Shy Wolf Sactuary - Adventure Saturday # 7

Shy Wolf Sanctuary is exactly what it sounds like: it is a rescue primarily for  wolves and wolf dogs, but there are some other exotic animals there as well.  The best part about this wonderful place is that it's five minutes down the road from  where I live!  All this time I had no idea that just a stones throw away was a rather large community of wolves.  Pretty cool find I think. 

The founders of this amazing place, Nancy and Kent Smith, has been caring for and rescuing these exotic animals since 1993 (at their own expense).  They didn't get their name, however, until a local reporter got wind of them and made their story public.  They officially became 'Shy Wolf Sanctuary' in 2001.

I know I don't have to sell you on this place... I mean, what could be cooler than a habitat of wolves (that you can even cuddle with!!!) that's open for tour?  But I do want to mention this... Nancy, Kent, and the people who volunteer there very obviously love what they do and are passionate not only in caring for these magnificent animals, but in educating people about them as well.

They frequently do events in the community and visit schools and the most amazing thing is... they do it all for free. Here's the notice they have on their website about it:

"We decided long ago not to charge a fee for our educational programs and speaking engagements, wanting to make our animals and their lessons available and affordable to all. We survive on YOUR generosity through donations.   Please remember that your generosity helps us to continue providing the best possible care for the animals."  

Scheduled tours are available several days a week and are completely free, but donations are requested.  I very highly recommend planning an outing at Shy Wolf.  You'll only need a couple of hours and you will have the opportunity to interact (yes, PET and CUDDLE) with some of the wolves!  You must register ahead of time as the size of groups per tour is limited. 

I close with some more pictures I took whilst there and this quote I found on the website and I strongly agree:

“If you talk to the animals, they will talk to you
and you will know each other.
If you do not talk to them you will not know them,
and what you do not know you will fear.
What one fears – one destroys.”
 Chief Dan George 
 
One last thing and I'm done.... some of the animals are up for adoption.  There's a little bit of a process (info can be found on the website: http://www.shywolfsanctuary.com/index.html)  But, yes! If everything checks out you can adopt a wolf!  Pretty cool, I think!  Someday... someday... :-)

~M

Fakahatchee State Park - Adventure Saturday # 6

One of the coolest things I get to do when I'm not adventuring is teaching at local art studio here in Naples, FL.  More about this is coming up in a future blog. I mention that to say this: sometimes when you're doing what you love, you end up meeting really wonderful and interesting people who share similar interests. 
What I had originally thought would be a standard night at the studio ended up being a hours of laughing, truly fantastic conversation and making new friends. 

Adventure Saturdays came up and before I knew it one of the students and I were making plans to go Ghost Orchid Hunting in the Fakahatchee.

Before the sun came up one Friday morning, (yes! Adventure Saturdays can take place on a Friday or any other day of the week for that matter!) my new friend Dianna and I set out into the forest to explore trails. Our mission: to stumble upon the elusive Ghost Orchid, a very rare flower that grows in a very specific ecosystem found only in Southwest Florida and Cuba.

It was a beautiful drive out to the preserve and we got to see a spectacular foggy sun rise.

Word of advice...even if it's hot where a few layers. The mosquitoes out there are KILLER.  Spray yourself GENEROUSLY with repellant.  I foolishly went out there having completely forgot bug spray and wearing only a thin t-shirt and jeans.  By the time we turned around to head back out of the trail, my back and arms were covered in probably 200 hundred bites which later resulted in a fainting spell.  This is no joke. Learn from my mistake and prepare yourself when you head out into a Florida swamp.  Okay I'm done with my public service announcement. ;-)

Don't let what I just wrote above scare you.  I was just foolishly unprepared and won't make that mistake again.  There's something to be said for exploring where you live and being out among nature.  Though we didn't find a ghost orchid (I think we were a little too early in the season anyway) just being out there with good company and great conversation was wonderful.  The trail is gorgeous and we did find few interesting things...

There was what appeared to be an abandoned shed along with some rubbish.  Further down we came upon a cottage.  We determined it must be a ranger hut of some sort.  We also came upon a very interesting and very "big" footprint.  Just one single especially large footprint.  I will post it below. You be the judge.

Apparently some weirdo like to bbq out there.

You can clearly see a heel and toes.  I wish I had thought to put something beside this foot print for perspective. You can't really tell from the picture but it was really quite large. Skunk Ape???

We did get to see a little bit of wildlife before the mosquitoes ran us out.... on our way back to my friend's house, we happened this gator on the side of the road who'd just found himself some lunch. Nom nom.

Ah... nature...

Some day I'll head back out there.... maybe slough through the swamp and look for orchids. Next time, though, I won't be mosquito food.

~M

CREW - Bird Rookery Swamp Sactuary - Adventure Saturday # 5

Back in May mom and I visited CREW's (Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed) Bird Rookery and Swamp Trails in Naples.

We were a little unprepared. The trail is a long one, about 11 miles if I remember correctly.  It is a beautiful walk, however.  Most of it is canopied and you can walk, run, or bike the trail.  We got maybe 3 miles in before we turned around to head back.  Someday though, I 'd like to traverse the entire trail.

On our way through we saw several alligators, a few adult hawks and even an adolescent hawk (see pictures below) as well as a woodpecker.     There are also deer, bobcats, panthers, and bears in the area but we weren't lucky enough to see any. 

Although we met a few other explores on the trail, for the most part I felt like we had the entire place to ourselves.

There are some remnants of old logging tracks and some placards with some of the area's history.

Once or twice a month there are guided tours. Perhaps I'll participated in one of these my next time out there.

All in all it was a very pretty and serene place.   I look forward to visiting again.

Myakka River State Park - Adventure Saturday # 4

Hi All...

I am WAY behind on my writing, but this is my attempt to start getting caught up.  As I said in my last post, the adventuring hasn't stopped. Mom and I and even some new friends have been exploring some new places and even revisited some old ones.  There are still plenty of adventures to be had  and we're doing our best to get to them all.

So picking up where I left off...

Myakka River State Park.

Up in Sarasota is the one of the most beautiful parks and camping grounds in all of south and southwest Florida, in my opinion.  While we only got to spend a few hours there this last time, in the past I have camped out there. And let me tell you, it is a like a 5 star hotel compared to other camp sites I've stayed at.  Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it is pretty wonderful.  Unlike some other Florida campsites, Myakka has an amazing canopy soooo..... SHADE FROM THE SUN! Nothing is more wonderful on a hot Florida days.

There's a wonderful lake, canoe/kayak trails, and several walking trails within the park.  If you start out your day early enough there is plenty of wildlife to be seen including deer, wild bore, and maybe even... bear!  I swear I saw one once up there!

If you're into roughing it a little (or not, as their are some cabins and RV hooks up on site) and being one with nature, Myakka is by far one of my most favorite places to go.  Bring some fire wood and some fixings for some s'mores and I promise you'll have a wonderful time.

"Oh... one more thing... this park is the only place in Florida I've ever seen... FIREFLIES! Being from up north, fireflies are just one of those things every kid looks forward to about the summer time.  Since moving down to FL in  2001, I've really missed my little glowy friends and was beyond thrilled to discover them here.  There, near the board walk on the lake, in the tall grass in the water is where you'll find some fireflies.  In that moment when you see your first little hovering orb, you'll be transported back to your childhood of summer nights and mason jars... "