The idea....

I've always wanted to break the doldrums of winter by heading south for a week or two. The kids are so busy with activities that it's hard to get away without missing something somewhat important, especially Bryce. While we transition from middle school to high school we are keenly aware of the many "lasts" that are coming particularly in regards to sports. So here we are, the closest we can come to a winter break but after the seasons of basketball and chess tournaments.

We are trying for a full two week trip taking three days to drive south to Florida. Three days back. We are taking the camper because during our 10 nights it is bound to rain or at least be buggy enough to cause discomfort in a tent. We have been to the Everglades a few times, the kids only once but we have done mostly the tourist type things. This time I would like to try doing some backcountry camping. Finding a campground has proven to be a little tricky. Most are first come-first served. None have hookups and some are so neglected you aren't guaranteed electricity in the few areas that electricity is supposed to be available. We discussed solar for the camper but we never go to campgrounds without hook-ups so the expense for this one trip seemed foolish. I ended up making reservations at Midway Campground which is technically in Big Cypress Preserve. They have paved sites and electricity. This will be the first time we have "dry camped" for more that two nights. They have a dump station on-site and a hose to fill our freshwater tanks. We can always pull out to dump if we get too full. The campground is in a pretty central location to the activities we want to do.

I have a list of things to do but we may not get to them all. Weather, wind and tides will be determining factors.
      - Tamiami Triathlon
          A program the National Park Service is doing. You need to hike a three mile loop, bike the Shark Valley trail and canoe/kayak to Sandfly Island. It's 20 miles of exploring the Everglades.
     - Stay in a chickee
          We are hoping to explore Hell's Bay and stay overnight in a chickee.
     - Stay at a beach site
          Piggy backing on the Sandfly Island canoe portion of the triathlon we were hoping to spend two nights at a beach site paddling across Chocoloski Bay.
     - Fish, fish, fish
     - Visit Robert is Here
     - Snorkel at John Pennecamp State Park

The challenges of this trip are many.  First is getting there. This will be the farthest we have traveled in the camper. Second is the dry camping. It shouldn't be a challenge but definitely something to consider when doing dishes, taking showers and laundry. Which brings me to the third challenge which is laundry. We can go about 5 days before needing to do laundry but we will be 45 minutes from a town and spending 2-3 hours doing laundry isn't making the most of our time.