The Florida Explorer

Did you ever find yourself in an orange grove? There is nothing else so fine under the Southern sun; I do not say the sun everywhere, for an apple orchard beats the world for beauty–and a cherry orchard, full of crimson Maydukes and Black Tartarians, is also hard to beat. But under the Southern sky the orange is the best thing the sun and the soil can make, and it is a wonder that grows on the imagination every time you see it.

The article goes into detail about race that is offensive, however, it is still a historically significant piece of Florida writing so I have decided to publish it on the blog.

Illustrated From Photographs Taken by Julian A. Dimock
Outing Magazine, 1907, Volume 11

Outing Magazine Volume LII
April, 1908 – September, 1908
Yachting In A Canoe
By A. W. Dimock
Illustrated by Julian A. Dimock

The hurricane month had come. We had laid up our cruising boat and were foot-loose–with four weeks to spare.

In our quest to hit up all 175 Florida State Parks, we just completed a camping trip this weekend at Lake Kissimme State Park and Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park. They are parks 82 and 83, respectively.

I’m pretty sure the Most Interesting Man Dos Equis commercials were based on Randy Wayne White. In high school he competed in football, baseball and springboard diving (of course!) and then traveled for five years until settling in Southwest Florida where he worked for a newspaper for four years, earned his captain’s license, bought a boat and then ran fishing charters for 13 years.

Here is another entry into our Old Florida Stories series, this one by O.A. Mygatt from 1889.

Here is another entry in our Old Florida Series. This is an article from Outing magazine, giving tips on how to winter hunt in Florida. As always, these old articles are products of their times.

Another great story for our Old Florida Series, this time by Lt. W. R. Hamilton. Enjoy!

Here’s another article by A. W. Dimock for our Old Florida Stories series. In this article he writes about the Florida Seminoles. Reminder to readers: Dimock was a man of his times.

Here’s another A. W. Dimock adventure article for our Old Florida series. Enjoy!

Here is an article about Old Florida written by A. W. Dimock, published 1908. Enjoy!

Here’s another article from A. W. Dimock in our Old Florida series. FYI – The Mr. J. E. Wilson mentioned in the article is none other than Edgar J. Watson, AKA “Bloody” Watson, notorious Florida serial killer. Read more about him in Shadow Country.

Here’s another article from A. W. Dimock for our Old Florida series. Enjoy!

Here’s another Old Florida article written by A. W. Dimock, 1908. Enjoy!

Here are the 6 best tent camping site in Fort Myers! Note: Obviously, Fort Myers is still recovering from Hurricane Ian, so some of the below sites may not yet be open.

This article will help you sort through all your camping options for Fort Myers, below are descriptions of the campgrounds and direct links to their respective websites for more info. HAPPY CAMPING!!!

Gold Head Branch State Park is state park #43 for our family. We changed things up for this trip and rented a cabin instead of going tent camping. It was a nice change of pace.

The Florida Keys just may be the best place in the world to RV camp in. There is so much to do! And this is the only place in North America you can go RV camping in the tropics. Key West is fun, too!