Lake George to Juniper Springs

December 8, 2021

Namaste right here for a while

Morning light broke through the door of the yurt and peaked into my eyes. Matt was up early. He graciously made coffee, and omelets. He brought me breakfast in bed and I thought what an gentleman.

The sign in the yurt says Namaste in bed all day. My take is Namaste right here and enjoy the morning. I am sure glad I am in the company of a talented lollygagger such as myself. We mosied along packing up our gear and clean laundry. Close to 11am we started our cycle back to town.

Matt is usually ready to go first. Today was no exception. I was still trying to defluff my clean laundry.

My best friend called while we were in route to town. She said her Daddy was buried at the First Baptist of Seville Cemetery and she used to teach Sunday school at the church as well. Matt and I toodled over to the cemetery and paid our respects. It amazes me daily how small the world is. I was riding my bike in the small town one of my best friends was raised in. As we were pedaling along the streets, I considered all the beautiful memories she had growing up here and how it shaped who she is today.

My best friends Daddys headstone in Seville, FL

Matt and I came to US 17 again. Neither of us have had great experiences on this road. We pedaled quickly to get to the backroads.

Matt pedaling on a backroad somewhere in Volusia, County

Some dirt, but most were pavement that led us past shade houses full of ferns. As we passed each shade house my eyes peered inside and I called out the varieties and qualities of each fern that I knew. Matt was yet again getting another lesson in Horticulture in the South. Just another free service offered by Rose Pedals! Ha!

We made our way towards our destination along US 40. We stopped at Dollar General to grab some shelf stable bacon, Herdez Guacamole Salsa and a few drinks.

Rehydrated, we climbed over US 19 and through some rolling hills. Matt allowed me to draft him for about 10 miles. We had hours of headwinds today and were both feeling wore out. On our final stretch of US 40, I grabbed the lead from Matt and we finished together into Juniper Springs.

Matt had camped here in 2016 when he was hiking The Florida Trail. We got a campsite, grabbed our swimsuits and headed to the springs to cool off. Beautiful cool water of the springs certainly cooled us off quickly. The guppies were nibbling on our exposed skin and soon we were laughing at the whole experience.

The old mill still running but closed to the public for restoration.

Swimming in the pool at Juniper Springs. Beautiful!

Once back at the campsite, it began to sprinkle. We worked together to put the tents and tarps up. No hammocks in Juniper Springs for tonight, boohoo.
For dinner we had egg and bacon burritos with Herdez Guac Salsa. I highly recommend this deliciousness if you like it a little spicy.

We also had a plate of wheat thins topped with hard salami and cojack cheese. The remaining cheese was wrapped in bacon. Voila hors d'oeuvre are served!

Again another good team effort for dinner.

Bacon and egg burritos. Hors d'oeuvre of course lol

We grabbed showers and cleaned up camp, then turned in for the night. My blogging would have to wait until the morning as my eyes are heavy and my pillow is calling my name.

Today's ride: 31 miles (50 km)
Total: 320 miles (515 km)

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