Today we drove 1 ½ hours to Myakka River State Park in
Sarasota County. This is one of Florida’s oldest and largest State Parks and
was developed by the Army’s Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934. The 39 miles
of hiking trails and many miles of dirt road provide access to the remote
interior. The park brochure lists 25 things to do in the park.
Our original intent was to come here for an all-day
geocaching event. We registered our attendance at the event and set off to look
for some of the old and recently placed geocaches. There are so many geocaches
in the park and surrounding areas that some geocachers camp overnight or for several
nights. Can you imagine camping at the
beginning of March?
One of the activities offered at the park is an airboat ride
on the Upper Myakka Lake. We were disappointed to learn that the last schedule tour
of the day had been sold out. However, they added another tour and we were able
to book that one and we took a ride on the Gator Gal.
This is a beautiful shallow lake teeming with wildlife in
and around it. We saw lots and lots of alligators and I learned a few more
facts about them. People were canoeing and fishing. We saw many different
species of birds and ducks. But what surprised me the most were the wild pigs
foraging in the open areas. Apparently, the pigs were introduced by Ponce de
Leon and they are too many of them now. The State allows people to hunt these
animals all year and there is no limit on how many may be taken.
So our plans to spend most all of our time looking for
geocaches changed and we only took time to find 5 of them. Two were difficult hides
and it was a challenge for us to find them since we don’t have terrain like
this in Maryland. But, after two months in Southwest Florida, we are learning
how and where to find some of these caches.
I would like to return to this park and spend a
few nights in one of the cabins. I would bring my bicycle and explore some more
of this beautiful place.
That's the park I think I wanted to go to on my way out but decided not to last year. I SHOULD have gone. That would have changed my schedule and perhaps I would not have totaled my car! Hehehe... Looks like a really beautiful spot! I would think those gators would take care of the pig problem! They must be feeding 'em too well! :)
ReplyDeleteNever mind... the one I wanted to go to was Ocala National Forrest! Ocala ... Mayakka... they sound alot alike... y'know???
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