Koreshan Part 1

We had a short move North to our next stop – Koreshan Historical State Park between Naples and Fort Meyers. Here we learned an important rule – do not arrive early for your camp site. The normal checkout time for state parks is 1:00 and check in is 3:00. We arrived at 11:30 and had to wait until 1:30 for the people to move, and the site inspected and cleaned. Most people do not leave early if they do not have to.

But the wait was worth it. Our campsite was excellent – very large and private. It is a beautiful park and a definite one to return to.

The site originally belonged to a sect called the Koreshan's. One of their main buildings is in the background. They believed that the earth was the inside of a hollow sphere with the sun and stars in the center of the sphere. They had quite an active group in the early 1900's and built the site to house over 200 people in communal living. They were ahead of' their time in most things with women having an equal part in running the operation and in adopting electricity (Thomas Edison lived near by) before the surrounding communities. Their numbers dwindled after their leader passed away. The moon landing put a definite wrinkle in their theories.

The grounds are beautiful and we enjoyed walking around them. This gopher tortoise decided to come out for a nice grassy snack. These tortoises dig a 12 foot hole up to 6 feet below the ground – energetic little guys.

The Estero river runs through the park with a nice path along the river. You often see canoes and kayaks making their way between the banks. These people were truly going bank to bank as they obviously didn't have a clue how to canoe, as you can see if you look a little closer. However, they were having so much fun we decided we would like to try canoing too.

Life must go on and sometimes we must just stop and deal with the onerous chores of laundry. The park here has a wonderful breezeway to do laundry in. Karen, while slaving away, was deeply immersed in a game called Powder on her Nintendo. Powder was written by Jeff. So far her record at staying alive is 26 minutes, but she usually only lasts two minutes.

The next day was a beach day at Lovers Cay State Park. After a time to read and some lunch, we also got in a bike ride and some shelling.

Somehow I managed to pick up a devoted following. They say that these sandpipers always face into the wind – I think I will leave that one alone.

Another day we went to Pine Island for lunch and a walk along the Calusa HeritageTrail. This site was a Calusa village for over 1500 years. They were once the most powerful people in southern Florida. They built huge shell mounds and canals, and numbered in the tens of thousands.

So our first week at Koreshan is over. We have another week to go before we have to move so stay tuned. There is still lots to see.