Apr 16 – 17: Pasco County
April 16 (M) - Anclote Key Preserve State Park
Man, sometimes I start to understand why I used to hear people at my old church say that people are devolving and aren’t as smart as when the Creator built the original model. Yesterday it was the kids rioting and today it has been grown people rioting … this time in the often repeated but never improved Tax Riots. Every year. Without fail. I mean I don’t like paying some of the taxes I do either but you don’t need to act like a turd and just cause those taxes you do have to pay to be spent cleaning up the mess you make rather than on something more constructive like fixing bridges, roads, and other things they are supposed to. Enough of that. I know one of these days I may have to decide where I stand but it isn’t going to be on the side of making this country look like France or The Ukraine after the bombs fell.
This morning I fixed Blueberry and Fig Oatmeal[1] for breakfast. I have all those blueberries I need to do something with but the figs did a number on my stomach. Lesson learned.
Today we visited Anclote Key Preserve State Park, an undeveloped island and nature preserve on Florida’s central Gulf of Mexico Coast known for its pristine white sand beaches, excellent shelling, historical lighthouse, clear waters and diverse wildlife. It is one of the few remaining undeveloped islands in Florida. While we had a guide, except for the lighthouse and quarters for one state park ranger, there is no development on the island.
The preserve is located approximately 3-5 miles offshore from Pasco County and is only accessible by boat or other watercraft. There is no bridge, causeway, or road access between the islands and the mainland. Anclote Key is the largest island of the chain, and covers approximately 440 acres. The entire park includes 11,773 acres of protected nature, including protected waters in the Gulf of Mexico. The name “Anclote” is derived from the Spanish word “Ancla,” which means “anchor.” The island was named by Spanish explorers who used it as an anchorage point in the 1500s. Other points in the region were also named similarly, including the Anclote River.
The most common way for visitors to access Anclote Key State Park is by public tour boat. However, a common visitor complaint is that boat tours from Tarpon Springs tend to spend a very short amount of time (As little as 30 minutes) on the island. Many visitors also come to the state park via private boat, jet ski or other watercraft. It’s also possible to visit the state park via a charter boat, although this is less common.
However, our mode of transportation for the day was sea kayak, another popular means of transport to the park. The paddle was approximately three miles one-way. Definitely not appropriate for novice paddlers, but I’ve done much longer treks in The Keys and also did some inland water treks like that when we were out West. Our guide warned us that the paddle to Anclote Key can be dangerous. It isn’t just the distance; we had to pass through open-water with high levels of boat traffic and many other possible hazards. You need to have the right equipment and be prepared and able to deal with environmental conditions and ocean tides, winds and currents.
Rick was a little embarrassed about his lack of confidence in his skills and a little irritated that Lev had no problem as he’s done a lot of similar treks overseas and even up in Alaska. Man, would that be a lifetime dream. I did the only thing I knew to do to prevent a situation by telling him, “And you are supposed to be Super Man with every skill known to man why?”
He blinked and just looked at me. “Rick, you’ve got talents that would drive me bug crap. So you don’t sea kayak. No big. You deal with those on high who control our livelihood. I’ll paddle in the water. You can develop the skill later if you are really interested. Me no likey people. Capiche?”
Guys. Sometimes you just gotta stroke their egos. I don’t even mean that in a bad way. It was Grandfather Barry that was the one that explained it to me when he was training me about group dynamics. He wanted me to understand how to manage a problem without it turning into kissing someone’s butt and losing your own self-respect. Well, I respect Rick. I may not always understand him but I do respect the work and effort he puts into the team. And it isn’t really a big frelling deal that he doesn’t share all the same skills that the other members of the team have, the ones he does have are the important ones. So I headed off a problem by pointing that out in way that his ego could hear it. No biggie.
On the other hand Lev gave me a look ‘cause he knew what I was doing and was warning me not to go overboard. I wasn’t going to but the warning didn’t hurt my feelings any. Rick and our guide Carlos ate it up.
Our target was the east side of the island where it was protected from Gulf of Mexico waves. Boats also gather on the western beaches but only when wind and wave conditions are calm. They were calm in the morning but the afternoon things got a little choppy and I saw some coast guardies patrolling.
As a kayaker we had less of an impact on the landing area (there is no dock, you have to anchor on the beach). Boaters are asked to please avoid damaging the environment when anchoring, and please avoid damaging fragile seagrass, which is essential for the health of Florida’s marine environment.
Before visiting Anclote Key Preserve State Park, one of the most important factors to take into account is that there are no facilities on the island. No bathrooms except for two composting toilets with no toilet paper, no potable water, not electric, no communication nodes, nothing. You must come prepared with everything you are going to need … food, water, and supplies. The island also has a “carry-in, carry-out” policy, meaning visitors must take all their trash and belongings with them when they leave. On top of that, alcohol and dogs are prohibited on Anclote Key. Our guide also said sunscreen and bug spray are an absolute must for things like mosquitoes, horse flies, noseeums and biting gnats can be extremely unpleasant on the island.
Once we got over to the island, trying to avoid the antics of a pod of dolphins, our guide explained that Anclote Key is an important wildlife habitat, especially for nesting birds. Thousands of birds converge on the islands during the annual nesting season. Part of the beach on Three Rooker Island is closed from May 1 until August 1 to protect the bird’s nests and survival.
I wish we could have been there during Sea Turtle season. Or maybe not. I know in some areas they close beaches down, restrict night time lighting, and that’s only the beginning. Anclote Key is an important nesting ground for sea turtles. The turtles are attracted to the isolated beaches and the soft sand, which is easy to dig in to lay their eggs. Sea turtles nest on the beaches of Anclote Key Preserve State Park from May until October, including Green and Loggerhead turtles.
They picked the right spot. The sand is soft and white, and the water is clear and turquoise. Water visibility can be excellent, but it does depend heavily on wind and wave conditions. When wind and wave conditions are right this beach are reportedly the clearest water in Florida.
The sandy beaches are great for swimming and snorkeling, although snorkelers should have modest expectations. There is no coral, or really much to see while snorkeling, but there are a reasonable number of fish.
Benny and I had fun looking at all the seashells, picking a few of them to bring back (no live ‘uns thankfully), and hiking the forested center of the island.
The island has several paths that allow you to explore the park’s habitats and observe its wildlife, including the thousands of birds that nest on the islands in the spring. It is common to see young chicks which have only recently hatched, which is why the island’s protected nature preserve status is so important. There are forty-three 43 species of birds including the American oystercatcher, the Bald Eagle, the Piping Plover, the Roseate Spoonbill, and ospreys that look slightly demented when they are drying their feathers after a day of fishing.
I was glad that we got back to the mainland before the wind picked up but I took one look at Rick and had to bite down hard. Ranger Rick had turned to Roasted Rick.
Benny spoke for the rest of us when he looked at Rick and went, “Whoa. You need some aloe stat Mr. Rick.”
I let it go at that since Rick admitted to it. We headed back to Hickory Point for the night and Rick was soon asleep after taking a shower, bathing in aloe, and only wanting a smoothie for dinner. I made sure he had two canteens of water in his tent. Lev wasn’t much later at hitting the hay. Carrying all of his camera gear following us around was hard work.
I guess it won’t be horrible to get a few extra hours of sleep tonight, assuming the hamster lets me. Tomorrow is our last day in Pasco and then it is on to Hillsborough and from the look of the itinerary I’m going to need more than my normal portion of patience.
[1] https://www.quakeroats.com/cooking-...atmeal-with-blueberries-fig-toasted-hazelnuts
Very relaxing.
