A Tale of Two Parks

We drove back into Florida (dealing with some gusty winds along the way and happy we had the new stabilizer to help with that wind), where we were scheduled to be in Dade City, Florida, for four nights.  We had tried to spend all four nights at the Sawmill Camping Resort;  however, we could only book the Sawmill for two evenings because they were all booked up for the next two evenings.  So, we moved to a different campground for our remaining two days in Dade City: the Withlacoochee River Park.  Since both campgrounds are in Dade City, Florida, we are reviewing them together.

Our first stop was the Sawmill Camping Resort.  This was our third gay campground (this one classifying itself gay & lesbian) since we began full time RV travel, and we finally had a little bit of luck at a LGBTQ+ campground.  While it was cold (lows below freezing and highs in the low-50’s), the campground was full of campers and the scheduled activities were on!  Although we arrived by 2:30 or so, we had to wait until 4:00 to begin set up as the previous campers at our RV site had rudely not checked out by 11:00 a.m. as required by this campground.  We quickly made friends with Mark, Scott, and Chris while we waited.  After we set up, we read up on all of the scheduled activities during our two-day stay.  

Like many LGBTQ+ campgrounds, Sawmill has themed weekends.  This weekend’s theme was leather, which means that many campers dressed up in leather for activities.  On our first evening at the campground, we participated in “leather bingo” (we didn’t wear any leather, but Tim won at bingo again; this time his prize was a free appetizer at the campground pool) and watched the “leather boy” contest, which turned out to be a very serious and intense (but also fun) contest for folks who are very serious about leather.  The contestants included a transgender man, which was unique but an especially compelling story.  The most serious part of this contest was the “question and answer” session.  The contestants’ answers were so profound, and the contestants were so vulnerable with their feelings and life experiences.  They really wanted to win this contest!  After the contest, we danced at the after-party  at their club, Woody’s Nightclub, where the DJ played some great 80’s and 90’s dance music.  

On our second day, we walked around the campground and took advantage of the free appetizer prize.  It was a sunny day, but the weather was cold, so we didn’t take advantage of the pool area (not many did and those that did had on coats as they laid out in the sun).

We prepared the RV for the freeze that was predicted for that evening by disconnecting our water and sewer and using the freshwater tank instead.  After sunset, we went to the “leather and lace” drag show and watched the “leather sir” contest, which was similarly intense to the “leather boy” contest from the previous evening.  After the contest, we headed back to our RV.

The next day, we headed to the Withlacoochee River Park campground.  We use an app called “CoPilot GPS” for mapping our route in the RV.  The app allows us to input information about our RV, like height and weight, and keeps us from roads that might have low bridges or power lines to prevent damage to the RV.  We are not completely happy with the app, but it has been the best of the ones for RVs that we have tried.  This time, however, the app took us down a dirt road beside the campground that was extremely bumpy.  This is never good for an RV.  We programmed the app to avoid this road on the way out but there should be a setting to avoid dirt roads!  

This was the third county-run park that we’ve stayed in.  The entrance to the park was odd because the registration office was located on a street with a sign that said that no RVs were allowed to drive down the street.  We had to park at a picnic area nearby and walk to the office.  Once we registered, we headed to our RV site down a street called “Big Ma’s Way,” (we were given instructions to turn at Smokey the Bear on the corner).

On our arrival at the park, we set up about two hours before sunset and decided to walk part of one of the nature trails called the “Perimeter Trail,” a 3.5-mile trail that encircles the park.  We walked approximately two miles of the trail.  It was again forecasted to be below freezing, so we once again used our freshwater tank.

On our second day at the park, we went back to the “Perimeter Trail” and walked two other trails across a boardwalk and to an observation tower that allowed us a view of a lot of the park.  We walked over 3 miles on the trails that day.  We then walked down to the Withlacoochee River, where the park has a canoe and fishing dock.  We headed back to the RV for the evening, as we were headed to the place where we bought our RV early the next morning to hopefully get a replacement part we have been waiting for since we got the RV (more on our trip to La Mesa RV in the next blog entry).

Review of Sawmill Camping Resort

It was an easy trip to the Sawmill Camping Resort, with well-paved roads leading to the entrance.  We were annoyed that the resort had not kicked out the previous campers who were in our spot way past their checkout time but loved our campsite once we got there because it was next to the pool and not far from the main activities area.  In fact, the entire campground is very compact, and you are never too far from any of the bars, cafes, or other facilities.  There were bathrooms with showers in the pool area, which were heated and well maintained.  There was also a store located in the office area that had many of the grocery items you might need.  Although there was no propane at the campground, there was a nearby company that visited the campground to provide propane to campers and we were able to take advantage of that perk (which we really needed since the temperature was dropping below freezing). 

Although we are not serious about leather, we love a good theme party; so, we were very pleased that the Sawmill has good theme weekends.  Sawmill had four bars and a café at the pool with a good variety of food.  They have daily activities, comedy shows, drag shows, and game shows.  We love a full activity schedule!  We have already scheduled another visit to Sawmill Camping Resort during our Florida winter itinerary and look forward to our next stay.

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Review of Withlacoochee River Park

The Withlacoochee River Park is a county-run park that has 15 RV sites.  It also has cabins and tent camping.  The RV sites are located in one section of the park and have electrical and water hookups, but no sewer hookups (there is a sewer dumping station as you exit).  In the RV camping area, there is a replica of a 19th-century church, which serves as a book exchange and game playing and puzzle making area.  There is an observation tower that allows for a view of the entire park.  

The park has several hiking trails, picnic areas, and playgrounds.  There is a canoe/kayak dock on the river, where you can launch your own canoe or kayak, and a pier for fishing.  There was a nice restroom with a shower located in the RV camping area, but no laundry.  It was very quiet at Withlacoochee River Park; we enjoyed the peacefulness of the park but probably won’t return to the park since we have already experienced this park’s trails/sights and there are so many RV parks in this area to explore.