#7 Mother Nature

From Lake Manatee, this week we moved down the road to Highlands Hammock State Park. As we approached the park, we saw some cars stopped and people looking at something by the roadside. We pulled over and saw these 12-15 inch long babies basking in the sun.

How many baby alligators can you find in this picture? Sorry! You have to read through to the end of this blog for the correct answer! Of course, mama was nearby too.

We think we were lucky to have one of the better sites in what was a pretty tightly packed park.

In case you are interested, a hammock is a “densely forested tract with semi deciduous and evergreen hardwoods that grow at slightly higher elevations than their surrounding areas” (Lonely Planet Florida guidebook). This 9900 acre park is home to a natural habitat that gives the visitor a great view of some untouched Florida landscape. Built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in the early ‘30’s, the men's bunkhouse survives today as the park museum. The museum had a map with other CCC camps shown and we were amazed to see how many there were.

The men who worked for the CCC earned $1 per day, and a part of their pay was sent home directly to their families to help pay the bills. 

  

There are several excellent trails that take you through different areas of the park.  Our favorite was the Cypress Swamp. It winds you through a wonderfully primitive swamp environment.

The cypress swamp exists in only in the lowest areas of the stream bed and the area it floods during rains. Notice how the trunks spread at the base for extra support.

At elevations of only 3 feet higher, the character of the forest changes to that of the hammock.

  

Walkways are built at various places along the path to keep it above water, and they provide a good elevation to view the swamp. With its inherent quiet, the swamp and views of it were really special.

You can see some strange critters in the swamp too.  

The cypress roots are quite shallow, but spread out laterally where the roots project upwards as “knees”. The tips of the knees represent the high water mark, and when the water is high, they not only stabilize the tree but also provide oxygen to the root system.

Another favorite path was the Ancient Oak trail where many trees dating to several hundred years ago still grow. These trees may be over 100 feet tall and at their tops, the spreading limbs may also be 100 feet across. Massive, but hard to show just how large and magnificent they are in a photo!

The oldest tree in the park has a circumference of 36 feet at its base and is estimated to be over 1000 years old when it died about 50 years ago. 

Its surprising how some of these giant old oaks lean 30 or more degrees without falling over!

Do you know what a Scamp is? Well, it’s a very tiny camping trailer, and the Scampers were having a rally at the park this week. There were probably 50 or 60 of them in the park.

On one of the trails we came upon some trees with bright red lichen growing on the side. What color!

Its always great to see friends when we are traveling, and so we were glad when Kay and Jimmy, who have a home nearby where they live part of the year, were able to visit for a few hours. We enjoyed their visit quite a lot and almost felt like we were home for a while. 

But we have many miles to go before we sleep (in our own beds).

OKOKOK.  Scroll down for the GC (gator count):

7 little gators were in the pic......how many did you count?