May 1st, 2008 Sandra Friend
New! The University of Florida has opened up public access to its 60-acre Natural Area Teaching Laboratory (NATL) in the heart of Gainesville, right behind the Museum of Natural History and Performing Arts Center on Hull Drive. Open dawn to dusk, this set of interpretive trails totals about 1.5 miles in four trails, inclding a 500 foot boardwalk. I just picked up the info on it, and will head down there soon to check them out. Meanwhile, here’s a link to the map and details about the trails.
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May 1st, 2008 Sandra Friend
Me and the gals at work slipped into the new park in Micanopy to see what it’s all about. It’s a community park, and town hall says construction is complete and it will open soon. There are Native American burial mounds on site, a small museum, and what looks to be at least one loop trail through the forest, no indication of length. I’ll be watching and waiting with my GPS to be one of the first on it!
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April 28th, 2008 Sandra Friend
Since my PO Box is in Micanopy, I drive through there frequently. I was surprised to see a brand-new trailhead, not yet opened, on the main road between downtown and US 441 south, for the “Micanopy Native American Heritage Preserve.” A grant was provided by the state in 2005 to build an interpretive trail and museum at this site, which I believe will commemorate the settlement so well documented by William Bartram in his Travels, published in 1791. I can’t find any mention online of when the park and trail will open, but I’ll do a little asking around and find out!
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April 25th, 2008 Sandra Friend
At the far north end of Market Street, that famed boulevard that slices right through the heart of Apalachicola’s historic business district, the road ends at the Apalachicola Reserve Nature Center and its adjoining nature trail. While the center is only open on weekends, the trail is available anytime (dawn to dusk), and I took the opportunity on a recent trip to retrace my steps down the gravel and boardwalk, pausing to delight in my favorite flower, the wild iris, in glorious bloom in the sluggish slough near this tiki with its inscription honoring Earth Day. At the end of the walk, a mere 10 or 15 minutes of strolling through the marsh, the scene opens up to a sweeping view across the estuary, where an eagle’s nest sits in a distant tree and a fishing boat is permanently beached among the reeds. A short walk, but long on scenery, and the only hiking trail you’ll find IN Apalachicola.
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April 21st, 2008 Sandra Friend
Atop the highest point on the Florida Peninsula stands a monument to an immigrant who lived the American Dream and decided that his legacy would be to preserve this high point and make it a sanctuary for all to enjoy: the Historic Bok Sanctuary. Most folks come here to stroll the formal gardens, losing themselves in mazes of shrubbery only to pop out at the top of the hill and marvel at how far they can see across the Polk County landscape. This Saturday, though, I was picnicking with my sister and her children when a group of people approached us as they completed the Pine Ridge Trail, a 3/4-mile nature trail traversing the natural habitats of the ridge.
“Mom! Hunters are coming,” Logan said, and pointed across the blooming prickly pear cacti to the distant line of people, each with a long rod slung over their shoulder. As they drew closer, it was obvious they carried tripods…and cameras. We had a good laugh.
I visited last spring and hiked the Pine Ridge Trail, but there was no time for it again today. Perhaps next visit. Meanwhile, you can browse my photos of the trail and I’ll get around to writing about it. Yes, those are ridge lines in the distance, parts of the Lake Wales Ridge, in fact.
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