Cooter Pond Park is a small park with a large boardwalk running along the pond and a walking/biking trail that goes completely around the pond. We walked the boardwalk but didn't hike around the pond.
From the boardwalk we were able to view quite a bit of wild life from aquatic birds, fish, gators, hawks, and of course the Cooter Turtle.
There were two hawks one was on the top of the building looking at us and this one on the sign.
The park entrance has a statue of the Cooter Turtles.
It was very relaxing just walking the boardwalk and although it was in the 80s the cool breeze kept us very comfortable. The town of Inverness is lucky to have such a great town park.
Saturday 2/25 we drove to Homosassa Springs for a river safari on the beautiful Homosassa River.
River Safaris offers air boat rides to pontoon boat tours. The pontoon boat tour offers cruises to swim with the Manatees, a backwater tour, Gulf of Mexico cruise, and a sunset cruise. Bev and I chose the pontoon boat backwater cruise which also provided a lunch. We both love riding on a pontoon boat because it is quiet and relaxing while seeing the sites.
While we were waiting for our boat we watched the wildlife including this bird on top of a pontoon boat. They also have 3 alligators fenced in with their own pool.
Soon we were on our boat heading for the backwater of the Homosassa River. Bev and I were the only ones on the boat except for the captain. This is a view from our boat.
On the way out we passed this crew paddling to the beat of a drum.
This is Monkey Island which is populated by monkeys that originally lived at the Homosassa wildlife park. The monkeys kept escaping so they set up this island to contain them. It is a great setting for the monkeys and an interesting attraction for boaters. We did see the monkeys as we passed by but I can't see any of them in this photo.
This gazebo was used by Grover Cleveland who spent a lot of time in the area. (Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, the only president to serve non-consecutive terms and the first to be married in the White House.) Because he was so large it was not safe for him to go out in the small fishing boats of the time. They set up this gazebo for him which he used quite often to fish from.
A cold front came to Florida so it was quite cold on our boat ride but we were dressed for it and had a great time.
After we left the River Safari we passed by the Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins State Park.
It is the oldest standing historic structure in Citrus County and is partially restored. The mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The mill was owned by David Levy Yulee, one of Florida's most outstanding historic figures.
By 1851 Yulee's sugar mill had over 150 slaves and used expensive machinery imported from New York. During the Civil War the mill served as a supplier of sugar products for Southern troops, and his mansion became a supply stockpile.
In May 1864, a Union naval force burned his home to the ground. The mill escaped harm, but never reopened and fell into ruin. Yulee was accused of treason and briefly imprisoned.
There is a lot of things going on in this area including the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park which was our next stop. (The monkeys on Monkey Island were relocated from this park.) The entry fee was quite reasonable and with our AAA discount it cost around $9.00 each.
From the visitor center the entrance to the park was a short boat ride down a river.
I was a very informative ride down the river seeing the sites and the wildlife. After exiting the boat we had to cross a busy road to get to the wildlife park. The park only has wildlife that are native to Florida except for one resident, Lu the Nile Hippopotamus.
When the State of Florida purchased the former attraction in 1989, it set about finding homes for the exotic animals that were not native to Florida. They were not able to find a home for Lu the Hippopotamus so there were hundreds of letters sent by local residents to the then Governor asking him to allow Lu to remain at the park. The Governor declared Lu to be an Honorary Citizen of the State of Florida so he could live out his days at the park. Lu weighed a mere 90 pounds at birth. Today he easily exceeds 6000 pounds, which is near the maximum estimated weight of older male hippos in the wild (7100 lbs). Lu was staying warm submerged in the water and we only saw his back so I didn't take his picture.
Here are just a few of the animals we saw.
Florida Black Bear
Hawks
Florida Panther
It was a busy day touring but we really enjoyed ourselves. This area has a lot to see and do and we will return.
There were a few rain showers this past week but our whole stay in Florida was sunny and dry for the most part, that is until today. It rained hard all day today. I was able to sneak in a bike ride between showers but most of the day was a wash out. It gave us a chance to unwind and relax in the camper though and I was able to catch up on the blog. As you see this covered more than I like in one blog.
Remember to click on a picture to enlarge them.
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