February 2011 Trip Report From TCD

[anolefan 8]

Well, it seems that most of you have read a TCD trip report before.

And, even if you haven't, you may have noticed that there are plenty of photos.

That's my thing.

Quantity.

Not quality.

TCD

I don't know why, but I literally was laughing out loud looking at all the turkey photos. I scrolled as fast as I could to see if I could see them moving. Was the camera set to burst mode?

I have never seen a turkey at the Fort so I thank you for posting them.

Carry on...

[North7... Jeff 2]

I didn't realize how much I missed reading the TCD trip reports until I read through these 4 pages :banana:

Here's hoping this is an extra long report and it sounds like there will be another one following it.. :dance: Woo Hoo :dance:

[Avatab.... Steve 124]

I don't know why, but I literally was laughing out loud looking at all the turkey photos. I scrolled as fast as I could to see if I could see them moving. Was the camera set to burst mode?

I have never seen a turkey at the Fort so I thank you for posting them.

Carry on...

There's plenty of turkeys at the Fort, esp on holiday weekends....

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I could never expect to compete with the TR master! :worship:

Just a second there, missy.

Your most recent trip report rocked!

And there are some other good ones on here, too.

If any of you reading this one have not read S70's, it just a few below this one on the trip report page.

Read it!

I can't believe I almost missed your report. I now will be staying tuned in. Oh and everything is good in Texas just wish we were in Florida.

Well, maybe if you had started this trip report for me, I would have shown up here sooner.

Oh well, better late than never.

You, sir, are a gentleman. Just another reason I am glad to find the great TCD at our new internet home. ;D

Thanks, but I suggest you reserve judgment until you meet me.

I am not really a gentleman.

But I (usually) know when to keep my mouth shut.

For what it's worth, I really liked where I used to post, and I'm sad about what happened. I don't have any ill will toward that place, but this is my new home.

укусить меня

:rofl2:

Wow!

Russian letters and everything.

How in the world do those folks understand that writing?

And, stop being so sensitive. Why did you assume I was talking about you?

Nope that's Russian for "BITE ME" I have been translating Russian part numbers to English all day, pretty much knew that one :rofl2:

OK, now, that is impressive!

This board really rocks, doesn't it?

I'll bet the only reason Dave knows how to say that is that he has heard it plenty himself.

I don't know why, but I literally was laughing out loud looking at all the turkey photos. I scrolled as fast as I could to see if I could see them moving. Was the camera set to burst mode?

I have never seen a turkey at the Fort so I thank you for posting them.

Carry on...

What?

You've never seen a turkey?

I can't believe it.

But, if I remember right, you did get a sweet hawk photo!

By the way, I forgot to ask, the last time I posted a turkey photo, someone posted a great video of an arrow that removed the turkey's head. That was a great video. Does anyone remember it? This is not a question directed at anolefan, but to everyone.

I didn't realize how much I missed reading the TCD trip reports until I read through these 4 pages :banana:

Here's hoping this is an extra long report and it sounds like there will be another one following it.. :dance: Woo Hoo :dance:

Thanks.

And, you are right, this one is going to be plenty long, and then I do have another one in the hopper.

Plus, I have had a couple of short visits to the Fort as well, with some photos from those trips, too.

I've got a lot of posting to do!

There's plenty of turkeys at the Fort, esp on holiday weekends....

True. And other "wildlife" as well!

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK, it's time.

To tell you about my little adventure.

But first, we will take a look at the 1500 loop.

That is where I wanted to be.

But, they said it was full.

But on Saturday, it wasn't.

A lot of the campers who had been there were packing up to leave.

But, the FW crew was setting up a bunch of rental tents.

A bunch.

Here's one:

And this is where we meet this trip's real man of genius.

Right here on 1500.

As we entered the loop, we heard a dog barking.

Loudly!

Here he is:

He's chained to the picnic table.

The real man of genius had packed up his tent, and went somewhere.

Leaving Fido chained to the table.

This guy was breaking every rule in the book.

And his poor dog was barking his head off.

So, Mr. dog in a tent and chained to the picnic table man, we salute you!

You are the TCDRMOG award winner for February, 2011.

Here's another rental tent on 1500:

So, what was the deal?

What happened was a big group showed up on Saturday.

They filled up the loop.

Most of them had rental tents.

And then they left on Sunday.

I guess they had fun?

So, it was now getting to be late morning.

The plan was for the girls to hit the showers and get ready to head to a park.

And, I would be doing a bit of exploring.

I have been to most places in the Fort.

But, there was one place that I had yet to visit.

The Horseshoe Bend Recreation Area!

What, you haven't heard of it?

Well, neither had I.

Until I looked at this old map (circa 1978):

Look at the 300 loop.

Now look just below it.

Notice that the Bike Barn used to be over here.

Also, notice that the map shows the route of the Fort Wilderness Rail Road.

Look where the tracks go though what is now the dog park, and then cross the creek, and travel over to the canal, and then curve toward the 1500 loop.

In this close-up of the map, you can see that this area used to be called the Horseshoe Bend Recreation Area:

I have mentioned my desire to explore this area before.

The Otterspotter told me that she remembered it as being open fields for recreation.

And, of course, the train went through there.

As you know, the tracks and the ties have been pulled up in most places.

In some places, the old rail beds are now sidewalks.

Or, they are just covered over, and no body would even know that there had once been a train that ran through Fort Wilderness.

But what about back here?

I wonder if there is any evidence of the tracks back here?

There is only one way to find out.

I knew that this would be no easy feat.

This area is very overgrown.

If you ever look to your right as you travel from the 1500 loop to the 1400 loop, this is what you see:

It's a big, overgrown, swamp:

Notice that a lot of stuff in there is brown.

I have been waiting a long time to visit on a day like today.

Winter has helped tame some of the brush.

And the cold weather has taken care of the bugs.

It is likely that the snakes that surely live here would be hibernating, or at least sluggish.

So, this is my chance.

I'm going in.

I'm going to try to find and follow the path of the old Fort Wilderness Railroad through here- all the way from when the rails crossed the creek, and out toward the 1500 loop.

Here is where I started:

That's the bridge that you cross when heading from the 1400 loop to the Settlement. That canal leads from the fishin' hole behind the Meadow Trading Post, traveling between the 600 and 500 loops and the 1400 loop.

If you look on the map, you will see that it is possible to walk along the bank of the creek here, and end up at the point where the tracks crossed the creek. But we have a problem. This is what the creek bank looks like:

There will be no walking along the creek bank today.

We will enter over here, just a bit off to the side, where it looks like things are a bit clearer:

Before we begin our journey, let's take a look back toward the 1400 loop. That's the 1400 loop bus stop off in the distance in this photo:

To enter here, I have to push away the dead vines. At least they are dead, and give little resistance:

Even after several weeks of cold weather (December was another record cold month in Florida this year), you can see how thick the undergrowth is here:

I pushed through to a bit of a clear spot. I could see across the creek here. It is much clearer over on the other bank:

Here we are looking across the creek again. You can see the dog park fence to the left in this photo:

You can see the fence again here:

Here we are turned and looking up the canal in the direction we need to go:

Here's one last look across the creek here. It looks like there would be a nice place to sit and fish right over there:

From here, I press on into the brush:

An old beer can tells me that I am not the only person who has visited this area. But, the condition of the beer can tells me it has been a while:

There are a lot of fallen and rotting trees back here. They make it difficult to get through:

After a lot of pushing and back-tracking, I make it to my first landmark!

It's the support for the old trestle that used to cross the creek here:

Here we are looking across the creek toward the dog park. You can see the matching concrete support on the other side:

From here, I intend to try to follow the path of the railroad all the way out to the road again by the 1500 loop.

Based on what I just had to walk through, I did not expect this to be easy.

i also had no idea whether there would be any evidence of the old tracks to see.

But, for now, we have reached our 30 photo limit.

You will find out in my next post what I found here, and whether I was able to make it through!

TCD

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I am having a very tiring day watching the children clean the house. I need me some more TCD reporting to take my mind off my troubles. :popcorn:

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

I am having a very tiring day watching the children clean the house. I need me some more TCD reporting to take my mind off my troubles. :popcorn:

can we trade kids for a week? :rofl2:

[Lil Lisa 53]

Gee, thanks.

How about a moonwalking banana for old times sake?

Ta Da!!! Anything for you TCD! I'll even give you three!

[johnnyb aka John 15]

Andrew, so happy to see you, and as usual, enjoying your trip report!!!

Oh yeah, I changed my user name, I am the camper formerly known as RvUsa, and EjmBibb before that LOL

[LONE-STAR 370]

You left us hanging. Help. Will TCD make it out alive , will we be able to wait until Monday for another post. Tune back in at the same Fort time same Fort channel.

P.S. I need a beer. That is all.

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

w00t....a TCD report. This man needs a memory card and battery sponsor.

[Memphis 105]

Great to have you on board Andrew! True to your word, your first trip report is not even finished yet and is already the most viewed and replied too thread on the trip report board.

[fldisneymommyto2 0]

You will find out in my next post what I found here, and whether I was able to make it through!

TCD

So glad to have you here TCD.. your TR are so entertaining... but how long are you going to leave us hanging?

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Ah that is the beauty of TCD... he's a master of building suspense in his TR. I think he likes to keep us on the edge of our seats...

:suspense:

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

who is Andrew?? Doesnt fit my vision.. :rofl2:

[Lil Lisa 53]

Ah that is the beauty of TCD... he's a master of building suspense in his TR. I think he likes to keep us on the edge of our seats...

:suspense:

It's like trip report foreplay... :rofl2:

[LONE-STAR 370]

So glad to have you here TCD.. your TR are so entertaining... but how long are you going to leave us hanging?

Never seen Andrew post on a weekend. Nothing after 5 on Friday until Monday morning but you never know.

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

It's like trip report foreplay... :rofl2:

made me spit on my screen :rofl2:

[Lil Lisa 53]

made me spit on my screen :rofl2:

Glad I could help! :rofl2:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Andrew, now look here. I am sitting in a hotel room in freakin Sombertown, watching it rain outside, my wife and daughter are sleeping, and the only thing I have to entertain myself is your trip report. If you don't post something again soon you are going to be VERY LUCKY that I am in St Petersburg Russia and not St Petersburg, FL, cause I'd hunt you down, steal your SD card and post the damn report for you! :argh:

Ok, just kidding, sort of. But get with it, man! :rofl2:

[stacktester 78]

Andrew I'm glad you finally came over. I was at a wedding at the Grand Thursday and got back last night to find you were here and catch up. I'm caught up so on with the report. I hear Lonestar is having a TCD party at his place to celebrate. Probably just him the wife and Tinkerbell watching a Disney movie but no doubt a celebration.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

can we trade kids for a week? :rofl2:

Just crack the whip, my friend! Amazing what you can accomplish through fear and intmidation! :rofl2:

[Lou... 3,118]

Just crack the whip, my friend! Amazing what you can accomplish through fear and intimidation!

While we're waiting for the next installment, a little hijacking is called for.

Whips, fear, and intimidation, I'm getting kinda scared of meeting you, or maybe not.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

While we're waiting for the next installment, a little hijacking is called for.

Whips, fear, and intimidation, I'm getting kinda scared of meeting you, or maybe not.

:rofl2:

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Here you go guys