Horses R-WELCOME at Silver River State Park

Water Pump & Kiosk at Trailhead

Lottie gets a drink from the hand pump.  A careful check of the trail map on the kiosk in the Silver River parking lot sets you up for the best of adventures. Trails are marked orange, green, pink and red; there is also a river trail...and the river is simply gorgeous...preserved from human harm and lined with mounds of flowers, monkeys swinging on branches, and alligators of all sizes ignoring you.  If you do all the trails and wiggles, the trail is 10 miles. 



Even people who don't own a horse can experience the trail on horseback. Silver River State Park has contracted with Cactus Jack's Trail Rides for guided trail rides seven days a week.   You have to make a reservation because the horses don't live in the park...they have to ride in their trailer to meet up with you.  The cost is $55 plus tax for 2 hours.   It is a wonderfully interesting and pretty ride.  The sounds and sights are all wild:  deer, hogs, hawks, owls.  Of the 151 state parks in Florida, only 32 have horse trails...and this trail system is new. 

I've decided my initial exuberant reaction to Silver River SP was well justified.  It has it all...!

The park not only preserves 5,000 acres of natural Florida but its natural history.  We were told that camp hosts love being in their park, but rangers don't.  We've seen enough at the 20 or so state parks we've stayed at to say that this is mostly true.  Rangers very often start out as volunteers.  But once they switch to the strict schedule and requirements of a ranger, they make the "sad change"...from pure enjoyment of their surroundings to "just another day at work".  Even the most enthusiastic volunteers will succumb once their freedoms are restricted and the pressure of constant evaluation and added requirements sets in.  We are happy to stay in the volunteer category.  You really do have to PAY for a pay check.

Need to save money on the best horse ride in the East?  Check out http://www.groupon.com/  Search for current coupons to this or any other great attraction.  Have fun!

Job Offers Galore!



Ocala National Forest called us again after we turned down Shanty Lake and offered us a very nice position at Doe Lake Group Site.  We'd just have to watch over one site that was mostly used by equestrian clubs.  I was in heaven!  I love horses so much that I thought I was one growing up.  Pictures are at Doe Lake Description   But then it got confusing.  We got offers to camp host at Gold Head Branch State Park, Juniper Springs with Recreation Resource Management of America (a great company to work for; apply at RRMofA Employment Application or http://rrmofa.com/ ) then four offers in one day from the Forest Service.  Next Jolene called from Manatee Springs State Park with an offer to run the Ranger Station a few days a week in return for a spot with hookups.  We spent a few day at this remarkable state park in January 2010, so that was completely exciting.  And church was an easy bike ride into Chiefland, which was an important feature.  Then on September 23, 2011, we got an email from a ranger in the Everglades offering us the job at the Nike Missile site.  But the job didn't start until December.  (We should have asked, because we thought it started October 1st, like all of the other offers we'd received.)  We also got an offer from Bahia Honda State Park on this same day.  I told Bob to turn it down:  too hot and too buggy!  Besides, I'd miss the family reunion that was planned for October 8th.  He seemed devastated...saying that would be his dream job of all time.


Manatee Springs, complete with Manatees....of course

Here's a sample email we received:  The Ocala National Forest has immediate openings for volunteer campground hosts at the following campgrounds:   Delancy West - available now - April!, Hopkins Prairie - available October 15 - April 15