Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Weedon Island Preserve

Last Friday, we we took a brief hike through one of the trials of Weedon Island.



As a nature preserve there is very little development. There is a parking lot, a cultural history center that has a couple things on display on the first floor but isn't always open for viewing and board walk.







We've gone taken the boardwalk path several times so today we did only a short portion instead we went towards the Boy Scout Trail. We looked at the map which is conveniently located near the parking.



The cut outs on the map served as foreshadowing all the critters we saw on our hike. We saw 3 armadillos today. This one was pretty friendly and didn't dash off immediately as I tried to take a picture.



There are also black crabs all over. Mostly we saw them on the boardwalk as they tuck into the cracks as quickly as possible before we got too close. The closest I was able to get to one was here and still it scurried speedily away.



Along the trail there were several educational placards which Lydia really enjoyed. She thought it was fun to see what was hiding underneath.



Our only mistake was going to close to dusk. The park as most do closed at sunset. The area is built on the edge of the bay where there are a ton of mangroves.





The trees are so lush and pretty but a hot bed for no-see-ums and other nibbling biters. So we had to hurry our hike at the end so the babies didn't get too bitten up. Dad carried both  babies for a little bit as we sprinted back to the car.


This is a St. Petersburg Treasure .We have been there dozens of times and every time there is something new to see and a new path to explore. There is no designated traditional kid area but its truly family time because we get a chance to talk and point out nature. Lydia ran down the trails and Vivi loved being in the pack. Most of the park is just for pedestrians but there is a boat docking area where there is normally a kayak rental available, an easy day activity.

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