521. "Double Picnics at the D.P. Preserve"
Two little picnic spots just a few miles from Lake Okeechobee's east shore.

Although Florida certainly has many areas with plenty of letterboxes, we were amazed to not find a single letterbox within quite a substantial radius of Okeechobee - much larger than the state of RI! So, in an attempt to remedy that situation, we dropped off a couple of "little rocks" just off the route of the "Ocean to Lake Trail " which links up the Florida Trail System from Hobe Sound to Port Mayaca. The first one, "Little Sunshine", can be reached by hiking about half a mile south on the Fred Schiller Trail (named for a guy who built over 200 miles of trails in this area!) from the parking lot at Gate 2 on the south side of route 76 about 3 miles east of Port Mayaca, or just under a mile west of Gate 1. After crossing the gravel road, continue another tenth of a mile or so south to reach the picnic area, then head over to the rock-lined gravel road, and look to the west side of the second rock group from the north, about 3 steps northeast from an orange-blazed post. Find a little sunshine sandwiched on the back of a very small stone sitting in a tiny depression in the ledge of the lower rock, protected by the awning of the upper stacked rock.

Now, for a "Little Mushroom" to add to your next picnic, drive down the gravel road from Gate 1 (if you haven't already done so to skip the walk in a hurry to reach your first picnic with the Governor!;-), pass the campground at around one mile, and go about another mile to where the main road makes a major curve left. Park somewhere off the road near here, and make your way across the grass to the more northwesterly of two bridges in the island picnic area. After crossing this bridge, continue walking east about 77 steps, past a picnic table, to the third live oak on the right. Stuck on the back of the small stone tucked into the basal "V" between the two most easterly protruding parts of the trunk should be a little mushroom. Hope you enjoy your double picnics!

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