Tuesday April 2nd 2024

The humidity is climbing ahead of another cold front tomorrow. It wasn’t the most comfortable day as I wandered in the park. The temperature was only in the mid eighties, but the humidity made it feel warmer. It is a matter of getting acclimated to Florida humidity as the seasons progress into the warmer zone.

The level of the water in the river has gone down significantly in the week and a half I’ve been at Myakka River State Park. On the river gauge near the front of the park the water is about eight tenths of a foot lower than it was when I first arrived. That is about ten inches of vertical water height. It becomes much more significant where the river is spread out across shallow ground. Many areas of the river bank are now dry and major sections of back channels and diversions are now dry or isolated from the main river flow. One thing this does is give the alligators more places to get out of the water. They don’t seem to be as concentrated at the bridge as they were earlier in my stay.

I had to stop in the park office to get the new gate code this morning. Last night when I returned to the park after the gate was closed, I couldn’t get in. The code was changed on April 1st and the new code they gave me at check in wasn’t correct. Since I was blocking the entry trying to get in last night, the car behind me took mercy and provided me with the code. Before I got in a truck arrived with the duty ranger, so I guess I wasn’t in danger of being locked out. It was a head scratcher for a couple of minutes.

The wildlife on my last walk of the day was disappointing. I walked the three quarters of a mile to the park road bridge over the river. Usually there are still a few gators on the river bank and some birds around. Tonight, just before sunset, there was only one gator almost out of the water. The number of heads in the river was also down. The birds were sparse as well. I still want to see a few deer like I have on past visits.