When you stay in Florida for any length of time it only seems fitting that you should see some alligators. Other than the tail of one at a golf course, we have not seen one gator during our stay as we are near the coast and they don’t like salt water. We talked to someone in our park and they said one of the best place to see them was at Myakka State Park, which is nine miles from I-75 east of Sarasota. It is also a nice place for bicycling so we planned a trip there for yesterday. A group of bikers (bicycles, not motorcycles) in the park where we are staying plan a group ride every two weeks and it just so happened that they had a trip to Myakka State Park on the same date, so we tagged along with them. Twenty-two bikers carpooled to the park and were lead on a great tour by some of those who had visited there before. If you want to see alligators, this is a great spot to do so.
Most of the park land is shaded with large old oak trees with Spanish Moss hanging from the branches, providing cool riding for bicycles.
You can also see the park by airboat or tram.
The oak trees provide a pretty tight cover making it difficult to observe life above it, so the park built a canopy walkway and towers.
You go up the smaller tower, cross the suspension bridge, then go up the larger tower. The suspension bridge is wobbly and is limited to four people crossing at a time.
Looking up at the tall tower
Looking down the center of the tall tower
A view from the top
That smoke in the distance is from a controlled burn the park was conducting. Florida is prone to wild fires this time of year as it is the dry season, so this helps keep the risk at a minimum.
People in motorhomes love their pets and you will often see someone riding with a small dog in the basket of a bicycle, as dogs are usually smart enough to stay put. But what do you do if you have a cat? They are certainly not smart enough to stay in the basket, so you don’t see too many as a bike passenger. But one couple in our park solved that problem.
The top is open because the cat was not on this trip, but it sure would have made good alligator bait!
We made it back to the motorhome just in time for a little “happy hour” snack and refreshment. Wow, this retirement thing is tiring ! ! !
Love the gator pictures. Don’t they remind you of some administrators? The park sounds fascinating.