April 1st
My new friend Devashis had suggested a couple of chill spots
to grab a drink, but I felt like I needed to get some exercise so I headed to
Venice, Florida to pick up The Legacy Trail and bike it into Sarasota. It was
originally a railroad line first built in 1911. The Army used it extensively
during WWII and The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus were
frequent users from 1960 to 1992. Now it's been paved over and except for the
one overpass of Rt. 41, it is a nice flat, straight 22 mile round trip
excursion through wetlands ,farmlands of grazing cattle and crossovers of the
Florida waterways.
The most noteworthy inhabitant that I came across was a large
turtle, but it is possible to spot Otters, Coral Snakes (venomous), Banana
Spiders, Florida Fox, Florida Panther and even Bald Eagles. It was a beautiful
day for a ride and nice to be in the saddle again. I burned about 750 calories
on the ride and maybe another 200 wrestling my bike back into the van! I need
to take a picture of that storage puzzle for future reference!
For some photos and more info on the trail: Legacy Trail History
I realized that evening that I hadn't done my due diligence
in researching legitimate spots to overnight park in urban areas. My cursory
search led me to believe that Walmarts are the perfect answer and I had been
using them with success. However, this particular night as it got late I pulled
into one that had the dreaded "No Overnight Parking" signs. So I
plotted a course to the next one down the road only to see the same unwelcoming
signage! At this point I was grumbling at Walmart, the information I got from
the web and most of all myself. Upon further research I learned that although
some 4000 locations do allow "over-nighting", but another 350 don't!
Researching further I found according to one source that Kmarts, although not
as prevalent, are actually the first big retail chain to set a corporate policy
allowing "overnighting". Some additional alternatives among others
are: Camping World, Lowes?, Cracker Barrel? (always confirm) and Pilot/Flying J truck stops. The latter
being a sure bet since on their website they explicitly state in their RV
section that all are welcome to find a parking spot and get overnight rest. As
bonuses they also usually have the best fuel prices (2 cent discount if you get
the "Rewards Card"), a lounge area with TV and massage chairs, laundry machines, and showers available ($12). I played a hunch and waited to
fill up in the morning and was stoked that my hunched played out. Overnight the
fuel price dropped 4 cents (another 2 cents with the Rewards Card) and I got
the cheapest fill up so far at $3.43/gal. nearly 40 cents cheaper than when I
left Fort Lauderdale!
April 2nd
When on the coast what is more natural to do than to coast
down to the local beaches? So that's what I did taking a pretty drive down
Longboat Key and having a stroll along the white powder sands and inviting
emerald Gulf waters of Lido Beach. I had been given the tip to also check out
Siesta Key which has signs boasting they are the #1 Beach in the U.S. of A.
Based on the massive congestion and traffic I guess you can't deny its
popularity, but for that very reason I would knock it down quite a few spots.
Sorry Siesta Key, but I have my own criteria and I'm sticking to it!
For the evening I was glad to exit the urban jungle and stay
at Myakka State Park. I was hoping to sleep in the van and hold off on buying a
tent since I already have two perfectly good tents in storage, but the Park
Rangers weren't too keen on "encouraging" that practice. But that's
O.K., I'm sure the tent will get some good usage through the mid-Atlantic
states and may eventually make a good fort for a certain Nephew.
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| A heavily armored invader. |
After packing up my gear I began the 2+ mile hike into the
primitive campground known as "Mossy Hammock". I was immediately
greeted by an Armadillo and I didn't realized how prevalent they are in Florida.
They aren't indigenous though. All it took for them to get a strangle hold on a
new home was an overturned circus truck. They are not very skittish of humans,
possibly since they carry a suit of armor, and they are considered an invasive
pest capable of devastating entire of populations of leaf eaters.
 |
| Not playing dead, just curious. |
I arrived at the site shortly before sunset, set up the tent
and went to collect some firewood for the evening. At dusk shortly after
settling in for nature's laser show of lightening bugs I was given the once
over by a curious Raccoon and later after my fire had died I heard the sounds
of another "Curious George". It's always fun to watch the imagination
run wild trying to figure out who the owner of those footsteps are as you here
the crunch, crunch, crunch not far from your campsite. Is it another rocky raccoon, a
panther, or maybe even a bear?! Fortunately my headlamp is equipped with a red
light which I was hoping might go unheeded by this latest visitor. In this case
I was correct and it did not scare off the curious Possum checking out my tent.
The Flash and click of my camera, however, did startle him a bit. I got the pic
though!
April 3rd
One of the great things about proper camping is you can
sleep with the peace of mind knowing
that no one is going to wake you up and tell you that you have to move on
because some government entity has the audacity to tell you where and where not
you can sleep. However, this morning there was the overpowering smell of heavy
smoke and I could hear the crackling of flames. With some anxiety I opened up
my tent to see that I was surrounded by fire! Doing my best not to panic I
grabbed a t-shirt poured some water into it and wrapped it around my nose and
mouth as quickly as I could. I headed in the best direction that I could make
out heading downwind, looking for a path least beset with the singeing heat of
fire. Eyes stinging, choking on the smoke making its way through the moist
t-shirt I was desperately searching for an exit from through the labyrinth of
flames engulfing the dry timber of the park. My limbs felt heavy. My vision
narrow as if moving down a dark tunnel. It felt like time stood still while simultaneously
it mercilessly marched on not allowing me to make any headway. Losing hope I
heard a voice over the roar of the fire, "HELLO......., PARK
RANGER!". This, of course, woke me
up from my dream and I answered back, "YEAH!"
Apparently, they forgot to mention at check-in that they
would be doing a controlled burn in the area the following morning. So the
Hippy-ish Park Ranger had to politely inform me that I needed to pack up and
"move on". In one sense it was
a bit of unfortunate timing with regard to my stay, but on the other hand,
excellent timing that I was warned before my dream sequence could become a
reality.
Anyway, there was still the Park's Nature Trail to see. The
sites along the Nature Trail were comparatively sparse compared to recent
experiences, but the one jewel this park offers is a 100 ft. Canopy Top Bridge
walk giving an above the trees view of the surrounding area. But the bridge is
only about 30 ft. in the air so for those who aren't afraid of heights I
definitely suggest continuing up the tower at the end which put's you 76 ft.
into the sky affording a very expansive view of the Park and surrounding lands.
Don't quote me on this, but I think that well may be the
highest you can get in Southern Florida!
(notwithstanding buildings and mind
altering substances!)
