Day One: Little Manatee River Camping Trip

Wimauma, Florida: With the weather cooling down, it’s time to break out the camping gear and hit the parks. There was a cold front that was forecast to bring a lot of rain Saturday night into Sunday, so we broke from out normal routine and booked a campsite for a Friday night.

Because we waited till last minute, campsites in the Florida State Park system were slim picking. But they did have one spot available at Little Manatee River State Park in Wimauma. We have never been to that park or that area so I decided to book the site. So I spent Thursday night checking out our gear and packing the truck in advance of our trip.

The anticipation of the trip made Friday’s work day take forever. But quitting time finally rolled around and we hit the road for the short drive to Wimauma.

Check-in was a race against the clock as we had to beat the setting sun and get our camp set up before running out of daylight. Luckily for us, I have this down to a pretty good routine. And it doesn’t hurt that we have an Instant Tent which make the process a whole heck of a lot easier.

While setting up the campsite, I quickly discovered how much I am going to love this trip. Not only is it a great opportunity to spend time in the outdoors with my family, but we were camping on the base turn to Tampa International Airport. There was a ton of air traffic and I was a happy guy!

Once camp was set up, we headed to the ranger station to pick up some firewood before it closed and then into town for dinner. It has been a goal of mine to try and experience different local restaurants during our travels but it was abandoned for a chance to eat at Sonic. Yes, I know Sonic is a chain, but I gave into chain restaurants for dinner since we no longer have a Sonic anywhere close to us.

After dinner, we headed back to the campsite to sit by the fire. Now I still have not mastered the art of building a campfire. I always seem to get a raging fire, thanks to lighter fluid, but it quickly burns itself out leaving me with frustration. Tonight was now different, I built my fire, doused it with lighter fluid and like every fire I have ever built, it burns hot and fast and within 5 minutes it was completely out. But tonight, I did not get discouraged, I rebuilt the fire and tried again and this time, it worked. I finally built a fire that lasted, giant pat on the back for me.

Until the moon rose, the sky was amazing with the bright stars and constellations. The dark sky and lack of street lights really made for a great sky. Even with taking Astronomy in school, I still can’t find the constellations. But an app on the phone makes everyone a pro at identifying what they are looking at. I spent some time trying to photograph the stars before the moon rose and made the stars disappear.

We spent the night sitting by the fire, gazing at the stars and listening to the sound of aircraft, my idea of a perfect night. But once the fire was out, it was time to hit the tent for some sleep as we embark on an exploration of the park tomorrow.

Check back later for more from day two of the trip as well as photos from our adventures.