Myakka River is one of Florida's oldest parks. As we approached, we were greeted by ominous black smoke clouds filling the sky. The closer we got, the denser the smoke. So with some trepidation, we registered at the office. The ranger assured us that they were doing an “ecological burn” and the smoke, which was not affecting the campground, would clear by the evening. It seems that “ecological burn” is more politically correct than “controlled burn” since the controlled burn went out of control at Jonathan Dickinson in 2005.

There is much to see and do here, including a tour of Myakka Lake on an air boat. The lake is home to over a thousand alligators. We learned alligators are nocturnal so do their hunting at night. To digest their food, they need to warm their bodies to over 80F. So the daytime is for lying around on land or in the water and warming up to savour their midnight snack. That is why people can fish around them and birds merrily walk about. Also alligators do not bother people unless provoked, although they do love small dogs – for a snack. After our tour and seeing all those alligators, Karen had a nice bowl of tasty alligator stew at the park snack bar – she said she appreciates being top in the food chain.

To estimate the length of an alligator, the distance between the nostrils and their eyes in inches is equal to their length in feet. So this guy is about 12 feet long. Males typically grow to a max of 14 feet and females to about 7-8 feet.

The lake is also home to a large number of black vultures with some turkey vultures thrown in for good measure.

Small geckos are all around, skirting about the trees and undergrowth in a never ending search for insects. Although this guy was all puffed out and looking for a date.

Of course, a campsite would not be complete without squirrels gathering nuts.

Early morning is always a good time to sit on a park bench and admire the wildlife in the lake.

We also spotted some feral hogs foraging in the undergrowth. These hogs, well, actually their ancestors, were brought over by the Spaniards during Spain's days of sail. The Spaniards would spot an island, drop off some hogs, and then whenever they needed to restock the pantry, they could go back to the island for some fresh meat. Well the hogs took off in Florida and now they are a real problem. The males can grow to 400 pounds and they do a lot of damage to the undergrowth during their foraging. In an effort to cull the herd, the park allows a trapper to take as many as he can get each year. Last year he got over 1000 hogs, but didn't make much of a dent in the population. Apparently they are rather prolific reproducers and have no natural enemies.

Myakka River also has an arial canopy walkway, one of 20 canopy walkways world wide. These walkways are built to study life at the top of the forest. It was interesting to get close to the various air plants growing among the branches.

There was a tower at the end taking us 74 feet above the forest floor, giving us a bird's eye view of the tree tops.

We enjoyed our stay at Myakka River. Next stop - Highland Hammock.