Manatees are among nature's strangest-looking, gentlest animals. They're among America's most endangered mammals and were the basis for ancient tales of mermaids, legendary creatures that were half-fish and half-human.

Hiking Central Florida describes thirty of the region’s best and most varied hikes, those that offer the chance to observe unspoiled, natural Florida at its finest. With terrain ranging from wet cypress swamps to dry pinewood forests, the region offers subtly striking scenery and it harbors rich diversity. Covering the area from Ocala to State Road 60 near Lake Wales and Yeehaw Junction—and also embracing the northern stretch of the Florida Trail in the Ocala National Forest and the Bulow Plantation/Bulow Creek hike on the Atlantic coast—this user-friendly guide takes you from short family hikes in places such as Canaveral National Seashore, to backpackers' delights. It provides all the information you need to make the most of exploring Central Florida by foot. Look inside to find: • Hikes suited to every ability • Directions to the trailheads • Comprehensive trail descriptions and maps • Mile-by-mile directional cues • Difficulty ratings, average hiking times, and best hiking seasons for every featured hike • Area-specific tips on safety, hiking ethics, plants and animals, preserving the environment, and more

"Hiking North Florida and the Panhandle "describes 30 hikes designed to highlight some of the best natural areas throughout the region. The hikes in this book fall into four different categories: Short Family Walks ranging from 1-3 miles, Day Hikes from 3-12 miles, Overnight Hikes with easy walks to primitive campsites and Long Haulers, true backpacking experiences that require a weekend to complete.

This candid travel destination guide is an honest fishing and diving appraisal of Florida's fresh water springs and coastal waters including the Keys, Gold Coast, Middle Atlantic, Upper Atlantic, Lower Gulf, and Upper Gulf. A detailed index, numerous photos, and tourism contacts are included. This comprehensive book features artificial reef loran numbers, fresh water springs and caves, inshore flats and channels, reefs and barrier islands, back country estuaries and Gulf stream passes.

You Are the Phenomenology is a cross-genre book - a blend of poetry, songs, lyric prose, and invented forms - that explores the everyday junctures of perception, compassion, and multiplicity. How might our powers of association create shared experiences without distorting the contexts from which those experiences emerge? One of the volume's innovative forms is a poetic series called ""Quadrilaterals"" - four-line poems that present the reader with various ways to leap associative gaps: Quadrilateral : Pinch in Your Heel Soars the mackled sound, kites ago :A Polish boy thinks with accordions, adopts a stammer :When were we first older than we wanted to be :That was our city, our chisel, the corbeil from which we ate.

Shallow ocean, or "flats," fishing is one of the most popular coastal activities in Florida. No other place has such a large combination of different shallow water species. In "Fishing Florida's Flats," world-champion angler Jan Maizler draws on the expertise of numerous "flatsmasters" who share their wisdom on how to land a trophy catch. Their advice--suitable for a range of first-time and experienced anglers--includes tackle selection, techniques, and directions to "hot spots" for each flats species. From habitat, biology, and feeding patterns to spotting tactics and state records, each flats fish is covered in detail. Maizler offers invaluable knowledge of the many vessels available, the different kinds of flats and the best ways to wade them, and important weather safety information. Maizler also reviews the recent technical and electronic developments in flats fishing, such as websites, software programs, and Global Positioning System devices that are now necessary additions to the Florida flats angler's arsenal. For the large and growing number of anglers who have chosen flats fishing as their sport, this is the ultimate guide for catching bonefish, tarpon, permit, barracuda, sharks, redfish, seatrout, and snook in the state. Get hooked on "Fishing Florida's Flats,"

Hiking Central Florida describes thirty of the region's best and most varied hikes, those that offer the chance to observe unspoiled, natural Florida at its finest. With terrain ranging from wet cypress swamps to dry pinewood forests, the region offers subtly striking scenery and it harbors rich diversity.Covering the area from Ocala to State Road 60 near Lake Wales and Yeehaw Junction-and also embracing the northern stretch of the Florida Trail in the Ocala National Forest and the Bulow Plantation/Bulow Creek hike on the Atlantic coast-this user-friendly guide takes you from short family hikes in places such as Canaveral National Seashore, to backpackers' delights. It provides all the information you need to make the most of exploring Central Florida by foot. Look inside to find:* Hikes suited to every ability* Directions to the trailheads* Comprehensive trail descriptions and maps* Mile-by-mile directional cues* Difficulty ratings, average hiking times, and best hiking seasons for every featured hike* Area-specific tips on safety, hiking ethics, plants and animals, preserving the environment, and more

Timothy O'Keefe was awarded the 2010 FIELD Poetry Prize for THE GOODBYE TOWN, described by Editor David Walker as "a complex and multilayered collection, deeply intelligent and humane, beautifully balanced in its sly wit and elegant lyricism.... He has a fresh and distinctive voice." This is O'Keefe's first book.

The Florida Trail stretches the length and breadth of the Sunshine State, from Gulf Islands National Seashore in the panhandle to Big Cypress National Preserve less than an hour from suburban Miami. In 2006, veteran hiker and outdoorsman Johnny Molloy hiked the length of the trail in one three-month stretch. This engaging story of his journey, the first narrative account of a Florida Trail thru-hike, is peppered with outrageous and charming characters. Molloy's peanut butter thermometer and his "Five Foot Radius Theory of Camping" for tired hikers will make experienced backpackers smile knowingly. Novice hikers will find his insider tips priceless. Beginning at the southern end of the trail, less than an hour from suburban Miami, he was challenged by some of the roughest terrain he would face before making his way around Lake Okeechobee, the second largest freshwater lake in the continental United States. Traveling north and west traversing sand pine scrub forests, he made his way up the Suwannee River, around the Big Bend into the cathedral of palms in St. Marks Refuge, through the Apalachicola National Forest, and along white sand beaches to the Alabama state line. Many may never hike the entire course of the Florida Trail, but its convenient trailheads make it easily accessible to any resident or tourist. So, start the adventure; plan your own short hike, thru-hike, or simply join Molloy without leaving the comfort of your armchair. ""