Yesterday we took another road trip, this time into Bradenton. We were on our way to Robinson  Nature Preserve but surprised when we found ourselves right in the city! But, once you are inside, you have no idea that civilization is close by. It is right on Tampa Bay and entrance is free. I would be here every day if I lived nearby. Hiking and biking trails, beaches, bridges, a tower, sunsets, Geo-caches, wildlife and soooo peaceful.

Strangled palm, growing up through the middle of this other tree!

Bridge to Anna Maria Island in the distance.

We leave this morning for Naples and Marco Island where we will visit friends, Bill and Julie for a few days.

We've had the most lovely weather for the last few days, low 70's and sun. What more could you ask for? Well, maybe an honest moisturizer. I put an SPF 15 on my legs and arms yesterday but opted for a moisturizer on my face because it says it is an SPF 50. Guess what, the only thing that burned was my face!
Thursday, at a Spartan neighbor's suggestion we drove about 30 miles to the winter training home of Hermann's Royal Lipizzaner stallions. Lovely day. They were certainly not as polished as those you see on TV but they are in training. They get 6-8 years of training before performing. Allowing people to watch their training sessions allows them to get used to people clapping, etc. It was outside and on a windy day so many of them were misbehaving! We also got to see a newborn (2 weeks old). Did you know they are born black or brown and it takes 6-8 years before they turn white?
We were told that Lipizzaner's are some of the longest lived horses living to be near 40. They should meet Dusty. Maybe, she's a Lipizzaner and not a quarter-horse! : )

The young stallion in front is in training for tandem work. His mane and tail haven't changed color yet.

They bow to the audience after their performance.

2 week old named "Jaggar" because they said he's all lips and legs!

We are sitting in the RV, under a tornado warning, watching the weather station. We are ready to run across the street to the cement block bathroom building, if needed! We are in a new park, Little Manatee River SP, near Sarasota.
On Monday, we visited Marie Selby Gardens where we met Judy, Bob, Karlie and got to meet Logan! The lovely garden had giraffe trees, orchids, a fashion show and waterfalls.

Banyan trees masquerading as giraffes.

Practicing being a grandma with little Logan. Look at those blue eyes :)

I don't know how often they refresh these outfits but they are all live materials.

Very impressive trees!

Ficus tree roots

Banyan tree

Well, the ospreys are making some progress but still slow going!










The campers on either side of us are all Spartans so we have made some new Green friends which was fun. Everyone is moving soon though. I'm glad I brought my Spartan flag, it makes Michiganders stop to talk :)
We have been walking and biking daily. This park has several lakes and ponds.Here's a sampling of our daily views:

Pond art

There was a sign saying to watch for alligators but we never saw one. The water is reddish brown from all the tannin.

I love when it is so still. It's hard to tell which side is up in this reflection picture.

The ponds are covered with tiny green leaves (not algae) and the surface looks very silky.

This is a map of the crazy biking trails.
If you are into extreme mountain biking,
 you would love this park!

We've been busy hiking and biking (NOT on the crazy trails) and looking for park Geo-caches. There is a power line running through the edge of the park and atop every pole is an osprey nest. It has been fun watching them build their nests. They appear to be in various stages with some just starting and some full of juveniles already. I'm loving my binoculars that Denny got me for Christmas last year!
They have been spraying the ponds and swamps for mosquitoes due to the Zika virus so we have had surprisingly few bug bites in spite of trekking through the swamps!

Landing with a new stick for the nest

Osprey are slow builders.This is 3 days worth of effort. They have along way to go!

This new park is unlike any other campground we have ever stayed in. It caters to two very different populations; bicyclists and horsemen. We thought we would like the bicycle trails but they are not for your average road cyclist. They are all off-road and rated and named like ski runs! You are allowed to walk on them also but other than the less used green circle easy trails, they are very dangerous for walkers as the cyclists go very fast and due to curves and hills can't see you until the last minute. We walked one of the easy trails yesterday, it was very nice but since I have road tires I will only be riding the roads here. Hikers are allowed on horse and multi-use trails but you have to watch out for road apples :)
It poured last night and there was some very nice lightening and thunder. I awoke to find our fire pit surrounded by water. Good thing today is a laundry day since it is way too wet to bike or hike!

A whole week with no blog! What this means is that Rochelle was visiting (yay!)and we were having too much fun :)

Out hiking and geocaching

We visited with the manatees every day.The park counted all the manatees that came into the spring every night and there were usually 300-400! The park was wonderful but if you left during the day, it was hard to get back in because there was such a long line of visitors waiting to come in!

The ranger knows them all by sight and identifies them by their scars. Many have names and have been coming for years.

We went on a river cruise where we saw tons of wildlife, mostly birds. And, at the end, as if scripted, we saw two ospreys fighting over a fish and then both were being chased by a bald eagle. It was amazing! The fish was dropped, so nobody got him.

The black bird is a glossy Ibis

This Great Blue Heron had just caught an eel!

 

We took a day trip to nearby Hontoon Island State Park where we made sure to come back after the line of cars at our campground was gone. As we were driving, we realized that none of us, including the driver (me) had brought a  driver's license! Since we couldn't get back into the campground without waiting in a 2 hour line, I drove very carefully! At least Denny and Rochelle had some cash with them :) We took a ferry to the park and did some picnicking and geocaching. Fun day!

X marks the spot

We had to wait to take the ferry back to the mainland as they only had one boat and could only transport 6 passengers at a time per the Coast Guard.

On her last day we visited another "spring" park, Wekiwa Spring, and hiked and dipped our feet in the cool spring water afterward. Rochelle was very proud of herself, having walked 26 miles in the 4 days she was here!

We were sorry to see her go but it was time to move on to our next park, Alafia River State Park. We got here right at dark last night, so we'll check it out this morning. Rochelle returned the car for us, so we avoided another airport fiasco!

A couple of Sandhill cranes walked through our campsite before we packed up yesterday. They had no fear of humans whatsoever and walked by about 10 feet from us.

I guess this one had to pee.

We were moving on to a new campground and made a stop at Bok Tower and gardens.

So, after a lovely afternoon at Bok gardens and national landmark, we went to pick up our rental car. Rochelle will be joining us for a few days so we decided to get a car so we could see some sights. I reserved a car at the airport so that she could just return it there when she leaves. Mistake # 1, never rent a car at a large airport when you have to pick it up in an RV! Mistake #2, turning into the car rental return at the airport and finding out that it was a parking garage with 7' clearance. Then having to back all the way out of the curving drive while stopping traffic. It was only one lane and those behind us were not happy! I directed Denny into a lane that said "over-sized vehicles" but then had to find someone to open the gate....all while the patient (right!) people behind us were honking. This got us into the bus/shuttle area where we again had to find a person to open the gate! We drove to the cell phone lot where we, Mistake# 3, tried to call Avis. All numbers reroute to their main reservation number. Finally, on the fourth try, I got the desk at the airport and he told me what to do. I waited 45 minutes in line to pick up the car, found Denny in the cell phone lot, and we headed to our campground. Unfortunately, it was now getting dark and we didn't arrive at the campground until 7 pm. Mistake #4, unless you have made previous arrangements, Florida parks close at sunset. We were prepared to camp outside the gate until morning but a man leaving let us in. Since we knew our site number, we found it and set up in the dark. Now, we need to go register and hope we aren't in too much trouble. I paid in advance so there shouldn't be a problem. At least we'll always have Bok gardens :) And, we actually have good wi-fi and cell service here!

In the last few days, besides hiking and biking and generally enjoying the nice weather, we saw a bald eagle's nest, hiked with the deer and went to cow camp!

This was enormous, about 5' wide

The deer found the paths easy to walk on so just walked along with us!

Signs as you enter cow camp.

 

This old guy "Grazer" was very authentic.

 Lots of signs in the park talked about "Florida crackers". We finally learned the meaning at cow camp. Apparently as the cowboys were herding the cows into town, they cracked their whips a lot. So, the townspeople started calling them "crackers". There's your history lesson for the day :)