The weather down here has been incredible lately, with daytime temperatures in the upper 70s and plenty of sunshine. On Sunday I drove down to Myakka River State Park. It was the first state park I visited in Florida when I moved here back in 2019, right about this time of year. While I’ve returned to wander a few times since, I don’t think I’ve had quite such an amazing experience before.

As the afternoon heated up, I headed into the forested hammock. The thing about winter in Florida, I go through a lot of clothes! When I left my house it was 59° so I wore jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. By the time I parked at the trailhead, it was mid-70s and sunny so I switched into shorts and a tshirt. I started the day on an open trail but by mid-afternoon, the sun chased me onto a much shadier trail. We may not get showy Fall colors down here but as you can see, the foliage was definitely festive!

For the last part of my day, I trekked south along the much-diminished Myakka River. Though our dry season has just started, most of Florida is already in a Stage 1 drought. As a result, I was able to reach sections of the river that would typically be completely under water.

I perched on one of the trees downed by last year’s hurricanes and waited, knowing that low water levels elsewhere in the park would bring wildlife here. I didn’t have to wait long, as a steady stream of birds and even a raccoon soon stopped by.

As for alligators, you know what they say, if there’s water in Florida it’s a safe bet that there’s gators! I admire them from a distance because although they mostly laze about, they are surprisingly quick and agile. The momma gator in the video below swam over to warn me to stay away from her not-so-little babies.