Southwest Getaways 2008 - (Page 12) parks FLORIDA STATE PARKS By Sandra Friend Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. Photo by William S. Speer. The Untouched Southwest Our Very Own Amazon I t’s 9 a.m., and we’re chasing ghosts. Not the kind that flit around after dark, but the sort that hide high in the pop ash trees of Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. We’re hot on the trail of the ghost orchid. It’s a slow, deliberate treasure hunt, where we inspect each trunk for the telltale roots that signal this rare orchid’s presence. Then our guide, park biologist Mike Owen, spots one, dangling like a leaping ivory frog well above our heads. A Sense of Adventure It’s not just a walk in the park. An excursion into Florida’s state parks can take you places you never dreamed were so close to home. A watery wilderness of 126 square miles, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park near the Everglades town of Copeland is our very own Amazon, with more species of native bromeliads and orchids than anywhere else in the United States. At Naples’ Collier-Seminole State Park, visitors can camp beneath the fronds of the largest stand of native Florida royal palms in the state as they prepare for a night adventure, with narration courtesy of swamp creatures. On this guided moonlight adventure, you can hike or take a spooky canoe paddle through mangrove tunnels. Mangroves define the natural shoreline of Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast in Estero, surrounding mysterious places including Mound Key Archeological State Park. Dip your paddle into Estero Bay and make the journey to this massive shell mound, Kayaking Estero Bay Preserve State Park. which marks the remains of the capital of the ancient Calusa Photo by William S. Speer. culture, established in 100 A.D. Surrounded by Florida’s first aquatic preserve, Estero Bay Preserve State Park, it’s a getaway you won’t forget, meandering through a maze of mangrove islands protected by the barrier island of Lovers Key. If you’re kayaking the preserve, one launch point is Lovers Key State Park, known for its popular beaches. Take an off-road bicycle to this popular park in Fort Myers Beach and you can beat the crowds with a trip down the Black Island Trail, a five-mile-long course that zigzags through tropical vegetation. On the other side of Estero Bay, the most popular launch point for Mound Key is Koreshan State Historic Site. Dr. Cyrus Teed founded a utopian commune on this site in 1894, drawing together followers who believed that the universe was inside a giant, hollow sphere. Balance that with the group’s progressive views on women’s rights as you tour the village, and then learn to make your own Koreshan bread with a course on Dutch oven cooking. Or wait until the moonlight is right, and join a tour guide on a very special nighttime walk. Chasing ghosts, of course. 12 VISITFLORIDA.com/southwest http://VISITFLORIDA.com/southwest
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