Are you ready to hike? Cap, hiking stick, backpack with water (and emergency items), camera, comfortable clothing, hiking shoes and phone?
OK, let's park at the trailhead and take off down this trail.
The first bird sighting was this flock of wild turkeys!
Now we'll turn onto the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway for a short distance on the paved trail.
We'll turn onto a horse trail and then onto the Florida Trail down...down...down...into the diggings.
There are a lot of really good articles (and books) written about the canal diggings but my sweet hubby helped me with some of the pertinent information.
"When I talk about the "canal diggings" I'm referring to a canal that was proposed in 1935 as a 30-foot deep, 150-foot bottom width, Ship Canal for commercial traffic to have a shortcut from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico across Florida from Jacksonville to Yankeetown.
Concerns about salt water intrusion into the fresh water aquifer caused proponents to adjust the canal to a 12-foot depth thus allowing only barge traffic and the name changed to the Cross Florida Barge Canal.
After many starts and stops, construction resumed in 1964 only to be stopped for good in 1971 due to efforts led by environmental activist, Marjorie Harris Carr.
About one third of the canal did get completed, some at each terminus, but the remainder includes long stretches of earth having been dug out and piled up along the sides. Over the ensuing decades the forest has reclaimed this ground.
Today, the 110-mile long, 70,000 acre Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway (renamed in 1998) is a state park that provides over 300 miles of hiking and biking trails on the remnants of the Cross Florida Barge Canal."
Above written by sweet hubby
Now we are in the diggings!
Be alert!
Doesn't this old root look like a serpent?
And what if you come across your knight in shining armor?
It could happen if you are paying attention!
At first I thought it was an Army man but he has a shield and a spear!
And there are some amazing rock formations down in the diggings too.
You can hear and see woodpeckers in the forest.
Yellow bellied Sapsucker
Red bellied Woodpecker peeking out from behind a pine tree.
Finally we reach Josef's table. It's up ahead!
It's a little longer hike than I normally make but the weather was fine and I felt good.
I love it deep in the woods. The pine needles under the trees soften the trail and it is a quiet you can't find anywhere else!
We did it! Thanks for coming with me today.
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43 comments:
...I have such a tough time photographing turkeys, you captured them beautiful. Any suggestions? Take care and be well.
I was expecting a rock table not a picnic table dedicated to Joseph. Interesting bit of history. I'm glad that canal didn't make it. What a disaster that would have been.
what an amazing place and I loved the hike, wish I could see it for real, the thought of peace and quiet and something so interesting to visit tantalize me. alas, I can't. so thanks.. I have never heard of this one before
What a wonderful hike you took us on. I love the turkeys and the birds. Enjoy the weekend and happy hiking.
Thank you to your husband for writing up the history lesson. :-)
I am glad that canal did not make it.
Great photos... as always.
Good Afternoon from NC to you in Florida,
Thank you so very much for stopping by my blog today.
I have bookmarked your blog.
I thoroughly enjoyed your post on hiking to Josef's Table.
Finding the red knight was fun.
We are lovers of birds and walking too. Love you lavender background too.
Hugs Cecilia
What a wonderful hike! We visited Jacksonville earlier this Winter, and had no idea there were such beautiful trails! We will definitely keep our eyes open next time we visit!
As you may already know, we biked alongside part of the Withlacoochee last week, seeing part of the canal area. This additional info you provided is very interesting. Thank you.
Such a beautiful day for a hike . . . a couple of those roots would have had me running back to the car before I even took the time to check them out.
There’s something poetic about a massive, unfinished infrastructure project slowly being reclaimed by nature, only to find a new purpose as a sprawling greenway.
Great photos!! How fun and how beautiful!! Happy weekend!
Fantastic pictures of a great walk.
What a wonderful hike that was. You never know what you'll find out there. Who would expect to find a knight.
What a beautiful hike! I wonder who Josef was? How nice that there is a table in the woods in his memory. That's a nice way to remember him, but still, I wonder who he was. Yes, the Cross Florida Barge Canal project was quite a major effort back when I was a child growing up in the Florida. I remember hearing about it and we talked about it cutting the state in two and that we who lived on the southern half (I lived in Lake County at that time), might just drift away! I was glad when President Nixon finally nixed the project after listening to Marjorie Harris Carr! We are not far from the other end of the canal up here near Palatka and into the St. John's River, and also we've explored other places in the Ocala national forest that were a part of it, and especially a very large/high bridge in Eureka that would have spanned the canal, but now just goes over a small part of the the Ocklawaha River. It's quite an amazing bridge out in the middle of nowhere! I'm so glad that project was ended. Thank you for sharing these pictures with us. You saw some beautiful birds and woods. Happy Day!
Such a lovely hike. The birds are so pretty. Interesting history about the proposed canal. I'm glad that there are protections for maintain the wild lands that you enjoy so much.
What great photos of your walk.
I think it's a beautiful area.
I wish you a good weekend.
Greetings Irma
Oh, so sorry I couldn't hike. But I have really many fun to read about here. There are funny Details, interesting Things to read... I enjoyed your post again, dear Diane
Thank you for sharing
Have a wonderful week.
Greetings by Heidrun
Hello,
I am glad the land was turned into a state park.
A great trail and nature walk.
I love the Sapsucker and Woodpecker photos.
The little soldier found a great spot to hide out.
We have come across those roots, they are tripping hazards.
Thank you for linking up and sharing your critter post. Take care, have a great weekend.
What a great hike! Thanks for taking us along and sharing those amazing photos. It's fascinating to learn about the history of the canal diggings and see how nature has reclaimed the area. I loved seeing all the critters you encountered along the way, especially the wild turkeys and the woodpeckers.
Interesting. I'm glad that the barge canal project got stopped. Just because something can be done doesn't mean it should.
I love your trails.
Hi Diane! Wow, what a neat post. First of all, high marks to your hubby for writing up the “canal” story. I love that he referred to the Gulf of MEXICO. (It shall always be the Gulf of Mexico to me. 😊) Great job of snapping pics along the hike. You captured the expected beauty of the trail and, also, the unexpected, like the root. I like your closing footers, especially “At the beach, life is different.” 😊 Wishing you and hubby a great weekend! John
Wonderful hike with you and hubby info is great ~ Great photos as usual ~ hugs,
Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
clm ~ A ShutterBug Explores
aka ( A Creative Harbor)
We can't do hikes any more. I enjoy yours!
Looks like a great place for a walk.
that was quite interesting, i have never heard of this, thank the hubby for me. it's so nice that you hike together and really seem to enjoy the same things. it must be getting warmer there, the "sweet time" to hike will be upon you!! pretty turkeys and a really nice capture of the yellow bellied sapsucker!! have a great weekend!!
Thanks for sharing the photos and information. An interesting hike and I like the yellow bellied sapsucker.
It was a long hike. Beautiful photos of the Woodpeckers!
What a wonderful place to walk, explore and enjoy nature. Lovely photos and narrative, thanks for taking us along. Enjoy your weekend.
It is so wonderful to see how nature reclaims the land. It looks like such a quiet peaceful place.
I enjoyed my hike with you, thank you :)
Nice to see your photographs and read your husbands words.
Have a good weekend.
All the best Jan
What a wonderful hike! I enjoyed following along, from the wild turkeys to Josef’s Table. The canal history was fascinating, and the rock formations and woodpeckers made the journey even more special. And that knight—what a fun surprise! Thanks for sharing this adventure! 😊
That was indeed a wonderful hike with beautiful sightings!
color of Red bellied Woodpecker looks so attractive..... beautiful photos.
Hello Diane :)
Your long hike would probably bring me to my knees, but I'm glad you can do it and take wonderful nature photos to share with us.
That looks like a nice long hike! Good for you, Diane! I enjoyed canal the history and seeing the wild turkeys. It was also fun to see the ""Red Knight standing guard over his lair :)
It's Monday afternoon, it's raining outside and therefore it's a good idea to write comments...
I was very happy to accompany you again, dear Diane.
Thank you very much for your wonderful contribution to MosaicMonday.
Have a nice time! Greetings from Heidrun
Howdy my sweet friend-- Pam left a message for you in my comments 😊
I can smell the pines from here. Thank you for the wonderful walk. I'm familiar with those "serpent roots". Not only do they startle you with their appearance, I usually trip over them while my eyes are focused on the tree tops for birds.
Loving those gobblers! Enjoy your new week.
Me encantó tu caminata, vistes cosas muy interesantes y bonitas. Gracias y besos.
I do wish I could walk better and hike. I do love driving and walking with you. I may sound dumb, but who is Josef? Joseph?
I LOVE the wildlife - turkeys and the woodpecker. So, what is that red guy?
Interesting post! The red fellow certainly stands out!
Such a lovely, peaceful place! Amazing to find the little figurine and the picnic table named for Joseph. Now that's a mystery that needs to be solved! I love the woodpeckers and the turkeys, but those gnarly roots would definitely make me jump out of my skin. You are brave to hike so deep into the woods - it looks very lonely there. x K
We owe Marjorie Carr such debt. A true heroine for standing up for nature. That was a great hike and very interesting information from your partner in crime here! (On my blog, whenever there's anything remotely scientific or with directions or historical facts, my sweet hubby has always helped. And by helped I mean that I should give him credit the way you did yours.)
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