Hobe Mountain and a Day Off at Markham Park

On Sunday, 11/20, we left the Mouse behind and headed southeast towards Miami. We had scoped out the route and decided to stop for the night at Pine Grove Campground in Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound, FL. When we looked on-line a few days out there were 26 open spaces. No need to reserve, plenty of options. Rog checked the night before and there were about a dozen spaces still open. No worries. When we pulled in about 2:30pm there was a line at the gate and a sign posted saying the campground was full. Oops. We pulled in anyway, hoping for a recommendation for a nearby campground or permission to boonie in the parking lot. The Ranger at the gate said to go around back to the office and they could hook us up. Whew! So glad he did.

We chose Pine Grove for the hiking and mountain bike trails.  We got the rig situated and did a walk about, there is kayaking and lots to do here. We drove the four miles to the Kimbell Visitor Center which was excellent. Great exhibits and the staff were very friendly, as was the resident reptile. :) 

The Welcome Committee at the Visitor Center. Our snakey karma continues. :)

Kitching Creek, no gators today.

Sun through the palmettos.

We climbed the Hobe Mountain Observation Tower where we had a view of the Atlantic Ocean, the Intracoastal Waterway, and the surrounding parklands. The “mountain” is the highest natural point south of Lake Okeechobee rising 86 feet above sea level. Yeah, it was a tough climb. Lol.

Hobe Mountain Observation Tower, a whopping 86 feet above sea level. 

Intracoastal Waterway in the front and the Atlantic Ocean in the back. 

Setting sun on the meadow grass.

Luckily check out time wasn’t until 1:00pm, so Rog hit the mountain bike trails in the morning. I stuck to the paved roads, thank you very much, and it turned out I saw more wildlife than he did!  A black snake elicited a squeal when he scurried out of the way as I pedaled by and I got to see my first alligator! We had stopped at “gater gulch” the night before but didn’t see anything. As I rode by, I saw a beautiful snowy egret and stopped to take a picture. I was standing on the bridge and glanced down and there was a big gater right below me. Bit of a thrill. :)

This snowy egret caught my eye and then I looked down.....

and saw my first gater!

This is another one of those parks that we wished we had more time to explore, but we have reservations at Markham Park in Sunrise, FL for nine nights and are looking forward to some down time. Markham Park is a huge County park with an amazing array of activities. In addition to the campground, there are mountain bike trails, a nature trail, boating, a target range, 18 hole disc golf course, Barkham at Markham – a huge dog park, an observatory, sports courts, model airplane field, radio controlled 4-wheeler course and more. With all that AND plans to visit two National Parks maybe there won’t be a whole lot of down time after all. Lol.

We arrived at Markham on Monday afternoon and made a grocery run. Tuesday, 11/22, we pretty much bummed all day. We did NOT walk five miles or bike or do much besides read, relax, and catch up on some coach duties. We actually felt like we were retired for the first time in ages. Lol. The weather was sunny and low 80’s with a brief shower in the afternoon. Loved catching the rainbow above the coach.

Home Sweet Home on the Road. 

We have a canal right behind us.

Huge dog park with acres of space for Big Barkhams and a separate area for Little Barkhams. Lol. 

A glimpse of the mountain biking trails - Rog is looking forward to checking these out.

Tomorrow we will get our butts in gear and visit the Everglades National Park. But we are looking forward to fitting more of those lazy days into the schedule!