Marvelous Myakka

Sarasota, FL      High:   73     Low:   64

We took some of the family to Myakka State Park today. The park was full of visitors on winter break. The bridge, where you can usually see alligators was packed with gawkers on both sides. We were worried we weren't going to see any alligators as it was one of the coolest days since we have been here...But no worries, mate! Not only did we see alligators--a duo sunning themselves on the bank...

We saw one biggie move around, grab a bite to eat, chomp it to pieces, and heard the bones crunch!

You should have heard the grandkids--"AW, THAT'S COOL! Did you see that?" You should have heard Sparky say, "DID YOU SEE THAT??!!! Did you hear that?!!!" She was just as excited as the grandkids!

That was the FIRST thing we saw...hard to top that! On to the birdwatch observation deck, hoping to find some roseate spoonbills...None were there today, just a huge flock of white pelicans. Some of the observers were trying to guess what kinds of birds they were looking at, and one guy had the NERVE to try and tell Sparky that a flock of huge white birds were not white pelicans! You can't tell a full time RVer  of a couple of years after multiple trips to Florida, multiple tours, and multiple park volunteers' identifications of birds that there are no white pelicans in this part of Florida! (You mean you can't tell Sparky she's WRONG! explains Eldo.) Sparky will admit to being wrong once in awhile, but she knows a white pelican when she sees one, that's for sure! Here's Brian's family at the bird boardwalk...

Trevor, Lori, Brian, and Cate

We saw several wood storks from a distance, a carcass of some sort right up by the viewing stand, (COOL! said the grandkids) and then we went to the canopy walk, which they loved.......The young grandsons were amazed at the huge palms that had been bent over by previous windstorms and hurricanes and couldn't believe that trees could still grow bent over like that. They are used to seeing tall, straight trees in Indiana. Sparky played teacher and told them about epiphytes or "air plants".

The park was really really busy today...the canopy walk observation tower had a little bit of congestion.   There was a steady flow of people going up and coming down. The tower definitely was feeling the crunch of people and had more movement than normal, which made Kristi, Eldy's daughter, nervous. It didn't help that the grandkids were bouncing up and down on the suspension bridge as she crossed over it! As we were climbing the tower, a guy coming down said, "Check out the wild boars in the green patch of grass." Wild boars? How lucky can we get!? Four of them, totally black, feeding... Eldo said he could see some tusks.... As Judy would say, "Cool beans!"

It was a MAH-vel-ous day at Myakka State Park today....Sparky thinks this is one of our favorite state parks thus far of anywhere in Florida. So much to see and do there! And we didn't even get in the Myakka River to canoe or kayak today. This little guy was marveling at the height of the tower he had just come down from......

On the way home, we saw a dead wild boar at the side of the road. Now that's something you don't see every day! Glad it was a boar and not a black panther......

The week with family is coming to a close....tomorrow we go to Siesta Key Beach....See you there!