A few days ago, I struck up a conversation with Dick, our back door neighbor at 
Thousand Trails. Dick had noticed our boats and wondered if we wanted to paddle on the Peace River. He had met another couple in the park, and they had made a tentative plan to paddle a short section of the river the next day. We had not paddled in a while and were raring to go, although the forecast for the next day was not very good.
It rained in the morning, but the forecast for the afternoon
was better. It was still a windy, cool and dreary day. We put in at the public landing in Wauchula and shuttled the cars back to Thousand Trails where we would take out. With us, in addition to Dick, were Bob and Paula, kayakers from Long Island. Dorcas and I had paddled this section of the river several times before, but had always put in at Bowling Green, about 8 miles further upstream. Given the weather it was probably just as well that the paddle was relatively short. It sprinkled a little and we had to work a bit to keep the wind from blowing us off course. When we arrived at the take out at camp we had covered just a little under 4 miles.
Shortly after arriving at camp we were surprised to find our friends John and Susan had arrived at Thousand Trails. We had met John and Susan at another Thousand Trails park several years ago and had run into them several times since then. We found that we have much in common: we all paddle, bike, tent-camp, and we have similar views and philosophies. We also both belong to the Florida Sport Paddling Club and have some common friends. We had paddled with John and Susan last year, and made plans to paddle with them again while here together.
So it was that today we paddled another section of the Peace River with John and Susan. We decided on the section from Fort Meade to Bowling Green, which Dorcas and I had never paddled. It is always fun to paddle a new section of river! We drove to Fort Meade and located the put-in at the Fort Meade Recreational Park off US 98 after a little aimless wandering and after talking to some locals.
The day was much nicer than our previous paddle on the Peace. It was perfect paddling weather, warm and sunny. We saw a few gators and most of the usual wading birds as well as ospreys and red-shouldered hawks.
Our most unusual wildlife sighting was a cow stuck in the mud at the edge of the river. The cow
was stuck up to her neck in the soft mud and could not get out. It was obvious she had been there for some time and was quite tired from the struggling. We had heard some shooting and some ATVs a short distance downstream, so we knew some people were close by. John got out and went to find someone that could help. After a few minutes he returned with a man and two young girls. One of the girls said "Oh no! it's Sandy!". It was clear that the man did not know how he was going to get the cow out of the mud, but he thanked us for letting him know about it and left, presumably to get more help. I hope Sandy made it. Before leaving he warned us that folks were shooting skeets across the river around the bend, and he would go let them know we were coming through. Thanks!
It was a wonderful day on the river. We took out at the bridge near Payne's Creek State Historic Site after the 14 mile paddle.
Thousand Trails. Dick had noticed our boats and wondered if we wanted to paddle on the Peace River. He had met another couple in the park, and they had made a tentative plan to paddle a short section of the river the next day. We had not paddled in a while and were raring to go, although the forecast for the next day was not very good.It rained in the morning, but the forecast for the afternoon
was better. It was still a windy, cool and dreary day. We put in at the public landing in Wauchula and shuttled the cars back to Thousand Trails where we would take out. With us, in addition to Dick, were Bob and Paula, kayakers from Long Island. Dorcas and I had paddled this section of the river several times before, but had always put in at Bowling Green, about 8 miles further upstream. Given the weather it was probably just as well that the paddle was relatively short. It sprinkled a little and we had to work a bit to keep the wind from blowing us off course. When we arrived at the take out at camp we had covered just a little under 4 miles.Shortly after arriving at camp we were surprised to find our friends John and Susan had arrived at Thousand Trails. We had met John and Susan at another Thousand Trails park several years ago and had run into them several times since then. We found that we have much in common: we all paddle, bike, tent-camp, and we have similar views and philosophies. We also both belong to the Florida Sport Paddling Club and have some common friends. We had paddled with John and Susan last year, and made plans to paddle with them again while here together.
So it was that today we paddled another section of the Peace River with John and Susan. We decided on the section from Fort Meade to Bowling Green, which Dorcas and I had never paddled. It is always fun to paddle a new section of river! We drove to Fort Meade and located the put-in at the Fort Meade Recreational Park off US 98 after a little aimless wandering and after talking to some locals.
The day was much nicer than our previous paddle on the Peace. It was perfect paddling weather, warm and sunny. We saw a few gators and most of the usual wading birds as well as ospreys and red-shouldered hawks.
Our most unusual wildlife sighting was a cow stuck in the mud at the edge of the river. The cow
was stuck up to her neck in the soft mud and could not get out. It was obvious she had been there for some time and was quite tired from the struggling. We had heard some shooting and some ATVs a short distance downstream, so we knew some people were close by. John got out and went to find someone that could help. After a few minutes he returned with a man and two young girls. One of the girls said "Oh no! it's Sandy!". It was clear that the man did not know how he was going to get the cow out of the mud, but he thanked us for letting him know about it and left, presumably to get more help. I hope Sandy made it. Before leaving he warned us that folks were shooting skeets across the river around the bend, and he would go let them know we were coming through. Thanks!It was a wonderful day on the river. We took out at the bridge near Payne's Creek State Historic Site after the 14 mile paddle.
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