Wilderness Hiking: The Search for the Elusive Marshbunny

Today I took my dad hiking with me. We headed north to Bonita Springs and Lovers' Key State park. Great place for easy hikes on the beach or along the inner canals on the Black Island Trail. We took the longest loop, a whole 2.5 miles with Lee County's highest point: a 30-foot high hill that we didn't even notice was "the hill" until we finished the trail and realized that we hadn't encountered any other hills. And the entire time, I was on the lookout for one thing: the elusive Marsh Rabbit. Not to be confused with the March Hare. So I'll call it the "marshbunny". **not for use in s'mores

And along the way, we saw:

A gopher tortoise sunning outside its burrow. He was right by the path and completely unfazed by hikers and cyclists stopping to say hello.

Egrets, ibis, and herons along the inner waterways and by the gator pool (apparently sans gators at the time).

A gumbo limbo tree, often referred to as a "tourist tree" because of its red, peeling skin.

Morning glories popping up here and there, like by this sea grape plant.

And a very determined tree.

Sadly, no marshbunnies. Maybe next time I'll bring a banana. Bunnies love bananas. Trust me.