Well, we have done it. We
reached the end of the Florida Keys. More accurately we are seven miles from
the end at the Navy RV Park on Key West. Wow!
Sunny skies, bright blue
water, gentle breezes – not! We are sitting in our un-set-up trailer waiting
for the mother of all thunderstorms to pass by. I have never been in a storm
this severe before. I think we have had 50 mph winds and tons of rain. The palm
trees look just like the pictures on the weather cannel when they are showing
hurricanes. A couple of times the whole trailer shook violently. What great
timing we have. A couple of hours later and we would have missed it.
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Storm blown Navy RV Park. |
The Navy campground is right
on the water. The spaces are a little small and the park is a little old and
used looking but it is fine, and the location is wonderful.
The drive out through the
keys was very disappointing for the first 70 miles or so. I have these mental
images from reading so much about the road out here. They are of long bridges
on narrow roads over bright blue water that stretches everywhere in all
directions. Not so.
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55 MPH speed limit on this US Highway 1 bridge. |
One of the “scaredy-pants”
folks who planned on coming with us on this trip was worried about driving an
RV out here (maybe I was too). It ended up not being thrilling at all. It was a
lot, for the most part, like driving down Pacific Coast Highway. For many long
stretches you couldn’t even see the ocean.
The road was very good for the most part. Wide lanes with ample
shoulders were along the whole way. Boring!
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A portion of the original bridge built originally for a railroad. |
But this thunderstorm is
another story. We pulled off for a rest stop along the road. It was dark grey
but no rain as I stopped. We got into the trailer before the first cell hit. I
had to get back into the truck and just as I stepped out lighting flashed right
over my head. The skies just dumped. I was very wet by the time I got back to
the trailer – mostly from the rain but I might have wet my pants a little
because of the thunder and lightening.
We managed to drive to the
Navy base while the real storm came in. I had to get out in it a few times to
clear the gate guards and to register. We were led to our campsite where I
waited for a lull then dashed to the trailer. I was soaked. It was pouring and
then the real storm hit.
I just checked the weather
station here to see how much rain we have gotten. It is 4:07 PM so the rain has
been steady since about 11 AM. It is tapering off now. So far we have had 5.21
inches today. That is a good rain year for Ridgecrest.
I believe I see blue sky off
in the distance over the Gulf Of Mexico.
The truck and trailer are
really clean, I bet! Ah, life is good.
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Late afternoon at the Navy RV Park Key Largo. |
I had a little trouble inserting pictures this time. I hope you enjoyed the repeat images of the campground. I'll try to fix that.
ReplyDeleteIt looks as though you are both having a great time. Your blog has made me nostalgic and dreaming of a road trip. Hopefully I can get one in this summer. Keep having fun!
ReplyDeleteYo Zach! When you do your trip do a blog. Some of the country here looks like the Virgin Islands. Hope you are having fun too.
ReplyDelete