About the time I finished posting my blog last night the sky opened up. A line of thunderstorms passed through the area. In this immediate area it was more of a light and sound show than a rain event. It was quiet again when I went to bed, but in the early morning hours the rain began aggressively. It was over by eight and the sun was out by nine this morning. The morning TV weather forecast reported that some locations in the area received over two inches of rain. It is needed. The weather after the rain was great. The temperature peaked in the high seventies and the humidity was down.
Wildflower blossom of the day.
During my daily walks the evidence of last nights rain was everywhere. There were many puddles to avoid and a few trenches created by the runoff. Even so the river level still seems to be down from the already low level it was at when I arrived here. It will take some time for last nights rain to reach the river, so maybe the water level will be up a little tomorrow.
The temperature continued to climb today. It peaked a few degrees into the nineties with a little more humidity than Saturday. The showers that were forecast to start near evening are now anticipated just before dawn tomorrow. Overcast with a high chance of rain is the current forecast for Monday. It should be a cooler day.
This was a very low energy day for me. I have managed to get my sleep pattern skewed into the night once again. I’m heading for bed late and consequently want to sleep in. I force myself to get up so I can break the pattern, but it leaves me dragging for much of the day.
It was afternoon before I took my first walk of the day. The alligators were hiding and the birds weren’t plentiful. My path today was along the river toward the entrance to the park. Today’s featured activity seemed to be fishing. There were several families along the bank fishing and picnicking. I am not sure what kind of fish are in the river and I didn’t see anyone catching anything either.
Watching the world.
The campground has vacancies tonight. I suspect the number of travelers in the area is down now that spring break is ending. The reservation and occupancy pattern seems to be complicated. At the opening of the eleven month reservation window all of the sites get reserved for long periods like a week or two. During the time leading up to the start of the reservation many reservations get canceled or modified. People traveling to the area tend to pick up those sites for a night or two at a time. This fragments the occupancy, but as long as there are plenty of travelers the sites get filled. It doesn’t do me much good when I try to make a reservation, although I will continue to try and figure out the system.
A big meal.
On my second and last walk of the day I walked up to the bridge over the Myakka River on the main park road. People were gathered to watch the wild hog families, but I was more interested in getting my daily dose of alligator sightings. Most of the alligators near the bridge were in the water, but one smaller one was on the bank almost under the bridge. The other alligators out of the water were a long distance from the bridge. I didn’t think it got too hot for the alligators, but during the day there weren’t out on the banks. This evening it was a little cooler and the alligators were on the bank.
The above normal temperature that has been the norm since the beginning of February is back. The temperature peaked just above ninety this afternoon. The humidity was also high leading to uncomfortable conditions. The current forecast calls for storms tomorrow night that should cool things off for a few days.
Today’s sky was very similar to yesterday’s. The river was a few inches lower according to the gauge.
The state park is in weekend mode. Many of the campsites are occupied by more family holiday style of campers. This includes the unusual occurrence of a car roof top tent camper on a over sized site fit for a class A motorhome. Other campsites have simple RVs, but more than one car to supply it with people. In general the park is more active than during the week. The crowds at the usual wildlife viewing areas are also bigger. Finding places to park at the bridge over the Myakka River seemed to be a real challenge. It wasn’t the safest place of a pedestrian like me either.
Blossom of the day.
I didn’t see a lot of alligators or birds today. The gators seemed to be keeping their temperature controlled in the water. I saw one little blue heron on my first walk of the day, but even the limpkins were missing today. On my sunset walk the gators were scarce and the birds totally missing. In their place were two families of wild hogs. One set was very close to the bridge complete with about eight piglets. The hogs are interesting and the piglets are cute, but I could do without seeing them if they are the reason other critters aren’t around. Basically, I’ve had my fill of wild hogs.
The humidity continued to increase today. While the temperature peaked in the mid eighties, the comfort level was far worse. It didn’t take much activity to become drenched in sweat. On a positive note, it didn’t rain.
Blossom of the day
This wasn’t a great day for blog content. All of the alligators were nose down in the water on my first walk of the day and I didn’t take my second walk of the day. Eating got in the way of walking. Instead I got a nice picture of the colorful sunset from the door of my RV home.
The clouds were gone and the winds diminished, but the humidity was up. The result was a nice day with a high temperature in the mid eighties. The temperature and humidity trend over the next few days is upward.
A few fluffy clouds to the northeast as the Myakka River meanders. Nine alligators
Today was a pretty standard day for my stay here at Myakka River State Park. The daily pattern is breakfast with some internet reading, followed by the first nature walk of the day. During the afternoon I do chores and run errands. One of those chores is usually preparing and eating some food a time or two. As evening approaches I take my second nature walk of the day.
My first walk of the day was to the bridge over the Myakka River on the main park road. Today I went a little deeper into the park to the walk along the river at the next turnout along the road. The alligators were out of the water a little more today. In one area there were eight or nine gators with their full bodies exposed to the air. This is a big improvement from just their heads. It was also a day for turtles. In addition to the cooter turtles I usually see, a couple of Florida soft shell turtles made an appearance. One only stuck its head out of the water long enough to look around and take a deep breath. The other one was out of the water twenty or thirty feet trying to go cross country somewhere.
Florida soft shell turtleA little Google research today gave me a name for this plant. It is a Spider Lilly.
I tried to walk back to the bridge on my second walk of the day, but an alligator crossing the road had other ideas. A big alligator walked across the park road just before I walked around the corner. Cars were stopped all over the road to observe the gator. It crossed the road, but decided the forest on the other side didn’t look appealing. The gator stopped with the last of its tail still in the road with its head a little way down the bank into the woods. The way all the cars stopped I couldn’t get by without getting closer to the alligator than I felt comfortable. After taking a couple of pictures I changed directions and walked along the river in the front of the park this evening. The entertainment along this section of river was a heron trying to consume a snake or eel.
Juvenile getting adult colors.Why did the alligator cross the road? To stop traffic. To change my walk destination. Snake or eel is a challenge to eat.
It was very windy and a little wet today. The day was overcast with occasional light showers. The rain was very random, but the wind was almost constant. The east to southeast wind was constant in the teens with a gusts into the upper twenties and maybe beyond. The temperature peaked in the mid seventies.
I don’t know what this blossom is, but it is a very interesting wildflower blossom.
I tried to time my walks by the weather radar. When it looked like it was going to be dry for a while I set out toward the river. The radar was correct for one walk and not for the other. I got rained on before I got back from my first walk of the day. It was a little chilly on my evening walk, but I remained dry.
There were more alligators on the banks of the river during the middle of the day today. This evening I only saw a couple of noses and eyes above the surface. The majority of the alligators were on the bottom. Even the wild pigs weren’t getting their attention. If the pig family on the river bank this evening was the same one I saw this weekend, an alligator or two got lucky. This group only had five piglets and the other one had nine. I know there are at least three adult hogs, so it is possible there are several families in the woods near the river.
The few birds that I saw on my early walk were all sheltering from the wind. The Great Blue Heron had its neck curled up in flying formation until I disturbed it. I moved on before it flew away. Watching from a greater distance I saw it go back into its relaxed state.
The wind out of the east was stronger today and the humidity was much lower, but sky conditions and temperature remained about the same as Monday. The temperature peaked right around the eighty degree average for early April. If the forecast is to be believed, conditions deteriorate during the rest of the week. A fifty to eighty percent chance of rain is in the forecast for tomorrow.
All of the green grass is underwater when the river is at full flow.
This morning’s walk was along the bank on the other side of the Myakka River. I followed the marked and maintained trail south and east from the bridge over the river on the park road. Park staff has cleared many of the downed trees and other debris from the hurricane along this trail. There are still trees that you have to maneuver around. They appear to be difficult and dangerous to take down the rest of the way. The low water level also offers another option around the difficult areas in the grassy low water area. You just need to make sure the alligators haven’t claimed that section of the bank.
Along this section of the river I discovered a couple of turtles using down trees for sunbathing. A young alligator also found a downed palm tree to be a nice resting spot. A little way beyond the young alligator I found some even younger. There was a ball of very new alligators in what might have been used as a nest. They weren’t new born, but certainly not more than a few weeks old. I didn’t see any obvious mother alligator watching the young ones, but there were other gators nearby.
Baby alligator anyone?
I also saw a couple of additional species of birds this morning. There was a lone Rosetta Spoonbill and a pair of Sandhill Cranes getting there nutrition in and around the river. On other visits, particularly earlier in the winter, I’ve seen many Rosetta Spoonbills here. The Cranes are fairly common in Florida. This is the first time I’ve seen them here.
It was a very different kind of weather day. The temperature was back to average. There was low humidity and the wind was blowing strong out of the east. The sun dominated the sky most of the day, but a few times big black clouds passed nearby. No actual rain fell in this area.
I was back in my standard daily pattern of two walks separated by a period of time to do chores around my RV home. My first walk was along the river bank going down river. The early part of journey is along well defined trails. Once you walk beyond the day use area of the park the path gets more wild. It isn’t an official groomed trail, but it gets plenty of traffic. The trees and debris from the hurricane and other high water periods have not been professionally cleared. Other hikers have cleared a lot of the small stuff. A path is clearly defined, but it is necessary to climb over some trees and take wide detours around others. It is still worth it.
There some good views of the river along the path. It comes complete with alligators and birds. Once again I saw many limpkins. They continue to be all over the park. The one species of bird I wasn’t expecting was a turkey. On the far bank of the river one lone turkey strutted his (I think) stuff. Still the alligators were the stars. They were in the water and along the bank. This area seems to be home to a few bigger gators along with plenty of medium sized ones.
My second walk of the day was near sunset. I walked up to the bridge over the Myakka River. On the way there, I spotted a deer in an open area back from the road. This was the same area I saw several deer last week. At the bridge a wild hog with its collection of little ones was drawing all the attention once again. Tonight a young alligator actually came out of the water quickly toward the piglets. They collectively squeaked and ran to mom. The alligator quickly got about ten feet from the water, but the little ones were twenty or more feet away by then. The alligators need luck, surprise and I suspect darkness to have any real success. There is evidence that they do have success from time to time.
I woke to the sound of rain this morning. It was mostly light rain, but before it ended in the early afternoon there were a few heavy showers. The high temperature for the day was in the mid to upper seventies. Overall it was a much more comfortable day.
Some of the alligators were showing more of their bodies today.
The park was very active for the Easter holiday. Groups had rented all of the pavilions in the day use area and other groups had setup awning to have Easter celebrations. At the bridge on the main park road over the Myakka River the parking areas were full of cars. A park volunteer was on the bridge providing information about the river and the animals visible. Today I only saw alligators, but at least a few of them were on the bank. The alligators in the water were watching several fishermen carefully. If anyone managed to hook a fish, I don’t think they would be able to land it and the alligators wouldn’t even say thank you.
This is a short blog today. I had a nice dinner with friends, so I didn’t get in any walks in the park. The birds were saved from getting their pictures taken until tomorrow.
Today’s temperature peaked in the mid eighties, but somehow it felt less comfortable than the higher temperature of the last couple of days. The humidity was a little higher, but most likely reason I felt warmer was my activity level. I got in more exercise walking today around the park in the direct sunlight.
My day began earlier than usual. I got up to make another reservation for next winter. There were no appropriate sights available at my first choices, but I was able to successfully book a reservation at one of my fall back Florida state park choices. These are bookings for next March, which is the height of Spring Break making competition high. In another two weeks I’ll try again at my one of my first choice parks.
Getting up early seemed to keep my energy level for the day low, but I still tried to get in a lot of exploring of the park. I started with a drive deeper into the park to Upper Myakka Lake. The low water level was very much apparent at the lake. The distance from the parking area to the water is about three times longer than normal and birds are walking in the water a long way from the shore. There is a good reason the nature excursion boat tours are suspended. I have stayed at this campground in December and in March/April. The water level in December is always much higher than the spring visit, but this is the lowest I’ve seen the water level. I found an article on the internet that reports the water flowing in the Myakka River is 33% of the normal flow. Mother nature must be leveling things out. The park was underwater for a long time after hurricane Ian at the end of September.
The damage from the hurricane is visible throughout the park. It is mostly in the form of downed trees, but there are other signs as well. All of the dead material that you usually see hanging on at the top of palm trees is on the ground. It looks like they floated around a lot in high water in some areas. In general there are many more open areas. As far as structural damage all five of the rental cabins are closed for major repairs after the storm.
I am still seeing most of the alligators in the water with their noses poking out, but I did find a few on shore today. The water birds also made an appearance near the lake. I saw a few Great Blue Herons, at least one Great Egret and many Limpkins. The Rosetta spoonbills that I’ve seen in December don’t see to be around at this time of year.
Rob's Rambling Road Trip 