Canaveral National Seashore and Playalinda Beach Field Trip

When you want to go to the beach in Brevard County, it's easy - if you are on Highway A1A, you're there. Look for a beachside park (we have lots of very nice, well-maintained ones) and pull into the parking lot. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

However, north of Cape Canaveral, and not accessible from A1A, is Playalinda, a beautiful beach that is a little harder to get to, but well worth the effort. Playalinda is located at the southern tip of the Canaveral National Seashore, a national park near the Kennedy Space Center. The Just the Facts section below gives detailed directions on how to get there.

Playalinda means "pretty beach" in Spanish. (We don't use the Spanish pronunciation of ply- . We call it play- with a long a.) As you're driving there, be prepared for stunning landscape and sparkling water, with the space shuttle launch pad as a backdrop. Drive slowly, and keep your eye out for the birds and critters that call this area home. There are plenty of “photo op” pullovers along the way. Canaveral National Seashore is an important nesting area for sea turtles and home to 13 federally-listed threatened and endangered animal species.

The road at Playalinda runs for four miles along the beach, and there are thirteen parking lots. Each lot has restroom facilities.

As you can tell by the length of this dune crossover, these are some big dunes. As you walk up the crossover, take a moment to admire the lush vegetation. About 2 miles in on the 4 mile beach road, between Parking Lots 7 and 8, you’ll see a sign for Eddy Creek (pronounced E-dee for some reason). There’s a parking area, fishing pier, and boat launch on one side of the road, and the covered Eddy Creek pavilion on the other side. The Pavilion's dune crossover and deck are wheelchair accessible.

Be warned that the beach area at the far end of the four-mile road has evolved through the years into a nude beach, in spite of local laws prohibiting nudity. But rest assured, there is plenty of room at Playalinda, so the nude beach thing is not a big problem.

You'll travel through Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on your way to and fron Playalinda. After you leave Playalinda Beach, you’ll see signs for many other Florida things to see on your way back to US#1, including this sign to Scrub Ridge Trail. Friends Wayne and Julie hiked this trail the other day, and Wayne has provided his usual excellent "trip report" and photos that will be the topic of our next post.

I love this beach - when Margie and I last went there, it was nearly deserted (my idea of a perfect beach), but now that it is summer, I hear the parking lots are getting full. So you may have to share your stretch of sand with somebody, but that's part of the fun, too.

Playalinda Beach
Just the Facts

"BIG PICTURE" LOCATION: North Brevard, Barrier Island, Titusville

WHEN TO GO: March 11 - October 28, 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., October 29-March 10, 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., 365 days a year, EXCEPT: Because Playalinda Beach is so close to Kennedy Space Center, it is closed for three days prior to shuttle launches and on the day of a shuttle landing. If it's close to a launch or landing, call 321-867-0677 to verify the beach is open before you go.

HOW TO GET THERE: For starters, you need to be at US #1 and County Road 402 (Garden Street) in the north end of Titusville. Don’t look at a map and think you can take a shortcut through the Kennedy Space Center, because that road is not open to the public. Take a right and head east. After about 7 miles, you’ll come to a stoplight that is kind of in the middle of nowhere. Keep going straight across the railroad tracks and drive about 4 more miles until you reach Canaveral National Seashore. Watch out for the critters crossing the road. (Map courtesy of Space Coast Office of Tourism)

This is important. There are no stores and no gas stations after you leave Titusville. Be sure your car is gassed up and bring plenty of drinking water. You might want to bring a lunch to enjoy eating at the Eddy Creek pavilion.

BRING MONEY? Yes, there is a $3 per person charge (children under the age of 16 are admitted free) to get into Canaveral National Seashore (unless you have a National Parks pass). You can also purchase an annual pass to Canaveral National Seashore for $35. The National Park Service is offering free admission to park-goers the weekends of July 18-19 and August 15-16.

WHERE TO PARK: There are 13 parking lots along the four-mile road.

WHAT TO WEAR: Remember that the sun bouncing off the water will burn you to a crisp, so protect yourself with sunscreen, beach umbrellas, hats, and common sense. Drink lots of water. And as a reader noted in his comment - bring insect repellent!

PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS: There are bathrooms at each parking lot (no running water, though). The boardwalk at Eddie Creek Pavilion is wheelchair accessible.

HOW LONG TO STAY: As long as you're having fun (within the constraints of the Park hours)!

WHAT TO DO: Fish, surf, swim in the ocean, relax. Lifeguards are on duty from Memorial Day to Labor Day from 10:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. You can launch a boat at Eddy Creek. If you fish from your boat, you need to have a fishing license. If you are fishing from the shore or a dock, you do not need a salt water fishing license.

WHERE TO EAT AFTERWARDS: I'm always torn between Dixie Crossroads and El Leoncito. Dixie Crossroads is an iconic restaurant co-owned by long-time Brevard environmentalist guru Laurilee Thompson (we quote her in the I Think box) with terrific seafood, corn fritters that melt in your mouth, and exterior wall murals by our favorite mural artist, Frank Rao. When you get back to US#1 and State Road 402 (Garden Street), keep going west on Garden Street for about a mile. Dixie Crossroads is on the left-hand (south) side of Garden Street.

El Leoncito is in the southern end of Titusville on US#1 near Highway 50 and features excellent Cuban and Mexican food (I'm partial to their Cuban sandwich and black beans). You won't go wrong at either place.

HOW TO HELP: Follow Margie's example and pick up a bag of trash on your way back to the parking lot. There are recycle and trash bins near the restrooms. Pets are not allowed on the beach, and must be on a leash elsewhere. Don't feed the wildlife. And of course, don't litter.

REFERENCE LINKS:

Playalinda Beach

Canaveral National Seashore

Dixie Crossroads

El Leoncito

Archaic Adventures

Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) Field Trip

On May 1, friend Wayne ventured out of Brevard County to visit the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA), a 365-acre preserve along the Indian River Lagoon in Indian River County, on the south side of Vero Beach, a short distance east of US #1. OSLO is owned by the St. Johns Water Management District and Indian River County and managed by the County. Indian River County is the next county south of Brevard. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Wayne filed the following trip report and provided his excellent photos for a slideshow (see right-hand column).

This was my first visit. I got a late start, so it quickly got too hot for me to do all the trails (note this was May 1). The trail map at the entrance kiosk showed a destination called "Awesome Tree, the largest Slash Pine in the world." That was something I wanted to see, so I headed there first. The trail goes through a very jungley hammock. It's almost all at ground level, but with several short elevated boardwalks. The trails being at ground level makes it easy to observe and photograph wildflowers and other plants. However, that also means the trails are wet and muddy in some places during rainy times.

The dense woods looked like a good place for birding, but I did not see or hear any birds. I think it was too late in the day and too hot.

Near the trailhead were several patches of brilliant red salvia. I found a small tree there (shown in the photo) that I did not recognize. It had droopy branches and leaves and panicles of white flowers. The flowers were unusual because they had six petals. Usually six petals means the plant is a member of the lily or orchid family. Later, using a plant species list for ORCA, I identified the tree as Lancewood, a small tree found along the coast in south Florida, the Keys, and the Caribbean.

I first headed to the Awesome Tree. At several junctions along the trail, there were signs pointing the way to the Awesome Tree, as well as to other locations. The anticipation built with each sign. I finally arrived at a small clearing with a sign indicating that this was the site of the Awesome Tree. I had expected a huge, standing, living tree, the one pictured on the left. Instead, what I found was a huge, lying down and very dead tree! Apparently the big tree was knocked down by a hurricane several years ago. In researching it later, I found a book, "Birding Florida," written by Brian Rapoza and published in 2007, that claims the big tree was felled by a recent hurricane. From the state of decay, it looked like the tree had been dead for at least 10 years. (The "then" photo below is from the Indian River County web site listed below in Reference Links.)

Awesome pine then and now

From there, I doubled back and took the trail to the Coastal Wetlands, passing through the lower end of the Pine Flatwoods. This trail near its end went through all three types of mangroves - white, black, and red - ending at an observation platform overlooking a nearly dry pond adjacent to the Indian River Lagoon.

For those interested in a good hike through varied habitats, I recommend you visit ORCA, where you can see a coastal hammock, pine flatwoods, and coastal wetlands all in one trip. I like the closed-in jungly feeling of the trails. It appears to be a good woods for birds, early in the morning and is probably good for migrating warblers in spring and late autumn. (Editor's Note: Wayne is a tireless researcher with an interest in plants - he has provided some excellent sources of information in the Reference Links section below for those who want to do more research. There are several web sites devoted to ORCA.)

Wayne adds that the Florida Medical Entomology Lab (FMEL) is further east on Oslo Rd. Their web site has lots of interesting information of mosquitoes, including a small video of a mosquito hatching and a game called SWAT. (See Reference Links below. )

As always, we are indebted to Wayne for sharing his prodigious knowledge, his adventures, and his photos with us. Be sure to watch the slide show - it's a great education on vegetation.

Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA)
Just the Facts

"BIG PICTURE" LOCATION: Indian River County, Mainland, south (Indian River County adjoins the southern border of Brevard County)

WHEN TO GO: Public access facilities and trails are open sunrise to sunset, 365 days a year
HOW TO GET THERE: ORCA is located on the north side of Oslo Road (9th Street SE), east of US #1, on the south side of Vero Beach. The entrance is located immediately behind the South Vero Plaza, which is immediately south of the Vista Royale Golf and Country Club. (Click on map to enlarge.)

WHERE TO PARK: Signs will direct you to a small parking lot.

WHAT TO WEAR: This is Florida - bring water! Wear a hat and sturdy walking shoes, bring mosquito repellant, and protect against mosquitoes by wearing a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. (I suspect they've located the mosquito research facility there for a reason - plenty of research opportunities!)

PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS: There are no restrooms, and it is not wheelchair accessible.

HOW LONG TO STAY: Wayne spent about an hour on his walk - he says he rushed a little because it was hot and he was ready for lunch.

WHAT TO DO: Facililties include boardwalks, an observation tower, a canoe launch, educational information, and hiking trails, so you can fish, hike, canoe, look for wildlife, and study the numerous types of vegetation in the varied habitats. Motorized vehicles are not permitted on the trails. A boat luanch is located at the end of Oslo Road. Weekly nature walks are provided free by volunteer naturalists. Call 772-778-7200 for more information.

WHERE TO EAT AFTERWARDS: Wayne recommends TooJays, a New York-style deli. The first TooJay's was near Palm Beach, and now they have 27 locations. It was started by two fellows named Jay - I'm not sure why it was named TooJay's instead of TwoJay's. In any event, head north on US#1 to 20th Street, then turn east. TooJay's is on the south side of 21st street in the Treasure Coast Plaza. Vero roads are a little confusing, so keep a sharp eye out! map

HOW TO HELP: If you live nearby, volunteer (see the ORCA web site for information on volunteer classes). Be respectful of wildlife and nature, and don't litter.

REFERENCE LINKS:
ORCA web site
ORCA Recreation Guide
Indian River County ORCA web site
Florida Medical Entomology Lab (This is the mosquito web site with the SWAT game)
FMEL's ORCA web site (This site includes plants, snakes, and birds species lists, and Wayne notes that the plant species list is very comprehensive.)
Lancewood Tree

TooJay's Deli

A Geocaching Field Trip

My experience with GPS dates back to a work-related stay in Miami 10 years ago. I rented a car with built-in navigation. It was like driving with your mother-in-law in the passenger seat saying TURN HERE! TURN HERE! After a first short trip, I turned the thing off and never turned it back on.

So when I decided that a geocache field trip would be fun and educational, the "educational" part was high on my list. Tom Choma agreed to meet me at Wickham Park, make me smarter, and walk me through a search for a cache. He provided me with some preliminary information and directions to our meeting place in latitude and longitude (!) - thank goodness for Google Earth!

First, some definitions and history. http://www.geocaching.com/ is the central geocaching web site, and it states: Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. The first geocache was recorded in 2000, and according to geocaching.com, as of today, there are 818,326 active geocaches around the world - that's some growth rate! It is, by the way, referred to as a sport.

Before I met up with Tom, I went to the library to pick up a couple of books. I got a "dummies" book, but the one that was the greatest help was a Boy's Life book for Boy Scouts - Let's Go Geocaching. What a great book, and you can buy it for only $3.99! It provided me with good basic information so that I didn't have to waste Tom's time on that.

Tom is an avid outdoorsman and geocacher and blogs about both (see the Links section). His first cache was in 2002, so he was one of the pioneers. He brought along the first cache he hid (the big one) and a more recent one, a waterproof, camouflaged box kind of like Tupperware. Notice the name of the camouflage tape - Duck Tape. :) Tom carries a long stick wrapped with tape at the end for poking in holes before he puts his hand in, and his geocaching equipment kit also includes an extendable mirror. (Click on photo to enlarge)

I learned that geocaching is not a casual sport - for starters, you need good computer skills and a hand-held GPS (and no, the one in your car won't work for geocaching). There are places where you must get a permit hide a cache (e.g., St. Johns Water Management District land, EELs property), and you cannot hide caches in national parks. As with most activities involving more than one person, there are rules, politics, and disagreements about how things should be. I get the sense that if you like it, it can be addictive.

So here's the drill, as I understand it. Someone hides a cache. At a minimum, it includes a log book and a pen. The cacher then creates an entry on the geocaching.com site and submits it for review. A local volunteer organization reviews the entry in terms of permitting, etc., and then approves it for publication. If you want to search for a cache, you go onto the geocaching.com web site and find one that appeals to you. There are clues, GPS coordinates, etc. - follow the link below to see more. When you find the cache, you sign the log book and trade items (leave something of equal or greater value) if the cache supports trades. When you get home, you record your find on the geocaching.com site.

After Tom and I talked for a while about the sport in general, we went through the process of hiding a cache and then finding it. So far so good. I learned that GPS accuracy can be off by as much as 12 feet, so it's not like shooting fish in a barrel. Then we went in search of a nearby cache that Tom figured I might have a chance of finding. He had already downloaded the appropriate coordinates, so with his GPS in my hands, and with my eyes firmly glued to its red arrow, off we went. I got close and eventually "found" it, but when I noted that "even a blind pig finds an acorn in the forest every once in a while", his rejoinder was "only if there's a smart pig helping." You can see in the photo how small this thing was - a little GI Joe ammo box in a film canister, hanging in a tree. Good grief! We of course replaced the cache carefully and surreptitiously so that nobody would "muggle" it (a Harry Potter term used to describe non-cachers who stumble across a cache and take or destroy it).

When I started this whole adventure, I had hopes that geocaching was a "gentleman's sport" that would get folks out-of-doors and enjoying nature. The Boy Scout book encouraged that belief, with its emphasis on respect for nature, no littering, and cache in/trash out approach. Indeed, geocaching.com states: Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment. I have to tell you that as I was walking across Wickham Park watching that red arrow swing back and forth, I could have stepped on an ivory billed woodpecker and never noticed it. And there are some that are less than environmentally conscious in their search, digging and ripping. On the other hand, it would seem to be a good family sport that would involve a lot of learning opportunities for kids and adults alike.

I can't begin to completely describe everything about geocaching in this post. I have suggested to the Library that it would be a good summer program - if that comes about, I'll let you know. If you're lucky, you'll have a friend that will show you the ropes before you invest in equipment. If you become a geocacher, please be one that includes a little nature appreciation in with the sport and adheres to the cache in/trash out philosophy.

I'm not a big GPS user, but the GeoCarta blog I follow spoke today of a GPS application that I think is pretty cool - a GPS key ring. When you get out of your car in a big parking lot, you mark the spot on the key ring unit. Then when you are done shopping, voila - it will get you back to your car! There's a link below. Pretty clever little device. (Tom wanted me to stress that this is not a GPS unit that you could use in geocaching - its application is limited strictly to getting you back to a location.)

My thanks to Tom for patiently answering my incessant questions and for sharing his skills.

P.S. Wayne and Julie's daughter is a Scout leader and has implemented geocaching as part of her troop leadership. She sent a link to the story that got her interested in the sport, and I've added that to the Links below. Her family also geocaches, and they incorporate it into their vacations.

Links:
Geocaching
Let's Go Geocaching
Tom's Blog
GeoCarta
GPS Keyring
Tracking Trinkets and Treasures