Torreya State Park, Bristol, Florida
You read about The Garden of Eden right here in Bristol, Florida yesterday. Time to go check it out today! We had seen the Nature Conservatory sign the other day as we were driving to the grocery store, looked it up and found they had a 3.75 mile round-trip trail.
Well, who wouldn’t want to traipse through The Garden of Eden??
There was a nicer sign out front at the entrance, but it was right beside the street, so this will have to do.
Today we visited a Nature Conservatory that’s outside the State Park boundaries. We picked up Subway, but there were no tables, so we had to eat in the Jeep. A woman was sitting in the car close to us, also eating.
The parking lot was tiny and sandy, but they had a welcome host – a small, young tabby cat with a collar and tag. She came begging from the woman who gave her something to eat and then, just as we got out to hike, we saw the cat actually jump into her car! We figured she’d been here many times and the cat knew her, but that wasn’t the case. She told us later on the trail that she’d never been here before. We actually ran into the same “problem” when we returned. This extremely friendly and curious cat hung on us and obviously wanted into the Jeep. We sincerely thought we’d have a problem getting away, but once I picked her up and set her down near the fence, she got the idea and left us alone, looking for her next victim. 😊
So. Not looking much like what I’ve always pictured Eden to look like.
In fact, it looks kinda dead.
This is rated a strenuous trail, and I’d have to say it was more than we expected. Up and down and up and down some pretty steep hills. Good thing we had our hiking sticks! It seems strange to me that all these hills are nothing but sand, and even stranger that so many things grow in it. I always thought most things needed the nutrients from dirt. Apparently not.
Yes. It’s the same shirt I had on yesterday.
Different T-shirt underneath, though, so don’t be so quick to judge.
Sometimes the trail was right along the edge.
I don’t much care for that!
Here’s some information on a dam that used to be here. There’s no evidence of it now, and I really don’t understand the info on the board. But maybe it’ll make sense to you. . . .
Here’s what we saw
My sweet little boy. Always has to poke the ant hills . . .
Back on the trail.
Evidence of yet another fire
We tried to take a picture showing how high we are. It’s really hard to tell, but look at the tree line.
Remember that giant pine cone Blaine held in his hand a couple of weeks ago? Remember how I said it’d probably hurt if one landed on your head? Well, today, we nearly found out! One fell from the sky and landed right on the edge of the trail between Blaine and I! YIKES! Of course, we laughed about it, but what if . . . 😊
We’re now entering the River Loop part of the trail.
He always likes standing on the edge. : )
This shows better where he was.
This was a very quiet and serene place.
Ahhhh . . . .
The Florida Yew is also an endangered tree.
I think it looks an awful lot like the Torreya.
Which is why I’m not a botanist.
I’m not NEARLY as happy as I look.
Didn’t like being out there at ALL.
Rocks may fall, but they seem much more stable to me than sand. I’m standing on sand, and the hill is obviously eroding.
The rest of the way back was the same trail. We didn’t stop to take pictures and it took us much less time. Imagine that!
We heard quite a few birds today but the only critter we saw was that darn cat!
TOTAL MILES: 3.75
Year to Date: 52
Daily Average: 3.25