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January 29 – February 12, 2025                                Most Recent Posts:
Oscar Scherer State Park  site 21                                Cold at Koreshan              
Osprey, Virginia                                                              Florida Scrub Jays

My two weeks are up at Koreshan so Winnona and I head north a short 81 miles up Interstate 75 for a return to Oscar Scherer State Park.  It is  also along Route 41, the Tamiami Trail.   Yes we could have just driven straight up 41 but that would have taken at least twice as long due to traffic lights and traffic.  All those other folks hoping to be warmer in south Florida.   I’m a fan of (well maintained) interstate highways.  I just get in the right hand lane and let every one pass me as I cruise along.

Pretty sure I’ve stayed at Oscar Scherer every year we’ve been wintering in Florida since we began in 2011.  So I was quite surprised to see some changes in their programming which has always been numerous and among the best of any state park I’ve been to.  And like Koreshan, they were unhappy changes.  Sadly, they no longer have game night or the pancake breakfast.  Unlike Koreshan there is a possibility that those will return if they get more volunteers to help run them.  Koreshan has no plan to return the wonderful successful Saturday Farmer’s Market.

Remaining on the program list is the Friday morning hike with a ranger which I took with only one other camper and fantastic ranger Donny whom I met on my first stay here this year on a previous Friday Ranger hike.  This time he took us down some more unknown trails and  under the rail trail bridge from Sarasota to Venice.

Of course, I took myself,  pretty much daily, down the South Creek Trail.  The campground is situated on one side of South Creek and this trail on the other.

Along the trail on both sides is a section with a Butterfly Garden.  The plants are labeled and I assume it is cared for by folks from The Friends of Oscar Scherer group.  I’d love to be here to see the plants in bloom but not enough to return during the heat of summer.

Another program remaining is the Tuesday morning “coffee”.   This time I was  the second person to arrive and after 30 minutes no one else had shown up but the two volunteers at the front assured me the place would be full by 9:30.

I guess folks here are not early risers but I know last week I was a bit later and by the time I left they were setting up an additional 4th table.

Coffee, tea, donuts, cinnamon toast, bagels and a jar for donations.

I don’t remember exactly how I happened to meet Carol who is one of the few other solo travels I have met on the road since David died and I began seriously looking for them.   Unfortunately I met her on the day she was leaving.  Fortunately she drives a van and she had pretty much packed it up.   She hadn’t seen the scrub jays yet so we spent the morning chatting and then I took her out to where I hoped they would make an appearance, and they did.   Thank you guys!

It was great to meet Carol and after that one morning together we have kept in touch as she moved on back toward her home in Ithaca New York.

Carol by her van                                               Carol by the jay so close by on the fence

The jays were curious and came right up to check us out.

Another change in policy that I may have mentioned previously is that campers are no longer allowed to lock their boats up at the dock and leave them over night.  Perhaps this isn’t a big problem for others but it is for me as getting the kayak on and off the car is not something I want to do twice a day and I do want to kayak every other day in the morning.   I am irritated about this change in a 10 year policy of camper consideration.   I will admit that I did leave my boat tied up overnight after kayaking on Monday but I put it back on the car after my Tuesday kayak for fear they would cut my lock and confiscate it for violating the rules.  SO AGGRIVATING.   Therefore I only went out twice rather than at least 7 times.

As long as I’m ranting, I’m also not terribly fond of their boat launch which I guess is designed to be accessible but is extremely difficult to use.  I can’t begin to figure out how it would be negotiable by someone handicapped.

Too many corners and turns to negotiate with a kayak even 10’ long.  Mine is 13’

Tell me how you are supposed to make that sharp left hand turn with your boat into the entry slot there between the two platforms.   Red arrow.

Don’t ask me how I did it.  It wasn’t pretty and I sure could have used some help.

I paddled down the creek toward  Casey Key passing a viewing deck on the South Creek Trail.

It’s really a beautiful paddle on the parts the park owns both sides of the river.

As I moved out of the creek into the bay, the development increased.  An osprey was using this post to enjoy his lunch which you can see a bit of under his foot.

The creek widens out and I paddled under the Route 41 bridge.  Of course the views and the sounds completely changed at this point.

Luckily for me all the power boat owners were not out this morning.   Prior to heading toward the mouth of the creek I had gone up stream as far as I could through the campground and didn’t have enough time or energy to do the 2.5 mile paddle through all the waterfront houses to Casey Key Fish House and back.   I’ll try that another trip.

That night, I did make it to the Nokomis Beach Drum Circle which was held on the beach this week happily.    And boy were the crowds about 100 fold larger.

There are as many people behind me as in front of me.

Take a look and a listen with this link.  In the video,  notice the girl with the pink hula hoop.  How does she do that?  And notice bubble wands on the right.

The enormous bubbles against the sunset were fantastic.   Here’s a short video of them that will give you a real sense of how great they were.

Of course the people are always interesting.

Over the drumming you couldn’t hear the digeridoo and conch shell duet.

Have you ever tried to do this?

This guy with the flute made me laugh out loud.  Guess it didn’t matter how well he could play it since there was no way you could hear it.

There were some good surprises during my stay as well.

One camper had this animated Winnie the Pooh who moved his candle back and forth.   Valentines Day was only a week away.  Isn’t he great!!!   I loved walking around the campground loop and passing him. 

One day in the later afternoon a woman came up while I was sitting in my antigravity chair reading and said You don’t know me but I’ve been reading your blog for a long time since you and David were on the road.    She introduced herself as Joy and clearly knew a lot about me from reading the blog.  But sadly she never comments so I had no idea who she was.  We chatted a bit and I found out she’s from this area and when she read that I would be here, she and her husband drove over to see if I was still here.  She could find me because she recognized Winnona.  It was wonderful to meet her and I really hope she will comment in future whenever she reads.  I love that she took the time to find me and I’d like to keep up with her.

Another surprise, even to me,  was that I bought myself an electric grille just out of the blue one day.  I haven’t had anything grilled since David died.  He was the grille master and dealt with those propane canasters which I don’t want to do. So this was my answer.   I particularly want to grille vegetables but there is a salmon fillet there among them.

I am primarily a vegan despite my once a month salmon fillet.  I find it extremely hard to find good vegan restaurants.  Lots of restaurants say they have vegan food but it’s a vegetable plate or various versions of chemicals burgers.   But when I found Cafe Evergreen I knew I had found the real thing.  Another surprise. 

Cafe Evergreen is a restaurant Michael Pollen would like.  Even the “meatloaf” had less than 5 ingredients and I could pronounce every one.

I had an delicious probiotic strawberry cooler (strawberry. blueberry, mint, lime and kombucha).  So good!   Vegan meatloaf with organic quinoa, mixed with lentils, herbs and spices served with apple gravy, cauliflower mash and green beans.  It was all absolutely wonderful.  This will for sure be my restaurant of choice when I’m back here again.   Wish I’d discovered it on my first stay.

And last but absolutely not least was my surprising  luck in meeting Suzanne from Eastern Virginia.  I often stop when walking around the campgrounds if I see cars or rigs from Ohio where I was born or Virginia where I’ve lived all but 20 years of my life. 

Chuck was outside at their campsite when I came by so I stopped to say hello.   He called to his wife Suzanne inside their rig and she came out.  They are the friendliest people ever. Suzanne and I hit it off with pretty much everything we talked about in common.   I was so busy enjoying her company that I neglected to take pictures of the hikes we took or of us on a foray into Venice to hit a thrift store, a shoe store and a walk around town which is where these two pictures were taken.   She was walking right next to me.  Why isn’t she in them?

                                                  Notice the pillow…Mirror, Mirror…….

We had such fun, so much in common and I enjoyed her company immensely.  I finally got her picture on the morning of the day we were both leaving.  She to go to Myakka River State Park and me to Silver River.   We have kept in touch since then and I so hope we will be able to meet up again.   Thanks Suzanne for everything!

I’m posting this from Site 6 at Silver Springs State Park where I will be until February 29.   So if you are in the area let me know or come on by like Joy did.   And Joy, if you are reading…..please comment so I’ll know you are.

Cold at Koreshan

January 15-29, 2025                                                           Most Recent Posts:
Koreshan State Park site 8                                              Florida Scrub Jays
Estero, Florida                                                       Alafia River After the Holidays

The trip from Oscar Scherer to Koreshan was the perfect distance in my opinion, an hour and a half.  I stopped and got gas which is always a thrill since I have to use the gas pumps for cars rather than the bigger size spots for diesel pumps.  But by 3:30, I pulled into site 8 for two weeks.   Love not having to pack up and move for anything shorter than that.

I felt a tad guilty for rewarding myself for such a short trip but I justified it with the gas stop.   Estero has a Mellow Mushroom and it was a Holy Shitake pizza for me and Pooh.  It’s not only delicious but I think it’s quite artistic.

The Trail

Koreshan is one of my favorite parks for several reasons. I love their river trail,  I love the amazing story of the park and the preservation of the settlement buildings. I can tie up my kayak at the boat launch and go out every morning unlike now at Oscar Scherer.  (hiss boo to whoever changed that)

Walking the river trail every day was no problem regardless of the temperature. It’s a wonderful sandy path that goes through lovely pine flatwoods and majestic live oaks.

In its beautification efforts, the Koreshan Unity planted bamboo they got from Thomas Edison and of course bamboo has a mind of its own and is now a forest of its own as well,  especially along the river.

The Settlement

I’ve talked a great deal in previous posts over the years about the Koreshans and the settlement they created in the swamps here.  They and what they created, the gardens, the bridges, the buildings, the businesses,  really are amazing.

Most of the interesting things that that I saw during my stay were not in the campground other than this Great Blue Heron.  I can’t imagine what he was doing one night at dusk up in a tree in the middle of the loop.  Herons do roost in trees but they roost in groups.  Maybe he was a scout, looking for a new spot who knows.  But it was great fun looking out and looking up and seeing him there.

Do you see him standing up tall on the branch drooping down on the right?

The animal I saw the most was the gopher tortoise.  A fair number of them have burrows along the sandy trails and in the settlement itself.

Unfortunately all of the settlement buildings were not able to be saved.  The most beautiful is known as The Planetary Court built in 1904.  You just have to read the history to believe this stuff.   Cyrus Teed, the founder, also known as Koresh, chose 7 women to run the settlement (commune by our definition).   Everyone else lived in dormitories, men’s and women’s, but those 7 women lived here.

The inside of the building isa  show place of craftsmanship.

The other remaining large building was called Founders House.  Teed and his chosen second in command, Victoria, lived in separate quarters on the ground floor.  Victoria was in charge when Teed was traveling to spread the message and recruit new members.

The ground floor now has an exhibit of the furniture that was in the house at the time and an audio visual presentation history you can sit and watch.  This is the very best thing to do when first coming to the park so you can understand at least some of the history of these people.

This was once a grand avenue lined with Royal Palms on both sides.  Royal Palms  are native to Florida though they do not grow north of Tampa.  They can reach 100 feet tall.  Must have been quite majestic in its day.  Over time and hurricanes only one royal remains, that tall skinny tree in the distance.

As you all know, most better than I, the weather turned very cold for most January.  I was  glad that I was at my furthest park south for this year in Florida.  Estero is exactly half way between Fort Myers to the North and Naples to the South.   I’d have had to go down to the Everglades or out to the keys to be warmer.   Still it was uncharacteristically cold for Florida and everywhere else.  39 degrees is not weather to go out kayaking in at 7:30am.  Thus I wasn’t able to get on the water until the last 4 of my 14 days.   I was concerned for the flora here at the park in these temperatures.

As the temperatures began to warm up slightly, then it rained and I was stuck inside for a couple of days. 

After the rains I was very happy to see that the Resurrection Ferns, perfect name for them,  on the trail had not died from the cold and with the rain had sprung back to life.  These ferns are epiphytes and do not take anything from the trees they live on.  They get the water they need from rain and shrivel up when there is not enough.  They too are native to Florida.  Here you can see them on the branches of the Live Oaks.

My last 4 days I spent on the water every morning finally.  I was lucky enough to be able to join a private tour a ranger was giving to the campground volunteers about the history of the Koreshan use of the river.   It was a great tour and we all learned quite a bit.  

                   Hitchhiker

The river was the way they originally accessed the property and for many years after its founding.  We were able to see a number of old landings and steps that went to various building on the 7500 acres with 70 buildings that they ultimately owned and built.   Sadly, only 11 buildings and 300 acres remain.

Other folks also on the river.

On the way back to the settlement, we found an engagement picture being taken on “the bamboo landing” which was the large dock on which the Koreshans put on plays and musical performances for people who came up river and watched from their boats.  It was the “formal” entrance to the community.  Otherwise you used the one at the store. I’ll talk about that later.

I was happy for the couple and wondered if there are still newspapers which publish engagement and wedding photos as they used to.   Anyone know or have a local paper that does?

I did actually leave the park a few times for groceries and to meet Cindy and Gay who have a winter home down here.  We went kayaking several times in Vermont here one day we went to the Royal Scoop for lunch and mostly for ice cream.    Of course no pictures of the lunch or the ice cream.

Another outing is one I always do here.  David’s favorite restaurant was Ford’s Garage so I have lunch there in his honor.

                                                  Great door handles.

Though I am primarily a vegan,  I cannot pass up a mushroom and swiss burger.
Notice the clamp napkin ring.

My two last days at the park I went out on the water.  First I went down stream toward the mouth of the river.

That end is more developed as the river moves toward Estero Bay and then the Gulf of Mexico.

Wading birds like these herons don’t seem to be bothered by the development along the water.

I must admit I was surprised to see this pelican on top of a boat dock.

There remain some protected sections.

Same Pelican, on the way back. Guess his nap is over.

The next day I kayaked up stream away from the Gulf and toward the Source of the Estero River in the Wild turkey Strand Preserve.   No I did not make it there.  You’ll see why.

This house on the other side of the river from the park was built in 1917 by the son of one of the original Koreshans for her to live in. she was possibly done with dormitories but that’s just my thought.  The house was recently purchased by the state to add to the park.  I’m very interested to see what they do with it in the future.  It has been modernized from the outside look of it.

Great Blue overhead.

The river is so beautiful.

It narrows as you go further up stream.

And becomes more shallow.  Eventually, I was forced turn around.   I wonder if there is a trail in the swamp that leads to the head springs of the Estero.  Somehow I doubt it.   I’d love it if it had something like ItascaState Park in Minnesota  has for the Mississippi.

Heading back.

The Ranger had shown us these steps which I had never noticed on previous trips on the river.  But then sun was worse than today. The steps are behind  what is left of the original dock to the general store which you can barely see in the background.   The dock was used less and less after the construction of the original dirt road Tamiami Trail (Now US 41) from Tampa to Miami.   As you can see the dock has fallen away though some parts of it remain but the steps must be close to 150 years old.   The Koreshans had a concrete works among their businesses and it looks like they knew what they were doing.

Behind the red mangroves is the original, and thus the oldest,  building on the grounds.  It was the home of Gustave Damkohler who gave the property to the Unity when he joined.  His son was none too happy about it and thought Cyrus Teed was a huckster.  What happened there is a whole story in itself.  This park is full of stories.

The above river trip was my last one, the day before I had to move on.  Too few days on the river this trip because of the weather.

Remember the rainy picture out the RV window?  If not, scroll up and look.  In that picture the kayak was on the car for traveling.  Here’s what happens when I’m loading it up to leave.  

Next stop back to Oscar Scherer for another 2 weeks of hopefully warm weather.  Or at least warmer than other places I could be.