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| Very Wooded Campsite #72 |
As I mentioned in my last blog this park was not scheduled
to reopen until the day after the first day of my two week reservation.
So I
needed to find a place to stay for one night. I drove to Bradenton, FL on
Friday afternoon and found another great spot to camp at a Lowes store after
doing my weekly grocery shopping. It was a level spot with good free Wi-Fi.
The
usual check-in time at FL State Parks is 3 PM, but since they have been closed
I figured I would try to check in at 10AM. No problem, the place was empty. I’m
not sure what is going on but even though 12 months ago the campground was fully
reserved, there are at least 10 empty sites here every night No one has stayed
more than 2 nights on the site next to me.
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| Sarasota Bayfront Park |
There are a few good reasons to choose this
campground. Most campers have bikes to ride the 30 mile long Legacy
Trail a wide asphalt trail that goes between Sarasota to south of Venice.
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| Venetian Waterway to Shamrock Park |
This week I biked 100 miles on four rides; south
to Shamrock Park, North to Sarasota Bayfront Park, into the beautiful
neighborhoods of Venice and their beaches and along Casey Key, a barrier island,
which is near the campground.
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| Nokomis Beach near Casey Key |
There was a lot of storm damage along the Key. Some
homes on the north end were totally flattened but Nokomis Beach on the south
end was crowded with beach lovers.
Venice but the road south of the small airport was totally closed. I’ll try to
see if I can get there from the south next week by going along Venetian Waterway.
I have never tried kayaking along South Creek
which flows by the campsites. The jungle between the sites and the creek is
almost impenetrable and the parks launch is across the creek which is too far
unless you drive. The creek just flows out to the inland waterway and is too
far from any access to the Gulf of Mexico.
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| Here is where I rest after my bike rides |
The weather has been great, starting out in the
60’s in the morning and reaching the mid-70’s by the time I finished my bike rides.
I’ll probably watch some football and rest up a little. I made reservation here
for two weeks and need to leave on Friday, 1/3/25 (Happy New Year).
My next stop for a week will be to visit my daughter Pam
& Sam at the condo they bought this year in Cape Coral.