Myakka Backcountry

Myakka is one of Florida’s largest state parks and includes almost 39 miles of hiking, biking, and horse trails. Many of these trails provide access to the remote interior of the park. I decided to take my bike into these remote areas to see some of this backcountry. My first stop was at Ranch House Rd which gave me access to Meadow Sweet Pasture.

Meadow  Sweet Pasture

In 1910 Mrs. Bertha Palmer, an innovative business woman bought and built her 19,000 acre ranch here on the Myakka prairie. Over her short eight year tenure she bought Brahma bulls improving the spindly herds in Florida. She also developed dipping vats to combat tick fever as well she fencing her entire ranch. These practices were all unheard of in her day.

Mrs. Bertha Palmer on her ranch

Cattle on Upper Myakka
Lake

Daily Labour Report

Mrs. Bertha Palmer passed away in 1918. In 1930 the Palmer family sold over 17,000 acres of ranch land for the development of the now Myakka River State Park.


Travelling through this dry prairie I can’t help but think that at one time pioneers thought of this land as a barren “wasteland”, not worth taxpayers’ money to survey it. This prairie helps store fresh water, captures the sun’s energy, and converts CO2 to O2. Grasses are twice as effective as trees in doing so.

Water Hazard

Sometimes tricky sandy trail

Primitive Campsite

Beautiful Florida Prairie

As I make my trek through the backcountry one concern for me being alone out here are the animals one may encounter. Yes the 2 legged ones of course but mostly the four legged type. Namely, feral hogs which I have not seen as many this year as in the past and prefer to keep it that way. Descended from domestic pigs and the European wild boar feral hogs can be dangerous. They are large and can have tusks protruding from their mouth. A single sow can have as many as 24 piglets in a single year. Because of this high birth rate, rapid range expansion exists along with the difficulty in animal control. Feral hogs are generalists meaning they eat roots, grasses, nuts, small animals, and carrion. Hopefully not Rhonda. Luckily I saw evidence they are around but didn’t see one.

Evidence of  feral hogs

Can't capture them with the door shut

After peddling for quite some time (according to my map at least ten miles) I came to a cross road, trail, and/or path whatever you want to call it, I had to decide which way to go. Taking in the sun and lost in my thoughts, out of the blue came a familiar sound. I looked up and a gator was bearing down on me. No, not the four legged reptile type I see everywhere in Myakka but the four rubber tire type; a John Deere Gator. Yes, out in the middle of nowhere here come two volunteers in their 4X4. Talking with them I found out they were spraying for Cogon Grass. Cogon Grass is a bunchgrass that can reach 5 feet tall. It has serrated edges and spreads rapidly by windborne seeds. Native to Southeast Asia, Cogon Grass was introduced into Alabama in 1911 from packing material. In Florida it was used as food for grazing animals. Left untreated it can take over entire plant communities destroying native plant species. The volunteers could not find any cogon grass so I could not take a picture. They must be doing a good job.

Which way do I go

...and away they go

Travelling through the back country you never know what you will stumble upon. A rustling noise in the undergrowth surprised me and out walks a nine-banded armadillo. The name armadillo means “little armored one” in Spanish. However, I’m calling this guy Armani Armadillo because he has a nice suit on. If startled, they can jump four feet in the air then curl up in a ball to protect their belly. I’m the one doing the jumping this time. The nine-banded armadillo gets its name from the nine grey armored bands. They can weigh between 6-16 pounds, are almost hairless (except for their bellies), eat ½ pound of insects per day, and are born in sets of identical quadruplets.

Nine-banded Armadillo

After spending all morning and part of the afternoon biking the backcountry I found myself back in the civilized world of cars, noise, and people. I made my last stop at one of my favorite stops “the bridge” to see whatever. Finally, the rosette spoonbills have shown up. This beautiful pink wading bird has a bill that looks like a spoon and is adapted to filter food from the water. Florida has the largest breeding population and is the only spoonbill species native to the United States.

Colourful Rosette Spoonbills

On shore and also swimming in the water close to the rosettes are some gators. This time it’s the four legged reptile type. They are by far the most sought after tourist attraction in Myakka. In the wild alligators can live 35-50 years whereas in captivity they can live 60-80 years. These rivers and lakes are overflowing with tilapia, an important food source for gators. It is against the law and a federal offense to feed an alligator. I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count on how many times I’ve seen people throwing small fish or food to these gators.

Couple of gators just swimming around

Way in the distance something caught my eye. Low and behold it’s a Great White Heron “morph”. They are found mostly in the Keys and are the same as the Great Blue Heron except all white. 

Great White Heron

I left the rig at 8:30 am and didn’t return for 6 hours. It was a wonderful day of fun, sightseeing, and biking. I rode almost twelve miles on sandy trails in the backcountry and seven miles of paved road. Now that’s a great day in Rhonda’s world, glad I could share it.  

Just Some Florida History

We decided to venture away from Myakka for the day but stayed within the Florida Parks system. Florida has established a number of smaller parks that are noted for their recreational facilities, historic homes, and ancient culture. Many years ago I bought a Florida Passport book which shows and gives a brief description of each park. Three parks we ventured out to see were Madira Bickel Mound State Archaeological Site, Terra Ceia Preserve State Park, and Gamble Plantation Historic State Park. All these sites are just north of Bradenton so not a long drive on such a beautiful day.

The Madira Bickel Ceremonial Mound is only part of an extensive ancient Native American village and mound complex. It consists of sand, shells, and village debris. The building on top of this mound was a ceremonial structure or a residence for an important person. The mound measured 20 feet tall and 1700 square feet at its base. During excavation of the site it has been established that three different Native American cultures have been found at this site dating back 2,000 years. Unfortunately, there really wasn’t much to see, early residential development and road construction has eliminated much of the site.

What it looked like

What it looks like today

Top of the mound...Lots of shells

The Terra Ceia Preserve State Park consists of 200 acres of mangroves and wetlands and is in a state of habitat restoration. In 1843 homesteaders began to claim local land under the Armed Occupation Act (AOA) of 1842. Land was slashed and burned to make way for the farming of fruits and vegetables. In 1909 Terra Ceia Estates built an extensive show home which was later bought by DG Haley in 1919. By 1972 the property was sold to developers and then abandoned. It became overgrown with exotic vegetation. Today the exotic plants have been eliminated and Terra Ceia Preserve is being restored to its native habitat. Again there wasn’t much to see, we were not allowed on the property or in the house. However, the history was interesting and also seeing the restoration process was great.

The Haley House today

Saving the best for last we grabbed a quick bite to eat then moved on to the Gamble Plantation Historic State Park. After the Second Seminole War (1836-1842) ended congress passed the AOA granting settlers 160 acres of land if they would live on it for 5 years. In 1843 Major R. Gamble claimed his land along the Manatee River in hopes to harvest sugar cane. His plantation grew to 3,500 acres. His mansion was built by local craftsmen and slave labor over the course of six years. However, natural disasters and a declining sugar market pushed Gamble into debt by 1856 causing him to sell in 1859.

The Gamble House before restoration

In 1873 Major G. Patten bought the property for $3000. However, he was unable to maintain the large decaying mansion and abandoned it. The United Daughters of the Confederacy purchased the property and deeded it to the State of Florida in 1925. The Gamble House has been fully restored to its previous appearance.

Gamble House today

Cistern water supply

Sugar Cane Press

Large bowls to catch liquid sugar

Also on the property sits The Patten House which was built in 1895 by Dudley Patten, the youngest son of George and Mary Patten. The original house consisted of four rooms, additions were added in later years.

Original Patten House before additions

After additions and restoration

Gamble Plantation is the only surviving antebellum mansion in South Florida. The visitor center houses a small but extremely informative museum that depicts life along with its challenges on the 19th century Florida plantation. Also there are several artifacts displayed from the time.

Florida $2 bill

Confederate $2 bill

All in all it was a wonderful day of exploration. If I did not have my little passport book I probably would never have known about these places. Got to love it.

A Deep Hole

Being in Myakka River State Park feels like home. Why do we keep coming back? Well, it probably has something to do with all the birds that are present in the park. Plus the hiking and biking trails, the rivers and lakes one can kayak, the close proximity to Sarasota and Bradenton, and most of all the nature. There’s not a day that goes by we don’t see a deer, armadillo, feral hog, wild turkey, and so on. Oh, did I forget to mention the 16’ alligators. That’s why I like it here. So, I have blogged on Myakka before but this time I’m blogging on some of the other things in the park. I may repeat myself once or twice but that’s okay it’s worth it.

Firstly, I started at the Visitors Center which is near the front entrance of the park. Here I gathered information about the trails, watched wonderful videos, saw great displays, and gained knowledge about the park.

Florida Panther

There are a few trails I wanted to explore, the first being a place called Deep Hole which is ¼ mile west from the campground. This trail is in a protected part of the park therefore a permit is required. No bikes or dogs, motorized vehicles or fires allowed. Thirty people are granted permits per day to venture into the Deep Hole either by hiking or kayaking. This is to reduce the impact us humans have on the land. Getting a permit is the hard part; one must be at the ranger’s station by 8 am otherwise all the permits have been handed out. People line up to get one of these much sot after pieces of paper. I was in luck I’m number 22 so yes I got a permit. I signed the paper, was handed my permit (you must carry on your person at all times), and away I go.

Tall Pines in the prairie preserve

The Myakka River flows south through the preserve widening at Lower Myakka Lake. At the south end of the lake is Deep Hole. This body of water is an ancient sinkhole approximately 140’ deep. During periods of drought large quantities of fish are trapped within the small sinkhole. These fish are crammed between hundreds of hungry alligators and cold oxygen deprived water. Oxygen is only present within the first 20’ of water, below that is a dead zone. This cold oxygen deprived area helps with the preservation of dead animal and plant remains as they fall into the abyss. Thousands of years of decaying material has formed a thick layer of sediment, possibly a hundred feet thick at the bottom of the hole.

Deep Hole

BIG Gators

The sheer beauty of this tranquil paradise was amazing. It was quiet except for the occasional sound of a bird or the grunt of an alligator. A few kayakers ventured into the deep hole. I’m not sure if I would do it with all those gators lurking in the depths of the water and on shore. After talking with them they are quite familiar with the area and do the trek on a regular basis. All I can say is “ballzy”, if that’s a word.

Count the gator heads

I stuck around for another ½ hour after watching the kayakers leave just to enjoy the peace and quiet. But then it was time to go. It’s a 2.4 mile walk back to the truck and getting late in the day.

The trail back

Back at the park, I stopped at the ranger station to hand the permit in. This is required so they know if everyone got out alive. No alligators got me.

Fort DeSoto Campground

A few years ago I had booked a two week stay at Fort DeSoto Campground. Unfortunately things happen and we had to cancel. This year when making plans for wintering in Florida I decided to book a stent at Fort DeSoto. Prior to booking I read that many of the sites were tight for big rigs, so I aired on the side of caution and grabbed a pull-thru. We arrived a little early and that wasn’t the problem, getting out of the parking lot proved to be the challenge. If you have not been to Fort DeSoto a word of caution, don’t pull too far ahead when registering. I had to back-up to get down the road to our campsite. Not usually a problem if there are no cars coming.

Registration Office

Campground Store

There are 3 sections to the campground. One area for people with dogs (large or small RVs), another for large RVs no dogs allowed, and another for tents and/or very small campers again no dogs allowed. The interior roads are all hard packed dirt, tight in places so going very slow is the name of the game here.

This is the widest road in the campground

I’m glad I chose a pull-thru, seeing some of the sites I would not have been able to get the rig into them. The waterfront sites are a little more expensive but are convenient for kayaking and fishing.

Our site

Waterfront Site

Fort DeSoto is a county park consisting of a group of five interconnected island or keys. The main island Mullet Key is the largest. The islands are connected by toll bridges to St Petersburg. This can become quite costly since grocery stores, diesel, restaurants etc are on the other side of the toll bridges.

The rich history of this area dates back thousands of years. The Tocobaga Indians lived here first from 1000 A.D. until 1500 A.D. In 1539 Hernando De Soto landed on these coastal shores to begin exploration of the area. February 1849 US Army Engineers surveyed the coastline and recommended Egmont and Mullet Key for military utilization thereby preventing private development. Because of the close proximity to Cuba and the U.S. involvement in the Spanish-American War, the first signs of a military post on Mullet Key began in 1898.


In 1923 Fort DeSoto was abandoned and in 1926 it was offered up for sale to the highest bidder. Two bids were rejected. A quarantine station had also been established on Mullet Key in 1889 and remained open until 1939. The stations job was to examine immigrants aboard ships from foreign ports. In 1948 Pinellas County purchased the area turning it into a county park. Today the park has a 500’ bay pier and a 1,000’ gulf pier, miles and miles of sandy white beach, seven miles of multi-purpose paved trail, a 2.25 mile kayak/canoe trail, a large dog park, snack bars and gift shops, a historic fort and museum, and of course  the beautiful campground.

The fort

The 1000' gulf pier

Miles and miles of beautiful white sandy beach

Campground surrounded by water and vegetation

Lots of clean restroom

Interesting camping
facilities

After a long day of sightseeing and beach walking we ventured out for some early supper in Pass-A-Grille which is south of St Pete’s Beach. We decided on The Hurricane which is a great restaurant overlooking the beach and water.

The Hurricane

Outdoor dining...
got to love it

Blackened grouper sandwich

After a wonderful meal we headed back. The toll this time was $1.25. If we are going to be here a couple weeks I’m sure it will add up. Oh, the troubles of being in paradise.

What better way then to end a day but with a
nice sunset...life is good