Oscar Scherer State Park

Blue Trail at Oscar Scherer State Park, originally uploaded by Century Club.

No this isnt Charlie Brown's shade tree in his front yard, but it does represent my feelings of the Oscar Scherer State Park. The staff was friendly and helpful but the park didnt offer much to me. The river looked like it would be nice to canoe down and the campsites seem well liked since they were so crowded. As for the park itself it was not much more than a walk through a typical South Florida piece of land.

I decided tot ake the yellow trail. A five mile walk which would take about 2 hours or so. Following the map I cam to the end and the map said to then go back. I didnt see any markers to exit onto the bike path and come back along the original path. Well that is where I should have gone. I returned to see a gate that would put me where I neeed but it was locked and I decided not to jump the fence. I then walked back until I found the blue trail markers. Following them I eventually returned to the hub of all the trails. Lots of grasshooppers, dragonflies but no other wildlife was seen.



The South Creek Nature Trail and Lester Finley Trail were a nicer shaded walk but again no wildlife was seen. The river as mentioned above had a few canoers and many voiced from across the way from the campers.



Overall the park was nice but seemed more of a place for a weekend get together rather than a place for pictures and walking. That may had been different if the Yello Trail was better marked since that would have taken me more away from the hub of all acitivity.



As always more can be seen on my flickr page.

Six Mile Cypress SLough

Alligator Lake, originally uploaded by Century Club.

I went a little later this morning to see if the wildlife likes to sleep in some days. For the most part I didnt see much again today. I great blue heron startled me as it took off from the side of the boardwalk below me and a little blue heron was on the side of wood duck pond.

The new thing was I saw the first alligators on a long time at alligator lake. WHen I entered 3 birds were sitting on the floating raft and a smaller alligator was next to the dock. Over time I am getting better at spotting logs with eyes so this sort of stood out. He was maybe 5-6 feet long and content laying there.

Walking around the park didnt yield much other than the birds mentioned above. The last pond didnt even have a turtle to be seen. After the loop is done you walk back by alligator lake so I tried one more time. The birds that were on the raft were replaced by a gator maybe 6-9 foot long.

In all not a bad day but still not the day I was looking for with the photography contest coming up soon.

More of the pics can be seen on my flickr site

Ding Darling Sanibel Florida

PICT9150, originally uploaded by Century Club.

Originally posted November 18.2009
After a few trips recently to Six Mile Cypress Slough I decided to head to Bunche Beach and Ding Darling. I ahd read a lot about all the birds at Bunche Beach and really wasnt disappointed. When I got there a great blue heron was posing for a photographer. Another person walked up and started to take pictures as well I felt out of place with my little minolta so I walked the beach for a bit and left.

I stopped at Ding Darling and was there as the wrong tide. The tide was coming in and all the birds were on the right side of the drive. For some reason I like them better on the left side. The bay was covered with birds but again too far for my camera to get a decent shot.

The best pics I got were of the ablove bird. I assume this is a heron but need help witht he type.

Next trip will be to Lovers Key Park and possible Six MIle Cypress in the afternoon.

Koreshan State Historic Site

Originally posted November 14, 2009
In my quest to visit as many state parks as possible this year I went to the Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero Florida. (Estero is just outside Fort Myers). Some people may find this park interesting but to me it was quite a few buildings built in the late 1800's or early 1900's that appear in various states of disrepair. The redeeming part of the park is it borders the Estero River. Some of those pics can be see at my flickr site.
After walking through the park and headed back to my car I did run across a gopher tortoise. I do not know if turtles or tortoises are afraid of people but this one was on a mission to get past me into the woods. No stopping, no turning no ntohing. Straight ahead and thats where it went.
If you do decide to visit the park please read a little about the community so the building make more sense. It wont make them look nicer but it will explain why this is designated a park etc.

Six Mile Cypress Slough

Reflections, originally uploaded by Century Club.

originally posted November 13,2009
A great morning for walking and searching. About 60 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. The first pond had steam from the cold air and warm water temperatures. A wood stork sat on the closest barge as Ibis sunned themselves in their normal tree across the pond.
I didnt hear or see any wild hogs in the normal spots but did see quite a few wood storks, little blue herons and the ever present anhinga. The water was higher than most previous visits so that may have moved the hogs to a different location.
With the bright sun, the reflections on almost all ponds and lakes were amazing. My favorite is above but a few others were nice as well. As always you can see the pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/centuryclub.