Updated: 16 Dec 2016
This was our second trip to Myakka River State Park. On our previous visit, most of the park was flooded. This time it looked like typical dry season. We rode our bikes through the park and stopped at the Outpost, where we scheduled a boat tour on the river. Waiting for the tour, we walked to the bank where we saw several egrets and great blue herons. On the boat, we saw roseate spoonbills, anhingas, egrets, herons, and many many alligators. The tour guide spent most of his time talking about the alligators. They can move incredibly quickly for short distances, and are apex predators in their environment. The female alligator stays with her young and protects them for the first year or two.
The shallow water (less than 4 feet deep) caused some excitement, as an alligator had to move suddenly to avoid being run over. A loud splash, a shriek from the front of the boat, a woman leaping out of her seat…and Bob collapsed in laughter.
We took the back roads to the park and just a few miles west of Arcadia on FL-72 we passed a Peace River Citrus processing plant. Even with the windows closed and the air conditioning on we were slapped in the face with the incredibly delicious smell of oranges. Wow!
Original: 15 Oct 2014
We were greeted by wildlife right from the beginning of our stay. It was a pleasant way to start the evening.
The rainy season has not yet given up in this part of Florida. Myakka River had been closed due to flooding just five days ago. Evidence of the rain was plentiful. The evening of our stay and the morning after brought hard downpours and would have made the campground uninhabitable but for the gravel. The facilities here were of the same vintage and quality as we found in Stephen Foster.
This park, unlike Stephen Foster, is a prime example of how Florida must have been before development arrived. The photo above does not do justice to the hundreds of egrets, heron, spoonbills, storks and others. We were prepared for hiking but the rains literally stopped us dead in our tracks. Instead we spent the morning driving the park road south to north. What a treat!
