Over the next several posts, I will be writing about special places in Southwest Florida. This will appeal to those of you want a different Florida vacation, without a white-gloved mouse in sight.
There is no doubt that Florida is one cliché after another: Miami Vice, Mansions on the Gold Coast, spring break parties, Mickey, hurricanes, alligators and senior citizens heading to early-bird specials, turn signals blinking the whole way.
Florida IS all that, but beyond the T-shirt shops, Florida is so much more. Many environmentalists have given up on trying to save “natural” Florida from the tacky and tawdry excesses of humankind. However, many concerned groups and individuals have preserved some spectacular havens for wildlife and wild plants.
Wild places do exist, and – even while species around the world are disappearing – wildlife is abundant. Florida has more nesting pairs of bald eagles than any other state except Alaska. And in Southern Florida, you can scarcely look up without seeing an osprey or white ibis. If it’s alligators you want, you came to the right place. Imagine what must it have been like before unchecked development nearly wiped out the Everglades and completely paved paradise.
By many measures, South Florida’s ecosystem is as “totaled” as a Mini Cooper under a big rig. But, if you can navigate unscathed through the traffic of Naples and Ft. Myers on the Gulf Coast, it is still possible to marvel at slices of natural beauty. It is hard not to be impressed by all the flora and fauna that has somehow dodged the bullets of bulldozers, airboats and greed. Of course, most of these peeks into the past include civilized touches such as interpretive centers, boardwalks and gift shops. Here's the first stop (more to come in my next posts):
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
National Audubon Society
National Audubon Society
www.corkscrew.audubon.org
(239) 348-9151
(239) 348-9151
How to get there
From I-75, take exit 111 north of Naples. Travel east on Immokalee Road (County Road 846) for 15 miles. Turn left on Sanctuary Road. Warning: Do not take Exit 123 – Corkscrew Road. As the “snowbirds” from Maine would say, “You can’t get there from here.”
From I-75, take exit 111 north of Naples. Travel east on Immokalee Road (County Road 846) for 15 miles. Turn left on Sanctuary Road. Warning: Do not take Exit 123 – Corkscrew Road. As the “snowbirds” from Maine would say, “You can’t get there from here.”
Painted buntings and much more…
Along the 2.25-mile boardwalk (or the 1-mile shortcut), you will experience nature’s true “magic kingdom.” The specialties here include the rainbow-like painted bunting, wild orchids and the largest virgin bald cypress forest in North America. Painted buntings frequently visit a feeder, which allows close viewing of these spectacular birds. A barred owl is often heard during the day perpetually asking, “Who cooks for you?” Visit www.corkscrew.audubon.org for a checklist of the sanctuary’s abundant plants and animals. Fee area.
Along the 2.25-mile boardwalk (or the 1-mile shortcut), you will experience nature’s true “magic kingdom.” The specialties here include the rainbow-like painted bunting, wild orchids and the largest virgin bald cypress forest in North America. Painted buntings frequently visit a feeder, which allows close viewing of these spectacular birds. A barred owl is often heard during the day perpetually asking, “Who cooks for you?” Visit www.corkscrew.audubon.org for a checklist of the sanctuary’s abundant plants and animals. Fee area.
(The painted bunting photo was taken by the U.S. National Parks Service and is in the public domain.)
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