On Sunday, Fred, Ligeia and Mindy rented a canoe from Canoe Escape and enjoyed a 4 hour canoe ride. We had taken this journey several times in the past but never have we seen so much wildlife as we did today!
We began the trip with hundreds of huge vultures, (mostly black vultures and turkey vultures), like this one:
They covered the trees and looked like big black blobs. We came across several birds drying themselves off and making quite the display:
For the first half of our trip Ligeia and Mindy paddled while Fred relaxed and took pictures. He had fun saying we “were his chauffeurs” for the day. 🙂
Fred taught us about Limpkins (seen below) and later one of the guys who worked at the canoe rental explained that the presence of these birds is a sign of a strong ecosystem.
We saw SO many alligators (approx. 50) of all different sizes, from babies to adults:
How many alligators can you count in this picture?
After lunch Fred tried paddling in the stern and did a great job maneuvering the canoe. Most memorable about the day were typical Florida scenes like this:
That evening turned out to be the Superbowl so to avoid it we went to Sweet Tomatoes restaurant followed by the movie Big Miracle. We were the only ones in the theater save a group of 3 women who said they were also avoiding the Superbowl. Not surprisingly, the whole theater complex was like a ghost town.
Monday morning we drove Fred to the airport. Thanks Fred for a memorable weekend.
Ligeia and Mindy :):)
Kay
Has anyone replace Canoe Escape at Jn Sargent Park?
We did this a few years ago and it was awesome!
Or any other recommendations for kayak rental on the Hillsborough River?
Ligeia
Hi Kay, to my knowledge, no company has replaced Canoe Escape, which is a shame because they were great to use. It made things so easy not to have to tie a boat to your car and because they drove you back to your car, you could kayak alone. Hopefully, a new rental company will open soon.