This is cool! A place that made bike trails desirable for everyone.

#yegbike #southcarolina #biketooter #BikeCommuting #biketrails #forwardthinking

https://youtu.be/NxGYs8kHxw4?si=tAMYY2PqeFY60X_l

1/8
On Tuesday we rode these trails (Shearwater trail, Salt Marsh trail, part of the Atlantic View trail) again. It was a glorious 35km ride! The leaves in the woods section are perfectly beautiful.
I'll post more pictures and videos over the next little while so I don't flood your feeds!
It's almost 1.5 hour's drive to get there (and home afterwards), so would be better not done as a day trip. We were so glad to get away from the smoke and ash, but were straight into the dust! We still need rain so badly. So much dust on the bikes and us. (Actually you could tell, as it was affecting our lungs and tiring us out.)

We saw so many lovely birds. There were, among the usual seabirds a black bellied plover, greater yellowlegs, white throated sparrow and we heard the sweet notes of the song sparrow.
Temperature hovered around 19º.C and it was very windy.
#EllieKPosts #NovaScotia #bikeTrails #RailsToTrails #bike #SaltMarsh #Shearwater #EasternPassage #birds

Nice promo on our State’s bicycle trails hit my inbox this morning, from Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNDNR/bulletins/3f3c6ff

#BikeTooter #BikeTrails #cycling #MNastodon

🚴‍♂️ Over 30km of pure trail riding.

No highways. No traffic. Just a quiet ride from #HamOnt to #Brantford through forests, fields, and small towns.

📺Watch: https://youtu.be/txtj1MwWqAg

#CyclingOntario #BikeTrails #RailTrail #ExploreByBike

Out of Florida

After nearly five months, we have left the state of Florida.

On April 1, we left Big Cypress National Preserve where we had volunteered for four and a half months. From there, we traveled to Polk City to visit with our friends, Bill and Barb. Bill and Barb allow us to park our travel trailer in their Class A bay which is alongside their home. While there, they helped us get groceries and a new Valterra Valve for our travel trailer. Barb made a delicious spaghetti dinner for our first night, and she spoiled Dan by making him deviled eggs. She even gave him some to go! We enjoyed two days of good company, food, games, and their warm hospitality. Heartfelt thanks to Bill and Barb.

Our next stop was Manatee Springs State Park. I wanted to investigate the bike trails here for my ebook, “RVing with Bikes.” The park volunteer advised us to enter the trails at the “North Trail Parking” sign. We rode about 11 miles on the trails in the park, including some riding on the park roads.

These trails are hard packed sand. Of course, being in Florida, the trails are flat. However, there were a few spots with tree roots and areas where the sand was loose where one could slip while riding. Here, I used my throttle to zoom through. I wouldn’t call these trails “mountain biking”, but they are not as easy as paved trails.

The Nature Coast Trail is located about six miles from the park’s entrance, and this is a 32 mile paved rail trail. This is the kind of riding we like to do. There is an unprotected bike lane (on NW 115th Street) from the park’s entrance to the Nature Coast Trail. However, the ride from the park to the trail is six miles, and the road is busy. We don’t like to ride on busy roads – even in a bike lane.

As a side note, right near where NW 115th Street and the Nature Coast Trail intersect is “Bar-B-Q Bill’s” restaurant. While we didn’t eat there, the parking lot was packed with cars. This is how my parents judged restaurants when we were out traveling – before online reviews. Few cars – keep looking. Lots of cars – pull in and let’s eat!

Should we visit Manatee Springs State Park again, we’ll put our ebikes on the car and drive to the Nature Coast Trail. And after we’ve ridden those 32 miles, we’ll enjoy some barbecue at Bill’s place.

I would also add that Manatee Springs State Park had a really nice 800 foot boardwalk which went along the river and a Cypress Swamp. The state park also has a spring (i.e. Manatee Springs) which is a designated swimming area. The water is a constant 72 degree Fahrenheit, so while alligators are in the park, they are unlikely to be in the swimming area. However, it is possible there would be manatees swimming there, but only at certain times of the year, usually November through April. There were no manatees when we were there.

After our lovely day in the park riding the trails, we had a nice dinner. Our dinner was inspired by a friend and fellow blogger, David, at OneCreativeScientist. David applies a creative and analytical approach to all his endeavors which range from dollhouse building to LEGO building to Puzzles to travel. And more, of course.

Lately, I’ve read about he and his wife’s anniversary trip to Florence, Italy. Such a fabulous trip with so many beautiful, cultural and historical sites. In the post about the food they ate on the trip (his posts about the trip were organized by topic, of course), David discussed a favorite dish- pasta with truffle sauce. He mentioned it more than once. He made it sound so good, I wanted to try it!

While we can’t take our camper to Italy to eat pasta with truffle sauce in some Italian eatery packed with old world charm, we can purchase pasta with truffle sauce at Aldi. Aldi imports it from Italy, so we don’t have to go there. And then we can eat it in our camper at Manatee Springs State Park with a backdrop view of a tropical saw palmetto landscape – old world charm, Florida style.

We paired our specially selected Macaroni & Cheese truffle pasta with Parmesan-encrusted tilapia, another Aldi Special Buy! This was accompanied with a classic side salad. On our salad, we used not Italian, but rather French dressing – showcasing our cosmopolitan side and, frankly, our ever present sweet tooth. To complement our tilapia fish dinner, we chose a refreshing glass of fine, clear campground water purified by the best Camco Tastepure RV Water Filter money can buy. Even though we weren’t in Florence, Italy, our meal was quite delectable.

So, thank you, David, for the inspiration. And a very Happy Anniversary to you and your wife!

Continuing with our virtual international experiences, our next campground was Outback Springs Resort in Bonifay, Floriday. This campground has an Australian theme as the owners are from Italy. Just kidding. They are from Australia. This is a very nice campground. We stayed at this campground last year on our way home from Big Cypress.

Within walking distance is the M&W Smokehouse Restaurant. This restaurant had delicious barbecue which I had thought about for 364 days. I was so disappointed to learn while checking in at the campground that the restaurant is only open Tuesday through Friday. We were there on a Saturday! What restaurant isn’t open on a Saturday night! Some people can be a little silly.

I soothed my soul by enjoying the campground’s pool and hot tub. The way I figure it, it’ll be three years before the restaurant will be open when we are there. In case you’re counting, I’ve missed good barbecue twice in this post. Thank heavens I had the truffle pasta.

Our next stop took us out of Florida and to one of our favorite campgrounds – Gulf State Park.

We’ll be at Gulf State Park for five nights before we head further north. Anyone know a good BBQ place around here?