Bamboozled at Koreshan State Park
We finally caught up to our initial "Launch Plan A" reservations! To recap, we were supposed to hit the road full-time on New Year's Eve but got delayed 2 months. We cancelled all our bookings until March 29 and then set out, hoping we could catch up to those reservations by traveling for a month down the east coast and cutting over to the Fort Myers, FL area. Now, we're on our original plan, at least for a little while. We also had to cancel our service appointment at our RV dealer, which was supposed to be in February, and now the appointment is in May, so after South Florida we'll be making our way back north for our appointment. For a while we'll have a mix of "Plan A" and "Plan B" reservations, but no matter what, it feels really good to be in the place we had been planning to be since August.
We chose to come down to Koreshan because of family. Anthony's parents have a house in Bonita Springs, about a half-hour from the state park. So, we didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into with this place, nor did we do much research on its history. All we knew is that the campground was nice, it's on a river, and the location was convenient.
We arrived on a Tuesday (March 29) and had a little while to explore the campground, but we were excited to venture further the next day. On our lunch break, we headed over to the Nature Trail that connects the state park boat launch to the historic settlement.
What historic settlement? Well, Koreshan is named after Koresh, the Israeli shepherd. Back in the 1890s, a religious sect settled here along the banks of the Estero River. At the time there were no roads leading into this region, and so they took it upon themselves to live self-sufficiently with their own buildings, power supplies, farm, and shops. Now, visitors can visit many of the old settlement buildings that have been restored. Among them are some of the cottages, a general store, an art hall, the steam-powered generator building, and the café. The grounds offer a glimpse into the botanic array that was planted here.
Had we visited the historic settlement first, we would have been less surprised at what we found along the nature trail. But, since we were coming from the campground, we walked the trail into the settlement. Koreshan has 2 trails leading through the park, the River Trail and the Blue Trail. We took the River Trail over to the settlement and were graced with beautiful views of the Estero River.
But, what really excited us was the bamboo forest that greeted us towards the end of the trail. We were thoroughly enjoying all the palms, pines, and oaks, but we certainly weren't expecting to suddenly feel like we were transported to Asia!
The wind was blowing through the woods causing the bamboo to make "music," which is one of my all-time favorite sounds in nature. Bamboo stems are thick wood on the outside but hollow on the inside, so when they sway in the breeze, they create a unique knocking sound that echoes through the woods. What a pleasant surprise to be serenaded by these beautiful plants when we least expected it!
So how did the bamboo get there in the first place?! Turns out, the Koreshan pioneers planted it in 1894 as part of their botanical garden. Safe to say these plants thrive in the Gulf Coast climate, because those things have grown and spread a ton! The stems on the nature trail were even taller and thicker than the ones in the botanical garden!
What an unexpected, incredible experience on our nature walk. On the way back from the settlement, we took the Blue Trail for a change of pace. No fun plant sightings, but we did see our fair share of wildlife, including squirrels, lizards, a snake, and our friend Mr. Tortoise.
Koreshan may not have the springs and ocean shores like so many other Florida State Parks, but its uniqueness makes this park a little gem. One of the best parts of exploring the outdoors is the endless variety of natural elements. To be able to literally park our home in the middle of this landscape is something that we hope to never take for granted. This is exactly the peaceful, simple life we were looking forward to.