Tomoka State Park and Company

Wow...the last time I wrote anything on here was Blue Spring.... We have seen so many things since then.  Unfortunately, our internet connection has not been cooperating well enough to update our blogs, so I’ve had to wait until now.  Think of it as pleasant anticipation, kind of like waiting for Christmas to arrive….in July. 

Our next stop was Tomoka State Park and boy, what a whirlwind of adventures!  We only had 3 nights there, but we had 5 other parks to see.  Whew!  Tomoka is a beautiful, well kept, friendly state park.  The paths of overhung arching trees are the best.  It's a magical fairy land of oaks dripping with the soft, pastel sea foam green Spanish moss. Tomoka itself has many opportunities for paddlers to go canoeing and kayaking, fishing and hiking.  It's part of the Florida Birding Trail and has a lot of interesting wildlife to view there. It is in a beach community, and a short distance from swimming, and if you’re so inclined, Daytona is nearby.  Ormond Beach is the surrounding town.  Here are my favorite shots  in and around Tomoka.

They rent canoes and kayaks here.

The dock 

Statue in honor of Chief Tomokie

Nature path to the river.

The amount of lichen you see in an environment speaks to the health and air quality of that environment.  I've always liked lichen because it indicates to me if  where I am is a healthy place....breathe deeply  when you see lots of the stuff.

Nature path

Gopher tortoise burrow

Mr. Squirrel coming by to say hello

Ant lion pits.  They build these pits so ants will walk into them and sink to the bottom of the cone they created...yum

The roadways in the park are laden with gorgeous trees

The nature trail

brown anole hanging out

The Tomoka River is a tanic river, the tannins from decomposing leaves give the river its brown color.

Spiny orb weaver spider

The marshes and inlets look captivating.  I wish I could have kayaked here....

While we were here, it was Independence Day…so we did what the locals did, and went to see the Ormond Beach fireworks display.  Some of the individual fireworks were quite pretty…2 interlocking hearts was my favorite.

Other state parks that are close to Tomoka include Bulow Creek, Bulow Plantation Ruins, and Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach, North Peninsula State Park and Addison Blockhouse State Park (which currently has no real access to it, YET).  Out to the west is Haw Creek Preserve State Park which also has limited access, but it is a good place for fishing.  We saw them all.

Bulow Creek is a beautiful area.  There are hiking trails available and if you hike long enough, you get to water.  There is a ruin of an old realty office building from the 1800's on site, and the trails are very inviting.  Bulow creek flows through the area and I'm sure you can find a place to launch a canoe or kayak if you had one.  I didn't investigate the water part of the park much, I was too intrigued by the ruins and the paths.  The deeper into the woods you get, the more bugs you encounter, in the summer time.

Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park, however, was not bug laden, but it was wonderful.  It is laid out well, kept up well, and contains many interesting and informative signs that tell about the sugar plant and how it operated, as well as who owned it and what happened to it.  The ranger on site was very knowledgeable about the ruins and was happy to answer questions about it.  The ruins were fascinating to look at.  There is also a museum/interpretive center located on the premises.

Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach is a two side of the road deal.  It has a ranger station, picnic areas, and nature trails on the non-ocean side, and there is a campground and beach on the ocean side.  The only reason we didn’t camp there, is because well, we couldn’t.  You have to be LUCKY enough to catch a rare opening, and probably, you have to begin looking a YEAR in advance.  Many locals snatch up availabilities as soon as they appear, so if you want to hear the roar of the ocean as you sleep, you have to be fast on your feet.  We visited it on a free pass Cheri won from Authentic Florida.  If you’re a Floridian and love all things Florida, they are the folks to go to.  http://www.authenticflorida.com/  Check them out.  In the mean time, enjoy the sights of Gamble Rogers....

North Peninsula State Park is just up the road from Gamble Rogers, and is a beach. It’s a lovely area to swim in.  Just be sure to heed the marine flag warnings. 

Osprey in flight.....

 This particular day, we had a purple and yellow flag flying.  If you ever see marine warning flags, here is what they all mean (at least in Florida)

Green: Low hazard, calm conditions, exercise caution.
Yellow: Medium hazard, moderate surf and/or currents.
Red: High hazard, high surf and/or strong currents.
Red over Red [i.e., two red flags]: Water closed to the public.
Purple: Dangerous marine life.


Our "dangerous marine life" on this day was jellyfish and sharks....pretty common things.  If you're going to swim in the ocean, you can be sure there is SOMETHING in there with you....ALWAYS.

If you want to know about the Addison Block House…here is a link to the State Park site that talks about it.  It’s really fascinating and will one day be a great attraction to see, when they get the access figured out.  http://www.floridastateparks.org/history/parkhistory.cfm?parkid=16

It’s amazing what my 95 Corolla can do….it’s driven all over the place on this trip.  It’s our official “camp car”.  The Tomoka leg has put some serious miles on the car…and gave us some beautiful images and fun memories.  This has been a truly adventure filled, fun Florida trip.  Seeing all the State Parks in district 3 has been great so far.