Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway

The greenway is a path/park that crosses Florida. It was meant to be a canal connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf towards the top of Florida so ships didn’t have to go around the tip of Florida. Back in the 1500s, the Spanish talked about the need for this however it took until 1930s when some work was done until they ran out of money. In the 1960s, more work was done but was soon stopped. The area was eventually made into the Greenway where there are now water trails, hiking trails, and bike paths. 

We stayed for a couple of days at Rodman Campground which is along one of the canals.

The people that camp here seem to be very active. There were lots of kayaks and bikes in the campground. I wish we could have rented kayaks since we heard about how you can see manatees and eagles out on the water. We did see this alligator which was only two feet long.

Even without kayaks, there was plenty to do. There were lots of paths we didn’t have time to take. I rode my bike 9 miles total to see a lock up the canal. The trail was mostly flat but between the loose leaves, sand, grass, and my poor bike riding condition, it was a bit difficult for me. Luckily it was fairly cool (50s) and cloudy. The day before it was in the 80s and sunny which would have meant plenty of sweat. 

John and I rode to the nearby dam. We had a good conversation with a retired couple about the good and bad parts of RVing (it’s really hard to get a campsite anymore). 

Lots of people (and birds) were fishing there. There was this whole line of cormorants crossing the river to catch fish. 

We went geocaching. The first cache took us on a path we would never have found if we weren’t geocaching. It was quite interesting and pretty. Love the palm tree growing out of a dead log. 

The second took us on a rough fire break road. Again, not a path we normally would take. The final was pretty ugly. It involved bushwhacking through Florida woods and was the most difficult cache I’ve found. I ended up a couple of miles from where I entered the woods. It was cool and dry enough that I didn’t see snakes or mosquitoes. I wouldn’t want to do this again but did enjoy the challenge.