Images from our camping trip April 16-19 2008

Collier-Seminole State Park is a 4,760-acre wilderness preserve, offering a 0.9-mile interpretive boardwalk/nature trail, RV and tent camping, a 5 1/2-mile mountain-bike trail, a 6 1/2-mile hiking trail, canoe rentals, a 13 1/2-mile aquatic trail, playground, picnic area, pontoon boat tours and historical displays, including a huge "walking" dredge, a National Historic Engineering Landmark. Location: 17 miles south of Naples on U.S. 41 East. Hours: 8 a.m. to sunset. Google it for more information.

Photographs of the Bay City Walking Dredge on display at Collier Seminole State Park. This Bay City Walking Dredge was designated a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1994.

Between 1914 and 1930 the Industrial Works produced 267 walking dredges, so-called because they rode on portable tracks which propelled them along through all types of ground and even straddled ditches and canals. The device used a system of pulleys and sheaves and four wooden "shoes" that rolled the frame forward five to ten feet on a trolley. It could walk across the land being worked at the rate of a mile a day. The dredge could even be backed up by reversing the cycle of operation.

A walking device created in 1902 by Albert H. Cross of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, was modified by Carl F. Wilson in Bay City in 1916. Wilson was a civil engineer who later worked for General Motors here. A similar walking mechanism was patented by Vincent G. Anderson,of Thief River Falls, Minnesota, in 1918.

A complete dredge with one yard Muskegon dipper, a 40 foot boom, 36-39 foot span and 30 horsepower engine sold for about $4,000 in 1924. Operating the dredge required two men, which was one less than other dredges.

The dredge on display in Florida was built in May, 1924, and was shipped to W.R. Wallace & Co., of Ft. Myers. It was later sold to Alexander, Ramsey and Kerr, a construction company controlled by real estate magnate BarronCollier, for whom Collier County was named. Collier spent $1 million, financed by bonds issued by local road and bridge districts, but was still 31 miles from completion. He ran three shifts, one coming from Tampa, one working on the Trail, and one returning to Tampa. As the Florida land boom was underway, Gov. John Martin was elected in 1925 on the pledge to complete the Tamiami Trail "come hell or high water."

The State of Florida took over the project in 1926 and continued to use walking dredges. A 20-foot wide canal, blasted out of solid limestone under the grass and muck of the swamp, was straddled by the dredge which scooped up crushed rock for the adjacent roadbed. More than 2.5 million sticks of dynamite were used on the Trail.

During 1927-28, the Bay City dredge was employed to construct ten miles of the Trail from Black Water River to Belle Meade Crossing (intersection of US-41 and FL-951).

Traffic first flowed on the Tamiami Trail on March 27, 1927.The historic highway is now US-41, pronounced "An Engineering Wonder" by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Upon completion of the Tamiami Trail, the Bay City dredge was stored along US-41 at FL-92, where a filling station, motel andrestaurant were established by Meece Ellis. Later the dredge was moved to a county park and remained a permanent exhibit when the state park was established in 1947. The dredge survived Hurricane Andrew in August, 1992, and continues to attract the wonderment of visitors to Collier-Seminole State Park.

The main problem Bay City promoters would have is that the dredge in Florida apparently is the only surviving one of its kind; a replica would have to be constructed unless another dredge isfound. Could there still be one in California?

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a National Audubon Society sanctuary located in southwest Florida, north of Naples, Florida and east of Bonita Springs Florida.

The sanctuary was established to protect one of the largest remaining stands of Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) and Pond Cypress (T. ascendens) in North America from extensive logging of the tree that was ongoing throughout the 1940's and 50's. The Corkscrew Cypress Rookery Association was formed in 1954 to protect the area.

The National Audubon Society accepted responsibility for management and started constructing the first boardwalk through the swamp in 1955. In all, nearly 45 square kilometres (17 sq mi) of wetland was purchased or donated (most from or by the owners, Lee Tidewater Cypress Center Co. and Collier Enterprises).

Today, a boardwalk of a little over 2 miles length provides walking access over the pine flatwoods, wet prairie, Pond cypress, Bald cypress, and marsh ecosystems within the sanctuary.

If you visit SW FL you MUST visit this park! It's beautiful. Google it for more info.

European man arrived in Florida in the 1500’s but his presence was not felt here until the 1800’s. During the third Seminole War Fort Gardiner was built nearby as a temporary fortification. Later the area was widely used for timber and turpentine. The town of Rosalie was built and later abandoned after the turpentine industry pulled out of the area.

During the Civil War the area was used for raising cattle that were shipped to the Confederate Army or traded with Cuba for supplies. After the war, cattle were the main industry and this continues to the present day.

In 1969, the state of Florida purchased 5,030 acres of land from the William Zipprer estate for use as a state park. Lake Kissimmee State Park was opened to the public in 1977. An additional 900 acres were purchased in 1997 and added to the park’s western boundary.

Florida's cowboy heritage comes alive with living history demonstrations of the early Florida "cow hunters" in an 1876-era cow camp. White-tailed deer, bald eagles, sandhill cranes, turkeys, and bobcats have been seen in the park, located on the shores of lakes Kissimmee, Tiger, and Rosalie.

Visitors enjoy boating, canoeing, and fishing in the picturesque lakes. Nature students can hike over 13 miles of trails to observe and study the abundant plant and animal life. Six miles of trails are open to equestrians. A large, shaded picnic area with pavilions is available. The park has full-facility campsites, as well as a primitive camping facility. The youth camping area can accommodate up to 50 people.

The dark skies make stargazing a popular nighttime activity for campers. Located off State Road 60 15 miles east of Lake Wales.