Exploring the World with Pokémon Go: Maitland Trail
As promised, I checked out the Maitland Trail just outside the nearby park. I found much more than I expected.
Maitland Trail begins on the other side of Maitland Community Park. A few sections coming up might look familiar if you read my last blog post. But the above was something completely new.
The trail begins at another entrance to the park and crosses some swamp land like a few of my other adventures. Maybe its because I have not lived in Florida my entire life, but I have not grown tired of swamps just yet.
Its hard to imagine how much wildlife lives in this place. It might look empty despite all the green, but environments like this are teeming with life. The plants were colorful too. I always find comfort in places like this, even if the mosquitos were doing their best to turn me into an all you can eat buffet.
Back to the Park:
This section of Maitland Trail took me through the community park. Several of the above images might look familiar as a result. Still, I did my best to take pictures from different angles than before. I even made sure on my last adventure to stay away from the trail.
It probably doesn’t matter. Some people come to the same locations and take pictures in the same spots on different days. I wonder how much I miss by only visiting locations once and then moving on to something else.
In this case, quite a bit as it turned out. By avoiding where the trail went, I missed an entire section of Maitland Community Park. Mostly sections with tennis courts. It wasn’t too crowded so I managed to get some pictures of these more isolated spots.
Beyond the park, Maitland Trail follows a street towards Maitland proper. Along the way, I saw entrances to a couple neighborhoods. I know I have mentioned this several times in prior posts, but I can only imagine how much it costs to live near here. Constant green with easy access to bike trails.
Beyond housing that is far out of my price range, the trail crossed some more swamp land and moved beyond to more open areas. Maitland is a nice little town. At times I have wanted to live here. Maybe next time I have to move. Anyway, the best parts of the trail were still to come. And I was excited for what was next.
Beyond the Park:
The main reason I knew this trail exists is because of the bridge that crosses US 17/92. The Maitland Trail covers more ground than I initially thought. Always a welcome surprise. The leadup to said bridge took me past a couple places I have driven through countless times. Yet now I had the rare oppertunity to look at where State Road 414 ends on the ground.
Most of the time, I am speeding around the ramp pictured above. You kind of have to when driving in Florida. But on the bike trail, I had no cars tailing me. No need to rush anywhere in fact. Sometimes that is my biggest motivator for exploring at all. Its nice to just take the world in without being pressured to do anything else.
All around the nearby bridge sit watersheds. Watersheds are important in Florida. While the sunshine state gets plenty of rain, it also uses water quite quickly. Being able to conserve resources helps people live here. And I am never one to oppose giving back to the earth that we live on.
The Bridge:
At long last I reached the main event of the Maitland Trail. I have wanted to walk across this bridge for a long time. Between looking at US Highway 17/92 from above, to getting a good look at the tracks that carry Sunrail through Orlando, it was a neat feeling to be standing here.
I could write all about my thoughts and feelings while being up on that bridge, but as a writer, I know that there are times where pictures can do the job better. Time to show some restraint. I swear its not me being lazy. Take a look at what I saw.
Billboard adds, hidden streets, and railroad tracks. There was a lot to take in while up on that bridge. And that is all ignoring the major highway directly next to me. State Road 414 starts as a regular road but becomes a toll road farther west.
The final section of the Maitland Trail took me past the bridge and towards a few more neighborhoods. I love tunnels. Might have mentioned that in a prior post. I didn’t realize that this trail would have a tunnel. Much less one under a street I have driven down tons of times.
Whoever designed this part of the trail put a lot of care into designing the greenery around it. There was a lot to see while exploring around this part of Maitland. My biggest regret is that I waited so long to come here in the first place.
Now that I have learned my lesson, I intend to see what other parks I’ll find in the area. Look forward to even more adventures soon.
Pokémon Go:
Here is a section of Maitland Trail in Pokémon Go. Obviously parks tend to be better places to play than trails. But it wasn’t terrible. There were Pokestops and plenty of spawns on this walk. Still, I would recommend nearby Maitland Community Park for a Pokémon centered day.
But if you are looking to hatch eggs and get some spawns along the way, why not take a walk across a bridge. The game is called Pokémon Go after all.
I hatched a Riolu and event Pichu. Unlike most hatches, I was pleased with both of these. It was bound to happen eventually. Sad to think how long it might take before I’m happy with all my hatches in one post though.
Sandile might be from a desert, but even it loved the bridge. Look at that face. Plus the bridge looks cool from this angle.
Wrap Up:
Here I am smiling even though the sun is in my eyes too. I knocked an item off my bucket list by crossing the bridge on Maitland Trail. I have a lot of world still to explore, but each day I come that much closer to my goal.