#155 - Paddling Florida's Great Calusa Blueway: Mangroves, Mounds & Manatees with Mike Hammond

WEBVTT

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Welcome to Paddling the Blue. With each episode, we talk with guests from the

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Great Lakes and around the globe who are doing cool things related to sea kayaking.

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I'm your host, my name is John Chase, and let's get started paddling the blue.

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Welcome to today's episode of the Paddling the Blue podcast.

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Mike Hammond oversees the Great Calusa Blueway, a nearly 200-mile paddling trail

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in Florida's Lee County.

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Mike joins today's episode to talk about the area's fascinating indigenous history,

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its interesting utopian history, and the beauty of the trail and why this may

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be your next paddling destination.

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Before we get to today's conversation with Mike, James Stevenson and Simon Osborne

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Enjoy today's interview with Mike Hammond.

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Hi, Mike. Welcome to Paddling the Blue. Hey, John. Thank you for having me.

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Absolutely. Absolutely. So you oversee the Great Calusa Blueway,

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and that's what we're here to talk about today.

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So tell us a little bit about, well, first tell us about you as a paddler.

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Oh, okay. I guess I started paddling.

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Actually, I wasn't the paddler. I was the passenger in the bottom of a canoe

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up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

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My dad was very involved with the Lancaster County Canoe Club.

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He was a whitewater paddler, ACA instructor.

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So since the time I was little, it was open canoes, trips to the boundary waters,

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Canada, Adirondacks, just going out and camping for a week with my mom,

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dad, and little brother.

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And then after that, my dad would go whitewater paddling. We couldn't keep up

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with him, but he'd take us on trips.

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And it was, since I was little, it was open canoes, kind

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of went to kayaks and now it's it's kind

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of a lot more paddle boarding than anything all right yeah

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we talked about that earlier um off air and we'll

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talk a little bit about why that is and to some degree but so

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it's in your blood then yeah it's

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it's definitely my blood it was it's one

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of those things i'm not sure i didn't appreciate it as much when

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i was little but just those trips when you just go out you know for a week onto

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the lakes and just out on the water and just whatever you have is what you have

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it just it was just such a great great experience and just really did it formed

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who i am and i kind of i came back to it i came back to it in my own way,

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yeah paddling and my dad still paddles he's still one of my volunteers my mom's

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still volunteers comes out and helps some cleanups and.

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It's amazing. My dad built a kayak with my little girl.

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It's still, it's in the family. That's very cool. Very cool.

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So those formative years led you to decide to make paddling,

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to some degree, your life's work.

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So tell us a little bit about the Great Colusa Blueway.

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Well, the short answer. I'm glad we have time I can give you the long answer.

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The short answer is the Great Colusa Blueway. It's a 190-mile paddling trail

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here in Lee County. and Lee County's in Southwest Florida.

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So the trail has markers out on the water, but we also have paper maps,

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the digital maps, website.

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We have an app, you know, Facebook page, events.

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So it's really is, we, the paddling trail makes it easy for people to plan their trips up,

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north and come on down and, and just, you kind of know what you're getting into

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and can see all these great spots to paddle and to put in and what to expect, points of interest.

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It really is. It's an awesome thing that we have here. Cool.

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Now, how did the project start?

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However, so I came down about 21 years ago and I actually, I got to help with

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phase two, but phase one started in 2001.

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Somebody who worked for the parks department and now she's with our visitors

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convention bureau, Nancy McPhee, wonderful person.

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She recognized how, what a beautiful area we had for paddling and what an attraction would be.

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Wanted to make it accessible for everyone so she started

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working on putting together the great colusa blue way paddling trail

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and again when i came down i got the help i

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wasn't really helping again i was probably just a passenger you know in the

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boat but they were setting up where the trail was going to go getting the markers

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up and once as they did we had a big festival and it was it was it was really

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cool but it really was created so people could get on the water and know where you can launch,

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where all the cool things are to see while you're paddling.

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So it was created by somebody within the Parks Department.

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All right. And you said it was the Lee County Parks Department that created it?

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Yes. Okay. Yep. And it's really supported. It's by the Visitors Convention Bureau as well.

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They worked hand in hand, so much so that they actually recruited Nancy over

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there. She's still there. Okay.

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All right. Now, did you look at different models or did the Parks Department

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and the tourism body look at different models to create the trail?

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How did the idea come about?

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I think part of it, so there are other, obviously there's the main paddling trail.

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There are other trails that are around. I think what makes ours a little different

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is we incorporate more of, people can stay at some of our historic inns and

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some of the places along the water.

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There are primitive campgrounds, but we also wanted to pull in some of our other

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places that could say that if you're not necessarily camping.

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But they did, also the Florida Paddling Trail Association, they were looking

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at connecting us with the rest of the trail that goes around Florida.

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But our big thing was keeping people away from an issue we would have that you

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might not have in some of your other paddling trails. We don't want people to

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be close to boat traffic.

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So we have people, our trail will tuck away back behind the mangroves and you

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feel like you're far away from civilization.

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Then you pop out and you're right next to your hotel. okay

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yeah so what

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would somebody experience along the way you mentioned mangroves so you

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know tell us about the trail sure so that this is where we can really get into

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the trail there are so many different parts and cool things about the trail

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that i love the mangroves i do love going through the mangrove tunnels you are

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just totally engulfed in nature you look to the side there's a little crabs.

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You look under the water, there are the fish, the snappers.

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There's all kinds of, the life is all around you. The birds are right next to you.

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But it really is, if I can, I might say people, a lot of times they start their

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trip in one of our state parks, Koreshian State Park.

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And our park, it was actually owned by a cult at one point or a unity, the Koreshians.

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So a lot of paddlers start there. You start at Koreshians State Park.

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You camp. It's a wonderful campground.

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And you get on the Estero River. But the cool thing about that campground is

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they still have 11 historic buildings.

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And the Koreshians, when they came down from Chicago, they were different.

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They were very different. They actually own a big chunk of Estero,

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a big chunk of Fort Myers Beach, and their history is so interesting.

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So you can kind of start in this very cool historic campground,

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get some weird Florida history, paddle down the creek that has live oaks going

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over top of it, come out into our bay.

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And then you have the Calusa Paddling Trail is named after the Calusa,

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our first indigenous water people here.

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And you paddle to what was their capital, Mound Key.

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It's 125 acres that the Calusa made themselves with shells.

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So it's pretty incredible. You can go into this island and then from there,

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you paddle over to another spot where the Calusa had one of their mounds.

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You're seeing dolphins, manatees along the way.

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We've got other state parks where you paddle. The only way you can get to is by boat.

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So really, it's a cool subtropical because we are, we're way down here in Florida.

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You get to see cool stuff. you really don't get to see in other parts of the

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United States. Some stuff you don't get to see in other parts of Florida.

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As you're describing some of these things, which just makes it sound amazing,

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some of those are things that people probably don't normally think about when they think of Florida.

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Yeah, I don't think people think, so just the Calusa alone, and we could talk about hours about that.

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So they were our first people. They had a huge, it was a kingdom.

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It wasn't a tribe. It was a kingdom. People, other tribes did have to pay tribute.

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They had a hierarchy. It was hereditary. they ruled.

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In fact, Ponce de Leon, they're the ones that they got an arrow in a Ponce de Leon. He died in Cuba.

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They were tough people, but their history is everywhere. When you paddle the

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trail, you can see their capital, see the island.

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You paddle to the mound house on Fort Myers Beach.

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And you see there, that's the oldest house on Fort Myers Beach.

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And it did the best in the hurricane because it was on the mound in Hurricane Ian a few years ago.

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But actually, when they dug up the pool, you can see what's inside the Calusa mound.

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So it's really cool. You can paddle from history to history to history.

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And it's right there. And I don't think a lot of times people don't think about

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the history of the indigenous people in Florida,

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the Spanish, when they were here, the Spanish fishermen, the Calusa,

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I'm sorry, not the Calusa, the Corretions and just how different everything was.

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But to me, that's what the Calusa Blue Way is. it ties.

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That's how people got around on the water.

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The Colusa Blueway ties all this history and the wildlife and the environment

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together. That's what the Colusa Blueway really is. That's really cool.

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That's really cool. So what's your favorite part of the trail?

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It's kind of like saying your favorite kids. I do have a spot and I think it's my favorite.

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I'll explain why. Bunch Beach.

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Bunch Beach is our only, it's a mainland beach.

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It was actually a segregated beach.

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So African-American families is the only beach they were allowed to go to in

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the 60s, which is crazy because our barrier islands like Sanibel,

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the other islands where people farmed out there, it was very mixed and everyone got to go to. along fine.

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It wasn't until later that areas got segregated. But Bunch Beach is one of the

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best birding beaches in Florida, in all Florida. And part of the reason is because it's a mud flat.

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So on low tide, we've got birds, people from around the world come to see our birds at Bunch Beach.

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It just has amazing things we take for granted, like spoonbills.

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Which a lot of people confuse with flamingos.

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Some of the things that we have for migration, some of the things that regulars,

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they're there. They're there all the time.

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But also I'm a special Olympic coach. So it's a pretty protected body of water.

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So it's where I've been coaching stand-up paddleboarding for the special Olympics for years.

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So that's made it really kind of near and dear to my heart.

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And since my, we haven't done in the last couple of years, but my son,

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he wasn't quite a year old.

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We started doing sea turtle walks for an organization that monitors sea turtle nest.

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And we did that for years so he kind of grew up walking that beach at least

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once a week during sea turtle nesting season so it was my it was our one-on-one

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time we had a lot of cool adventures and,

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lots of meaningful talks out there so bunch beach is one of my it's one of my

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favorites for sure and it also has those mangrove tunnels i love so much so

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you can paddle in the mangrove tunnels when it's windy and see all kinds of

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wildlife have a great experience you can go out more into the bay.

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You can paddle over to the beach. It's just a really cool spot.

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Tell us a little bit more about the sea turtle walks. The sea turtle walks?

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So from May till I believe it's November 1st, it's sea turtle nesting season in Florida.

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We usually get, for the most part, it's the loggerheads.

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So now Bunch Beach, as excellent as it was for wildlife, it was not the best

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sea turtle nesting beach because it was our mainland beach.

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It wasn't a wide sandy beach. So sometimes the nest, if we did have one,

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they'd have to be relocated.

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Our islands of Sanibel, which Sanibel is known worldwide, Captiva,

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Fort Myers Beach, which is a sterile island, Benita Beach, all of our barrier

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islands, Cayacosta, they have lots of sea turtle nests.

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And it's kind of more appropriate because the turtles can get up a lot further

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away from the water, lay the eggs, versus Bunch Beach is more of a shallow mudflat.

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So you almost feel like sometimes the sea turtles, they may have gotten lost.

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They may have missed Fort Myers Beach by a little bit and came in a bunch.

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But we'd walk. If we'd see the sea turtle tracks, we would call and it'd be flagged off.

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So we make sure no one was setting up their, you know, their umbrellas or anything

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on that part of the beach.

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We would tape it off. After about 60 days, the sea turtles would hatch.

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And then after three days after that, the nest would get dug up to make sure

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there weren't any little baby sea turtles remaining in there.

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And if there were, they would be released at night then.

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So that's how we'd monitor the nest. And we did it through turtle time.

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There's a woman named Eve Haverfield who's been running it for years.

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And she has the permits and everything. We were just, we were her volunteers,

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but my son and I, we did do it for, it had to have been about 15, 14 years.

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Yeah, it was, it was really cool. It was a special time.

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That does sound cool. Definitely. And you mentioned the Calusa and you said

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they built something out of

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shells and I missed that. I'm going to hear a little bit more about that.

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So the Calusa, they would also call them the Shell Indians.

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So they created this large kingdom. There were thousands of Calusa.

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They were one of the only indigenous people that had, they were so sophisticated without farming.

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Everything they did, they got from the water. So they ate lots of mollusks, lots of shells.

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So they'd actually build these large shell mounds.

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So Mound Key, it's 125 acres, about the highest points, about 30 feet tall.

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They actually had a water court. They had fish traps where they keep the fish

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alive until they're ready to eat that were large.

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Places they could keep their canoes, canal systems. They did all this and they

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did it with shells, with leftover conch shells.

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So it was just thousands and thousands of shells.

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They'd raise themselves up and they'd build structures

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on top of the shell mounds and i

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had mentioned the shell uh the mound house the

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mound house was built on what was a small calusa village on fort myers beach

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we had a hurricane a few years ago and there was it was catastrophic so much

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damage that house actually really did well because it's at it's on top of the

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calusa mound And they even have a replica of a Colusa canoe.

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The canoe only moved a few inches versus, you know, the hurricane washing away.

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Houses and cars. But the canoe was okay because it was on top of this big mound that the Calusa built.

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Wow. That's pretty impressive. Yeah. I mean, it really is amazing.

00:16:08.461 --> 00:16:11.761
Just the foresight to do that.

00:16:12.721 --> 00:16:15.781
It just blows the mind when you really think what was involved.

00:16:16.101 --> 00:16:19.661
And I think a lot of people, and I did too, I assumed the older shells would

00:16:19.661 --> 00:16:21.521
be on the bottom. Sometimes they'd move.

00:16:22.181 --> 00:16:25.341
Sometimes when they carbon date the shells, they realize that some of the shells

00:16:25.341 --> 00:16:30.961
on the bottom or newer, that they actually sometimes would move the mounds around a little bit.

00:16:31.301 --> 00:16:35.561
But they really were, they were engineers. They really did some,

00:16:35.701 --> 00:16:38.061
and they really had to understand the tides, the wind.

00:16:38.361 --> 00:16:42.121
They really had to understand the environment to do what they do and make it work.

00:16:42.801 --> 00:16:46.401
And at what time in history were the Calusa most active?

00:16:47.521 --> 00:16:52.601
So from about 2,000 years before the Spanish arrived.

00:16:52.941 --> 00:16:58.681
So they were here about 2,000 years. And Ponce de Leon tried to make contact

00:16:58.681 --> 00:17:00.221
and they weren't impressed.

00:17:00.801 --> 00:17:04.121
They didn't have bows and arrows, but they had, I think, what's called an addle-addle.

00:17:04.321 --> 00:17:09.301
It's kind of, it's almost like a lever that throws a spear, small spear,

00:17:09.481 --> 00:17:12.381
big arrow, kind of like you're using a lacrosse stick to throw a spear.

00:17:12.581 --> 00:17:16.501
Okay. And they got him and he went back to Cuba and died from an infection.

00:17:16.501 --> 00:17:22.081
But then when the Spanish, they came back and like a lot of the indigenous people,

00:17:22.221 --> 00:17:27.501
disease, other, there were tribes that came down and were used to try to hunt

00:17:27.501 --> 00:17:29.241
them to get them to slavery.

00:17:29.441 --> 00:17:33.721
So the Spanish was the end of the Calusa.

00:17:33.921 --> 00:17:40.661
They survived about 200 years after the Spanish came. They held up pretty good, but it was inevitable.

00:17:41.061 --> 00:17:45.901
They said a few of the Calusa may have escaped down to Cuba. Okay.

00:17:47.482 --> 00:17:51.142
We're still, I'm not sure if that's been proven yet to be accurate.

00:17:52.482 --> 00:17:54.442
So what's your role with the trail?

00:17:56.142 --> 00:18:00.242
It's, I don't want to say I do everything because I have such a great team of volunteers.

00:18:00.622 --> 00:18:04.142
I don't want to make it sound like I'm a one-man show. I've got a lot of volunteers

00:18:04.142 --> 00:18:08.382
who are super helpful and I couldn't do it without them and coworkers who help me.

00:18:08.682 --> 00:18:14.542
But my job is I manage it. I do everything from going out and making sure if

00:18:14.542 --> 00:18:21.022
a sign has fallen down, get it back up on the post, social media, helping with events.

00:18:21.062 --> 00:18:23.662
If somebody calls and said, hey, where can I launch?

00:18:23.962 --> 00:18:28.122
I talk to them and help them decide where to get a great spot to launch,

00:18:28.242 --> 00:18:30.182
help families put together places to paddle.

00:18:30.462 --> 00:18:34.482
And I do almost everything, but I have lots of help.

00:18:34.642 --> 00:18:38.782
It's a super, I work for the Lee County Parks Department. It's a super supportive

00:18:38.782 --> 00:18:44.462
department. So I've got volunteers that sometimes the volunteers love to do

00:18:44.462 --> 00:18:47.642
a lot of the fun stuff, like going out and checking the markers and making sure they're okay.

00:18:48.262 --> 00:18:51.642
Sometimes they do such a good job. I don't have an excuse to get out there.

00:18:51.802 --> 00:18:55.282
I'm like, okay, guys, how about you wait for me to check some with you?

00:18:56.882 --> 00:19:02.182
But kind of kind of do do everything and just even making sure when the maps

00:19:02.182 --> 00:19:05.422
to every time we do the maps calling everyone and making sure everything's still

00:19:05.422 --> 00:19:09.302
accurate and work closely with we have a lot of great outfitters.

00:19:10.555 --> 00:19:15.055
So I work with the Outfitters, help promote their events. There's other organizations

00:19:15.055 --> 00:19:18.255
like Keepley County Beautiful. They had a cleanup last week.

00:19:18.655 --> 00:19:21.495
So I helped run one of the sites with one of our Outfitters.

00:19:21.595 --> 00:19:26.555
And we got out in kayaks and paddleboards and helped clean up a small bay.

00:19:27.335 --> 00:19:31.115
And then two days from now, I'm going to go out to Captiva and help again with

00:19:31.115 --> 00:19:34.095
the cleanup and help with the swim race the next day.

00:19:34.195 --> 00:19:36.615
So it's a little bit and a lot of everything.

00:19:37.135 --> 00:19:39.875
All right. Right. So I noticed that you mentioned outfitters,

00:19:39.975 --> 00:19:44.035
and I saw that you had a map and a guide that has an outfitters listed on that.

00:19:44.135 --> 00:19:46.075
So how does the relationship with the outfitters work?

00:19:46.835 --> 00:19:53.455
Well, very, very, very closely. And the outfitters that are on the map are established

00:19:53.455 --> 00:19:55.335
outfitters that have been here for years.

00:19:55.895 --> 00:19:59.855
I had mentioned a lot of people start paddling from Koreshian State Park.

00:20:00.035 --> 00:20:00.815
It's on the Estero River.

00:20:01.055 --> 00:20:05.315
Estero River outfitters, they were established long before I got down here.

00:20:05.475 --> 00:20:08.535
It's a huge kayak shop. so they have everything it's a

00:20:08.535 --> 00:20:11.275
a paddler's dream going there it's the old traditional like

00:20:11.275 --> 00:20:16.575
we've got everything shop but actually the the sons run it now but the mother

00:20:16.575 --> 00:20:20.055
who started the shop was one of the people important starting the calusa blue

00:20:20.055 --> 00:20:25.195
way so outfitters have been here pushing before there was a calusa blue way

00:20:25.195 --> 00:20:29.795
and now it's to the point where her children i've.

00:20:30.649 --> 00:20:36.369
You know, work, they're young men now, but we work together on events or they sponsor our events.

00:20:36.569 --> 00:20:40.709
And there's, we've got great outfitters in every part of the Colusa Blueway.

00:20:41.029 --> 00:20:44.149
So we have somebody down the Estero River, the Imperial River.

00:20:44.869 --> 00:20:48.329
Bunch Beach has a great outfitter that we work with all the time.

00:20:48.689 --> 00:20:53.249
We head over at Gulf Coast Kayaks. They're spread out all over and I get to

00:20:53.249 --> 00:20:54.649
work with all of them. It's really great.

00:20:55.289 --> 00:20:59.389
We do have a lot of, there are outfitters out there that I don't quite know they're mobile.

00:20:59.629 --> 00:21:02.949
Sometimes they'll come in for the season, but if they're on the map and are

00:21:02.949 --> 00:21:05.369
on our website, we've got a pretty good relationship with them.

00:21:05.669 --> 00:21:09.789
And it's people I trust when journalists come down or families come down.

00:21:10.229 --> 00:21:13.429
I feel comfortable sending, saying, yeah, go out with this group there.

00:21:13.569 --> 00:21:16.169
They give great tours and you'll come back.

00:21:18.369 --> 00:21:22.249
So what's the vetting process look like for an outfitter to get added to the list?

00:21:23.549 --> 00:21:30.069
A big part of it's being, so with the maps, It's kind of, it works itself out

00:21:30.069 --> 00:21:32.049
with the maps. We redo the maps every few years.

00:21:32.229 --> 00:21:36.489
So getting on the paper maps, by that point, we know someone has been here.

00:21:36.629 --> 00:21:38.509
They're invested. They've got a good track record.

00:21:38.909 --> 00:21:43.389
People are safe. They're established. It's just people we know.

00:21:43.589 --> 00:21:49.189
We definitely don't want to send somebody out because there were a lot of people that came down.

00:21:49.389 --> 00:21:52.589
And it takes a little while to kind of get used to our environment.

00:21:52.729 --> 00:21:54.949
We are different. Southwest Florida is different from California.

00:21:55.873 --> 00:22:00.473
You know, other parts of the United States and Canada. And so that we've got

00:22:00.473 --> 00:22:04.753
different things that when people come down, just that they're experienced, I'll go out with them.

00:22:05.093 --> 00:22:10.173
We talk to them, go out with them. You know, we'll see if they're strapping

00:22:10.173 --> 00:22:14.933
the PFDs to the paddle boards and telling people they don't have to wear them,

00:22:15.053 --> 00:22:19.873
then that's probably not someone getting on our maps, you know.

00:22:20.733 --> 00:22:24.693
You mentioned the area is unique. What's different?

00:22:24.693 --> 00:22:27.893
What's what's so different about southwest florida

00:22:27.893 --> 00:22:30.633
well we're down far enough

00:22:30.633 --> 00:22:34.293
that we are we're in the subtropics so even even if

00:22:34.293 --> 00:22:38.453
you go up to tampa's only two hours north if you go up to tampa you do not see

00:22:38.453 --> 00:22:44.473
as many coconut trees you do not see also quite as many of the exotics that

00:22:44.473 --> 00:22:49.913
we have but because we we could be so warm down here we do have some of the

00:22:49.913 --> 00:22:52.593
wildlife and we're on the fly zone.

00:22:52.773 --> 00:22:57.393
We do have, we have wildlife that some people, first thing I usually get from

00:22:57.393 --> 00:23:00.613
people who aren't from Florida is are there alligators on the Caloosal Blueway?

00:23:01.053 --> 00:23:05.433
And if, if it's fresh water and you're in Florida, yes, there,

00:23:05.633 --> 00:23:07.053
there could be alligators there.

00:23:07.273 --> 00:23:13.413
And I, I'll say all of our creeks and rivers, there will be alligators there,

00:23:13.533 --> 00:23:18.633
but we also, we have the manatees, the dolphins, we have, we have wildlife that

00:23:18.633 --> 00:23:21.013
needs to be respected, even our shorebirds.

00:23:21.213 --> 00:23:26.573
So if we have, if I have an outfitter and they're howling on top of the manatees.

00:23:27.417 --> 00:23:31.657
To try to show their guests the manatees, that's not someone I want to send people out with.

00:23:31.857 --> 00:23:36.477
I want people who respect the wildlife, not just because it's an alligator,

00:23:36.477 --> 00:23:40.077
and of course you should respect alligators, but the plovers,

00:23:40.297 --> 00:23:44.977
the small shorebirds, the things that are pretty you want a picture of,

00:23:45.097 --> 00:23:48.557
the things you want to pet but you shouldn't, I want to make sure people are

00:23:48.557 --> 00:23:51.337
going out with outfitters who respect all of our wildlife.

00:23:51.457 --> 00:23:55.737
Because it's unique, it's beautiful, but it does need to be respected.

00:23:56.237 --> 00:24:00.917
And also our weather needs to be respected down here too it can it can change

00:24:00.917 --> 00:24:05.777
so sending out somebody who knows to check for weather someone i've we've got

00:24:05.777 --> 00:24:07.097
great outfitters if it's windy,

00:24:07.617 --> 00:24:11.777
and they've got an open space they they know where to send the paddlers or they

00:24:11.777 --> 00:24:15.357
won't send them out at all and they'll get yelled at and they'll get told you

00:24:15.357 --> 00:24:18.737
know i'm experienced paddler but they'll they're very good i've had people not

00:24:18.737 --> 00:24:23.397
let me go out because they didn't realize who i was and they at first and they

00:24:23.397 --> 00:24:26.237
said well it's pretty windy we don't want to let people out there.

00:24:26.457 --> 00:24:30.997
They might've detected my Pennsylvania accent and didn't think I knew what I

00:24:30.997 --> 00:24:34.317
was getting into, but we've got really good outfitters. Good.

00:24:34.857 --> 00:24:38.077
Awesome. I mean, that's an absolutely important piece to make sure that you

00:24:38.077 --> 00:24:39.897
keep everybody safe. You want to bring them all back.

00:24:40.437 --> 00:24:43.137
So that's it. We want them to have a good experience too.

00:24:43.197 --> 00:24:45.717
That's the whole point. We want them to come back and then say,

00:24:45.857 --> 00:24:48.537
Hey, I want to do that again and tell their friends and say,

00:24:48.657 --> 00:24:53.617
you've got to go down there and see this, you know, cause the manatees do pop up right next to you.

00:24:53.817 --> 00:24:58.637
And I, it's, it's funny cause I tell people like, don't approach the manatees, give them lots of space.

00:24:59.654 --> 00:25:03.134
The manatees make it hard. They don't cooperate with me because a lot of times

00:25:03.134 --> 00:25:08.754
they'll pop up right next to the kayaks and practically beg to be dead or they'll

00:25:08.754 --> 00:25:10.634
roll over and expose their bellies.

00:25:10.794 --> 00:25:15.814
And it's like, you're making this hard for me to tell people to stay back and leave you alone.

00:25:18.394 --> 00:25:22.054
It really is a cool experience. And so my son, when he was little,

00:25:22.314 --> 00:25:25.874
I mean, they've always growing up with me, had animals around, love wildlife.

00:25:26.274 --> 00:25:30.374
But I think his big connection with manatees was when we were at Lover's Key.

00:25:30.634 --> 00:25:35.774
It's a great spot to see manatees. I was taking out and he was in his little

00:25:35.774 --> 00:25:39.654
kayak, another one my dad had made. He's in his little kayak. He goes, daddy?

00:25:40.470 --> 00:25:44.070
And I look over and there's a manatee. It had his lips because they have prehensile lips.

00:25:44.210 --> 00:25:47.730
It's almost like a rhino's lips or an elephant trunk.

00:25:47.850 --> 00:25:51.310
Like it's prehensile. So it had these lips and it was kind of like massaging

00:25:51.310 --> 00:25:55.510
his kayak right next to him. It's heads out of the water.

00:25:55.790 --> 00:25:59.630
It kind of fuel in his kayak. And he was like, well, just keep your paddle up,

00:25:59.710 --> 00:26:01.430
buddy. And he has his paddle up.

00:26:01.610 --> 00:26:05.690
And the manatee just kept going, kind of like shushing him, making that sound

00:26:05.690 --> 00:26:10.350
as they breathed. They breathed, but that really helped him make that connection

00:26:10.350 --> 00:26:16.490
and that experience, see how amazing manatees are and the water is down here. It's the best part.

00:26:16.750 --> 00:26:19.410
Our water's the best part down here. That's fantastic.

00:26:19.850 --> 00:26:23.550
So, manatees have come close to you, but there's no alligator petting season.

00:26:24.510 --> 00:26:26.250
No, no, no.

00:26:27.970 --> 00:26:33.970
It's funny. I get opposites a lot of times. you get people who are scared and

00:26:33.970 --> 00:26:36.950
want to paddle the opposite direction right away.

00:26:37.210 --> 00:26:39.610
Well, you know, the alligator's just basking and could care less.

00:26:40.070 --> 00:26:43.750
And then I've got people, and sometimes it would be kids, believe it or not,

00:26:43.750 --> 00:26:47.310
summer camp kids who want to paddle and get close, or people want to get pictures,

00:26:47.510 --> 00:26:48.930
so they want to get too close.

00:26:49.110 --> 00:26:52.150
And just give it all space, you know, because even,

00:26:52.710 --> 00:26:57.450
if it's just going to go under the water, it's sunning itself, it's digesting food,

00:26:57.450 --> 00:27:01.890
it's energizing you know we we don't want to disturb the wildlife as some of

00:27:01.890 --> 00:27:06.550
the cute wildlife like otters because i know you otters are all over otters

00:27:06.550 --> 00:27:10.550
don't want you getting too close and to be honest pound for pound i'm more worried

00:27:10.550 --> 00:27:13.690
about the otters than the alligators.

00:27:16.770 --> 00:27:21.170
What uh you were talking about how you you and your team of volunteers do everything

00:27:21.170 --> 00:27:25.010
for the trail what would you say the most unique thing is that you've ever had

00:27:25.010 --> 00:27:31.690
to do for the trail wow there's so many there's so many cool things that we do,

00:27:32.675 --> 00:27:37.375
I think one, well, it's funny. There might be a few things, but just putting up the signs.

00:27:37.675 --> 00:27:41.895
So the signs are, they're not large. I think they're only 18 by 18 inches.

00:27:42.075 --> 00:27:46.715
It's informational sign. It's a typical paddling sign, the metal square sign

00:27:46.715 --> 00:27:48.835
of the paddles that show you you're on the trail.

00:27:49.615 --> 00:27:54.615
It's kind of unique going out there on my paddle board and with my drill.

00:27:55.475 --> 00:27:59.595
And, you know, when the tide's flowing in some of the spots and trying to drill.

00:27:59.595 --> 00:28:04.335
And you're trying to stand on the paddleboard, get this sign up,

00:28:04.555 --> 00:28:08.515
holding it on the bolts, the drill, everything at once, not fall off.

00:28:09.675 --> 00:28:13.095
And, and then, you know, and then meet the dolphins will be going by and kind

00:28:13.095 --> 00:28:14.495
of checking out what you're doing.

00:28:14.935 --> 00:28:19.755
It's, it's just amazing. But I have dropped the drill in the water.

00:28:20.055 --> 00:28:23.655
I have dropped pieces and you've got to get it. But it's just,

00:28:23.775 --> 00:28:26.115
it's almost, it's just a weird thing.

00:28:26.215 --> 00:28:28.075
And people say, well, why don't you just use a boat? And it's like,

00:28:28.155 --> 00:28:31.855
well, it defeats the purpose, kind of, because I want to experience it as a pallor.

00:28:31.955 --> 00:28:35.755
But also, we have it set up in shallow areas where the boats can't get to a

00:28:35.755 --> 00:28:38.335
lot of times. So, it makes it tricky.

00:28:38.535 --> 00:28:44.555
But, I mean, also, after the, we have had, I don't know, Southwest Florida did have some hurricanes.

00:28:44.735 --> 00:28:49.695
So, a part of the cleanups, too, going in, we could get into areas where some

00:28:49.695 --> 00:28:55.755
of the heavy equipment could not get. So we were just finding crazy things in

00:28:55.755 --> 00:28:57.935
the mangroves and pulling stuff out.

00:28:58.115 --> 00:29:02.615
But we've had the unfortunate part of sometimes if you find wildlife that's

00:29:02.615 --> 00:29:07.975
passed away, getting it to our Florida Fish and Wildlife, if it's a manatee,

00:29:08.115 --> 00:29:12.935
paddle a manatee so they can do the necropsy or things like that.

00:29:12.935 --> 00:29:18.255
It's always different because we can get into spots that other people can't.

00:29:18.335 --> 00:29:22.755
So we can get in to do animal rescues or things like that.

00:29:22.935 --> 00:29:27.595
So it really is a weird thing.

00:29:28.066 --> 00:29:31.406
Fun experience. It sounds it for sure.

00:29:32.606 --> 00:29:36.766
Does the, does the trail not travel any open water or is it mostly protected areas?

00:29:37.506 --> 00:29:42.386
It's mostly protected areas. There are a few spots where you have to kind of,

00:29:42.606 --> 00:29:45.706
and if you look, you look at a match, you can see we're back.

00:29:46.386 --> 00:29:50.906
Some, some, the spots are a little open. We have spots on the map too.

00:29:51.126 --> 00:29:56.786
It, it differentiates. You can see a dotted trail and the dotted trails were, there aren't markers.

00:29:56.986 --> 00:30:01.926
We're not saying, you know, people, like most of your listeners would be fine

00:30:01.926 --> 00:30:04.026
to see kayakers can paddle through these passes.

00:30:04.506 --> 00:30:07.946
We don't want somebody that's a typical recreational paddler to say,

00:30:08.066 --> 00:30:11.486
I'm going to try to go from island to island while the tide's going out.

00:30:11.666 --> 00:30:16.946
Because it's like trying to ferry across a river that's, you know, at high water.

00:30:17.126 --> 00:30:20.686
We don't want people trying to get pulled out. So, but for the most of the trail,

00:30:20.886 --> 00:30:22.886
we really do keep people back.

00:30:23.766 --> 00:30:29.306
And protected, but you do have the opportunity to paddle out and get in,

00:30:29.466 --> 00:30:33.166
you know, into the gulf if you want to, it's right there.

00:30:33.626 --> 00:30:36.766
In fact, a lot of, a lot of people do, they might, they'll paddle the backwater

00:30:36.766 --> 00:30:39.746
and they'll paddle around and they'll stay maybe at a beach hotel.

00:30:39.746 --> 00:30:43.246
Cause that's where the family wants to stay, you know, while mom or dad wanted,

00:30:43.466 --> 00:30:45.626
wanted to do some more heavy duty paddling.

00:30:46.226 --> 00:30:51.666
But we, we, we did a really good job of keeping people out of the really truly open water.

00:30:51.826 --> 00:30:56.046
Now you say that in some, some of the water, it is protected behind barrier

00:30:56.046 --> 00:31:00.066
islands, but on a windy day, again, some of the recreational paddlers,

00:31:00.146 --> 00:31:03.906
they'll call and they'll say, Hey, is it, is it hard to get out to this Island?

00:31:04.126 --> 00:31:05.626
I see it's only four miles.

00:31:06.206 --> 00:31:08.846
A lot of times, if you're calling and you're asking me that it's,

00:31:08.926 --> 00:31:12.546
it's kind of a, it's a red flag because, you know, experienced paddlers would

00:31:12.546 --> 00:31:17.546
know four miles can be easy or don't even think about it, or it can be tough.

00:31:17.546 --> 00:31:20.806
If the wind's blowing really hard or you're not sure where you're going.

00:31:21.846 --> 00:31:25.646
Sure. Lots of factors. Yeah. It's just, and in your experience,

00:31:25.746 --> 00:31:28.746
sea kayakers, it's all, it's stuff like you had John, John Connelly on the show.

00:31:28.966 --> 00:31:32.346
It'd be a breeze for him. He wouldn't think twice and he'd, he'd do some of

00:31:32.346 --> 00:31:33.706
these things, even if the wind is blowing.

00:31:34.226 --> 00:31:38.186
But there, there are, there's some sections where we, I've had journalists come down.

00:31:38.326 --> 00:31:42.906
I say, well, maybe try to talk them into staying back in the more protected waters.

00:31:43.086 --> 00:31:48.286
But I, I actually think it's fun. The Kayacosta, it's one of the state campground,

00:31:48.386 --> 00:31:52.586
uh, parks and it's a barrier Island. And so the storms did shut it down.

00:31:52.806 --> 00:31:55.046
It should be back open in November, by the end of the year.

00:31:55.686 --> 00:32:00.586
So that you've got the back bay side, but you could go across the island and

00:32:00.586 --> 00:32:02.726
then you're in a golf and then you've got to surf.

00:32:02.946 --> 00:32:07.546
So it's really cool. I had a family come and they were, the family's having

00:32:07.546 --> 00:32:11.626
a great time surfing on the one side and then they go across the little kind

00:32:11.626 --> 00:32:13.886
of inlet and paddle around and look for shells.

00:32:14.266 --> 00:32:18.226
It was wonderful that you can get the best of both worlds.

00:32:19.266 --> 00:32:23.786
That sounds pretty cool. Yeah. How does the trail drive tourism?

00:32:24.924 --> 00:32:31.164
So we do get out to, we try to let everybody know that it's here.

00:32:31.284 --> 00:32:35.624
The festival, when the trail first started, really reached people from Canada

00:32:35.624 --> 00:32:40.004
were coming down, people from all over the United States were coming to check us out.

00:32:41.024 --> 00:32:44.104
It sort of is just a wonderful place to come down.

00:32:44.924 --> 00:32:50.244
Paddlers come. It's a great place where I guess you can do these day trips too.

00:32:50.724 --> 00:32:53.704
It's not i think a lot of people you've got to make a huge

00:32:53.704 --> 00:32:56.944
commitment to see some of the wildlife that i mentioned

00:32:56.944 --> 00:32:59.804
lover's key lover's key you can put in and

00:32:59.804 --> 00:33:02.524
you're right there in a wildlife and see the manatees so i

00:33:02.524 --> 00:33:05.324
think that's really appealing to a lot of people especially in the winter when

00:33:05.324 --> 00:33:08.664
they're cold when you're in where i'm from pennsylvania and

00:33:08.664 --> 00:33:11.604
you're really cold and you're seeing like what's this calusa

00:33:11.604 --> 00:33:14.264
blue way and you're seeing pictures of the manatees the

00:33:14.264 --> 00:33:17.384
dolphins all these the calusa interesting places to

00:33:17.384 --> 00:33:20.444
paddle we get we get thousands it's

00:33:20.444 --> 00:33:23.524
hard to run the numbers because we have so many launches and spots where people

00:33:23.524 --> 00:33:27.584
launch their own kayaks but we have thousands of paddlers you know every month

00:33:27.584 --> 00:33:31.704
that are launching on the calusa blue way and coming out and enjoying it and

00:33:31.704 --> 00:33:35.584
the more people are sharing their photos these awesome photos on their social

00:33:35.584 --> 00:33:40.164
media the more i think that's the best way the organic world word of mouth.

00:33:40.404 --> 00:33:44.064
Everyone's, you meet people from all over the world coming to Powell, the Colusa Blue Way.

00:33:45.054 --> 00:33:49.174
You mentioned festival. Do you have a festival focused around the Blue Way?

00:33:49.974 --> 00:33:56.154
So we did have a festival and the issue with having these outdoor events,

00:33:56.354 --> 00:34:00.214
they kind of put all our eggs in a basket and then you get one weekend of it

00:34:00.214 --> 00:34:02.754
being really windy or possibly rainy.

00:34:02.914 --> 00:34:06.394
So we spread the festival out. So we don't have the traditional Colusa Blue

00:34:06.394 --> 00:34:10.474
Way Festival. It started off as a week long, and then it became over the weekend.

00:34:10.774 --> 00:34:15.294
When I took over, we spread it out so we had the battle in the blue way.

00:34:15.414 --> 00:34:20.194
So we had a big race, a big paddle race. We actually had an OC6 race.

00:34:20.974 --> 00:34:24.114
Primarily it was paddle boarding at the time, but we had sea kayakers,

00:34:24.854 --> 00:34:28.094
surf skis, and we also would have the speaker series.

00:34:28.214 --> 00:34:31.554
I spread out all the different parts, the fishing tournament.

00:34:31.694 --> 00:34:34.654
We spread them out through the year. so if we do have

00:34:34.654 --> 00:34:37.614
a bad weather one weekend we didn't

00:34:37.614 --> 00:34:40.394
lose everything we we just lost maybe one part of it

00:34:40.394 --> 00:34:43.914
or one part of it had to be delayed so the

00:34:43.914 --> 00:34:49.094
a lot of people do miss the festival so because it really was one just paddling

00:34:49.094 --> 00:34:53.634
weekend where he really it was awesome it was amazing i'm glad i got to be a

00:34:53.634 --> 00:34:58.394
part of it but now we've we spread everything out and a lot of it the outfitters

00:34:58.394 --> 00:35:01.934
have really stepped up and taken over pieces of it.

00:35:02.074 --> 00:35:06.274
So it's really cool, but it is spread out. I still have my old Colusa Blueway

00:35:06.274 --> 00:35:08.554
Festival shirts, so I'm trying not to get them too dirty.

00:35:11.214 --> 00:35:15.494
Now, I'm assuming that information about all the different events and activities

00:35:15.494 --> 00:35:18.154
that surround the Blueway are available on your website?

00:35:19.620 --> 00:35:27.300
Yes. Our website, Lee County Convention Bureau, our site is on their site.

00:35:28.180 --> 00:35:31.020
It's great because we're hooked up to everything. If you don't want to go paddling,

00:35:31.180 --> 00:35:35.560
if you've got family members that might want to go do anything else,

00:35:35.660 --> 00:35:37.680
so you'll hear music, do something else.

00:35:37.800 --> 00:35:42.840
There's tons of events and things are listed there. But if they do go to ColusaBlueWay.com,

00:35:42.980 --> 00:35:44.080
that'll take them to the site.

00:35:44.300 --> 00:35:49.260
The Facebook page, we post events. I post other events too that aren't necessarily

00:35:49.260 --> 00:35:50.740
ours, like the cleanups.

00:35:51.080 --> 00:35:55.540
If there's an ACA training, something the outfitters are doing.

00:35:55.940 --> 00:36:00.420
We try to make it the hub for all the paddlers in Southwest Florida so they

00:36:00.420 --> 00:36:03.300
know what's going on. Because there's so much going on.

00:36:03.540 --> 00:36:07.700
We've got just the other weekend, I had three things on my calendar that I wanted to do.

00:36:07.840 --> 00:36:11.980
And I couldn't do all three. So it's just this time of year,

00:36:11.980 --> 00:36:14.020
we've got so many cool things going on.

00:36:15.239 --> 00:36:18.539
You mentioned temperatures so what

00:36:18.539 --> 00:36:21.479
are the temperatures like year-round they get pretty

00:36:21.479 --> 00:36:24.479
warm in the summer this summer we they it would

00:36:24.479 --> 00:36:27.179
say it's 94 degrees and for a floridian i'm like

00:36:27.179 --> 00:36:29.859
oh that's not bad but the heat index it was

00:36:29.859 --> 00:36:32.559
up there so i do i do

00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:36.259
my work early and we weather really does dictate typically

00:36:36.259 --> 00:36:39.739
in the summer you get out you paddle early before

00:36:39.739 --> 00:36:44.459
it gets too hot and if it doesn't get too hot it storms so that's what a lot

00:36:44.459 --> 00:36:48.979
of it is we get out you paddle you do your do what you want outside early you

00:36:48.979 --> 00:36:52.479
get back it storms and then you can go back out and and do what you need to

00:36:52.479 --> 00:36:56.799
do but in the winter it's it's like heaven that's and that's why in the winter.

00:36:57.559 --> 00:37:01.739
That's our busy season i know a lot of people like we're up in pennsylvania

00:37:01.739 --> 00:37:05.259
everyone went to the beach they went to the beach in the summer because it was

00:37:05.259 --> 00:37:09.839
way too cold to go in the winter down here week and everybody comes here in the winter.

00:37:10.199 --> 00:37:12.999
So go out to the beach and it's, it's very pleasant, but actually I'll,

00:37:13.179 --> 00:37:17.479
sometimes I was a park ranger for several years before I had this job and people

00:37:17.479 --> 00:37:22.619
from Michigan and Minnesota, they laugh because I'd be all bundled up walking

00:37:22.619 --> 00:37:27.379
on the beach and they'd be, you know, out there trying to get a tan, but it, in the winter,

00:37:27.699 --> 00:37:30.219
it fall, winter, and spring, it, it's perfect.

00:37:30.339 --> 00:37:33.919
It gets warm in the summer, but I love it. I just get out early because that's

00:37:33.919 --> 00:37:36.119
the best time. That's when the birds are coming out.

00:37:36.659 --> 00:37:39.839
That's, you know, before other people are on the water, sun's coming up.

00:37:39.999 --> 00:37:43.039
It's just sea turtles are popping up. It's just beautiful.

00:37:43.419 --> 00:37:47.639
It's, I actually do love the summer, but I just get out early.

00:37:48.919 --> 00:37:50.479
How do you track usage?

00:37:51.743 --> 00:37:57.303
That is something we have, I have a difficult time with because we have so many

00:37:57.303 --> 00:38:03.123
launches. I can check in with my outfitters and see how many people that they have going out.

00:38:03.263 --> 00:38:08.583
Because the Colusa Blueway, the 190 miles, parts of it, and I am Lee County Parks and Rec.

00:38:09.083 --> 00:38:13.023
But most of it, it's the launches are private, you know, they're marinas,

00:38:13.183 --> 00:38:15.383
they're open to the public, but private. They're not Parks and Rec.

00:38:15.723 --> 00:38:21.603
The outfitters, they're, it could be anything from an ADA ramp.

00:38:21.743 --> 00:38:26.703
That's really nice to a little spot where it's a tiny little beach between the

00:38:26.703 --> 00:38:28.123
mangroves where people can launch.

00:38:28.643 --> 00:38:33.323
So as far as usage, it really is difficult. When I do my grants,

00:38:33.483 --> 00:38:37.423
a lot of times it has to be based on social media hits and things like that.

00:38:37.583 --> 00:38:41.503
But there's so many people using it so many different ways in remote areas.

00:38:41.843 --> 00:38:45.383
I can't. It's one of the most, it's difficult for me to actually track.

00:38:46.403 --> 00:38:49.763
And you mentioned grants. So how was the trail funded?

00:38:50.783 --> 00:38:55.063
We actually have several different ways, and sometimes it depends year to year.

00:38:55.263 --> 00:39:00.243
The Visitors Convention Bureau will support a lot of attractions down here.

00:39:00.763 --> 00:39:04.843
And just, if I could imagine, I feel like the Edison homes are down here. That's a big one.

00:39:05.003 --> 00:39:10.023
Thomas Edison had his labs for his winter laboratory down here.

00:39:10.023 --> 00:39:15.063
So big attractions like that or Ding Darling, these huge wildlife areas.

00:39:16.238 --> 00:39:21.858
Our Visitor Convention Bureau actually has grant money so we can market and

00:39:21.858 --> 00:39:26.718
just let more people around the United States and Canada, Europe know that we're here.

00:39:26.938 --> 00:39:31.218
There's also grants where people, when they're getting their boating license,

00:39:31.318 --> 00:39:34.978
when they're paying their taxes, it helps support navigation.

00:39:35.358 --> 00:39:40.378
I'm part of the Colusa Blueway because our trail helps keep the kayakers off

00:39:40.378 --> 00:39:42.498
the motorboat areas as safety.

00:39:42.498 --> 00:39:45.378
We can get sometimes get grant money to help us

00:39:45.378 --> 00:39:48.258
inform the paddlers to keep their vessels

00:39:48.258 --> 00:39:51.598
away so they're different they're different avenues a lot

00:39:51.598 --> 00:39:54.438
of it too is we in florida we have heads and beds we've

00:39:54.438 --> 00:39:58.998
got when people stay at a hotel they pay a small tax to stay there and then

00:39:58.998 --> 00:40:04.178
that money is to help support things that that attract visitors to come down

00:40:04.178 --> 00:40:09.238
here and also we've got two uh baseball teams that red socks and the minnesota

00:40:09.238 --> 00:40:13.698
twins have spring training down here so that's another big thing too with tourism,

00:40:14.558 --> 00:40:18.738
trying to support tourism and just let more people know what we have down here.

00:40:19.498 --> 00:40:23.818
What advice would you have for a community that's thinking of starting a water

00:40:23.818 --> 00:40:26.618
trail that has the amenities and has the water to do it?

00:40:27.563 --> 00:40:33.303
I've had a lot of people ask me that in Florida. And I think the big thing,

00:40:33.443 --> 00:40:37.283
first of all, is to start working with your local government.

00:40:37.523 --> 00:40:39.023
Start working with the parks department.

00:40:40.023 --> 00:40:44.743
And you really have to listen to their concerns. And some of the obstacles,

00:40:45.463 --> 00:40:48.563
there are a lot of concerns. When you work for a local government,

00:40:48.583 --> 00:40:51.923
you have a lot of considerations, a lot of liability, a lot of different things.

00:40:52.063 --> 00:40:55.003
But really work with them. Get the community involved.

00:40:55.443 --> 00:41:01.763
But you have to work together. I think if you're fighting, it makes it incredibly

00:41:01.763 --> 00:41:05.183
difficult, but showing the value, working together.

00:41:05.583 --> 00:41:11.383
If your local municipality says what their concerns are, work with them to try

00:41:11.383 --> 00:41:16.143
to come up with a solution, but getting everyone involved.

00:41:16.263 --> 00:41:18.983
That's how it happened with us. we again it

00:41:18.983 --> 00:41:21.723
was nancy mcphee but she had the support of the

00:41:21.723 --> 00:41:24.863
outfitters somebody else we're

00:41:24.863 --> 00:41:28.123
very fortunate someone named jim lavender who works in the

00:41:28.123 --> 00:41:31.763
park he actually was in the parks department was with lee county was

00:41:31.763 --> 00:41:34.963
also very supportive and just having

00:41:34.963 --> 00:41:40.163
everyone work together that that's how it happened but everyone saw the value

00:41:40.163 --> 00:41:44.643
so working with somebody to see the value i think but unfortunately i think

00:41:44.643 --> 00:41:48.343
when people fight they don't if they don't see the value or they're not listening

00:41:48.343 --> 00:41:52.723
to each other's concerns it kind of it doesn't go anywhere certainly,

00:41:54.043 --> 00:41:56.883
what's your favorite story from the blue way.

00:41:59.233 --> 00:42:03.793
I can, I can, I'll tell, I'll tell one, maybe this is one I shouldn't tell,

00:42:03.933 --> 00:42:10.113
but I'll tell it because I do get people and one of their concerns,

00:42:10.313 --> 00:42:12.353
they say, aren't you, aren't you afraid of alligators?

00:42:12.573 --> 00:42:15.653
And most of the trail that it's on the saltwater and you, you do,

00:42:15.753 --> 00:42:19.553
you rarely see them out. You rarely see them on the saltwater.

00:42:20.013 --> 00:42:25.253
But the person who had this position before I did, you know, I was a paddler.

00:42:25.413 --> 00:42:28.273
I had set up the safety plan and everything for paddling in Lee County.

00:42:28.793 --> 00:42:32.973
And she had asked to be taken from one launch to another. And it's freshwater

00:42:32.973 --> 00:42:36.073
on the Klusatchi River up this little creek called Hickey's Creek.

00:42:36.373 --> 00:42:39.573
And I said, sure. And we took our environmental educator.

00:42:40.896 --> 00:42:45.456
And we were paddling up the small creek and we heard rustling.

00:42:45.596 --> 00:42:46.756
We heard rustling in the bushes.

00:42:47.356 --> 00:42:52.576
And I thought, oh, what's that? And Betsy was in the front and I was in the back.

00:42:52.916 --> 00:42:56.056
And we heard something started running through the woods.

00:42:56.296 --> 00:43:01.156
And I thought, oh, it's a big dog or maybe a hog, you know, wild hogs down in Southwest Florida.

00:43:02.196 --> 00:43:06.616
And then Betsy said, oh, my gosh, it's an alligator. Here, because she was in

00:43:06.616 --> 00:43:11.256
the front, she had frightened an alligator. and almost always,

00:43:11.376 --> 00:43:14.756
almost always the alligators, if they see somebody, they slide in the water,

00:43:14.856 --> 00:43:15.896
they disappear, they hide.

00:43:16.596 --> 00:43:20.556
This one decided to run back into the woods away from Betsy,

00:43:21.396 --> 00:43:24.616
ran kind of a big loop and came back and jumped off the bank.

00:43:25.076 --> 00:43:27.736
So right about the time she said, oh my gosh, it's an alligator.

00:43:28.136 --> 00:43:32.676
I looked up and saw an alligator jumping off the bank and I thought it was going to land.

00:43:35.236 --> 00:43:41.356
And it wasn't. And in my head, it was a big alligator. It was jumping off this big bank.

00:43:41.676 --> 00:43:46.676
In reality, it was a small, frightened one that was trying to get away from a paddler.

00:43:47.016 --> 00:43:52.116
But just that second, and people say, aren't you worried about the alligators? I can't.

00:43:52.556 --> 00:43:54.776
I don't want to lie and say, well, no, I'm not worried about them.

00:43:55.036 --> 00:43:58.196
But that second, I was. I was worried that one was going to.

00:43:58.496 --> 00:44:01.176
But it hit the water, and it disappeared like they always do,

00:44:01.196 --> 00:44:05.676
and everything was fine. But that was my moment of, oh, my gosh.

00:44:05.776 --> 00:44:10.616
And it's something I'll never forget. And again, I probably shouldn't have told that.

00:44:10.736 --> 00:44:14.236
I probably should have told all the, I don't know. I've got wonderful stories

00:44:14.236 --> 00:44:15.956
where a dolphin, you know, just popping up.

00:44:16.036 --> 00:44:19.976
And I can send you, since I have your email, pictures of just a dolphin popping

00:44:19.976 --> 00:44:24.396
up and swimming around my daughter and interacting with us while we were on our paddle boards.

00:44:24.456 --> 00:44:28.336
We just sat there and it just hung out with us at sunset. I mean,

00:44:28.416 --> 00:44:30.916
that was probably the opposite, you know.

00:44:31.056 --> 00:44:35.076
That was a very calm, beautiful moment, you know, or when the manatee popped

00:44:35.076 --> 00:44:38.616
up and started tasting my son's kayak. like these are all.

00:44:39.833 --> 00:44:45.733
You know, beautiful moments. But that little alligator, that is something that

00:44:45.733 --> 00:44:47.933
I'll never forget for sure. Yeah.

00:44:48.353 --> 00:44:53.033
But in reality, it sounds like the alligators are more afraid of you than we are of them.

00:44:53.493 --> 00:44:58.553
Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I see them. I see them all the time on the freshwater.

00:44:58.753 --> 00:45:02.893
But again, I'm going up pretty far into the small creeks and the thing people

00:45:02.893 --> 00:45:03.773
say, aren't you worried?

00:45:03.913 --> 00:45:09.313
The couple rules, I always highly, highly stress don't paddle with your little dogs.

00:45:09.513 --> 00:45:14.213
Don't throw your little dogs in your kayak and on your paddleboard and go up

00:45:14.213 --> 00:45:15.813
into little creeks where there are alligators.

00:45:16.853 --> 00:45:19.833
And that's one of the things I talk about. I do reptile programs for the kids.

00:45:20.153 --> 00:45:23.773
I say, if you walk by me at summer camp, you're fine all day.

00:45:24.253 --> 00:45:27.753
If you start walking by with a bunch of cupcakes that your mom had,

00:45:28.113 --> 00:45:30.553
your mom made for you, I might try to take one of your cupcakes.

00:45:30.693 --> 00:45:33.633
It's kind of the same thing. If you're walking, you're paddling by an alligator

00:45:33.633 --> 00:45:37.113
with food on your, your paddleboard. It's not, we're not food.

00:45:37.273 --> 00:45:40.093
They're afraid of us. They, they, they want to get away.

00:45:40.313 --> 00:45:45.813
So I'd say don't paddle by with snacks and, and don't bother the babies because

00:45:45.813 --> 00:45:48.653
all moms are, all moms are protective. So.

00:45:49.513 --> 00:45:53.073
Yeah, absolutely. You mentioned environmental educator and then some of the

00:45:53.073 --> 00:45:56.533
programs that you do. So you do do a lot of programs with the Blueway as well?

00:45:57.307 --> 00:46:01.027
We do. We have, so I had John, one of your guests before came in.

00:46:01.167 --> 00:46:03.367
We have the Colusa Blue Way Speaker Series.

00:46:03.647 --> 00:46:07.067
So I'll have experts in there field talk about their adventures,

00:46:07.447 --> 00:46:13.287
authors who've written books about paddling, but also have experts on sharks

00:46:13.287 --> 00:46:16.927
or birds in our area come in and do programs.

00:46:18.047 --> 00:46:21.347
Sometimes I'll lead tours when we go out, lead journalists.

00:46:21.707 --> 00:46:27.047
And I was trained as a Florida master naturalist. I do a lot of reptile programs

00:46:27.047 --> 00:46:28.987
for the kids in Lee County.

00:46:29.267 --> 00:46:34.927
It's something I just love doing. I got to do it as a park ranger and I haven't had to give it up.

00:46:35.067 --> 00:46:39.527
It doesn't quite fit in as much with the Colusa Blueway gig,

00:46:39.727 --> 00:46:41.907
but I have a lot of fun doing it.

00:46:41.947 --> 00:46:46.187
So I still do it. But we also do programs where something near and dear to my

00:46:46.187 --> 00:46:50.207
heart, we're trying to get just people out on the water who might not have the

00:46:50.207 --> 00:46:51.667
opportunity to normally.

00:46:52.027 --> 00:46:55.987
So again, being a special Olympic coach, Surfers for Autism,

00:46:56.207 --> 00:46:58.047
they came over to Otter Coast.

00:46:58.267 --> 00:47:01.427
That's a program we have in Florida. It's not the Colusa Blueway.

00:47:01.567 --> 00:47:04.707
It was started over on the East Coast, but Surfers for Autism,

00:47:04.907 --> 00:47:09.947
typically they're surfing and it's children with autism that they take out surfing.

00:47:09.947 --> 00:47:13.187
They have, it's an awesome, awesome event, awesome day.

00:47:13.587 --> 00:47:18.207
But on our coast, a lot of times it's more paddling with the paddle boards or

00:47:18.207 --> 00:47:21.167
at least using the paddle boards so they can catch the small ways.

00:47:21.327 --> 00:47:25.007
So that's another type of program, helping other people do their events over here.

00:47:25.287 --> 00:47:30.607
But we're trying to, also there's a club, group of adults with special needs

00:47:30.607 --> 00:47:36.147
and we're volunteers, my coworkers, we're getting them out on as many parts

00:47:36.147 --> 00:47:37.727
of the blue way as we can safely.

00:47:38.067 --> 00:47:41.727
So just trying to it's another thing i really like to do is to try to get people

00:47:41.727 --> 00:47:47.547
out on the water who just don't get to get out as often too well thank you for the work that you do.

00:47:48.719 --> 00:47:51.779
Oh, thank you. I love it. It's easy. It's not actually a job.

00:47:51.939 --> 00:47:56.259
There's 99% of this I would do for free. So hopefully my boss isn't listening.

00:47:59.459 --> 00:48:03.259
Excellent. Well, you mentioned some great history. It was great hearing about

00:48:03.259 --> 00:48:07.819
the corrections just briefly, and then we'll include more information in the

00:48:07.819 --> 00:48:09.219
show notes there, as well as

00:48:09.219 --> 00:48:13.459
definitely the Calusa and the fascinating engineering that they've done.

00:48:14.019 --> 00:48:17.199
Wildlife in the area all sounds absolutely amazing. And like I said,

00:48:17.239 --> 00:48:21.099
we'll make sure we put links in the show notes so people can learn more about all those things.

00:48:21.719 --> 00:48:23.339
How can listeners connect with you?

00:48:25.922 --> 00:48:29.302
If I can, I can give my email. It's pretty simple.

00:48:29.542 --> 00:48:36.022
M as in Mike Hammond, mhammond at leegov.com.

00:48:36.542 --> 00:48:40.702
But if you call the Lee County Parks Department in Florida, everyone knows.

00:48:40.802 --> 00:48:44.142
I want to talk to the kayaking guy. I want to talk to the Calusa Blueway guy.

00:48:45.222 --> 00:48:49.682
The calusablueway.com is our webpage. So you can go on there and you can get

00:48:49.682 --> 00:48:51.962
all of our maps. You can get our maps digitally.

00:48:52.302 --> 00:48:54.982
You can find out where you get the app. You can get all this information.

00:48:55.142 --> 00:48:57.682
But I really do enjoy talking to people.

00:48:57.782 --> 00:49:00.302
It's one of the best parts is helping people.

00:49:00.762 --> 00:49:06.182
We have families coming down and everyone's different on what they want to see

00:49:06.182 --> 00:49:07.082
and where they're staying.

00:49:07.302 --> 00:49:12.542
And at this point, we've kind of got it down. We can never make guarantees with

00:49:12.542 --> 00:49:16.502
wildlife, but we can get pretty close on where the manatees will be,

00:49:16.662 --> 00:49:21.742
when, and when the dolphins are going to be putting on a show and things like that.

00:49:22.602 --> 00:49:27.622
Once you get the feel for the tides and what's happening, we can get people,

00:49:28.242 --> 00:49:29.782
give them a pretty great experience.

00:49:30.482 --> 00:49:34.682
That's very cool. So for all of our listeners who are thinking of going down

00:49:34.682 --> 00:49:38.362
to Southwest Florida and going to the Blue Way, make sure you stop in.

00:49:38.542 --> 00:49:41.202
Tell Mike that you heard about it on Paddling the Blue.

00:49:41.782 --> 00:49:45.802
Yeah, that'd be great. So Mike, one final question for you. Who else would you

00:49:45.802 --> 00:49:47.822
like to hear as a future guest on Paddling the Blue?

00:49:48.562 --> 00:49:52.522
I would like to, and I barely mentioned David Chen.

00:49:53.142 --> 00:49:56.602
He is the president of the Florida Paddling Trail Association.

00:49:56.602 --> 00:49:59.622
So that the circumnavigational trail it's 1200

00:49:59.622 --> 00:50:04.662
miles so while i talked about i'm the director for this area i've talked about

00:50:04.662 --> 00:50:10.002
a very small portion of it david could give you some insight to paddling all

00:50:10.002 --> 00:50:15.342
around florida and really some of your seacock they really spread their wings

00:50:15.342 --> 00:50:18.442
and do some miles and check out some the best parts of florida.

00:50:19.453 --> 00:50:22.433
So is the Blueway part of that 1200 mile trail?

00:50:23.113 --> 00:50:27.713
Yes. Yes, it is. I'm the director for this area and actually have a co-director

00:50:27.713 --> 00:50:30.893
that has further south in the Collier County, the county south of us.

00:50:31.293 --> 00:50:33.713
And what we do is somebody's paddling around.

00:50:34.513 --> 00:50:37.593
If they ask for help, we can do anything from help, you know,

00:50:37.693 --> 00:50:42.213
running, get groceries for them or get something out to one of their campsites

00:50:42.213 --> 00:50:43.913
or just give them information.

00:50:44.513 --> 00:50:47.673
You know, act as a trail angel. but that's

00:50:47.673 --> 00:50:50.693
uh we we get people all the way around florida

00:50:50.693 --> 00:50:53.833
paddling the florida paddling trail association so it's it's

00:50:53.833 --> 00:50:56.853
really cool but we're the calusa blue way is just a small part

00:50:56.853 --> 00:51:00.713
of it but it's really awesome sounds great does sound like a beautiful place

00:51:00.713 --> 00:51:05.693
and congratulations on putting that together and stewarding that trail and making

00:51:05.693 --> 00:51:09.333
that available for everybody mike it's been a pleasure to have a chance to talk

00:51:09.333 --> 00:51:12.253
to you and to learn about your work and learn about the trail Thank you.

00:51:12.413 --> 00:51:14.413
Yeah. Thank you very much. This was fun.

00:51:15.861 --> 00:51:19.341
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00:52:01.441 --> 00:52:04.001
Thanks to Mike for sharing the great Calusa Blueway with us.

00:52:04.101 --> 00:52:07.901
I found the history of the Calusa people and, of course, the trail very interesting.

00:52:08.281 --> 00:52:11.881
You'll find more information about the Calusa people, the Koreshian cult,

00:52:11.881 --> 00:52:15.961
and, of course, the blue way by visiting the show notes for this episode at

00:52:15.961 --> 00:52:19.121
paddlingtheblue.com slash 155.

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And if you're not already a subscriber to onlineseacocking.com or onlinewhitewater.com,

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00:52:32.981 --> 00:52:35.981
Thanks, as always, for listening, and I look forward to bringing you the next

00:52:35.981 --> 00:52:37.861
episode of Paddling the Blue.

00:52:39.441 --> 00:52:42.181
Thank you for listening to paddling the blue you can

00:52:42.181 --> 00:52:45.601
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00:52:45.601 --> 00:52:48.941
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00:52:48.941 --> 00:52:52.861
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00:52:52.861 --> 00:52:56.821
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00:52:56.821 --> 00:53:02.581
along with replays of past episodes contact information and more at paddlingtheblue.com

00:53:02.581 --> 00:53:05.861
until next time i hope you get out and paddle the blue.