Pave It Over And Pass The Ammunition

The N. Hancock Road to Sugarloaf Mountain was put in back in 2016, 2017. Knew it would open up the whole area to massive subdivision expansion. Turns out it has boomed bigger than even my sad jaded self could have imagined! Going through the Ferndale Sugarloaf Mountain area, used to be part of Sugarloaf Mountain Rd was quite enjoyable. Now it has become a study of subdivision site prep. The slash pine woods that had replaced the old orange groves are now replaced in turn with new road and residential blocks being laid out. 561A is now complete with a traffic light at N. Hancock Rd at a Del-Webb build-out, among others. I know growth is the Florida Way, but this is a lot. Plans and construction is moving along to connect N. Hancock to 455, near the Green Mountain Scenic Overlook. Thank goodness the overlook got built when it did.

La Costa Urban Wetlands

Here's a small conservation area very near the Orlando Airport. La Costa Urban Wetlands at 5814 La Costa Drive Orlando. La Costa crosses Semoran just above Curry Ford Rd, not far from MCO. Perfect for visitors to the area that can not do a whole day of hiking the bigger Florida locations, this conservation area is just a few minutes due north of the MCO and is small enough to be walked in a short time. The space has a mix of wetland, retention pond, amd mowed sections. The walking path is stroller ready, wide and concrete the whole way around. A great spot for a quick taste of Florida away from the theme parks.

Orlando Wetlands

AMAZING SPACE! Located near Bithlo Florida, Fort Christmas area, this reclamation recovery area is an amazing location. Many thousands of acres devoted to water purification, preparing Orlando water output for entry into the St. Johns River basin. The thousands of acres are divided into compartments and numbered providing easy reference on the site maps. Various zones have different activity throughout the year, depending on water level, migration of species...it's very good. Multiple visits now, and the activity does change depending on annual factors. Better times of year would be winter/spring for nesting and viewing babies... If Orlando is the theme park capital of the world, this conservation area has to be the Magic Kingdom of bird watching....alligators, otters, etc too!