Little Manatee River SP (Feb 7-20)

It was a short 21 mile drive here from Lake Manatee, so we didn't even bother to hook up the Envoy to tow. We are in site 23, which is nicely shaded, large, and level. We took a walk down to the river, but it didn't seem too inviting. We checked out the restrooms, washers and dryers, and all seem quite adequate.
Friday - We wanted to check out a local lake here, so we took our hike there, it is a beautiful spot, but a long trek to wheel the kayaks. We will bring the rods and try an area from shore. Afterwards, we took our lunch to Ft. Hamer park, then fished from the dock. No success. It is cooling down some here.
Saturday - We went on a hike with Chip, a park ranger on the Oxbow Trail, which runs along a part of the Little Manatee River that was left when the river changed course hundreds of years ago. It was a very interesting experience. In the evening the same ranger led a fireside chat at the amphitheater on white tail deer.
Sunday - We attended a wonderful contemporary worship service at Sun City Center U. M. Church. We met some nice folks from Michigan, worshipped our Lord, and heard a great message about serving. After lunch we checked out a few places to launch on Bishop's Harbor and Terra Ceia Bay. We also looked at Frog Creek RV Park, a good place to settle down some day. Finally, we had BBQ dinner at Kojak's in Palmetto.
Monday - We took our coffee to the amphitheater in hopes of seeing deer passing thru, but saw birds and pigs instead. Wild pigs are a major problem in Florida because of the damage they do rooting for food. They were brought here by early settlers and extensive efforts to control them have been unsuccessful. We also saw a red-shouldered hawk and a red-bellied woodpecker.
Tuesday - Finally, we put in at Hamer Park for some fishing. Joan started things off with a needlefish, a ladyfish, a redfish and a sea trout. John followed with a redfish about the same size. He had three ladyfish on, but they got away. The redfish and trout would have made a great dinner, but they were a little small to be legal. We found a good area that has to be walked at low tide. We were the only one fishing there.
Wednesday - In an effort to beat the bad weather coming this way, we headed over to E.G. Simmon's County Park near Ruskin and fished from shore. The area we usually launch the kayaks turned out to be protected from the high winds we had today. John did the catching today, bringing in three ladyfish and a stingray. Sadly again, nothing for the table. While we were fishing, we saw two dolphin and a manatee swimming only a few feet from us.
Thursday - We took our usual morning walk down to the river and lake. The mostly sand road to the river had received enough rain to make it a great media to receive fresh tracks from the local fauna. We saw those of deer, hogs, a fox (we think), and ants. click "view pictures" to see. The weather has deteriorated some, so we are doing alternative activities. Our friends, Pastor Dave & Shirley called, so we met them at Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. It was great to see them. Afterwards we did some shopping at the mall, John's Valentines gift to Joan.
Saturday - Our friends, Ray and Fay, in Floral City were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, so we drove up to other friends, John and Vicky's place in Spring Hill to drive the rest of the way with them. We also stayed at their place overnight, so we wouldn't have to drive back late today. We also stopped to see friends, Gene and Lynda's new place, which is on the Withlacoochee River. There is so much water around their place, it is almost like being on a houseboat. The party was great and we felt honored to be able to share that special time with them. Special thanks to John and Vicky for sharing their beautiful home with us and putting us up for the night.
Sunday - With temps only in the low 50s, we are limiting our activities and staying close to the motorhome.
Monday - It dropped to the low 30s in the night, but warmed up to near 70 in the PM. It was too windy to put the kayaks in, however.
Tuesday - We drive about 50 miles to Myakka SP to visit our friends Tom and Jane who were camping there. We had a great visit and even did some fishing in the Myakka River. John caught a couple small crappie, a couple small rock bass and an even smaller tilapia. Tom caught a small tilapia. The new area of the campground is nice, the older part not so much. We enjoyed the warmer weather and our friend's pups.
Wednesday - We drove down to Hamer Park and launched the kayaks. We paddled to the same area as last time, where there was a shallow area that opened into a bay with a good hole, and caught a few ladyfish. After returning to the launch area, we had lunch, then returned to the river near the launch and fished some more. We each caught several more ladyfish and Joan also caught a couple of small trout.

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