We may not be in a camper yet, but we have started our Friday Adventures now that we are back to homeschooling. (On a side note, will this house ever sell? It's a great house, I know the market is a bit slow, but gosh I'm feeling impatient.) I have lots of plans for us, most of which revolve around time spent in nature. One of our plans for the year involve seeing how many of the Florida State Forest we can visit while participating the the Florida State Forest Trailwalkers Program.
The Trailwalker Program allows visitors to the state forests to collect patches for hiking various distances in the various state forest. The first badge earned is the Trailwalker after hiking 10 different trails, within at least 5 different state forest. The second level is the Trailblazer badge after hiking 20 different trails. The third level is the Trailmaster badge after hiking 30 different trails. The three patches together make a completed design that can be affixed to a shirt, hiking vest, or bag. The final challenge to complete the program is the Trailwarrior. Continuing your trail log, or if you didn't keep records previously you can start at 100 miles, you get additional recognition for walking 250 miles, 500 miles, 750 miles and 1,000 miles. For a list of all the trails that count toward the Trailwalker Program you can visit the Florida State Forest website.
There are trails of various lengths from under a mile up to 16+ miles on the list of options, and so I've been collecting reasonably length trails within a fair driving distance for me and the kids to do together on Fridays. While the kids are excited about the idea of hiking and geocaching, and hope to earn all three badges, I think a more reasonable goal for this school year is to earn the Trailwalker and the Trailblazer badges. We also plan to track the time and distance that we spend hiking for a PE credit for the two oldest children's high school transcripts. It should also double to reinforce the things we will be learning in our homeschool co-op this year for science as we explore Florida Flora and Fauna.
To start off our Friday Adventures, yesterday we took a trip to the Withlacoochee State Forest. We started with a picnic lunch before we walked the nearby McKethan Lake Nature Trail which is just under 2 miles. Then we swung briefly by the visitor's center.
There were no Geocaching opportunities along the nature trail, however, there were tons of information on Florida plants with 24 stations around the lake marking various trees, plants, and types of forest in Florida. We were also able to explore the impact of dead and dying trees on the landscape. While Britt and Ruth learned about much of this in botany last year, we were also able to explore more deeply about specific trees and forest. We learned the difference between a bottomland, hardwood forest and an upland forest. We also were able to see the difference between a natural forest cover and a planted pine plantation forest. This gave us one of many opportunities to discuss the differences in how a natural forest operates and grows versus the changes that occur under human management for a forest. All in all, we had a great learning experience.
After our day hike, which went really well, we stopped by the Visitor Center. It was about 95 degrees when we finished up, and the little boys even walked 1.5 miles before being impermanently carried and walking the final half mile. The Ranger at the Visitor Center was very helpful letting us know of some other opportunities in the area. He told the kids they must be strong to do all that walking in the heat, and they were really proud of their accomplishment, Ruth told him, we are building up our endurance for some long hikes later on. Everyone had a good time, except Kate who thought it was too hot and too far to walk. She said the best part was coming back to the car and getting a drink. We all laughed at that.
If you'd like to make a trip the address to the visitor center is 15185 Broad Street, Brooksville, FL. The Visitor Center is open from 8 to noon and 1 to 4 Monday through Friday, though they advise calling 352-797-4140 before hand if planning a trip. McKethan Lake Trail is just North of the Visitor Center. Entrance to the Park is $2 for a car load of up to 6 people over the age of six.
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