We came to this area with the hopes of kayaking down the Weeki Wachee River. The weather, however, just did not want to cooperate with those plans and we woke up this morning to 37 degrees. It’s been sunny and warm for weeks, but today it was COLD! So, we decided a bike ride and walk with Jimmy might be nice.
Just as we were about to leave John said maybe it had warmed up enough and we should go ahead and kayak the river So, we scrambled to gather up our kayaking equipment and clothes. I called the kayak livery and found out the last launch was at 11:30am Rats…it was 11 o’clock and an hour drive away. OK, back to plan B.
Near the river was an area called the Weekiwachee Preserve. According to the website it offered biking, kayaking and hiking trails. It only mentioned that dogs could not be on the bike trails. We drove around the area and eventually found a tiny little sign showing the entrance. This preserve at one time was a quarry and there were 7 lakes to hike around. It was much different than some of the areas we had been to so far.
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| Weekiwachee Preserve |
The area for the most part was very flat and just a few palm trees mixed with tall grasses.
However, we never really got to explore it. We had only been on the trail with Jimmy for 5 minutes when a official looking person told us that dogs were not allowed anywhere and threatened us with a $280 fine. Alrighty then…I guess we’ll move on. I really don’t like to argue with men with guns. He did mention there was a dog park at Crews Lake and gave us some rather vague directions.
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| Very short walk with Jimmy |
The navigation system in my Droid phone (nicknamed Lois) has been invaluable (at least up until today). It found the lake and off we went. We should have been a little concerned when the road got very bumpy, turned to sand, and oh… did I mention rather questionable houses with huge dogs and high fences. I’m not sure what was going on in this area and really did not want to find out. Lois led us to a dead end with another really large fence blocking any more travel. We skedaddled out of this area and did eventually find the park.
Wouldn’t you think that a park named Crews Lake would have a…lake. Well after much searching this is what we found. Sheesh!
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| Crews Lake |
They had even built an elaborate tower for viewing the lake. Maybe something's happened to the lake. At any rate it has been missing for quite some time. The grasses were very tall.
We did find some nice trails and yes it was dog friendly. Jimmy had a great time. It was just one of those days. It reminded me of the song “mama said there would be days like this”. Have you ever had a day like this?
Yes, I do recall days like that - more than I'd actually care to remember!
ReplyDeleteYou did a really great job of capturing the feeling of frustration with events as they unfolded. But, the best part was how you made the best of bad situations, carried on and even managed to get a nice walk in for Jimmy!
Good stuff!
Yes, we've had days like that and very recently!
ReplyDeleteSorry you didn't get to kayak the Weeki Wachee. I know you would have loved it. Maybe another time.
We've been to Crews lake as well and it was dry about 6 years ago when we were there. Sometimes these Florida lakes lose their water when an underground sinkhole opens up. Paynes Prairie State Park has the same thing. It went dry overnight, leaving thousands of fish on a dry lake.
Oh, yes. We have had plenty of days like yours in our 4 years of travel. Sometimes people expect you to just know what they know, even though you are a stranger to their area. Glad Jimmy got to run in the end, but what a day you had...
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