Central Florida’s 19th-century history returns to Ocala each November at the Ocali Country Days festival, hosted by the Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center. “This is an 1800s-themed folk fair,” said museum director Scott Mitchell. “What sets it apart is that a lot of folks are demonstrating old pioneer skills and crafts that have […]
Wild Florida and Exiled Russian Royalty Meet at Princess Place
This free park in Flagler County lets you live like exiled royalty.
Hiking Chernobyl Memorial Forest
The whisper of the wind in the long-leaf pines gives this forest in Ocklawaha the perfect atmosphere for contemplation. Part of the Ocklawaha Prairie Restoration south of Ocala, this 314-acre forest was dedicated a decade after the Chernobyl disaster to honor the victims and survivors of the 1986 disaster half a world away. The hike […]
Finest Florida Kitsch at The Shell Factory
In the mood for the finest Florida Kitsch? Then it’s time to pay a visit to the Shell Factory. The Shell Factory & Nature Park, which bills itself as the largest shell shop in the world, is a vast roadside menagerie of shells, shellacked gator heads and tacky gifts. But wait, there’s more! The Shell […]
Wild Bison Call this Florida Prairie Home
The typical picture of “buffalo” roaming the great North American plains understates just how far the bison ranged in their heyday. In the 18th century they could be found as far afield as Alaska, New York . . . and, yes, even Florida. So when the Florida park service in 1975 reintroduced a small herd […]
Ma Barker’s Hideout Opens to the Public
OKLAWAHA, FL — Ma Barker died with a Tommy Gun in her hands, according to the FBI. For decades the bullet-riddled, two-story cracker home in Ocklawaha that witnessed the longest gun battle in FBI history was off limits to the public. But now the notorious home of the Gangster Era shootout is open for tours […]