Highland Hammock State Park is just up the road from where we're staying. Can't you just imagine a bunch of palm trees strung with hammocks for lazing the day away? Well, forget that. Those of you more in the know than myself, already know there's another meaning of the word hammock. It's "a forest of broad leaf trees surrounded by pine lands or marshes". 
And at this state park it also means it's filled with alligators and turtles and snakes and herons and all sorts of things to look at (hopefully from a distance!) but not touch. (There's at least one alligator in photo 2...)This park was started in 1931 and, although Florida opened four others the same year, Highland likes to say they're the first because they got their paperwork done first. Florida is also VERY lucky to have it as it truly gives you an idea of what Florida must have been like before all this development took place.
Even though the temp is again in the 70's again, it IS winter here so the broad leafed trees were bare. And the swamps are suffering from severe drought which may be why we saw so many alligators and turtles in the little bit of water there was.
An added plus in the park is the CCC museum. Sebring was depicted in some of the Civilian Conservation Corp recruitment films of the 1930's (but they left out the part about building a road through the alligator infested swamp!) We had only intended to stay in the park a couple of hours but ended up staying about five. (Of course, the wild orange ice cream they make in the park probably added at least a half hour to our stay.)
Today it was back at work at the build site and, although I took my camera, I forgot to take the data card... So you'll just have to visualize for yourselves how much hammering we got done.
