The following is Scott Fais' weekly blog detailing discoveries made while traveling through Florida and along the road of life.
From the middle of the mall to the middle of nowhere.
Last week we went surfing at the mall. This week I do just the opposite. We leave the air conditioning, tile flooring and neon behind for natural Florida.
We’ve visited many pristine areas during the past 12 months of this Florida on a Tankful odyssey. Never have I experienced the vast, open space of 110,000 acres.
When I write there are no signs of civilization at the Green Swamp, there are no signs. No vending machines. No bathrooms (I don’t count “Port-O-Lets”). No trash cans. No park rangers.
Here you will find what pioneers discovered more than a century ago, the vast wildernesses that use to cover the state. Open spaces. Woods. Creeks. Pastures. Hikers are welcome, along with mountain bikers. Horse owners are welcome to ride on the miles of trails. And here is the best part. It’s available for free.
Remarkably in these tight economic times, you can camp at the Green Swamp for FREE. All you need to do is visit their Web site and make a reservation. After you are accepted, you’ll be sent a secret pin number that will unlock the gate so that you may drive to the campground. Tent camping and trailers are welcome, but RV’s are discouraged. And if you have horses, bring them. Here, you can camp with equine members of the family.
When visiting the camp site, I met Mary Hession of Lakeland. She gave me a tour of her kitchen on wheels and let me meet her 9-year-old son, Chance, who stands on 4 legs and devours carrots and long walks in the scrub. Here, Mary and her horse can sleep and dine side by side under a starry sky. Only campers like Mary and Chance are welcome to spend the night. Day visitors must exit by dusk.
Assistant Director of Land Resources Eric Sutton and I hunted for snakes at the top of Florida’s aquifer. Fortunately, we didn’t find any (our experience at the Serpentarium in St. Cloud was more than enough for me). Eric was a little distraught we came up empty. Public Relations diva Robyn Felix celebrated, and I was relieved (although both Robyn and I were ready to run).
Thanks to the hard work of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, our families will be able to get away from it all for decades to come.
Until next week, travel safe.
-SCOTT
Scott Fais spent summers crawling through a creek bed near his home splashing and digging around. The thought of giant swamp spiders still scares him. Have a place from your childhood that Florida on a Tankful needs to spotlight? Drop Scott a line atsfais@cfnews13.com.