We started our drive to Florida.
Took our trikes and headed to Ruskin to spend a couple of days with Sue and Bob. Weather great. Company better.
Got 15 miles in at Fort DeSoto
Ken found a piece of history - a cannon at Fort DeSoto. This fort was built and then abandon due to the weather being stifling in the summer. Was only used for about 2 years.
Friday we headed to the East Coast to Jupiter to see Karen and Steve. Nice place. Very bikable town. We got in a 15 mile and 10 mile ride. Also two great walks through a nature preserve within walking distance from their house. Took their dog Riley for a walk,He loves it.
While walking the nature preserve and Riley sniffing around he found this turtle snuggled in his den.
Today's ride - Monday 2/13/17 - was on the West Orange trail from Winter Garden to Apopka. Beautiful trail.
Trail wound through the middle of the downtown as well.
February 14, 2017 -
General James Van Fleet State Trail.
Total of 60 miles
Started at the trailhead of Polk City to Mabel Florida. Talked with a few residents to see what to expect on the trail. It was apparently a low Wildlife day. To Floridians, it was a cool day. starting at 66 degrees. Felt good to us. This is an old rail trail.
Egrets are pretty visible along the way.
Lots of Turkey buzzards all along the way. They would fly pretty close. There was a spot where 8 of them were gathered together on the ground.
I really wanted to pick one of there air ferns and bring one home. Guess I will have to find one in a store. It is after all a park where you don't take things.
Another Egret. Sneaking around in the waterways that border the trail. It is all a paved trail that is 14 feet wide.
Wetlands along the way with the typical trees and foliage.
And since we are in Florida - there are gators. These 4 were smaller, maybe 2-3 feet long, I am not sure as we were not real close. They were off the trail.
Power lines just about anywhere.
Most of this trail was straight as an arrow.
More in the afternoon as it warmed up, they turtles started to show up. We must have see close to three dozen.
And tis the season, they are digging holes to bury their eggs.
This little guy was smaller than the rest. Looks like he has a leaf in his mouth for an afternoon snack.
These boxes were labeled "Bike Rx" . On metal cables, these various bike repair tools were along the 31 miles.
So nice to just see some flowers in bloom.
Another gator along the trail. no concern that he was hungry or that we looked good to him.
Saw quite a few hawks, but they never sat still long enough to get their pic. A few Osprey as well. This is a hawk.
This was the largest of the turtles we saw.
February 15, 2017
Half of the Sun Coast Trail.
There was a threat of t-storms in the afternoon, so we tried to get our ride in in the morning / early afternoon. Mostly cloudy, but very windy. Made pedaling a bit challenging on the way out in the morning. Sometimes we could barely get 9 mph going.
This trail was not as pretty. It had the highway to our left all the way out.
As we left the trail head parking, there was this tree with chimes hanging on it. Must be a tribute to a group of people, but we could not determine to whom. Flowers, flags and a couple of statues to the Virgin Mary. It was very windy, 10 - 35mph winds, so the chimes were really making music.
Ken making his way between the pines.
Along the Sun Coast Trail, there was a side part that was a state park trail. Many pine trees. This pine cone was larger than my hand.
The same watering hole a couple of pictures ago, on the way back, this bad boy probablyl 8-9 feet or more was out of the water and on the land next to it.
Ken checking out that big bad boy and a stretch break from riding.
Thursday February 16th
Withlacoochee State Trail.
Tribly to Floral City - 46 miles round trip
Perfect weather today. Blue skies. Started at 10 am with 63 degrees. Ended riding around 2:15 pm with 70 degrees.
So many recumbent trikes. Have never seen so many in one day. It was great fun. I think I liked this trail better than the James Van Fleet Trail.
Crossed this bridge just after leaving the Ridge Manor Trail head - about 5 miles into the ride from Trilby.
Things in bloom means lots of pollen. So have tried to counteract it with taking my allergy medication. So far, so good.
Again, some palms, but fewer on this trail than others.
Many bird feeders along the trail. They are marked with numbers so if you needed assistance, you could use the numbers on the feeders to tell authorities where you are. While on the trail we saw 3 vehicles on the trail. Two were DNR trucks and one was labeled Crime Watch. Locals say the trail is well monitored. And if you needed assistance and your bike was not ridable, they would drive you back to a bike shop or your vehicle.... There was a bike shop at Floral City.
I know he is small, but there is an owl in the top of this pine. Always wanted to see an owl for myself. He was pretty noisy as he landed. Must have had something in view to get. But he stayed put long enough for me to get a picture.
Dick is an 86 year old from Cinncinati. Comes to Florida every winter. He also has a Terra Trike, just a different model than ours.
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Shot from the forest. Part of the land management area.
One of many railroad markers left from railroad days. Not sure what these marks mean different from the numbers.
I am told this is a Black & White Warbler. About the size of a sparrow, more colorful and a longer beak. He was pretty frisky so hard to catch a picture.
Some different vegetation from the pines and palms. Lots of trees I don't know what they are.
Like I mentioned earlier, there were more trikes here than we have ever seen on any trail. This group of 5 guys were really hauling along the trail.
Just a pretty palm along the way.
Friday 2/17/17 - We will ride the other half of the Withlacoochee trail. Starting at Citrus Springs south to Floral City, where we stopped today. Weather is expected to again be beautiful. We may have to keep a watch on Saturday's weather.
Total miles on Friday - 46 miles.
Great ride on the other half of the Withlacoochee trail on Friday. Not as many pictures, no wildlife to speak of and more regular bikers than trikers today.
At the Citrus Spring end we did come across a Citrus shop - right on the trail. Lots of fresh fruit for sale - so we got fresh squeezed orange juice.
This is me just practicing my shots behind me. Caught Ken in action.
Sun got in my shot too much, but this is the Grovestand we stopped at for fresh squeezed OJ, We were also told their fresh made strawberry milkshakes were very good.
At
At one point on the trail in Hernando County, there was a lake on both sides of the trail. Much like going down the Falling Waters Trail. These lakes were much bigger. And yes that is a fountain in the lake.
The State of Florida does a great job with their trails. While they may not be interconnected like many are in Michigan, they are well maintained and even patrolled by the Crime Watch truck. Each time on any of the State trails, we have seen at least one Conservation officer and one "Crime Watch" vehicle.
Here is the caboose for the trail.
Up in the sky marks an "X"... Marks the spot of our final destination..... Are we there yet? We did a total of 46 miles again on Friday.
Just a little poster painted on the wall for their Rails to Trails. We have one in Michigan that is much bigger. But this one is cute.
The Apopka Lake.
Saturday - February 18, 2017
RAIN
The forecast was for rain and again a cool start. So we started the day at a geological park to let things warm up before triking. And by the time we were done at the park, it began to rain.
Change in plans
Also water on the floor in our hotel room. Came back to find it is the toiler leaking and running under the tile and into the carpet. Dried the carpet, cannot move us as they are full.
But on to the fun at Devils' Millhopper Geological Park.
It is a sinkhole visited from the late 1800's. It is 120 ft deep, 500 ft across at the top and 100 ft across at the bottom. People would come to see it and climb all around it. Over time it just tore down the vegetation. 232 steps were built on the stairway to get to the bottom. The stairway was built in starting in 1974 and became a State park at that time.
Here is a view of the stairs descending to the bottom.
A shot of the very bottom. Normally the bottom is dry. You are not allowed to walk on it.
The term Millhopper comes from the funnel like shape, which resembles a "hopper' that was used to funnel grain onto a millstone in a gristmill. Because fossilized bones and teeth from early life forms have been found at the bottom of the sink, it was said that the Devil's Millhopper fed bodies to the devil.
At the bottom, there is an outlet for the water to go down into the earth. A couple of years ago with a huge rain storm of 14 inches in a day, the entire sink hole filled with water. it was gone in a day.
Here the Sandhill Cranes are beginning to create groups to start to return to the north.
Many forms of vegetation can be found. Here are ferns. There are twelve types of oak trees in the area as well.
A few waterfalls come through the rocks. This is all limestone and the water seeps through the stones. After a rain, these 'waterfalls' are much fuller.
Did not find a 4 leaf clover, but again so many forms of vegetation.
A wild violet.
Ken checking out how the tree and fence post meet.
More samples of the vegetation.
And of course fungi, just like in the Great Smokey's. Well not as much variety, but it is present.
No biking today. Probably a good rest day.
So one trail will be missed - The Nature Coast trail. So tomorrow we will traverse the Gainesville to Hawthorne trail.
Then we will head to St. Augustine.
Sunday February 19, 2017
Gainesville to Hawthorne State Trail
Of all the trails that are state managed, this was the most difficult to find and has the most lumps and bumps on the pavement.
We started by looking for the Gainesville trailhead and I did not like the neighborhood and the idea of leaving our car and belongings there for 6-8 hours. So off to the Hawthorne end to find that trailhead. We rounded the supposed area 4 times until we finally found it. Poorly marked and another one alittle further down we found while riding the trail was not even on the map. Someone needs to update these maps with where and what amenities are available and where.
Anyway, it was beautiful, weather was perfect and it was a well traveled trail.
Along the trail was a preserve and Wildlife management area. Alligators, birds, and off in the distance Wild Horses and Bison.
This the entry into the area.
So here is the warning.....Open Range....
And the first of the gators we saw. He is probably 30 feet away.
A Snowy Egret.
An Anhinga or "Snake Bird". This is a male. They dive for fish.
Here we were waiting for a National Geographic moment. To see if the alligator was going to attack the Heron. They ignored each other. Asked a volunteer about it. He said the alligators feed mostly on fish and turtle. Occasionally they go after the birds.
The Great Blue Heron
The female of the Anhinga or Snake Bird
Sunning himself and drying out his wings.
Gator just enjoying the water.
Another shot of a Great Blue Heron
Just happened to catch sight of this moth. He was quite large.
On the way back we took another side trip and found this old water management station. Also a rest room.
The sight of the sun through the trees. There are 12 different varieties of Oak trees in Florida, this is just one.
Just a sight that caught my eye of trees with moss as garland.
Trees or what used to be trees at the waters edge with stumps left over time.
Again just caught my eye - These yellow flowers coming out of the swamp.
Wild Violets along the way .
And last for today, red berries seen periodically along the trail. A little hazy due to over flooding with light where they were sitting.
Tomorrow - St. Augustine. The Oldest City in the US.
Monday February 20, 2017
Castillo de San Maracos
Well with National Park pass in hand it was "Get in Free Day' because it was Presidents day. Ken asked: "Can I at least show you my pass?" - the Ranger laughed and said sure.
We toured the Fort for slightly over 2 hours. Caught a video on the history, a lecture on some of the persons involved in the development of the city as a whole and of course a gun/cannon firing demonstration.
Not sure the video will run. Try and see. All of the commands were given in Spanish. Not sure you can hear them.
Tried to get a picture of the cannon being fired. haha, needed a tripod as when the cannon went off, my camera went UP... Deleted that picture.
Good shot of the inside walls of the fort. This for changed hands 3 times between the Spanish and British. Took several years to build to it's completed state. 18 years to be exact.
This gentleman was demonstrating how to make musket balls. They use pewter to make the balls now for demonstration purposes. They cannot use lead anymore.
These are the implements used to clean and prepare a cannon.
A fire and small pot used to melt the pewter to make the musket balls.
Helen standing under the Spanish Crest.
They had several size cannons they used in the fort, 16, 18, and 24 pounds cannons with varying distances. 3 miles being the longest.
Here you can see the lookouts. They could see incoming ships from far enough away that they had time to ready themselves. Townspeople could seek refuge as well, within the walls.
Here is the entry gate into the City of St. Augustine. Still there.
There is so much history in this city. Persons of interest that invested in the city. How it became the Sunshine State and people of wealth started to come here for the winter months to escape the Upper East states winters. It helped develop the train system to get here. Over time the rail system came from California to St. Augustine as well.
Juan Ponce de Leon - an explorer who was the first to come to Florida in 1513 and returned in 1521 for the first attempt as a large scale establishment of a Spanish colony.
Tuesday we start for home.
