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Nathan Benderson Park

For our last walk in 2020, we chose Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, FL. This is a 3.5-mile circular path around a man-made 400-acre lake which was initially excavated during the construction of the highway and later enhanced for sprint rowing and regatta games. We usually prefer hiking in natural settings but the overcast and…

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Siesta Key Beach to Point of Rocks

Hiking along Siesta Key Beach is one of our favorite local places to walk. Siesta Key is an eight-mile-long island that is accessible by two bridges from the mainland. On the Key, there are three beaches: Siesta Key Beach, with adjacent Crescent Beach, and further south Turtle Beach. We accessed the beach from the pavilion where…

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John Ringling Causeway Bridge

John Ringling Causeway, aka, the Ringling Bridge is named after John Ringling of the Ringling Brothers Circus. It spans across Sarasota Bay and provides stunning panoramic vistas of Sarasota and the keys. Though the 65-foot tall bridge extends from Sarasota Bay to St. Armands Circle (about 2.6 miles), we only walked the first portion to…

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Jelks Preserve

To calm my post-election tenterhooks while awaiting the outcome, Dennis and I sought refuge in the Jelks Preserve near Venice, FL. There the cool breeze, the buzzing of insects, and the sun reflecting on the river chop helped calm my spirits. I suggest downloading the map and following the markers 1 to 19 around the…

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Celery Fields

Before turning back the clocks this weekend, Dennis and I wanted to see the sunrise. Since Dennis is not one to rise early, getting him to agree to venture to the Celery Fields in Sarasota was more than unusual. We arrived before sunrise. After summitting 85 feet to the third highest point in the county,…

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Sleeping Turtles Preserve

Sleeping Turtles Preserve lies just west of T. Mabry Carlton, J. Memorial Reserve in Venice and about 20 miles from home. This 174-acre preserve is divided by the Border Road and contains in all about 5 miles of interconnecting hiking trails, including a single-track along the Myakka River. To date, the northern side of the…

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T. Mabry Carlton Reserve

About 20 miles southeast of Sarasota, the T. Mabry Carlton Reserve is a wonderful midweek wilderness escape. The reserve has over 90 miles of trails and is nearly 40 square miles. We only hiked about 5 miles in the small black rectangle pictured below, following the red and then green trails. Upon arrival, we hiked…

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Rothenbach Park

About 10 miles from our house is a waste management landfill that was converted into Rothenbach Park. This community park at the end of Bee Ridge Road has about five miles of paved trails, playgrounds, and picnic areas. Since this old landfill is the highest point of the county, about 90 feet above sea level,…

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Local hiking: no need to travel far when there is so much to see nearby.

Hello, Everyone. Much has happened since I last posted. Last fall, I took several trips cruising the Caribbean and even visited the Panama Canal. Since I had previously toured many of the islands, I chose not to write about them again. And then the pandemic arrived and I canceled all travel plans. Though I do…

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Day 5: St. Kitts

St Kitts and Nevis are volcanic islands in the West Indies that constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The west side borders the Caribbean Sea and the east coast faces the Atlantic. About 98% of the residents are literate and the residents call themselves Kittitians. As we arrived Basseterre, there was…

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