What a nice place! The campground (Suwannee River Hideaway) we are staying at is about two miles outside of town (a small town) and about a half mile off of the paved road. The campground is a family business and is well attended and thoughtfully laid out. The place shows real pride of ownership. To get to the river, the owners have constructed a 1,500 foot-long elevated walkway over wetlands, which is a marvel of backyard engineering. The surprisingly well engineered and maintained boardwalk is a nature walk of sorts through and over the swamp.
Nearby, Jeanne found a quilt museum. It turned out that the museum is self-supported by locals and is located way outside of Chiefland in the middle of cattle country. The building was impressive and the construction labor was and is supplied by juvenile prisoners. Jeanne enjoyed the exhibits and I inspected the building.
Our second weekend, a local Good Sam rally pulled into the campground and the place was almost full. We made some new friends and learned that several were involved with competitive BBQ competitions. After a long discussion regarding the foods prepared, equipment, entry fees, judging, secret recipes, etc, we now have a healthy respect for BBQ competitions and realize people take this very seriously. Bill gave us a sample of his award winning chili that we have quietly resting in the freezer for the right opportunity. We very much enjoyed talking with our new friends, Bill, Nina, Jim and Beth and hope to see them again sometime.
One day was spent driving to Gainesville for internet access, dinner and a look at the area. We really like it around here and will seriously consider either Dixie or Levy county as a place to settle.
The campground was a good location for our workout. After the weights and pilates, the access road between the campground and highway was perfect for running since it was flat, shaded and sheltered from the wind.
Tomorrow, we head south; our next stop is Homosassa.