The Wandering Disciple

A noble eagle looks over the boat basin at Collier Seminole Park. The symbol of our nation, the bald eagle was once on the brink of extinction, the bald eagle species has made a recovery being upgraded from endangered to threatened and eventually off the protected species list altogether in 2007. The bald eagle can be found throughout North America near bodies of water with abundant sources of food for the raptor. (Photo: December 8, 2012)

Lying at the end of this boardwalk lives a world of wilderness, vast acres of swamp on the edge of the Florida Everglades.  The 7,000+ acre Collier-Seminole State Park sits just south of Naples and on the edge of the civilization, combining with Big Cypress, Ten Thousand Islands and the Everglades to form one of the largest swamps in the country.  (Photo: December 9, 2012)

A blockhouse at Collier-Seminole Park is a look back at the early days of Indian inhabited Florida. Houses like these were used to help fend off attacks by Seminole Indians (Photo: December 9, 2012)

A salt marsh is one of the many distinct ecosystems found in the Collier-Seminole State Park in South Florida.  Collier-Seminole is one of several parks and refuges that help protect the real Florida environment along Tamiami Trail through the swamps of South Florida.  (Photo: December 9, 2012)

Completing the vision to connect the Atlantic and Gulf coast of Florida with a highway through the swamp would requiring an engineering marvel. This marvel would be in the form of the Bay City Walking Dredge. Built in 1924, this piece of equipment help build the Tamiami Trail highway which traverses the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp while linking both coasts. Today the last remaining walking dredge can be seen on display at Collier-Seminole State Park. (Photo: December 9, 2012)

A marble memorial at Collier-Seminole State Park honors the legacy of Baron Collier. Erected in 1941, the memorial pays tribute to the founder of Collier County, Florida. (Photo: December 9, 2012)

Naples, Florida: The swamp came to life with the sound of song birds, a sign that we made it through the night. We dodge the mosquitoes, snakes and rain to enjoy another day in the wilderness. We broke down camp early, grabbed breakfast and then set out to explore the neighboring area. Our first stop was a return trip to Fakahatchee Strand. This time we did not drive all the way to the main entrance in Copeland, instead we decided to visit the Cypress Bend Boardwalk along Tamiami Trl. The 2,000 foot boardwalk extends into the swamp, passing plenty of flora and fauna along the way. On our way to the observation platform at the end of the boardwalk, we passed numerous alligators ranging in age and size. Afterwards we headed west to the marsh trail at Ten Thousands Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The 2.4 mile marsh trail extends into the refuge with a three story observation tower in the beginning of the trail. Unfortunately, we did not complete the trail due to lack o...

Naples, Florida: During our long drive to Homestead last month, we noticed the hidden natural wonders that lie along Tamiami Trail through South Florida. While we didn’t stop off during that trip, we vowed to get back there to enjoy some of these attractions. That time came this weekend as we decided to take a weekend camping excursion to Collier-Seminole State Park.  We had our eyes on a tent site at Collier-Seminole since our November trip, but it wasn’t until last week that we saw an opening. I jumped on the vacant site and booked it. We came close to losing our site due to a glitch in the system, but luckily I confirmed the reservation and was able to correct it before we lost the site to someone else. To make a long story short, we booked the site with a prepaid card, the site did not process the payment and our site was released for non-payment. Lucky enough, I logged on to print our reservation and saw it was cancelled. What was even luckier is that the site was still...