A slow month for traveling so we visited this local reserve for a few hours and walked another of the nine trails for a while. The Lost Bridge Trail. A short .7 mile trail.
No camping at the reserve, but found a nice shady spot at one of the many paved or grassy parking areas throughout the reserve to unload the bikes, eat lunch and hit the trail.
This end of the trail begins in the pasture of the replica cow ranch.
The quarters for the cow hands. Very primitive living. A hard life that was much of Florida in the old days.
Welcome shade on a hot sunny day. The door is open, but entry is not permitted. One can look in to see a sparse living area afforded the cow hands. The screen on the door didn't allow for good photos, unfortunately. Have to work on that.
Another view showing a hitching post and coil of barbed wire used in the day.
An old pitcher pump stands by the corral.
We found it. The Lost Bridge. At the end of the pasture, the bridge crosses over a large swampy area.
Swamp Christmas Tree?
Traversing the bridge. Some sun.....
....some shade.
Normally, not the end of the trail. That's not sand. Algae. The previous two weeks of typical Florida summer rains swelled the swamp and covered the trail. Not so much concerned with alligators...but snakes. So, we made a u-turn back to the pasture and corral area.
We entered the trail from the other end only to see the water covered path from another angle. A little deeper from this end.
At this end of the trail is an outdoor classroom. One of four buildings in the park that accompanies a nice picnic area.
Looking for wildlife off the bridge over the swamp area. It's the middle of the day and not much activity on this trail.
But, there is flora to see.
And, a few prominant insects.
Nice to get to visit the Circle B again, even if just vicariously. I miss my gators!!! I had a similar experience when staying near Little Rock - trails that were taken over by the Arkansas River overflowing its banks big time!
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