The River narrowed considerably past State Road 72. But, not seeing anyone on the River other than two passengers and the captain of the tour boat on Upper Myakka Lake, I do not think the Wilderness Preserve was overcrowded this weekday. I hope the State of Florida will forgive me. I did not have a permit, not knowing how far I would paddle when the day began. This keeps the numbers down, enhancing the experience. One is supposed to obtain a no-cost permit from the Park to enter. The area south of State Road 72 is designated as a Wilderness Preserve. Reaching that, I decided I might as well keep going to Lower Myakka Lake. I decided to press on, to the State Road 72 Bridge, perhaps another two miles. This was farther then I had gone before on this river. I reached the Park Road bridge, three miles from the launch point. Reminded me of the old Wally Gator cartoon. However, the water was to shallow and he flailed across the bottom, half in and half out. An alligator saw me and did what they usually do, go under water and swim away. My attitude is, that only leads to more interesting finds, as was the case when I went up one channel, and soon ran aground. I say this is a moderate paddle as at times, the main channel can be difficult to find. These offer a contrast to the marsh, and look like they are a place where you could stop and stretch your legs if required. As it flows downstream, the River circles 3, according to my basic map obtained at the Park entrance, sable palm covered islands. I reached 60 when I passed under a power line just over an hour into the trip. I saw cormorants, anhingas, ibis, blue herons, great blue herons, belted kingfishers, least bitterns, snowy egrets, great egrets, woodstorks, limpkins, sandhill cranes, reddish egrets, rosette spoonbills, more vultures, and numerous other birds I cannot name. In addition to alligators, the bird life is very impressive. The Myakka meanders through a low marsh area, Big Flats Marsh. Beach, lift the yak over a 2 foot wall and relaunch from a flat area into the waiting alligators. The first, I had to portage the dam, the second, the water was high and I paddled over. Those days are long over, the River and the Lakes are no wake zones. I read that it was constructed in the 1930's to raise the Lake level so a water ski show could perform. A low dam separates Upper Myakka Lake from the River. I entered Upper Myakka Lake, paddled west along the south shore over shallow, choppy water a short distance to the River. I shoved off, and decided I would count gators. The Myakka is famous for its large alligator population. I suspected vultures as a large flock of black buzzards was in the area, perhaps looking for leftovers left by alligators. Coming back from one, I saw my car was covered with bird droppings. Two tour boats are docked, one preparing for the 10:00 am tour. The concession has food, drinks, rental canoes, kayaks and bikes. I parked in front of the concession, the water about 20 yards away. It is possible to launch from points along the road, but these require a longer portage from the car. I arrived at the Park and drove the scenic Park Road 3 miles to the concession/launch site. The name sake River bisects the Park, linking Upper Myakka Lake with Lower Myakka Lake. Myakka River State Park, located on State Road 72, 9 miles west of I-75 near Sarasota, is one of the oldest, developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934, and largest, at 58 square miles, State Parks in Florida. Sarasota had only a 10-20% rain forecast. If the storm is moving northeast, the weather may be good to the southwest. However, the forecast called for a 60 to 80% chance of rain, from the far edges of Tropical Storm Ophelia, as it moved slowly to the northeast. I made plans to paddle Rock Springs Run and the Wekiva River.
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