Monday, March 21, 2011

State Park for March


Welcome to Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring!



This park offers paved and dirt bike trails, walking trails, camping, picnic areas, a playground,
boardwalks, and an hour-long tram ride.



It's green, lush, and oh so Florida.





The skyscrapers here are something to behold!



Wonderful species are found in the pools of collected water.







The air was cool and crisp on this day before spring.
Not a mosquito in sight!



Remnants of old growth make way for new greenery and
provide a home for forest life.



Lovely ferns could be found everywhere!



I believe this is a Florida maple, one of my favorites!



The enormous Cypress trunks seem like something
out of a fairy tale.



Highlands Hammock is home to the CCC Museum.
I was fascinated to learn about this amazing program. 

As one of the original four Florida State Parks, Highlands Hammock had its birth in the years of the Great Depression when local citizens resisted efforts to turn the area into agricultural lands. Later the Civilian Conservation Corps was called in and, from camps within the park, worked to restore the area, create facilities and fence the park's boundaries. Highlands Hammock opened as a state park in 1935. A commemorative statue and CCC museum recognizing the contributions of the Civilian Conservation Corps and its help in the development of the Florida public parks reside within the Highlands Hammock State Park.




So far, I think this is our favorite park. 
Fortunately for us, it is close by. 
Oh yeah, we'll be back...


6 comments:

  1. I, too am a fan of Highlands Hammock. They hold a Turkey Trot 5K run every Thanksgiving morning that I have participated in numerous times. It is a peaceful way to start a thanks filled day. Thanks for sharing its springtime beauty.

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  2. Hi Daisy...We just retured from the bare north, and the trees dressed in their spring green is a beautiful site. My daughter's school visited Highlands Hammock on a field trip. It was a cold day,but it was beautiful none-the-less.

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  3. Jane-Hope you start to see more green very soon!

    NanaK-That must be a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving!

    Susan-Welcome home! Yes, we do appreciate the color more when we have been away.

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  4. Daisy,
    Oh, I imagine all that new green on the trees was magnificent to the eyes and senses. Love those 'trees' and the photos (especially 8 & 9) and the cypress trunk... stunning.
    Meems

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  5. Meems-Thank you for the kind remarks. It really changes your whole mood to be out in nature.

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Thanks for taking the time to leave your thoughts!