After a restful Shabbat in Key West, it was time to hit the road again, driving through the multiple islands (keys) and over the many bridges. We stopped along the way for lunch with a view of the ocean, and then drove to another section of the Everglades – on the northern side – called Shark Valley. We were fortunate because until December this entire area was under water and closed to visitors. We took a 2-mile easy hike along a paved road, looking at the flora and fauna.
It is astounding when one realizes that seeing the wildlife and beautiful plants of the Everglades has become an almost commonplace occurrence; they are just so plentiful.
We then continued on to Midway Campground – where we stayed just before our trip to Key West – in the Big Cypress National Preserve. It is a small, well-kept campground and, as we find in most state campgrounds, campsites are nicely spaced with vegetation between each one. Midway is a nice place to chill after a long drive.
February 12, 2018
Another day’s driving through scenic byways and highways, a stop at Walmart for supplies, and arrival at our destination, Manatee State Park – beautiful nature and trees but no manatees. There is now a dam between the Manatee River and Lake Manatee which prevents this unique mammal from migrating to the lake. There are bobcats, rattlesnakes, cottonmouth snakes (both poisonous but we happily haven’t seen any), owls, and very large turtles (those we’ve seen).
There was a controlled fire at Manatee State Park about a year ago, and we saw both the charred trunks of the trees which burned together with abundant new growth – an interesting combination which leads us once again to marvel at the wonders of how nature replenishes itself and in what ways the expert forest rangers are helping to develop/keep the areas as they are meant to be.
During our second day at the park we drove to a river walk in Bradenton, just north of Sarasota and the city nearest to the campground. We followed the artistically created Riverview Boulevard along the freshwater Manatee River which leads into Tampa Bay. Along the way, we saw many people fishing – some didn’t seem to be catching anything, although one gentleman had two large fish in a bucket when we walked the trail and six or seven when we returned about an hour later. We are not sure if the success is due to the spot, luck, or the fisherman’s ability. We have heard that many of these people are fishing for food more than for sport.
From Bradenton we crossed over the Manatee River to an island (one of a series) with some beautiful white beaches and many, many resorts. We followed the Gulf of Mexico Drive which divides the Sarasota Bay from the Gulf of Mexico for a bit, stopped to enjoy a view of the bay, and returned to the campground in late afternoon.
February 14, 2018 Manatee Viewing Center and Hillsborough State Park
This morning, on our way to our new campground, we made a side trip to the Manatee Viewing Center in hopes of getting a better glimpse of a manatee. When we arrived, we were happily surprised to find that the folks from the viewing center and marine biologists from Orlando’s Sea World were releasing a manatee that they had saved into the waters. This 825-pound mammal was rescued in November near Sarasota with boat-caused injuries on its back, taken to Orlando for treatment and rehabilitation, and just today reintroduced into the water. The manatee has only one creature that threatens its existence and that is careless boaters; even sharks are not natural predators of this adorable mammal.
The viewing center is a project of the Tampa electric company where warm water discharged from the power station meets the colder water of the Gulf of Mexico. This is an ideal environment for the manatee as they need warm water to survive (not less than 68 degrees F). Though we didn’t see any other manatees in the water, the weather was quite warm, and we were told that dozens came last month when the weather was colder.
Speaking of weather, this has been an extremely warm February, the warmest in the Tampa area on record. For the four days we have been in the area, the temperature has been consistently in the 80s.
The viewing center complex also includes a nature walk and a 50-foot observation tower overlooking beautifully kept areas, including a mangrove forest. Mangrove forests provide food for a large variety of fish, nesting areas for large coastal birds, and help prevent erosion with specialized root systems. They are found along the coasts of Florida and the Florida Keys.
After the viewing center we headed to Hillsborough State Park where we are stayed for the night. This is a very large and beautiful park – one of the nicest we’ve been to – with a flowing river filled with vegetation and wild life. We had a nice, long hike through the woods along the Hillsborough River; we even saw a couple of gators and really cute squirrels. And our campsite was beautiful.
We will be on the road again tomorrow, going into the Florida Panhandle.