bike path, so we rented a couple of bikes and took off. It's been a good 20-30 years since I've ridden a bike, so I was a bit concerned that I'd remember how to keep my balance. Fortunately, however, my memory returned immediately and that wasn't a problem. After reaching the end of the paved trail, we followed instructions to ride along the park road to an old access road that went to the Jupiter Golf Course where we turned around.

Instead of retracing our route exactly, and after noticing a sign pointing to the Pine Grove Campground, we did a bit of exploring. We added a side trip to the parking area for the Hobe Observation Tower before returning back to where we started. Surprisingly, the next morning we didn't have sore muscles, and I may even consider riding a bike again some time in the future.

We had lots of time to relax that afternoon, which meant lots of time to read. I didn't take any pictures of our other reading material, but this one was probably the most important anyway.

Our plan for the last day of our little vacation was to finish up the activities at the equestrian center. It's been over 40 years since I've ridden a horse, but here's the proof that I did it once again. My horse, Marie, didn't want to go as slow as the horses in front of her were going; the entire hour I felt like a mom chiding a little kid to slow down, take your turn, and be nice. We traversed part of the "red" and "blue" trails that we've hiked before, and decided that hiking them was actually more enjoyable, maybe because we had more control and could go at our own pace. However, it was another gorgeous day and we thoroughly enjoyed our morning.

I'm so grateful for the opportunities we have to explore our beautiful world on a regular basis.