After driving southwest to the Gulf Shore, we arrived at Oscar Scherer State Park, near Venice, FL on Thursday. Very summery with high temps about 80 - definitely swimming weather. It's good to have this sign on the beach....
There is a tropical feeling in this area, from the Spanish moss to the scrub palm.
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| Spanish moss |
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| Florida scrub 3 years after a prescribed burn |
The park rangers rotate prescribed burns throughout the park scrub area. The grasses and scrub palm are burnt, but quickly regrow. The longleaf palm is resistant, and only its thick bark gets a little charred.
Yesterday we went for a bike ride on the Legacy Bike Trail, a rail trail conversion, that transects the park. In central Venice it connects to the Venetian Waterway Park bike path that follows a canal and is part of the Intercoastal Waterway.
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| Diane ready for an adventure (and lunch) |
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| Venetian Waterway Park canal bike path to Caspersen Beach |
We biked to the end of the trail at Caspersen Beach and started back along the shore to Sharky's on the pier for lunch.
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| Venice Fishing Pier |
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| Venice Beach from pier |
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| Looking good after 22 miles! |
Today we went for a hike through the scrub to a spot where a park volunteer had set up a spotting scope near a bald eagle nest. The chicks are a few weeks old. If you look closely
at the photo the mama eagle is visible and more closely still, the head of one of the two chicks just peeking out.
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