FLORIDA VIRTUAL VACATION

The Florida part of Hillsborough River State Park

The Hillsborough River State Park, is wonderful place though located on the East Side of US 301 from the Florida park. In Florida Fort Foster is a reconstructed fort from the Second Seminole War. The Fort Foster is located 1800 feet from the parking lot and has no restrooms available. Ranger guided tours of the fort are offered (weather permitting) on Saturday at 2:00 pm and Sunday at 11:00 am. Each year the Florida Fort Foster Historic Site offers a Back in time experience with two annual events Fort Foster Rendezvous with skirmishes is held in February and a Candlelight Evening Tour of Fort Foster with a skirmish is held in December. The Florida fort was designed for war and not built to modern safety standards. Rough terrain, uneven floors and blockhouse stairs can be hazardous. Please remain aware of your surroundings as you tour. In particular, pay close attention to small children. Help preserve the fort by not climbing, sitting, touching or placing any items on the cannons.

The Suwannee River Wilderness Trail

The River camps are available in Florida for visitors who plan multiple-day paddling trips. Each one is approximately 10 miles from established parks and campgrounds on the river. Each river camp features 5 screened sleeping platforms with electricity and ceiling fans, restrooms and showers and primitive camping sites for tents in Florida. Each sleeping platform accommodates 6-8 people. The Woods Ferry River Camp is located 10 miles from White Springs, in between Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park and the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Parking Florida. Between Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park and Suwannee River State Park, visitors will find the Holton Creek River Camp.

Florida Nature: Blue Mountain Beach

In Florida the Blue Mountain Beach is located between Santa Rosa Beach and Grayton Beach and is the highest point on the Gulf of Mexico in the United States. The Blue Mountain Beach is located in the South Walton area of Floridas panhandle, a 200-mile stretch of silky white sand beaches, towering dunes, pine forests and crystal blue waters. Most Beautiful Blue Mountain Beach has the distinction of being the highest point on the Gulf Coast, which in Florida is only 345 feet above sea level. The Blue Mountain Beach marks the beginning of the Eastern Lake Hike/Bike Trail, which meanders past coastal dunes, woodlands and through the rest of the South Walton beach communities. Mysterious Draper Lake is an impressive, scenic body of water in Blue Mountain, but has no public access to it. The community of Blue Mountain is virtually unspoiled, and includes a wide variety of vacation homes and condominiums with spectacular coastal views in Florida, but only a few commercial businesses. However, other nearby South Walton beach towns offer plenty of shopping and dining options.

Florida Birds: Florida Cranes

In Florida Sand hill Crane- Sand hill cranes (Grus Canadensis) are long legged, long necked, gray, heron-like birds with a patch of bald red skin on top of their head. Sand hill cranes occur in pastures, prairies and freshwater wetlands in peninsular Florida from the Everglades to the Okefenokee Swamp. The Cranes fly with necks outstretched like geese whereas, herons fly with necks tucked in on their backs. For positive identification, look for reddish skin on top of the crane's head on it. Cranes are quite omnivorous feeding on seeds, grain, berries, insects, earthworms, mice, small birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, crayfish, but do not "fish" like herons.

The Sand hill cranes nest during late winter and spring on mats of vegetation about two feet in diameter and in shallow water. The Sand hill Crane does not breed until it is two to seven years old. Two eggs are normally laid. Cranes are monogamous breeders, and mated pairs stay together year round, and migrate south as a group with their offspring. Within 24 hours of hatching, the young are capable of following their parents away from the nest. Together, they forage for seeds and roots, crop plants such as corn and peanuts, insects, snakes, frogs and occasionally young birds or small mammals.

Florida Nature: American Crocodile

The Florida crocodile is not as well adapted to cold weather as the alligator so South Florida is its northern limit. American crocodiles are found in southern Florida, the Caribbean, southern Mexico and along the Central American coast south to Venezuela. The crocodile is listed as endangered in the state of Florida. American crocodiles are well-armored with tough, scaly skin. They are gray-greens or olive-green with long, slender snouts, which distinguish them from their cousin, the alligator. Also unlike the alligator, the fourth tooth on the bottom jaw of the American crocodile is visible when its mouth is closed. American crocodiles normally crawl on their belly, but they can also "high walk". The Larger specimens of crocodiles can gallop up to 10 miles per hour. Many people believe that crocodiles are more ferocious and dangerous to man than the alligator. This may be true of the infamous Nile Crocodile and other South American crocodiles in Florida.

Florida Climate: Weather

The nice climate has always been Florida's most important natural resources, which is reflected in its official nickname, the "Sunshine State." The Florida is famous for it's generally warm climate. The climate of Florida is tempered somewhat by the fact that no part of the state is very distant from the ocean. In North of lake Okeechobee, the prevalent climate is humid subtropical climate, while south of the lake has a true tropical climate. The seasons in Florida are determined more by precipitation than by temperature, with the hot, wet springs and summers making up the wet season, and mild to cool, and the relatively dry winters and autumns, making the dry season. The Florida receives the highest density of lightning strikes within the United States. The corridor from Tampa Bay, Florida to Titusville, Florida is referred to as "lightning alley", since this area has the highest amount of lightning per year in the United S Several deaths per year are blamed on lightning, making lightning one of the deadliest weather-related phenomenon in the state. On average, 10 people die each year from lightning.

Resource: Florida villas