Colt Creek State Park – Day 1

9 January 2019

There’s no getting around it – I needed to get out of the house again.  My Key West trip, instead of satisfying my wanderlust, only stoked it.  I decided to combine an invitation from the Reiss’ for a visit to their new home in Temple Terrace (outside of Tampa) with a Florida State Park. 

Judith and Chris are long time friends (and I do mean long time).  Chris and I became full time faculty on South campus around the same time.  It was 1985 for me.  Chris probably predates me a few years.  Judith was the one who wrote my mortgage where I have now lived for 24 years.  We are opera buddies, New World Symphony buddies, and buddy buddies.  I hated to see them leave the east coast for the west coast of Florida but where one door closes….

I spent two nights with them in probably the quietest “big city” area I’ve ever been in.  They live next to the Hillsborough River in a home probably over 50 years old.  They moved in December 2018 and I’m the first non-relative house guest.  I had a wonderful time.  The house was recently renovated at Judith has had the entire inside of the house repainted.  Chris is currently working on landscaping with native plants. It’s a beautiful home and Judith has put her touches on it.

They toured me around the Temple Terrace neighborhood, downtown Tampa, Davis Island and Ybor City. 

Although I have visited Tampa with the United Faculty of Florida, I never made it to Davis Island or Ybor City.  Both were a treat.

An especial treat was to be treated to lunch at The Columbia Restaurant.  The decor was old Cuban/Floridian and the meal fantastic and tradition Spanish/Cuban cuisine.  

I headed out around 10 am this morning from their place to Lakeland, Florida.  I stopped for a view of Mirror Lake and then headed to the nearest Publix to stock up and some food for the trip to Colt Creek State Park.

Colt Creek is probably one of the newest state parks in Florida.  The main purpose of the park, according to the ranger, is to preserve the Floridan (FLOR eh dan) aquifer from where much of the state derives its water.  

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The park is mostly undeveloped.  The paved road of the park stops just before the family campground but a dirt road extends to an equestrian group camp and family group camp.  There are some 25 miles of trails in the park and I intend to hike at least one major trail tomorrow.

Tent camping is in the family campground with all the rv campers but separated from them.  You have to walk your camp gear into the tent campground from the parking area.  Of course, I chose the one site farthest from all the others.  

It’s predicted to get to 37 F tonight, so I decided to erect the 4-season tent.  I would have preferred my smaller side-opening tent but it might be a little too airy for the night temperatures.  

For those of you who follow my blog, you probably have read where I have never been able to get the vestibule of the 4-season tent to work.  There is a short tent pole that I thought fit inside the vestibule to hold it up.  No matter how many times I tried to get the vestibule pitched, it always collapsed on me.  Duh!  I finally figured out the vestibule pole fits, not inside the vestibule, but in a pocket on the outside of the vestibule!  I’ve only owned this tent for 4 years and only now am I figured out how to pitch the vestibule portion of the tent.

After getting camp straightened out, I drove the length of the dirt road to the equestrian group camp and the family group camp.  I then returned to Mac Lake and walked a short nature trail. 

The lake is quite nice with rental canoes and kayaks available and you can apparently fish the lake either from the dock or from the canoe/kayak.  

I don’t expect this park to develop much more than it is.  The family camp and tent camp is the smallest I’ve been in.  I think they intend to adhere to the idea of preservation of the Floridan aquifer and not do much development.  

The park is only 30 minutes away from Lakeland but I probably will stay here for two full nights and not go back into the city.  Looks like it’ll be dehydrated food for me for two nights.  After the great meal at The Columbia Restaurant, it’ll be a let down but I also probably need to eat less rich for a while.  

Tomorrow, I plan to hike either the 10 mile trail or the 6 mile trail.  I’ll let you know how that turns out.