Hiking at Hog Pond and Burnt Bridge Trails

Breakfast was sheet pancakes with maple syrup and bacon, which we all enjoyed. We did our morning language lessons when drove the short distance to the Hog Pond and Burnt Bridge area of the Withlacoochee State Forest and Chassahowitzka River and Coastal River Swamps. The area is really beautiful and has a diversity of habitats. There are areas with longleaf pines, some with palmetto and others are open savannah. There were areas where the pine forests had burned, but we were uncertain whether it was a controlled burn or an accidental fire. The area and trails had been closed the prior week because a man was thought to be missing in the area. His car was at the trailhead, but there had been no sign of him for days. Rangers, police and volunteers had been searching for him since his disappearance had come to the attention of authorities. There was a spot along the trail where we detected a scent of a dead animal if the wind was blowing correctly. I took a waypoint of the location with the GPS in case it might be helpful to searchers. We ended up hiking for over 7 miles before we made it back to the trailhead where Mark’s pickup was parked. As we were preparing to walk to the truck, a sheriff’s deputy came to the trailhead so I walked over and told him about the smell. While it could have easily been a dead deer or other animal, he was happy to get the coordinates and said that someone would check the area.

Hiking at the Withlacoochee State Forest

We were all very tired after the long walk. The dogs were especially exhausted, so we gave them water while we cooled off in the shade of the parking area. The temperature had been in the mid-80s and was overcast early in the day, but when the sun came out, we got very hot. We drove to the house and put the dogs in the air conditioning, and we made a run to Ace Hardware for materials to mount the weather station and some blue safety paint. We also went to Publix for a few grocery items since Mark’s sister, Jodie, and her husband, Grant, were coming for a visit on Sunday afternoon. They were bringing a friend, Carolyn, from The Villages as well.

Mark and I masked some of the areas around their driveway and garage with steps in the concrete. I painted the edges of the steps in the front of the house with the bright blue safety paint. We hoped that this would make the steps more visible and reduce the chance of someone falling. As we were cleaning up, we noticed that the charcoal grill starter that we were using as a solvent for the oil-based paint had a familiar smell. It smelled exactly like the distillate that comes from a bourbon still.

Siding damage from strong wind

The Ferrells and Koehlers met for an outing at the Cincinnati Zoo today, and it sounds like everyone had a good time. We asked the Ferrells to stop by our house on their way home to check the damage from Friday’s wind. Ian sent photos of the siding loss, but there didn’t appear to be much other damage. We felt fortunate to have avoided as much damage as others in the area.

Surveying the menu at Marguerita Grill

We went out to Marguerita Grill for dinner. Although the restaurant was busy, we were seated right away and the service was good. The restaurant is owned by a very conservative older man who has the interior and exterior decorated with posters for military branches and right-wing political movements. We opted for a table outside since the evening had cooled off and the weather was nice. Mary had the seafood platter, Cindy had spanakopita, Mark went with steak and shrimp, and I had the fish basket. We split a pitcher of margaritas and enjoyed sitting on the deck.

Once we returned from the restaurant, we watched a couple of episodes of Swamp People Serpent Invasion on their Roku. I was very tired and went up to bed before 9:30. Mary and the others turned in around 10 pm.