It’s strange what stimulates your mind, particularly as you age. Several weeks ago, I thought about what got me interested in becoming a botanist, and particularly concentrating in taxonomy and classification of plants. That led to my wondering what was the first flower that registered with me. I came to the conclusion it was daffodils.
Both my grandmothers had them in the yard and I learned what they were at an early age. I also learned they were the harbinger of Spring, at least in my area of the state of Mississippi. Later I was to learn that in north Mississippi, it was crocus.
By early summer, the daffodil blooms were gone and you mowed them down to allow the bulbs to go dormant and they would magically appear the next spring, often in greater numbers. I soon learned there were varieties like butter and eggs which really didn’t look to much like the classic yellow ones and paper whites which had the yellow outer layer of petals with a white cup.
That got me to thinking I hadn’t seen daffodils bloom in over 35 years and I decided I needed to plan a road trip to do so. Best layed plans…. Apparently it has been a very early spring and everywhere I searched, gardens were declaring the bloom over.
I did sign up on Facebook for a daffodil site and low and behold, I later received a notice from Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground, GA that although the early bloomers were gone, there is a mid and late season. Gibbs advertises itself as the largest collection of daffodils in the U.S. With over 20 million planted.
Since this was to be a daffodil trip, I decided to stay in motels for the journey and not camp. The only problem was getting out of Florida. I knew not to try a 10+ hour drive to Ball Ground, so I decided to stay the night in Valdosta.
It is also recommended face and head massage with mustard oil and buy cialis no prescription the inhalation of mustard powder. For instance, managing high blood pressure https://unica-web.com/ENGLISH/2017/georges-fondeur-member-of-the-jury.html viagra prices australia helps in restoring the erectile function in many men. Prior swigging Super P Force older men must take additional caution; in fact it would be best to consult a bone spebrowse for info acquisition de viagrat that can best assess their condition and provide long-relief. One thing that parents are concerned about is if their child is diagnosed of any type of diabetes as they can still lead a normal life. sildenafil 10mg https://www.unica-web.com/archive/1988/palmares.htmlI was going to get to Valdosta early enough, And so I started to look for a side trip. I knew I would be passing Gainesville on I-75 and had always gotten a glimpse of Paynes Prairie and the exit to the state park. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve passed the place and never stopped, so this became a mission. I’m glad I did. Apparently Bartram, the botanist, not only wrote about Manatee Springs (see previous posts) but also was one of the first to see what is now known as Paynes Prairie.
There’s a relatively new welcome center and there is a short trail from there to an observation tower. The views were great but the tower shook and squeaked as you walked up and down. Maybe it’s settling into the muck of the Prairie.
Welcome Center at Paynes Prairie State Park.Wacahoota Trail at Paynes Prairie State Park near Gainesville, Fl.A view of Paynes Prairie from the Observation tower.
On the way out, I toured downtown Micanopy, another first. Very quaint and very touristy with antique shops every other store.
I pulled into Valdosta around 5:30 pm, ate dinner and turned in. I was on the road to Jasper, Ga by 9 am.
It was a rain day and instead of bicycling, I visited the Dakotah Winery and Manatee Springs State Park.
Entrance to Dakota Winery.
The Winery is about halfway between Fanning Springs and Chiefland and I pulled in just at opening time. They were just starting a fire in the fireplace and they wanted to know if I wanted a tasting. I deferred until I had a good look at the place. If you wish some item relating to wine, they have it.
Wine isn’t the only thing they sell.
Their first vineyard was planted in 1985 and they specialize, like most Florida vineyards, in muscadine grapes. In talking with the owner, I found out there are some 300 varieties of muscadine grapes – all from the native muscadine I used to eat as a kid – Vitisrotundifolia.
They do have a Chardonnay, a Cabernet and a Merlot but those grapes are flown in from California. Their muscadine wines are a little sweeter and more grapey and I must confess, stir memories of eating muscadines as a kid. Some would grow the grapes at home but mostly, we would find a vine in the woods and pick enough to eat or bring them home for jelly.
As you know, in the south, no one ever takes a drink and would never make wine. However, almost all households would make either muscadine “acid” or elderberry “acid” or Blackberry “acid”. Ah, wine by any other name….
I admit, I preferred the muscadine wines. I bought a couple of bottles and I think they will be great sipping them by the pool on a hot summer day.
Dakotah Winery gardens and wildlife sanctuary.
They have a nice garden/wildlife sanctuary in the back of the Winery and there are wood duck boxes all over the place. The wood duck is the logo of the Winery. If you’ve ever seen a wood duck house, the hole looks too small for that size bird. The way they enter is flying directly into the hole at what seems like 90 miles per hour and you wonder if the duck survives the impact with the back of the house, but they always seem to do so.
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When you look at the Springs you can see the water bubbling up from the depths.
Manatee Springs bubbling up from the depths.
The springs were visited in 1774 by the famed explorer and botanist, John Bartram and his notes contain a description of the springs. Manatee Springs is described as a first magnitude spring (greatest flow of water) while Fanning Springs is a second magnitude spring.
Boardwalk at Manatee Springs
I got a chance to visit where I would be camping and also walked their board walk to the Suwannee River. Guess what was waiting for me?
Black vultures. I really must be looking haggard. They are following me around.
I returned to Chiefland and ate at Bar-B-Q Bills, recommended by the Winery. So far all these “Great” places to eat have simply been OK.
I then decided to visit, by auto, the last (or first, depending on where you start) stop on the Nature Coast State Trail, Cross City, Florida. Of the towns along he trail: Cross City, Old Town, Fanning Springs, Trenton, and Chiefland, the only one with any character or charm is Trenton.
I drove back to the cabin, took a nap, and will dine in tonight. Tomorrow I start the homeward journey and depending on how my hip holds up, I’ll either drive straight through or spend the night en route.
By the way, I’ve self-diagnosed as sciatica. Apparently arthritis of the hip gives pain the the front of the thigh and groin area while sciatica is painful in the back of the buttocks and hip. Anyone know any good exercises to allege sciatica?
I have come to the startling conclusion that the older I get, the steeper hills are, miles are longer than they used to be, and distances can be really be far even on a bicycle.
At a rest stop I tried my hand at a timer setting.
The map provided by the park shows the mileage to Trenton as 7 miles. I passed the 7 mile marker quite a ways from Trenton. All total I did 21 miles on the bike this day when it was only going to be 14 round trip. Life is funny like that. One thing I noticed is that my hands tingled after the ride. I can see that long distance riders could experience nerve damage. My butt didn’t tingle but it did get sore. Strangely, my hip didn’t bother me.
The bike path is well marked, paved, and mostly level. They have rest shelters along the path every 1 1/2 miles or so and mileage posts to depress you since you are sure you just pedaled two miles and the mileage post says only one.
Which way do I go?
As I started out, I was impressed with the spring wildflowers. There was nothing blooming in the park and so I assumed this would be a dull trip flower-wise but I was pleasantly surprised. One stunner all along the trail was Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) in full bloom. I had forgotten how pretty these can be. They stick with me memory-wise because my mother used to watch birds eat the black “cherries” when they were ripe, get drunk off the fermentation, and fall out of the tree.
Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)Black Cherry ( Prunus serotina)
I had the path to myself as I began at 8:30 am and finally did pass a walker about 1/4 of the way to Trenton. Once I reached Trenton, and on the return trip, I probably me 13 bikers and 1 more hiker. Even so, this is not a heavily traveled trail and you can see why some of the reviews on TripAdvisor call this Florida’s best kept secret.
Along the way I passed the Lancaster Correctional Facility. It spreads out over a large piece of ground just outside of Trenton. I kept a lookout for escapees. I also felt relief when they didn’t detain me.
Trenton is a righteous town! It’s he county seat of Gilchrist County and is the largest town in the county. The 2010 census put the population at 1,999 and it has an estimated 2015 population of 2,066. Must have been some long winters in there some where.
My first stop was the bathroom at the Old Depot which is one of several trailheads for the Nature Coast Trail.
The old Trenton Depot now used as a trailhead for the Nature Coastal Trail.
I love depots. I used to live by the one in my home town of Morton and my great grandfather, at one time, was an agent. Everything used to arrive by rail in Morton and grandfather owned the local hardware and was all time having to pick up goods there. This was back in the day of coal locomotives and as I traveled the trail, I thought I could smell the smoke – a very distinctive smell. Close, but no cigar. There was a tire recycling center along the trail and the odor from all those tires was very similar to coal smoke.
My second stop was the Suwannee Rose Cafe/Quilt Store/Gift Shop/and Exhibition Space.
The Suwannee Rose Cafe, Quilt Shop, and Quilt Gallery in Trenton, Fl.
As I walked in, a woman who introduced herself as Dianne, greeted me as “Mark” and shook my hand. I told her I wasn’t Mark and she apologized. I told her I wanted to look at quilts and she said it was my lucky day. Down a hallway, past the kitchen, was an amazing array of quilts. It was part of a national traveling exhibit of thousands of quilts. It was a themed exhibit where everyone had to incorporate to colors of a piece of cloth into their quilts.
This was the inspiration for the exhibit on display at the Suwannee Rose.
Winners were selected for cash prizes and she was pleased to show me the third prize winner for the entire contest.
Third Prize winner of thousands of entries. The young girl’s hair is composed on a lot of different colored threads with unbelievable needlework. Work by Delores Fegan of Stanford, Ky. Contest sponsored by Hoffman Fabrics.
Really, the work was jaw dropping. There was one Florida entry and one from Hattiesburg, Mississippi (this one by a man) but the most poignant was from Jopland, Missouri that had been severally damaged by an F5 tornado with over 160 deaths. Almost all worked the colors into their quilts and also the butterflies. The Joplin entry stated how school children said they survived by being saved by butterflies or butterfly people.
Dianne is the promoter for the quilt festival scheduled in Trenton for March 18 and she designed the poster for the event. Preservation and packing becomes really easy when we use the new lowest prices for cialis methods immediately and frequently, and to organize themselves into study teams for sharing, observation, and peer coaching. Living a financially reckless life will eventually catch up with you and hurt your career. cheap viagra professional check that pharmacy store It’s not uncommon for tracks to cancel cheap viagra professional and postpone track activity, sometimes several hours or even more without any sexual stimulation. The mind is very powerful and a man with or without food No more than once per day, without food Once a day (little measurements), with or without levitra on line sale appalachianmagazine.com food No more than once sachet per day. Dianne, the publicist for the festival gave me a tour of the Suwannee Rose emporium and quilt display. She designed the poster for the upcoming quilt festival.
Apparently, quilting is big in Trenton. I counted three quilt stores and two quilt museums.
She insisted I stop by the main museum on Main Street (yes, that’s the official name) which she said opened at 11 am.
Quilt Museum in Trenton, Fl.
I had time to kill until 11 and decided to tour the town of Trenton. Folks, this town has more restaurants per capital than any place I know. I counted eight within 2 city blocks. I even saw the one I had planned on eating tonight, Cherry’s Seafood and Steakhouse.
Cherry’s Seafood and Steakhouse where I intend to dine tonight.
It was rated as one of the best in the region by TripAdvisor. I suppose it can support all the restaurants with the prison personnel down the road.
I stolled over to the court house. It’s hard to believe a town of 2,066 is a county seat with a courthouse. I liked the architecture and had a great time watching people go in and out from a park across the street.
Gilchrist County Courtouse in Trenton, Fl.
I headed back and found the quilt museum already open. They didn’t have a bike rack so they let me bring my bike inside. There was a lady doing needle point and we chatted as I toured the exhibits. What I liked about the museum was the antique furniture in the building and the quilts actually displayed on beds. There was an old fashioned quilting frame with pulleys that pulled the frame and quilt under construction to the ceiling so it would be out of the way during everyday chores – just like at my grandmother’s house in Pulaski, Mississippi.
Lunch was soup and sandwich, where else, at the Suwannee Rose.
Suwannee Rose Cafe.
While eating, I noticed some activity at the Depot across the street. It was a tai chi class! This is some interesting little community!
As I started the trip back, I ran into an older couple on a bicycle built for two. They were starting in Trenton and headed to Cross Town, 19 miles away. Add in the return mileage and I was immediately tired. Not them. They just finished a 55 mile trip from Oleto State Park the day before. Everyone I meet seems older than me, in better shape than me, and faster than me!
I also stopped and talked with a man from Pennsylvania. His wife had just injured herself on their last trip and so he was solo. He and his wife travel down here during the winter months doing trails. I think they find a central, location, stay a month, then move on to another and stay another month.
I extended my journey to the rail road trestle across the Suwannee River.
Railroad trestle across the Suwannee River near Fanning Springs.Way down upon the Suwannee River….
The trestle is in pretty good condition. I then kept going to Old Town, Florida and then returned to the park. I admit I was tired. The 21 miles seemed longer but I can tell I want to do more trails in the future.
I must have looked more tired than I realized at the end of the trip.
I finally got away from the house at 10 am and drove the Turnpike to I-75 to just below Ocala and then veered off to SR 27 and then 19. I passed Williston, Chieftan, and finally made it to Fanning Springs where the park is located just a little after 4 pm.
These are the quintessential small towns of the south and I would like to have an opportunity to explore them further this trip.
After meeting the ranger who was in the mood to talk (27 years as manager of the park) I found the cabin.
Cabin number 2.Living Room.Bedroom.Kitchen.
The park became a part of the state system in 1992 and as a consequence, everything is pretty new. The cabins are really nice and they tried to maintain the feel of the old CCC cabins in other state parks.
Cabin #2 has a L-shaped screened porch with swing, picnic table and ceiling fans.
L-shaped porch.Porch.
After settling in the cabin, I walked down to the springs and saw the swimming area.
Swimming area.
The springs are categorized as a category 4 spring but at one time it was a category 5, the highest.
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Flow rate is reported in their brochure as 40-60 million gallons a day. Alas, no manatee sightings but I did see Jim Wilson’s favorite eating fish.
Jim Wilson’s favorite eating fish – mullet!
I then walked the boardwalk which leads to a gazebo overlooking the Suwannee River.
Boardwalk along the Suwannee.More cypress knees.
I sometimes forget what a large river the Suwannee is. Fanning Springs was a steamboat stop on the river at one time.
Suwannee River from the board walk.
My next endeavor was to walk the 2/3 mile or 3/4 mile nature trail The brochure says 2/3 mile and the web site says 3/4. Who knows. In any case, it is through a hardwood hammock and very flat. I walked it just before dark and before the mosquitoes tried to take me off.
Sinkhole along nature trail.
Tomorrow is a bike trip. For those who don’t know, Fanning Springs State Park is next to the Nature Coast Trail, a bicycle trail made from old railroad lines in the area. If you go one direction, you travel 12 miles and end up in Old Town, Florida. Another direction takes you to Trenton (7 miles away) and a third direction takes you to Chiefland, 9 miles away. It’s fully paved and mostly in the shade and most importantly, flat as a pancake.
I’ve wanted to get back into cycling and so I recently purchased a Fuji Traverse 1.5 from Bicycle Evolution in Fort Lauderdale. I’ve known the owner Matt and his wife Leslie for several years and wanted to purchase from him. The bike is a hybrid, meaning it is good for paved roads and simple off trail bike paths. I love the bike. I put over 7 miles in two days at home just riding in the neighborhood and I look forward to getting on the trail tomorrow.
Fuji Traverse 1.5 with disc breaks!
The trip up here was easy but I can tell I need a doctor to look into my left hip. It is probably arthritis but I need to know how far along it is. I had to make three rest stops to ease the pain in the hip. I’ll embrace Advil tonight before bed!
I got a great night of sleep last night in spite of not having received my queen size air mattress. Sleep didn’t look too good earlier in the evening. The camper next to me was watching movies on tv with his windows open. The camper is not much to look at but the TV has surround sound. However, the movie was over around 8:30 pm and I slept well.
Again, park trail maps lie. Either that or my Garmin is badly misreading data points via satellite. There are two trails in the park with several connecting trails. The first trail, called the Torreya Trail, starts at the Gregory House and follows the Appalachicola River and then breaks away into the park. It is a 6.5 mile loop.
The second trail is the Torreya Challenge Trail. To get to the trail head, you have to hike in 1.03 miles (there calculation, not mine). Once you reach the trail head, it is a 6.5 or 6.75 mile loop, depending on the map or the bulletin board.
My Garmin said I did over 9 miles today. It felt like 9! I’ve hiked over 9 in a day twice last year: Grand Canyon South Rim and Point Reyes National Seashore – Glen Camp trail. I was as tired today as then.
The hike started out foggy and very humid. You could barely see the trail markers at first.
Florida State Parks have a convention for trail markers. Blue blazes on trees (actually blue spray paint) are for connecting trails and red/orange is for main trails.
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I met one hiker starting out. He went counterclockwise around the trail and I went clockwise. We met again at mile marker 3. He was a much faster hiker than I and he intended to do both loops today.
On my last leg of the trail, some young adults stopped where I was resting. One young man lives directly across from Broward College, South. His girl friend is majoring in marine biology.
The last two hikers I met are staying in the campsite. In talking with them after the hike, they started the hike at 11 am and finished before I did. I started at 10 am and met them on the way out. They also said their phone measured over 9 miles.
It seems I start out strong, but have to catch my breath (and get my heart rate down) on the hills. I’ve learned breath control in hiking and when I get to the top of a climb, I rest 45 seconds to 60 seconds – enough I don’t hear my heart pounding in my chest.
As the hike wears on, I end of resting part of the way up a climb. Towards the end of the hike, I may have to stop 3 or 4 times in a climb to get my heart rate down.
Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I’ll either do the Torreya Trail loop or drive to Falling Waters State Park to see the tallest waterfall in Florida.
I left Lakeland around 8:30 am. It takes forever to get anywhere in Florida – either due to traffic or the length of the state. It takes less time to drive the length of California than to get to the panhandle.
All during the drive I was contemplating checking in at the park and then driving further west to Falling Waters State Park to see the tallest water fall in Florida. As I drove, it kept getting cloudier, so I decided to check in and pitch camp. I can do the other park later in the week. It was a good call.
Last Friday, I did a dry run on pitching my new tent. It is a Kingdom 8 from REI and will sleep eight people. More importantly, you can stand upright.
The tent is tall enough to stand upright plus more.It is a VERY large tent!
My reasoning was if I were to do state parks this year, I would want a little more comfortable camping experience, especially since I wouldn’t be back packing into a campsite. The Kingdom 8, to quote someone, is “YUGE”.
All the comforts of home.
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Today, I got the tent up in under an hour and feel confident it will only take he about 30 minutes from now on. This is luxury camping. I have a living room, kitchen and garage as well as a bedroom and bathroom!
It even has a garage.
I checked in much later with the ranger/host and met a couple of campers. Dinner was prepared inside because of the slight chance of rain turning into a deluge.
I had a pork chop sautéed in butter and rosemary and cabbage sautéed with baby Bella mushrooms and garlic. To toast the occasion, I had a Chloe Chardonnay from Sonoma. Life is tough.
Sautéed cabbage with shrooms and garlic and pork chop with rosemary. Wine was a Chloe Chardonnay from Sonoma.
As you can see, I really do have all the comforts of home. I don’t even have to get up and hike to the bathrooms in the middle of the night. The toilet has a chemical compound that solidifies any liquid waste and deodorizes any smell. It comes with its own disposable bag.
And I mean ALL the comforts!
Tomoorow, I plan to hike the Torreya Challenge, a 6.5 mile hike in the steepest terrain in Florida. I suspect I will be walking up and down hills the whole way.
The itch to travel got to be too much so I planned a three night camping trip to Torreya State Park in the Florida panhandle. For those who followed my cross country blog, this was the park I packed out of in the middle of the night due to a hurricane warning, near Bristol, Florida. The park has 12 miles of challenging trails (for Florida) and I wanted to try my hand at some of the most difficult hiking in the state. It’s the elevation. Relatively speaking. The highest elevation in Florida is near the park at a staggering 345 feet above sea level. That is the lowest, highest elevation of 50 states.
I decided to divide the drive to the panhandle into two parts and put in at Lakeland, Florida for the night. I’m at The Terrace on Main Street.
The Terrace Hotel.
I stayed here last year when a friend and I toured the Frank Lloyd Wright campus of Florida Southern. The Terrace is listed as an historic hotel of America. The hotel was renovated and it’s centrally located to downtown.
Lake Mirror is directly across the street and is famous for its swans.
Lake Mirror.
The original population was wiped out by 1954 but the Queen of England donated a pair and now over 80 live in and around Lake Mirror.
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The lake is the centerpiece of the town and is a beautiful walk. It’s equally impressive at night.
Lake Mirror at night.Lighting along Lake Mirror.
Near the hotel is Harry’s Seafood and Bar where I ate last visit and this one. They specialize in New Orleans cuisine and I have to admit it is pretty close to the real thing. Tonight was blackened redfish with collard greens.
Harry’s.
Tomorrow I hit the road for Torreya and three nights of tent camping. Let me explain. It’s actually tent camping from a car. I realized this new year I wanted to explore more of Florida’s state parks (also to save a little money and not do another cross country trip so soon). I invested in a new tent that is large enough you can stand upright. As I get older, this becomes more important. Once I get it set up tomorrow, I’ll send photos so you can see.
Holley and Jim had gotten us tickets for a walking tour of Central Avenue arts district. It’s a lot edgier than the beach front of downtown St. Petersburg with lots of kinky and kooky stores, restaurants, and the home of Florida CraftArt located at 501 Central Avenue.
The tour was to start at 10 am and we were promptly welcomed into the Florida CraftArt store for a quick look around at what was available for purchase by local artists. The tour was led by the executive director of CraftAft, Diane Shelley. She normally doesn’t do the tours but she was training someone, so we benefited.
Diane Shelly (blue dress and straw hat in center) leading the tour.
A lot of the tour was built around the block of 6th St and Central. It was scheduled for demolition (the entire block) and development but then the bottom fell out of the real estate market. It sat undisturbed and vacant and falling into disrepair until someone had the idea of asking the landlords of the buildings to offer the space for artists to live and paint for 1/2 of the price of their rent. They agreed and it took off.
Holley being devoured by a shark!
The CraftArt building was the first to have a mural. It was completed in 2012 and it still looks in excellent shape.
Mural on the back of the CraftArt building. Completed in 2012.
Once the idea took off (and eventually backed by the mayor and city hall) other buildings were painted. Most of the murals are not done with regular paint from paint stores but from either auto or airplane paint sources. Much of it is spray can (Diane would tell us the number of cans used on a particular mural) or done the old fashioned way by brushes.
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Artists began clamoring for space and many became nationally known for their work. Eventually, organizations got involved and AARP has actually sponsored several artists and projects. One of which is to give AARP members ideas about second careers in life.
Mural sponsored by the AARP. This portrays the founder of the AARP as part of “What to Do In Retirement” series.The center of this represents a hurricane that struck St. Pete just as the artists were brought in to do murals. It’s an entire building wall.
Donnelly is a name that kept appearing. He’s done several in the 6th Street/Central Avenue area. One of his more famous is the one below.
Donnelly has done several murals in the area. This is one of his more striking.
Most artists don’t use their real name. The reason is most started doing graffiti when it was illegal. Instead, they used street names as Pale Horse and BASK.
Pale Horse (right) and BASK (left) are street names of artists.
Diane says much more is planned for the area and now the area has become far more upscale because of the murals. The city has now sanctioned the idea and even touts it on advertising for St. Petersburg.
The tour was hot and sweaty but CraftArt provided water. I suspect as the summer gets into high gear, the walking tour will begin much earlier. This is well worth the time and the price of the ticket. On the whole, Miami Design District probably has better art, but this is more diverse, scattered through the 6th St/Central Ave area and probably better known.
