Monday, January 20, 2003
The Volksmarch for Jonathan Dickinson State Park is in two segments that loop around each of the two major campgrounds. We decided to start the loop in the Piney Woods campground directly from our campsite to avoid unnecessary driving. We circled the campground and walked back into the woods past a small lake on a bicycle trail. Out on the furthest reaches of the trail, I took a picture as a Florida Central train came rumbling thru beside the trail. There also seemed to be an old Army camp or Navy station across the tracks, but the trail didn’t lead that way so I can’t say for sure but the concrete structures I saw resembled old WWII gun emplacements. We took the alternate route back that lead us thru the low scrub-type woods and along a small lake to the entrance station, and from there we returned to our campsite to complete the first part of the walk.

There was a long delay for the second part of the walk because we decided to take the pontoon bout tour up the Loxahatchee River to Trapper Nelson’s old trapping center and tourist attraction. We saw waterfowl on the way up and back, mainly some cormorants drying their feathers on a tree branch, ospreys minding their young in their nests, and Blue Herons fishing in the river. Vegetation shifted dramatically where the river changed from brackish to basically a fresh-water environment. Mangroves gave way to bald cypress, and the balance of other plant communities also altered.

A ranger gave us a half-hour presentation on the life and times of Trapper Nelson. He was quite a character and a shrewd entrepreneur despite having only a 6th grade education. He built picnic pavilions, cabins and animal cages to entertain folks coming up the river, and charged for the entertainment. He bought the land along the river, ultimately amassing 850 acres worth over a million dollars in the 1960s, and planted exotic vegetation to foster the “jungle” image of his tourist camp. He met a sad end, tho. Business had fallen off in the 1960s due to changing times and tastes and his camp had been ultimately been closed by the county health authorities. Becoming an embittered recluse, he ultimately committed suicide in 1968.

Returning to the main dock of the park, we walked the second part of the Volksmarch, which consisted of a nature trail loop followed by a tour of the second campground area and some rental cabins in the woods. We stopped by the Hobe Mountain tower on our drive back to the starting point. The “mountain” is not much to write home about, being all of 85 feet tall, but the top of the (short) tower did give us nice views of the park and Jupiter inlet to the east.

We wrapped up the afternoon by buying some groceries and a ½ gallon container from K-Mart that fits exactly into our tiny refrigerator. I plan to try out how well it keeps milk cool tomorrow while we are off walking someplace. We had a nice fire in the evening and played the mountain dulcimer for fun (see July 2002 trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Alabama). We are both still beginners, but you have to start someplace and it still sounds nice when you can pick out a recognizable tune! I also called the Florida State Parks reservation service and managed to get 2 nights on Long Key, so our plan to drive to Key West is still a “Go”!