Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson

When planning to make our first trip to Key West over Thanksgiving to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, one of the main things we wanted to do was make the trip to the Dry Tortugas. These are a chain of islands near the confluence of the Gulf and the Atlantic located 70 miles west of Key West, and is the site of a very large fort that is now a national park. That is how we came to be in Key West checking in to board the Yankee Freedom at 7:00 on Thanksgiving morning.

If you ever wish to make this trip, we can highly recommend the crew of the Yankee Freedom. It is a 2 hour trip to the park, and the crew does their best to make it an enjoyable trip. The boat is an enclosed catamaran, and they serve breakfast on the way out. There is also a naturalist aboard who provides commentary along the way and provides an optional tour of the fort. While you can stay inside the cabin the entire trip if you wish, you are also welcome to sit topside (partially covered) or walk out to the front of the boat during the ride.

Once you reach Fort Jefferson, you are welcome to take the guided tour or to explore the fort on your own. You can also snorkel (equipment provided), or explore the perimeter. Lunch is provided on the boat, and the boat also provides the only restroom facilities as there are none for guests on the island. You arrive at the fort around 10:00 a.m., and leave for the return trip at 3:00, arriving back in Key West about 5:00 p.m. It's a very full day, but very much worth the trip.

Fort Jefferson itself is very interesting. I won't bore you with all the details here, but essentially it is one of the largest masonry forts in existence, with the bricks being shipped in from 3 different parts of the country (as is evident during the tour). It was built to protect the valuable shipping lanes there, and construction took place between 1846-1875. It remained a Union holding during the Civil War, and was used to house prisoners during that time. The fort was never 100% completed, and experienced numerous challenges during the time it was used. There was never a war-time shot fired from the fort's canons. One of the most famous prisoners to be held there was Dr. Samuel Mudd, the doctor who set the leg of John Wilkes Booth after he shot President Lincoln.

The water was a bit chilly the day we visited, but we still managed to snorkel for about 45 minutes by the fort's moat wall. The water was very clear, and while the coral was not nearly as colorful as we expected, it was still very interesting. There were also some very interesting specimens of shells, coral, and sea weeds on the shore lines, but the entire area is designated as "no take". In other words, you are not allowed to take ANYTHING from the property, including shells. Of course, that's also part of the charm of the beach area.

Just as we were leaving for the return trip, we were given the treat of seeing a very small island that is apparently the only breeding ground north of the Caribbean islands for a particular type of bird known as the Masked Booby. We saw several in flight, causing the naturalist on board to point out that it is not everyday that you are able to see flying Boobies. : ) Pictures of the birds and island are below.

This was a much anticipated trip for us. The day began very overcast and chilly, but turned out to be almost perfect weather until we had already started back. A very worthwhile day!


The fort appears in the distance. The Loggerhead Key lighthouse is also seen on the right.

Getting closer to the fort.

A better view of the lighthouse on Loggerhead Key near Fort Jefferson.

The Yankee Freedom II at the dock at Fort Jefferson.

Mary seems to be thinking "I know this is a no-take area, but surely that doesn't apply to this conch shell" : ) Note: she did the right thing and left it there.

A starfish in the water near the dock.

Part of the fort as seen from inside the walls.

The small island where the Masked Booby birds were nesting.

Boobies in flight.

Shipyard Island Canoe Trail

On 11/21, we spent the morning exploring the Shipyard Island Canoe Trail at Mosquito Lagoon. We launched from the boat ramp just inside the north entrance to the Canaveral National Seashore (you are allowed to drop off canoes and kayaks to launch there, but you must then park your vehicle across the street before launching). This is a convenient launch site, as you are directly across the river from the entrance to the canoe trail.

This is an interesting trail, and an especially great place to paddle in salt water. Once you cross Mosquito Lagoon from the boat ramp, you will be paddling in canals throughout Shipyard Island that motor boats are unable to reach. The trail is very shallow in many places - we even ran the canoe aground once. It's almost as if you have gone back in time on parts of the trail. We saw many species of birds this day, in particular several woodpeckers. We also observed from a distance something in the water in one of the canals, but could not catch up to determine if they were otters, manatee, or something else. Once back in the lagoon on the way to take out, we also passed several dolphin that were fairly close.

Once securing the canoe, we explored the Turtle Mound for the first time. This is a Timacuan Indian Mound, and the park has built a walkway to the top of the mound (the last picture below was taken from here). There is a nice view from the top of the mound, and we saw several varieties of butterflies from the walkway.

We also hiked the short trail to the Eldora Statehouse, and then walked on the beach for an hour or so. All in all another great day in Central Florida!


View from the canoe on one of the many canals making up the canoe trail.

Woodpeckers - taken from a long distance and cropped, so not very clear.

View from the Turtle Mound of Shipyard Island - you can barely make out the entrance to the trail in the middle of the shore line marked by 2 white poles.

Turtle Beach at Siesta Key (Sarasota area)

The weather promised to be almost perfect today (11/15), and we took full advantage to spend a day at the beach. Although it takes a bit longer to get there, we much prefer the Gulf Coast beaches. We have been wanting to visit the Siesta Key beaches since Siesta Beach was named the Number One Beach in America earlier this year.

We decided to begin the day at Turtle Beach, which is on the south end of Siesta Key. We had heard that the shelling there is excellent. There is a decent parking area, along with rest rooms and covered picnic areas. From the parking area, there are several access points to the beach, so you won't have to walk far from any point in the lot. Walking south, there are a few condominiums and private homes along the shore. The sand here is brown, course, and very soft, making it a bit difficult to walk on. Once you near the end of the county owned area and enter the section known as Palmer Point Beach, the beach becomes much more secluded, with very nice private homes scattered along the shore (mostly back from the beach). Toward the end of Palmer Point, the houses get a bit closer to the road, but it is still very nice and we saw only a handful of people on this stretch. We took our time, walked to the end from the parking area, and it took almost 3 hours. As far as shells, they were plentiful. They are mostly common varieties and on the smaller side, but we did find a few interesting ones to bring home for our collection.

After lunch we decided to check out Siesta Public Beach. It was easy to see why it is so popular. The sand here is pure white, and as fine as sugar. It also one of the widest beaches we have ever seen. So wide that it was quite a hike to the water, and very crowded even this time of year. It has many amenities, including picnic areas (some covered), food concessions, rest rooms, volleyball nets, etc. We have heard that it is not unusual for there to be 15,000 people there on a typical weekend. As nice as the beach looked, we opted to return to Turtle Beach for the rest of the afternoon, because we just wanted to sit and enjoy the day and it was much less crowded there today.

Siesta Key is easy to find from the Orlando area, and is about a 2 1/2 hour drive. Simply take I-4 to Tampa, and go south on I-75. Take exit 205, and go west on Highway 72 (Clark Road becomes Stickney Point Road). Go about 8 miles to Midnight Pass Road. Turn left (south) and drive about 2 1/2 miles to reach Turtle Beach. Turn right (north) to reach Siesta Public Beach.


Mary took some great photos today - here is a sampling:

"me and my shadow . ."

Needless to say, there were a few birds around today.

we see a lot of herons, but rarely on the beach

Bird dives for a fish . . . .

. . . . and he gets one

Now that had to hurt - yes, this lady has an entire tree tattooed on her back

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park - Gainesville

Sunday (11/8) was a beautiful day for hiking, and we spent the day at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park near Gainesville. We recently learned of the preserve, and were looking forward to seeing a wide variety of wildlife during the hike. We started the day at the Visitor's Center. The center itself is a very interesting design, and is staffed and well done. A short walk from the center is a 50-foot high observation tower. Although we did not see much this particular morning, it provided a great view. We were told that at times the bison and / or horses will come close enough to get a good look.

There are numerous trails throughout the park, several of which allow pets, bicycles, and / or horses. We randomly chose the Jackson's Gap trail to walk first. This was a nice hike through shady hammock and pine flatwoods. It was a short hike of only about 2.5 - 3 miles round trip from the visitor's center parking area. We then drove to the Lake Wauberg area, had our picnic lunch, and took the short walk to the boardwalk over Sawgrass Pond. Here we spent an incredible hour or so amazed at the amount of wildlife in such a relatively small spot. We observed 3 grown alligators, a group of about 10 alligator hatchlings, several snakes, turtles, multiple water birds, and more. You also have a nice view here of the University of Florida facilities across Lake Wauberg, and this day there was several sailboats and canoes on the lake. The park has a boat ramp for non-motorized boats only. Most of the pictured below were taken from the boardwalk. This area alone was worth the trip.

We has also heard from other park visitors that we should visit the La Chua Trail, which required leaving the park and driving about 11 miles in toward Gainesville (the visitor's center provides excellent printed directions). This 3 mile round-trip trail takes you past the Alachua Sink and to the center of the prairie marsh. There were more gators than you could easily count, many of which were as large as we have seen anywhere. At the end of the trail, there is an observation platform at the end of the trail providing a nice panoramic view of the basin. Here we saw many birds, as well as a long distance glimpse of some of the wild horses. There were also this day many beautiful wild flowers in bloom across the prairie.

All in all, another great day at one of Florida's many excellent state parks. Admission is now $6 per vehicle, but there was no charge to park at the La Chua Trail area. Also, we found nearby the trail head for a 16 mile paved bike trail, the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, that we look forward to trying very soon. More information available at http://www.floridastateparks.org/ and http://www.prairiefriends.org/.

Alligator hatchlings

Osprey taking off with a snack.

Anhinga

Gator hatchling swims under the watchful eye of a parent

Look closely - this snake obviously ate recently

Gives me the shivers, but pretty colors.

Double crested cormorant

Historic Micanopy, FL

Mary and I traveled to Micanopy, FL on Sunday (11/1/09). Honestly, we had never heard of this town until a few weeks ago when we saw that one of Steve Rajtar's historic walking tours would be held there on 11/1, and that there would also be a craft festival in town the same day. It sounded interesting, and we're glad that we took the chance to go.

Micanopy is a very sleepy and quaint town, and is the oldest continuously settled "inland" town in Florida. It is a small town (pop. ~653) , most of which is listed on the National Register since 1983. After taking the one and a half hour walking tour with Steve - about 3 miles round trip - we spent several hours visiting the booths set up for the fair, several of the stores in town, and the museum in the old Thrasher General Store building. There are several antique stores, at least 2 used book stores, a few restaurants, and stores selling arts, crafts, and collectibles. It is also home to the Herlong Mansion, which is a popular bed and breakfast that is also on the National Register. Micanopy also boasts that 2 movies have been shot in the town - Doc Hollywood and Cross Creek.

After leaving the main part of town, we drove out past the old cemetery that we passed during the walking tour. Here we stopped and spent another few hours. Mary and I both enjoy walking through old cemeteries, and the earliest recorded burial here was in 1826. It continues to be used today.

We plan to return for the day sometime soon when there is not a festival happening to get a better feel for the town and to visit more of the stores and sites. We also plan to visit the Paynes Prairie State Preserve at the same time, which is located in the same general area. This is well worth the trip if you are either a history buff or just want to browse the antique and collectible shops.

One of the fine old homes in town. You will find a wide variety of architectural styles here.

Old commercial building now housing an antique store.

The gate and fence fronting a former estate in town - the previous homes have since burned. Built from bricks used as ballast in old sailing ships.

The former Baptist church - now used as apartments.

Stewart-Merry house. Has been expanded several times, but the base structure is the oldest existing home in town.

Walking Tour of Sanford

We have had a Sanford mailing address for the past 3 years, and keep our boat at the Monroe Harbour Marina in downtown Sanford, yet we have never truly explored Sanford until we took a recent walking tour sponsored by the Florida Trail Association. This was another tour hosted by Steve Rajtar.

This walk lasted about 3 hours and covered over 6 miles of historical buildings and sites. It really provided a sense of Sanford's history, and we were amazed at the number of restored beautiful homes in the area. There are also several parks in the downtown area, and many churches which also have a wide range of architectural styles. The downtown area has many older buildings as well, and there is a nice variety of restaurants and shops in the historic shopping district.

Downtown Sanford is located on Lake Monroe, which is part of the St. John's river. The waterfront area is nicely done and well maintained - it's a nice place to walk along the water or just sit in one of the swings and just relax. Other points of interest along the tour are a former ornate hotel now being used by a missionary organization, the national guard armory, the Elks Club building, and many other sites. It was great to learn some of the history and to see many of these buildings, etc. that we otherwise would not have known were there.

One of the many nicely restored and well maintained older homes in Sanford.

One of the many interesting church buildings along the tour.


Another of the older churches.


Building housing the Sanford Museum on the shores of Lake Monroe. Interesting to note that the tops of the columns (green part) are formed in the shape of celery stalks, one of the primary crops for the area in years past.

One of several parks in downtown Sanford.

St. Simons Island, GA

We have enjoyed vacationing at St. Simons Island several times in recent years. St. Simons is near Bruswick, Ga and Jeckyll Island, and is about an hour north of Jacksonville. While not part of Central Florida, we were recently there for the weekend for our daughter's wedding, and wanted to share a bit about St. Simons.

For history buffs, there is Christ Church and the cemetery adjoining the church, as well as Fort Frederica. Christ Church is an old and beautiful Episcopal church. The most interesting thing to Mary and I when we first visited was wandering through the cemetery. For those who have read the historical fiction trilogy based in the area by Eugenia Price, you can walk through and see the headstones of many of the books' featured characters. Fort Frederica is a federal park that has artifacts and reproductions of one of the areas oldest settlements.

Nicole and Jon were married at the Lovely Lane Chapel located at Epworth by the Sea (www.epworthbythesea.org). Lovely Lane is the oldest remaining church building in the area, and was originally associated with Christ Church before later being sold to the Methodist Conference. Epworth itself is a beautiful spot that has a wide variety of hotel / conference rooms available complete with a cafeteria and recreational facilities. It is located on the Frederica River, and is set among huge live oak trees. It is named for Epworth, England, home of John and Charles Wesley who both spent time on St. Simons Island. Epworth also has a very nice Wesley Museum.

The reception was held at the historic King and Prince Resort (www.kingandprince.com). The King and Prince is ocean front, and the service we experienced there was phenomenal. Our event was held in the Delegal Room with a ocean view, the meal was delicious, and it was a very memorable evening. Special thanks to Anne Thompson and Scarlett Starr at the King and Prince, and Justin Henley with Island Sound. We are also grateful to Rob Breter of Breter Photography in Orlando. This is the second wedding that he has shot for us in less than 2 years, and we appreciate his traveling to GA for this one. We already have the pictures back and they are fantastic as usual.

There are many other neat features that attract us to the island. There is a very quaint village area with a pier,shopping, and restaurants, an historic lighthouse, an old Coast Guard station, and a long stretch of beach that is very nice at low tide (it becomes "no beach" at high tide by the King and Prince). We look forward to exploring other parts of the island on future visits. We especially enjoy doing so by bicycle - they are easily rented at several locations by the day or week.

Here are just a few of the pictures from our weekend:

A Dolphin frolicks behind a sailboat in front of our hotel - picture shot from our balcony.

Part of the King and Prince as seen from the beach.

A shrimp boat prepares to go to work.

More dolphin in front of the resort.

Silver River

It's been a few weeks since the last post, as we took some time off from exploring to concentrate on our daughter's wedding. Nicole and Jon were married at St. Simon's Island on 10/10 - more on that later (it was a great weekend!)

Last weekend we finally made it to one of the places we have been wishing to paddle for some time - the Silver River. We were afraid that it might be too chilly, but it turned out to be a beautiful weather day. We launched the canoe from Rays Wayside Park off Highway 40 in Ocala. This is a county-owned park, and the $5.00 entrance fee per car is well worth it. The launch facilities for motor boats and canoes/kayaks are in good shape, there is ample parking, and they have restroom facilities and picnic areas.

We had visited Silver Springs a few years ago and did the glass bottom boat tours, etc. - we had both visited as children as well. Paddling the river is a whole different perspective. From Rays Wayside, it is a 10 mile round trip paddle to the Springs and back, with a fairly steady 3 mile per hour current. While you can hear road noise, etc. for much of the trip, this river is still one of the most beautiful that we have experienced. Most of the trip is through state park land. You are not allowed to land your boat anywhere along the river except for one spot at the state park canoe launch, and there is no fishing allowed along the river. Motor boats are required to maintain idle speed for the entire length of the river, which is good for the paddlers.

The water is crystal clear not only at the Springs, but for the whole river. We were amazed that right after launching we could stop and watch fish and turtles swimming. I was also surprised that the river is relatively deep compared to other rivers we have paddled in Central Florida. Within a couple miles of the launch, we spotted the Rhesus monkeys. There were about 15-20 of them, and were actually on both sides of the river at the same spot. We actually came a lot closer to them than we intended, and had to back up a bit to be on the safe side. They were great fun to watch. It's amazing that the small group of monkeys that were originally places on a island at the Springs in the 1930's has multiplied and been allowed to grow wild in the park - this alone makes this river and park unique in Florida. We continued paddling to the Springs, passing a multitude of turtles, alligators, and many species of birds along the way. After turning around at the head of the Springs, we pulled over in a small cove and had a picnic lunch (in the canoe - you are not allowed to land your boat). While eating we enjoyed watching several types of fish swim under the canoe, including some fairly large Gar.

The paddle back to the launch site seemed almost like a reward for the work it took to reach the Springs. We took our time and basically drifted back, stopping briefly at the state park launch site. We were on the water a total of 5 1/2 hours, and it was definitely worth the trip!

Here are a few pictures taken along the river:

Rhesus monkey - almost too close!

Now that just can't be comfortable!

Some of the many turtles and birds seen along the way.

Anhinga drying wings behind a cypress.

Katie's Landing - Lower Wekiva River

Katie's Landing is a canoe launch off of Highway 46 on Wekiva Park Drive. It has been closed for quite a while, but the public launch facility has reopened during the past few weeks. Katie's has a storied history as a privately owned facility that rented canoes and cabins, but is now owned by the county. While the launch area is still fairly rough and rutted, you can get a car right to the river, drop your non-motorized boat, and park in the newly paved parking area. There are also rest rooms available. There is a sign that says the boat launching fee is $3.00, but there doesn't appear to be a place yet to pay. In any event, this is great news for paddlers because of the location on the Lower Wekiva River.

Mary and I launched from Katie's Landing this morning, and paddled to the St. John's River and back. We took our time and basically floated downstream to the St. John's (over 3 hours) taking in the beautiful scenery. For the first stretch from the launch there are several private homes, but once past there it is very isolated. At one point we became a bit concerned because we heard several very load alligator growls, and there were several very large gators in the middle of the river that didn't seem inclined to move when we got close. We were under the impression that the growling was primarily a Spring thing - will have to check that out a bit further. We saw many birds today, including Blue Herons, Egrets, Ibis, Tri-Colored Heron, Wild Turkeys, Sand Hill Cranes, Limpkins, and others. We also were quite close to a couple groups of Manatees today.

The trip back upstream was a bit less than 2 hours. This was not because we wanted to go that quickly, but because we were racing a thunderstorm and lost. We encountered a driving rain for about 20 minutes, but fortunately the lightning stayed in the distance and we returned safely. While the Lower Wekiva is beautiful and fairly primitive, there are very few if any places to seek shelter during a storm.

Even with the storm, it was basically another great day on the river. Having made this run, Mary and I have now paddled the entire stretch (at one time or another) from Rock Springs Run (Kings Landing) to the Wekiva River to the Lower Wekiva River to the St. John's River. We look forward to many more days on the rivers this fall!

Here are a few pictures from today:

A few of the Manatees we saw today.

The entrance to The Lower Wekiva from the St. John's River - either the water level is a bit high or the sign sunk! : )

A baby tree frog on some of the tall grass in the river.

Historical Tours with Steve Rajtar and the Florida Trail Assn.

In July Mary had seen a mention somewhere of a guided canoe tour of the Winter Park chain of lakes with a historical emphasis. We decided to check it out, and were thoroughly pleased that we did. In fact, during the past 2 weeks we have been on walking tours of the Greenwood Cemetary (night tour), the Lake Eola area in downtown Orlando, and a canoe tour of Lake Ivanhoe.

The tours are sanctioned by the Florida Trail Association, and are conducted by local attorney Steve Rajtar. Steve had done extensive research on many areas and towns in Central Florida, and he (often with his wife) has published many books and articles on the history of the area. When conducting tours in person, he blends history with a perspective of modern day, and does so in an entertaining manner. If you have any interest in the history of various places in Central Florida, it would be well worth your time to check out Steve's schedule and plan to attend one of his tours. The Florida Trail group also sponsors many other hikes, canoe trips, bicycle rides, etc. led by a variety of volunteers. We hope to attend some in the near future, and will write about how those go!

The historical tours with Steve are completely free. While he typically has available a variety of books for sale, as well as a patch for each tour available for $4.00, there is absolutely no pressure to purchase anything. You can find the upcoming schedule on the local Florida Trail website at http://www.central.floridatrail.org/. The is also a website that lists all of Steve's tours and links to the self-guided tours and directions that you can download, but that website will be going away in the near future - here is the link: http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/rapids/8428/historicalseries.html.

The group starts the canoe tour of Lake Ivanhoe.

View of downtown Orlando from Lake Ivanhoe.

One of the many interesting homes we saw in the neighborhoods around Lake Eola.

Fountain along the edge of Lake Eola

View of downtown at the end of the Lake Eola tour.