2/21 Highland Hammocks State Park

This is a very busy family-oriented state park, and being President's Day weekend, it was packed, so I was happy when yesterday came and some of the crowds left. It is still very busy in Florida, but mostly with quieter old folks like me.



There is a very nice Civilian Conservation Corps museum in the park.

I picked one of the very few spots that were open enough to get satellite TV.  I DO like my TV!  And this was one of the larger spots with nice grass.

The nicest part of this state park is the two-mile loop drive through the swamp and hammocks.

This sign tells you what a hammock is.

Part of this land was originally a privately owned ranch that had orange groves.

I like the warning on this sign that you should not swim with alligators.

Very nice boardwalk.  There was not much water, however, so almost no water birds.  Winter is the dry season in Florida, but it has been especially dry in Florida this year.

The bald cypress got their name because they lose their leaves in winter.  These have still not yet grown their new spring leaves.

Even this pond was shallow.

Now, this is a scary boardwalk.  Not only was it narrow with a railing on only one side, but the boards were very old and some were loose!

This area had some nice ferns.

Love the tree limbs hanging over the loop road.  I was riding my bike, but when I first came here two years ago, I accidently took my motorhome down this road.  Very scary with the low-hanging branches.

Here is a wild orange tree.  It was amazingly tall for an orange tree.  No oranges within picking height, unfortunately.

This is the stump of a very old cypress tree.