Highlands Hammock State Park
January 8th & 9th. From Corkscrew swamp to Highlands Hammock State Park. A beautiful taste of primitive Florida-old growth oak and palm. We enjoyed a long lovely drive through the hammock on the way in and out of the campground, but sadly somebody (Carrie of course) scheduled us too tightly to allow enough time to walk the trails; well worth coming back for. The areas scheduled today were Avon Park and Myakka River State Park. The drive to Avon Park Bombing Range was to do reconnaissance on how to access the area to see Florida Grasshopper Sparrows since their populations seem to be in decline. On the way, we saw a statuesque Coopers Hawk, as well as a beautiful specimen of a Logger Head Shrike.
Loggerhead Shrike
Myakka River State Park was another site we have visited before. A Florida treasure, and although we did add 4 new species to our list, we saw much more bird activity here in the summer. We were hoping to add a Black Bellied Whistling Duck to the list, but it seems this species must wait until our early May trip through the area, as we head to the Dry Tortugas.
The Myakka campground, so popular that there was no space available, left us no alternative but to stay at an “RV Park”. WOW it pays to plan ahead… this is camping?
This is camping?
When they say “Park” they meant parked forever. Our site was in front of two RV’s so permanent that they had flower gardens and stepping stones to their front doors. We cooked 10 feet from these people’s front window, and did our dishes on their lawn!
It was after this camping experience that Chuck insisted we s l o w d o w n, get back on plan, and take more enjoyment from our experiences and surroundings. The hare has been driving the tortoise too hard! We will now try to stay two nights in most places, and avoid the Permanent RV ‘Parks’ whenever possible.