Sanibel Island ... Trip Journal #16 … October 26-28, 2018

Sanibel Island, Florida
Trip Journal #16 … October 26-28, 2018

Now driving west and then north, we head to the west coast (of Florida). Using mostly blue highways, we fell in love with this one street. Did I say I loved oak trees?

Sanibel Island 

Sanibel Island is famous as one of the best places in the world to find seashells. Unlike most barrier island on both coasts of Florida that run north-south, this one has an east-west orientation thus saving the shells from being battered by the waves of the gulf. 

Sea shells on beach

As we walked along the beach, we did collect a few … see the picture of the beach at my feet at the high tide mark.



In the late 1800s, land investors arrived at Sanibel Island and made plans to drain the swamps and marshes and build for a projected 95,000 people. The existing residents also began their plans and over the years, they have succeeded commendably. Today only 7,300 people live there and 68% of the island is preserved conservation land.

Conservation Efforts

68% of Island is Conservation Land

Beginning with a famous political cartoonist Jay N. “Ding” Darling, who was also an early conservationist, he was instrumental in blocking the sale of environmentally valuable land to developers. There are now two major conservation groups and multitude smaller ones, including the city of Sanibel. The Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation has set aside a third of the island in small isolated acreages all over the island and the residents of Sanibel even voted to tax themselves for funds to purchase and maintain additional land for preservation.

Mangrove Swamp

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

The largest is The Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1945 by Truman, which covers 33% of the Island that includes Sanibel’s mid-island fresh water wetlands that are everglades-like and mangrove swamps along the bayside of the land.  The visitor center of the Refuge is one beautiful place, entertaining while educating. We learned that there are hundreds of kinds of beautiful ducks and all about Ding.


We went on the tram that runs through the Refuge that traverses all of these natural environments. Alligators, birds of all kinds, iguanas, mangrove crabs and close-in walks through the mangrove swamps were part of this excursion.

More about Mangrove Trees

Mangroves help stabilize the bayside shoreline ever reaching out and actually growing the island with their branches that insert themselves in the ground and their leaves which decay and form soil. Mangrove trees really cannot survive in salt water even though they thrive.

If you lick a leaf, you will find it is very salty; the trees flush out the salt this way.

Mangrove Tree Crab

Restrooms

Now I do not usually take pictures of toilets. However, designated the most beautiful restrooms in this country the Darling Wildlife Refuge restrooms deserve to be photographed. Some of the pictures show toilets, hand dryers and sink. Outside in the hallway you find yourself underwater if you look up!

 
 

Periwinkle Park

"Pumpkin" Catalina Macaw - South America

Periwinkle RV Park is on Periwinkle Way on Sanibel Island. We responded to a suggestion from a couple we met at Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo. This week is the last week of the off-peak season, rates are $15 less than usual and the RV section is nearly empty. To our surprise, there is also an unpublicized, not-mentioned-anywhere aviary in the center of the park. The Park is home to many exotic birds and 40 different species of waterfowls that live in the two ponds. Migrating birds visit the site also … Blue Heron, Anhinga, Ibis and Egrets. 

 


The owners began their collection of exotic birds in 1964 with unique waterfowl and monkeys; with the care of Libby the bird lady, they are a special treat to come upon.  We were fortunate to meet her and learn a lot about the birds that live here. ‘Pumpkin’ the South American Catalina Macaw is my favorite and she posed willingly for the camera. Enjoy the pictures.

Sunsets Never Fail to Enchant

The east-west orientation of this island also allows for sunsets stenciled by the palms as everything is mostly on the north facing side of the island. We were walking on the south facing side when we took this picture.

Bicycle Trails and Lanes

This area has so much to offer! We left our Coyote in the campground the entire time and only explored by bicycle. There are 25 miles of bike trails … and none of them is in the traffic lanes of a road. We did 30 miles of these trails over two days. All are designated bike lanes, landscaped, and beautiful. Some pass through natural environments set aside by the various preservation groups; others travel through the commercial district, never once being on a street. Moreover, other trails offer views of the wealthier homes. This dolphin picture is one of their mailboxes.



If you find yourself here … do not miss the Rabbit Road trail and the Bailey Tract. This picture with Vicki is the Rabbit Road trail with the road and the Sanibel River on either side.

Dan got a selfie with an alligator (bottom right hand corner of the photo) in the Bailey Tract. 

Next: Art, culture and nature in St. Petersburg. 

Another great feature of the trails is the frequent water fountains along the trails and bike lanes. Even our furry friends are considered. In addition, pedestrians and bicycles always have the right-of-way, as there are no traffic signals in the entire 12-mile stretch of the island.

Sanibel Island’s Name

So charmed by this lovely isle the pirate Jose Gaspar named it after Santa Isabella, the Spanish Queen in the early 1500s. Saint Isabel is the name of the church we attended. Note the difference between the interior of the cathedral we visited in St. Augustine and this modern church. There are many different ways of expression with stained glass.