Travel Log: Finding Florida

MANATEE COUNTY — As Ray and Pat Ciemniecki sit on their back porch, light shimmers off the waters of the Braden River.

This view, they admit, is hard to beat.

But, after visiting all of Florida’s 162 state parks, there’s been some tough competition.

“We’ve been from Pensacola all the way to (Fort) Zachary Taylor (Historic State Park) in Key West and everything in between,” Pat says.

The Ciemnieckis, retired Manatee County educators, concluded their tour of parks March 15, at Paynes Creek Historic State Park in Bowling Green but traveled back to the place their travels began — Lake Manatee State Park — to formally conclude their adventure. The accomplishment earned them induction into the Florida Par Service’s Passport Gold Club.

“What a lot of people in Florida don’t realize is every Florida resident is within an hour drive of a state park,” Ray says. “It’s easy to get started.”

“These are like jewels scattered around the state,” he says of the parks. “Every jewel is different. When you go there, you have to look for the shine.”

CAMPING CULTURE
Camping always had been a regular activity for the Ciemniecki household. As educators, it not only created a great affection for the outdoors in their children, but also it was a cost-effective way to visit sites throughout the country.

“We started when our son was about 2,” Ray says. “We’ve gone to state parks off and on as a place to go. Being in education, we had blocks of time off. The most economical way to travel was camping.”

And while visiting a festival at Lake Manatee State Park, the Ciemnieckis purchased a passport to their future. The green, spiral-bound “Passport” book has a page for each of Florida’s then-162 state parks, which each have a unique stamp to go in it.

After visiting a few parks, the Ciemnieckis decided to see every one.

Although the Ciemnieckis took their time making it to all of Florida’s state parks, the couple had to be purposeful when planning their trips to maximize the number they could visit with each excursion.

“We’d use one of the parks as a base and visit the others (from there),” Ray says. “When we got toward the end (our of adventure), we realized we had one here and one there (that we missed). We had to make some decisions (on how to get to them).”

With each outing, too, they had to determine whether they should take their RV or simply drive with a tent.
“You don’t want to drive the motor home through the streets of Miami,” Pat says.

SEARCHING FOR SUNSHINE
Without a doubt, the Ciemnieckis know there are sites yet-to-be discovered at the parks they visited.

But what they did see, they say, still left them spellbound, because Florida’s state parks offer a diverse sampling of natural habitats and state history.

“I never knew there were underground caverns you could go and visit,” Ray says.

Some parks, such as Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, are so isolated, that there is not a grocery store within 30 miles.

Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park, in Gainesville, features a limestone sinkhole.

And Dudley Farm Historic Park, in Newberry, showcases the evolution of Florida farming from the 1850s to the mid-1940s, with its authentic working farm that features 18 buildings, livestock and seasonal cane grindings and corn shuckings, among other offerings.

“St. George Island has a lighthouse,” Ray says. “The town raised money to move the lighthouse (from its original location) brick by brick.”

More unique attractions, the Ciemnieckis say, were found at locations such as Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, where the Ciemnieckis cooked their own pancakes at the park’s restaurant, and at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park, where they saw a figure they dubbed “Moss Man.”

PICTURE PERFECT
Pat walks into another room and returns with a framed photograph picturing a deer with its reflection in the water.

“You’d go in (to a park), and you’d never know what you were going to see,” she says, holding up the image. “You don’t see stuff like this anymore.”

Some of the sights were more beautiful than she could have imagined — sights like the deer, or the pristine beach line of St. George Island State Park.

“It almost made me want to leave Bradenton,” she says.

Ray says he most loved seeing the diversity of Florida’s parks.

“Everybody knows about Florida’s beaches, but there’s a lot of historic sites and also (different kinds of nature),” Ray says.

While at each park, Pat took plenty of pictures. By the time she and her husband returned home, she usually had her scrapbook pages for their trip completed.

“It occupies her time while I’m driving,” Ray says.

Pat pipes up, noting the time on the road is a reprieve from the day-to-day activities of life and a great chance to indulge in her hobby.

“You have things at home you feel like you have to do,” she says.

ONWARD ADVENTURES
When the Ciemnieckis finished their tour of Florida’s parks, their passport complete, they headed back to Lake Manatee State Park to have their completed passport verified.

The accomplishment earned them a “Passport Gold Club” car tag, as well as a letter from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to commend their accomplishment.

Although the couple may re-visit some of parks they visited, the Ciemnieckis already are dreaming up travel plans for the future. Ray hopes to visit all the state parks in Georgia, and Pat hopes to make it to the Kentucky Derby in future years.

Next month, the couple will fly to California for an upcoming NASCAR series race.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

FLORIDA FAVORITES
Favorite park: Topsail Hill Preserve State Park (Ray); Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park (Pat)
Most unique park: Florida Caverns State Park (Ray); John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (Pat)
Most interesting area to visit: St. George Island State Park (aka Dr. Julian G. Gruce St. George Island State Park) and its nearby town of Apalachicola
Most remote park: Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park
Best food nearby park: Collier-Seminole State Park (stone crab in Everglades City)

OUTSIDE FLORIDA
In addition to Florida’s parks, the Ciemnieckis also have visited sites throughout the country. They visited a hot-air balloon festival in New Mexico and have traveled to California and back twice, when their children were younger. They swam in the Great Salt Lake, visited Yellowstone National Park, and places such as Mount Rushmore and the Mississippi Delta.

AWARD-WINNING MEMENTO
Pat Ciemniecki’s scrapbook of her trips to Florida’s state parks in 2011 won a blue rosette ribbon at this year’s Manatee County Fair.