Ranching and Roping
We had no definite destination for Wednesday, but we wanted to head north and west; we ended up on the Gulf of Mexico. Lynda made a few calls and lined up accommodations at the Wellborn Quarter Horse ranch in Wellborn, between Lake City and Live Oak. This was a fun stopover. We rode the trails on the ranch property, introducing our horses to longhorn steers, a Miniature Horse, a donkey, and a herd of miniature goats. We enjoyed putting our horses through the obstacle course and visiting with the proprietors Andrea and Tom Schomberg.
We wanted to spend our last two nights near the coast. We were fortunate to arrange stalls for our horses at the Taylor County Horseman's Association rodeo arena, thanks to board members Chris Olson and Ursula Brown. These two ladies graciously offered to lead us on a trail ride after they got off work that afternoon. On our way out of the town of Perry, we passed azaleas, dogwoods, and redbuds in full bloom, then hit the forest trail on the outskirts of town.
Later, after bedding down our geldings at the rodeo grounds, we were anxious to try the local specialty - blue crab claws at Poppa Jim's. They were delicious, as were the baked oysters and cheese grits. Then we checked into a local Perry motel, where the proprietor happily gave us permission to park our horse-trailer rigs on the lawn.
On Friday, we scheduled a day at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. We toured the lighthouse and visitor center, then hit the trails. For a late-afternoon meal, we trailered into the fishing village of St. Mark's. There, we enjoyed an open-air restaurant on pilings as we watched pelicans and river barges.
We ended our day's adventure with a walking tour of the nearby San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park's Spanish fort ruins. That evening, we attended a roping competition at the arena. Our Tennessee Walkers watched wide-eyed as the Quarter Horses raced by. It seemed that everyone in the county was a roper - youngsters, men, and women.
Sadly, our trip ended as we headed home the next morning. The motto of the Florida State Park system sums up what we experienced: "Florida State Parks...The Real Florida." Beautiful scenery, unusual natural features, abundant wildlife, and extremely friendly people of the "real Florida" made our trip memorable.
Contact information: Coldwater Recreation Area, (850) 482-9598, www.florida-outdoors.com/equine.htm; Florida Caverns State Park, (850) 482-9598, www.floridastateparks.org/floridacaverns/default.cfm;
O'Leno State Park, (386) 454-1853, www.floridastateparks.org/oleno/default.cfm; St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, (850) 925-6121, www.fws.gov/saintmarks; San Marcos State Park, (850) 925-6216, ww.floridastateparks.org/sanmarcos/default.cfm.
