Florida Outdoor Getaways 2008 - (Page 13) Here, just a half-hour’s drive from one of Florida’s largest cities, I sit and watch ibis walking along the shallows, gators sunning themselves on the banks, and finally, that hoped-for family of otters looking for breakfast. The momma and two pups swim right by, not noticing me as I watch them so quietly. Or, then again, perhaps they did, but knew I belonged here too. More at www.floridastateparks.org/hillsboroughriver The Apalachicola River Paddling Trail System The American Canoe Association and Paddler magazine recently named the Apalachicola River Paddling Trail System one of their top destinations in the United States. It’s no wonder. Last winter, I started with four friends at the Georgia state line, and we paddled to the Gulf of Mexico, the same route traveled by pirates, soldiers and Native Americans for hundreds of years. For two days, we didn’t see another soul, our only companions the occasional white-tailed deer that would wander down to the river to drink. Today, the Apalachicola is one of those rare rivers that is wilder now than it was 100 years ago. The river – once used by traders traveling from the the South to countries beyond via the open ocean – was as busy as a modern interstate. Today, paddlers can explore mysterious tupelo swamps or sprawling grasslands on any of the 100 miles or so of marked paddling trails. See more at www.myfwc.com/recreation continued > Paddling at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. http://www.floridastateparks.org/hillsboroughriver http://www.myfwc.com/recreation
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