Weedon Island Kayak Adventure!

Weedon Island may be one of central Florida’s most hidden treasures. I went on a Kayak trip with some friends on a Saturday afternoon. It turned out to be quite an adventure that any outdoor enthusiast would enjoy. While located in the middle part of Tampa Bay on west side of the Gandy Bridge, Weedon Island is a sanctuary where you’ll quickly forget you are actually in the middle of two major metro areas off a main highway. All that aside, let’s start with the most important part; how do you get there? The Weedon Island preserve can be accessed of San Martin Blvd about a mile east of 4th Street if coming from Pinellas County or 1/2 mile west of the Gandy Bridge if traveling from Hillsborough County. Just follow the winding road to Weedon Drive and you’re there!

Park at Discovery Center where you can get a quick overview of the island’s history. Human artifacts dating as old as 1800 years have been uncovered during excavations on the preserve. Creek Indians moved down from the north in 1700s eventually becoming the Seminoles. The natives took advantage of the abundant food sources the area presented from the plant life to extremely fertile fishing grounds. Several trails and observation towers allow you get a glimpse of the pristine landscape where these original Americans once thrived. But if you really want take in what this amazing preserve is all about, you’ll want to get out on the water.

Bring your own canoe or kayak and drop it in the water at the specialized launching dock. If you don’t own one, then rent a kayak from Sweetwater Kayaks. They’ll give you the equipment you need then send you on your way. Make sure to bring a small cooler and a snack for the trip. You will get thirsty in the warm Florida sun even in the cooler months. We followed the kayak trail where over 30 markers guide you through open estuaries and mangrove jungles. This part of the bay is pretty shallow particularly at low tide. Pay attention so you don’t have to drag you ride to deeper water. Some of the waterways through he mangroves are both shallow and narrow. Some degree of endurance is required, but nothing too strenuous.

 

Wildlife is abundant on the kayak adventure. Fiddler crabs line the mangrove roots like a welcoming party. If you’re lucky (or maybe unlucky) one may even hop on to hitch a ride. We encountered just about every wading bird imaginable on our three-hour tour. From the smaller Snow Egret, the Ibis and Little Blue Heron to the majestic Great Egret and Great Blue Heron, we had plenty of spectators watching or maybe laughing at us as we worked our way through their world.  I heard dolphin and manatees were common in the preserve during higher tides, but the tide was well short that day. Only mullet leapt around the calm waters. That was enough entertainment for me though. I understood why the Native Americans cherished this place.

Eventually, the winding waterways and secluded lagoons open up to an open body of water that marks the home stretch back to the launch area. Along the way you can beach yourself on a sandbar in the middle of the open bay. You won’t be alone here! The sandbar is a popular stopping point. Regain the energy needed to paddle the last leg of the journey while lounging in the sun for a while. Make sure to save a cold one for the stop at the sandbar.

As we arrive back at the launch area, the soft rumble of thunder sounds in the distance. An egret sours overhead taking shelter from the approaching storm. Our arms ache a little. Our rear ends are a little numb. We dry off a bit and throw away the trash. Upon pulling away in the car I look back and think to myself what a great day! It was the Weedon Island kayak adventure I never expected and one I fully intend to take again.

 

Utopia – Fort De Soto State Park!

Waves crash along the shore sounding a harmonious hymn. A lone sea-gull cries a solo tune. A dozen others perched in the sand listen waiting for the cue that it’s their turn to chime in the chorus. A tern skips along the water’s edge adding a note or two of its own. This is nature’s symphony. The notes are not written. There is no maestro. It’s simple. It’s pure. You sit on the beach and listen. The sun gracefully bathes you with its warm rays. Your heart rate slows. You close your eyes. You are at peace.There are no high rises here, no tourist traps, surf shops, restaurants or bars. It’s just the ocean and the birds singing serenity’s song. Welcome to Fort De Soto Park, an island utopia surrounded by the waters of Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

Located just a few miles from St. Pete Beach, you get to Fort De Soto from I-275 or from Gulf Blvd by route of the Pinellas Bayway. It’s a .50 cent toll road that is well-tended. The park also has its own toll of .35 cents plus a $5.00 admission per vehicle. You’ll see some of the most affluent coastal living in all of Tampa Bay as you drive the five-mile causeway through the Tierra Verde community. You’ll pass Billy’s Stone Crabs which has been around for over forty years! It’s hit or miss with the food and service, but it’s on the water so that counts for something. The locals prefer The Good Times Continental just off the Bayway. It’s more home style and ranked number one in Tierra Verde.

After crossing a couple of bridges, the boat ramps and camp ground are off to the right upon entering the state park. If you’re a camper, make sure you make reservations well ahead of any planned camping trips. The wait at Fort De Soto can be up to a year! The boat ramps are maintained well and provide plenty of space for parking, but you’ll still want to arrive early for a day of relaxation or fishing on either the bay or the gulf. It’s one of the more popular places to launch in Southern Pinellas County so it will fill up fast especially on holidays.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is only a short distance away by boat. It’s deep channels provide some top-notch fishing for species you  might think you have to go fifty miles into the Gulf of Mexico to catch. My father used to tell me stories of going to the Skyway in search of the giant grouper (or jewfish) when he was a kid. I haven’t heard any tales of the enormous, man-swallowing beasts lurking those waters today, but who knows what lies at the bottom of the shipping channels? Other species of grouper, tarpon, king mackerel and cobia are there though. Experienced Captains track them down depending on the time of year. If fishing is not your thing, you can take the short jaunt out the mouth of Tampa Bay to Egmont Key. Known at night for its lighthouse, Egmont Key served as a first lines of defense during the Spanish occupation of Florida and as a U.S. military reservation until the latter part of the twentieth century. Today, it’s a wildlife refuge and only accessible by private boat or ferry from the Bay Pier in the park.

Once you get past the park entrance the activity choices are practically unlimited. Fort De Soto Park is divided into the north side and the east side. The causeway from the mainland ends at the ranger station from where you have to go either left or right. The east beach is to the left where you can see picturesque views of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The east side has plenty of fishing holes just off the road or places you can just poll over and relax. The east beach faces Tampa Bay. It’s marked by a large parking lot and restroom with showers. Just about everything else is on the north side of the island including two fishing piers, a gift shop, snack bar, bike rentals, canoe and kayak rentals, picnic areas, hiking trails, a pet playground and the highlight of the park, Fort De Soto itself!

Fort De Soto was a military installation built in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. It is free to tour. Some of the last mortar cannons of their kind that still exist in the United States have been placed in the fort. Fortunately, a shot has never been fired from Fort De Soto. Though it was not used in battle, the fort has served in many training exercises over  the years iincluding bombing practice for Hiroshima during World War II. I’ve been visiting  Fort De Soto for 25 years. The view from the top of the western wall that looks over the park’s north beach with Egmont Key in the distance is one of my favorite places in all of Florida.

In the same parking area where you go to get to the fort, you’ll find the Gulf Fishing Pier and snack bar. This is one of the longer and wider fishing piers in the area where you’re always guaranteed to find good company. Access is free! Summertime brings in schools of spanish mackerel, jack, tarpon, and trout chasing bait fish that are so thick one drop of a bait net usually provides ample supply for a good day of fishing. Dolphin are common in the summer. They are bold, too. They tend to congregate around the pier. No catch is safe with these guys. They are not bashful about robbing a fisherman of his dinner before he can get it safely out of the water. Take it from an eye-witness. I’ve seen them come out of the water to snatch a catch off an unlucky tourists fishing line.

The seas are rougher and the wind is colder coming off the Gulf in the winter. Despite the chill there is a peacefulness to the Northerly unique to the park that far surpasses any bite the wind dishes. Sunsets from the Gulf Pier are spectacular regardless of the time of year. Following a summer thunderstorm, the sun drops from the base of the departing cirrus just above the horizon. As the sun sinks lower, the moisture from the dying storm paints an array of reds, yellows, oranges, and purples in the sky that can easily be compared to looking through a window into heaven from the Earth. It lasts only ten or fifteen minutes, but the impression lasts forever just like in a painting.

Fort De Soto Park harbors seven miles of paved trails that follow the shore and provide access to all the park’s amenities. You can travel within the park by foot, bicycle or car. Bike rentals are located at the north beach gift shop and concession stand. There are off-road hiking trails as well far to the north side of the island. The trails are convenient to the picnic areas so even on a cool winter day there is something to do to do if swimming or sunbathing is out of the question. The short hikes provide access to some pretty remote parts of the island so be sure to bring a camera! The palmetto scrubs quickly give way to coastal estuaries so the diversity of wildlife is pretty spectacular. From gopher tortoises and dozens of butterfly species to osprey and owl nests to the herons and egrets in the shallows, you are certain to find something worth shooting with a camera.

The interior portion of the island is called Mullet Key. This is where you’ll want to grab a kayak or canoe to explore the shallow mangrove channels. You may run into dolphins or manatees. You’re sure to get up close and personal with local native species of egrets, herons, pelicans, or maybe a limpkin, spoonbill or ibis. You’re guaranteed to get acquainted with the serenity of the park’s back country where Tocobaga Indians once lived.

You can do all of this without ever stepping foot on what Fort De Soto Park is most known for…the beaches. Three miles of the seven mile coastline consist of white sandy beaches. Whether you park at the east beach parking area or you just pull off the road and take a short walk through the north side sea-grass to the shore, the park’s beaches offer relaxation at its finest. The beaches here are not as crowded as St. Pete, Treasure Island, or Clearwater. There no water slides or tiki bar bands to attract the masses. Two-time winner of the nation’s best beach, the stars of Fort De Soto Park are gentle breaking waves, long walks, first class shelling, wading birds pecking a snack from tide pools, pelicans skimming across the ocean surface, dolphins rolling in the distance, and the aerodynamic ballet of osprey fishing for their young. The park rangers regularly patrol the beaches so make sure to obey the rules. Most importantly don’t feed the sea-gulls or you will live to regret the company of some very undesired friends. The warm gulf waters bring many species of live shellfish near the shore during the summertime. The sand dollars can get so thick you practically kick them up with every step. You’re also likely to encounter sea stars, star fish and stingray so make sure to shuffle when you walk to avoid any unwanted encounters. Also keep in mind live shelling is prohibited so when you come across that starfish, resist the temptation to take him home. He’s happy where he’s at.

Remember, your role is strictly an observer. Lose yourself in the opera before you. Let the stress of daily life melt away. Become one with the ocean’s symphony. Allow your heart and mind to synchronize with its melody. This small island utopia can belong to you for just a little while. Feel it! Treasure it! Protect and enjoy it! Nature’s song is what Fort De Soto Park is all about. All you have to do is listen.

 

Little Big Econ – Walk In the Footsteps of Ponce de Leon

The date is April 2, 1513. A prominent Spanish explorer, using his own money, sets out to find new islands of riches believed to be located somewhere northwest of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. He arrives at a destination and gives it the name La Florida after the Festival of Flowers during Easter, Pascua Florida. Juan Ponce de Leon comes ashore somewhere between St. Augustine and Melbourne, spending five days on what he thinks is an island . He never ventures far from the coast or his ships, nor is he particularly welcomed by the Native Americans that inhabit the area.

Eventually he moves on, heading south along the coast. What were the thoughts running through the mind of this man as he left the beach to board his ship, the Santiago, on a clear spring night with billions of stars shining down on a black ocean? He had already seen many strange things in his lifetime, visited countless foreign lands, and skirmished with those that inhabited them. Most of all, what makes him return 8 years later to settle the land? His plans go terribly wrong. He is mortally wounded in an attack by the natives. He flees to Cuba where he dies. Were his final thoughts as he lay dying of this mysterious world of endless foliage? He envisioned a new beginning and instead met a violent end. We’ll never know his last thoughts, but we know he changed the world. The European conquest of the North American continent had begun.

Legend says he was in search of the Fountain of Youth, but that search rarely took him away from the coast. Often they were met by resistance so it was probably safer not to press inland. But what if he had? What if Ponce de Leon explored Florida enough to learn about the heart of the land. The natives knew it well. They loved it enough to fight for it and die for it. The Calusa and Mayaimi tribes understood what made the heart of Florida pump the rivers and streams south to the Everglades which in turn fed the rich waters of Florida Bay. The Seminoles were the last to protect it, but eventually they too gave in to conquest after engaging the Spanish and the Americans in three wars. 1845 saw it all end when Florida became part of the United States. 

Ponce de Leon really never knew La Florida. I often wonder what it would have been like to see the land through his eyes had he accomplished his last mission, settled the land and written about it. I found a place where I felt like I was doing just that. Little Big Econ State Forest is located in Seminole County just north of Orlando. You can access the forest in the small town of Oviedo off County Road 426 or along Snowhill Road. It’s a two-hour drive from Tampa, but only fifteen or twenty minutes from downtown Orlando. It helps to have a Sun Pass or bring plenty of change. If you’re not familiar with Orlando, the toll roads are the quickest way to get around and that is how the GPS will take you unless you set it to avoid tolls. This is a place where you truly feel like your stepping back in time so however you get here will soon be irrelevant.

The Florida National Scenic Trail and The Flagler Trail intersect here where the old-growth is memorizing.  The Econlockhatchee River bisects the forest and the trails stay close to the river. Small creeks spider out in different directions from the main river so the forest service helps Trailwalkers by strategically placing wooden foot bridges along the main trails. My son and I did a 4.7 mile loop called the Kolokee Trail Loop which runs from the parking area off Barr St and CR 426 along the river to The Flagler Trail, then into the pine and oak hammocks before looping back down to the river.

The size of and shapes of the trees made the biggest impression on me during this three-hour hike. I literally felt like a Spanish explorer making his way along the narrow path. From sprawling oak trees covered in mosses and ferns to cabbage palm tree patches that rival three-story buildings you can feel the hundred year old spirits guiding you with each step. Pine trees do their best impression of California Redwoods that any tree growing in our sandy soil can do.

The Florida Trail and the Flagler Trail meet at a bridge that crosses the Econlockhatchee which was formerly part of the Flagler Railroad System. The old trestles are still there. Standing over the gentle flowing current I imagined those that inhabited the banks fishing the plentiful waters while the children swam and played. Fish the size of my forearm swam right below my feet so I knew this was always a place of bounty. Up the trail a few hundred yards an alligator rested in a small pond. Turtles enjoyed unusual afternoon warmth for late fall. I even came across a small box tortoise scooting along the trail. This is a place that can never be changed because it never has been changed. I felt that this is a piece of Florida that must be very close to its heart. It had already become a part of my heart.

It began to rain during the  stretch back to the trail head. We walked in the rain for a good half an hour. Normally when you spend that amount of time in the rain you end up drenched. The trees were so thick in places with canopies of palms that we ended up more on the damp side than what I would consider wet. I could tell Little Big Econ is no stranger to rain. It’s only twenty to thirty miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. There was zero chance of rain when we left Tampa, but a stiff northeast wind in early December had another forecast in mind for that part of the state. Other than some muddy shoes we ended our hike no worse for wear.

There is no traditional camping in the Little Big Econ State Forest, but there are miles of hiking trails, horseback riding trails and biking trails. You can canoe or fish as long as you have a state fishing license. It’s not the largest forest, but size does not equate to substance, and this forest has what you’re looking for if your into nature the way nature was meant to be seen; undisturbed and isolated. Walking in the Little Big Econ is truly like walking in the footsteps of Ponce de Leon.