Strollin’ with the Birds! | Giant Snails, Ghost Snakes and the Old Marco Trail
(Edited)
The day began on the water!
A beautiful sunny, mild winter day in Southwest Florida, perfect weather for kayaking!
Blackwater River was calm…
but the group we joined was a lively one, everyone ready for an adventure. Wait! Is that a Bird sighting perhaps? Being a wee bit nervous about having a camera on water, the pictures were minimal, lol
Notice the beautiful “walking" trees…
Mangroves, with their many roots making their way along the shore. Amazingly the root system of these Mangroves prevent erosion due to hurricanes along the shorelines of the Everglades. Mangroves help purify fresh water runoff from surrounding land as well as contaminated water found in the waters of the Gulf.
We bid our group goodbye…
and decided to head out on foot! We had been told the Old Marco Road was nearby, it was time to check it out! As you can see this was the site of the original road built for cars in 1916.
The original Bay City Walking Dredge!
Located in Collier-Seminole State Park was used to trench and build the original roads. Beginning early in the 20th century men and women toiled to create safe passage from Naples to the Miami, Florida. Working under harsh conditions; often 10 hour days, 6 days a week. US 41 was completed in 1928.
We were anxious to hit the trail!
With no one in sight we set out; the trail was perfect, recently cleared and easy to follow.
What a greeting!
A ghost of a snake it seems! Just underfoot, we narrowly missed the recently deserted snakeskin.
Those eyes…
Flowers abound…
showing their smiling faces!
Just around the corner…
we spied an area with hundreds of these! African Land Snails! These snails are huge and dangerously invasive, a true threat to the ecosystem.
The ground was littered…
with hundreds of empty shells scattered about the cypress knees! Who do you think had escargot for dinner? Bears? Feeling a bit on edge, we moved along.
Brilliant yellow…
wildflowers line the path. It was fun to take a moment and breath in the fresh air of the day.
Busy bees too!
We bid Old Marco Road farewell…
with birds singing and flying overhead. I'm sure I heard Come back soon!
And we will indeed...
Strolling along the Old Marco Road we dreamed about those men and women who risked their lives to create safe passage for future generations. Today, the original road is but a trail, wildlife has taken back the land they once owned. A perfect day for a @wednesdaywalk hosted by my friend @tattoodjay! We felt blessed to witness this little slice of paradise. I hope you'll take a moment to take a walk today. We would love to hear! So glad you joined our stroll!
And as always, blessings to you all!
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Sure looks like such a beautiful day there, those snails are so big ;) and a snake skin is so much cooler to see than a real snake ;) well at least for me
What a beautiful walk post
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :)
Feeling suddenly very EARTHED and connected and desirous of a long, slow amble through the garden (at the very least!). I love the way the #wednesdaywalk takes you virtual places in such micro detail.
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Omg that's not dangerous to touch those snails?
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When I saw that picture of the snail shells, giant African land snail came to mind, but I was sure they wouldn't be, because Florida! I wonder how they got there. Usually snail shells that size come from the sea, around here. Moon snails leave drill holes in the other mollusc shells and we found a shell as big as our hand, one day! Usually they're the same size as your shells, though.
The last time we visited mangroves we were swarmed by mosquitoes. Hopefully this want the car for you. Hopefully winter is a better time of year in that regard.
What a lovely walk my friend! We have mangroves close to the coastline, still need to do that walk and go see for ourselves. That snakeskin would have given me such a fright, it's still in perfect form so it couldn't have been too far away👀 Nice to see you're in a mild climate as well!
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