Inside-out world

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 FORT MYERS, FL – It’s always good to talk to the locals in a new area. They can give you really helpful tips. This morning, in the park’s community building, we met Dennis, who has been coming here for more than 15 years. He mentioned a state park and a local park that are quite close by, so we decided to have a look. Just a few blocks south of the RV park, we found the Koreshan State Historic Site. The park used to be a religious commune in the 19th century, founded by Dr. Cyrus Teed, who moved here with his followers from New York in 1894. His elaborate philosophies and theories included the notion that the world was laid out on the inside wall of a hollow ball which enclosed the moon, sun and stars within it. Taking the name “Koresh”, a Hebrew version of Cyrus that means shepherd, the charismatic leader brought his 200 followers to Florida to get away from hostile attitudes in New York. Their new community was self-sufficient, growing their own food, setting up a printing press, cement factory, bakery and meeting hall where they staged theatre and concert performances. A major limiting factor to the sect’s continuation was the Koreshan principle of celibacy. Perhaps their belief in physical life after death was sufficient guarantee of a future to them, but time disproved that theory. In 1961, the remaining four members of the sect sold the land to the state of Florida, which established the park and historic site that we visited today. Eleven of the original buildings have been restored, and docents provide information about the Koreshan lifestyle and activities. We only went in to see the arts hall, which is still used today for concerts and plays. It has beautiful floors of rare Florida pine, a lofty ceiling, and a model of the Koreshan world view on display. The docent told us that Florida was once a major pine logging area. Since it was a beautiful day, our preference was to follow the nature trail that meandered alongside the Estero River. Nearer the community buildings there were some lovely footbridges, flower urns and curved steps down to the riverbank, but the path became more natural as we continued on our way. In addition to the scrub palm trees, dense vines and grasses, we came upon huge stands of bamboo. Their trunk sections were around four inches in diameter at the base, narrowing as they towered upward. As the wind stirred the densely packed clusters of bamboo, some stems creaked against each other eerily, while others knocked together with a hollow sound. The river flows into the Gulf of Mexico, so plants along its shores are adapted to live in a mixture of salt and fresh water. We spotted a few kayakers paddling along in the brown water. At the boat launch, we saw a “no swimming” sign that warned of the presence of alligators, although we didn’t see any, thank goodness! We ate our picnic lunch at tables provided near the campground, while a trio of curious squirrels hovered nearby, hoping for a handout. We learned that the Koreshan park is one of Florida’s parks that allows RV camping and provides electrical and water hookups. At the ranger’s hut at the entrance we picked up a detailed map and brochure indicating all the other state parks with the same amenities. We hadn’t been able to get that information in as accessible a form online, so this was a valuable bonus to our outing today – thanks to a chat with a local!