Exploring the World with Pokémon Go: SR 415 Trail 2
I returned to explore SR 415 Trail 2 after going on a couple side quests elsewhere. Let’s look at what I saw.
The first section of SR 415 Trail 2 consisted of two separate but equally beautiful scenes. Pictures of the other side of the trail were skipped because that area was filled with cars that I didn’t want to get license plates of by accident. But I also want to talk about the very brown and dead grass. Didn’t feel the need to showcase death. I do that plenty elsewhere.
The first scene consisted of a treeline. I have seen plenty of these in Volusia County. In fact I’m convinced that many of them have been encouraged to grow that way to keep nature away from our roads and even trails. Still, I find it exciting to get peeks of this other world beyond the green wall when I can.
The second scene opened up the treeline showcasing swamp. I know I know, Florida has lots of swamp. There are even entire blogposts of mine dedicated to some of those swamps in this very county. But this one is a little different. It was heavily flooded when Hurricane Ian came through. Hence why my attention will be directed at it several times in this post.
Pattern Repeats:
The second section of SR 415 Trail 2 followed the same scene presentation as the first section. But this in reverse. I won’t talk too much about that since I already painted that picture with words above. And why not look at the equally real pictures of the place.
This wasn’t the only feature of the this section though. I crossed a bridge. Just a tiny bridge compared to the main event coming up later in this post. But still a bridge. I like bridges and ramps. And other man made structures built to solve problems. Many do not share my love of those things which is why I write about nature mostly. But when I can, I point out other sites that draw my attention.
Speaking of nature, the area on my left in those photos is a massive conservation area. And I think its open to the public. I might be exploring some of that in the near future. Something to look forward to.
Swamp or Marsh:
For the next segment of R 415 Trail 2, the green tree line slowly faded away leaving huge swampland in its place. The green walls had hid these scenes before, but now I could see them fully and with clear signs of Hurricane Ian all over.
I’m not sure how much of that area normally has water. But after the hurricane, record flooding had put much of the land around here completely under water. I’m not sure how much the water has receded but it will probably be a long time before this area looks how it used to.
But that is ok. This land exists to absorb all that water. That is one of purposes of swamps. You can even determine the health of surrounding ecosystems thanks to them. Turns out swamps are not always evil after all. And neither are marshes. Which actually is what the images above are showing. Swamps have more trees.
Under the Bridge:
But as beautiful as the swamps and or marshes were in front of me, something else also caught my eye. You can see it above. Its a bridge of course, and not an insignificant one either. Let me explain why.
The Saint Johns River is fairly wide at most points. Its not simple to get across it. Not only because of it being a major river in Florida but also surrounded by lots of swamps, lakes, and marshes. Many of these places are protected wildlife zones. Naturally that means limited places to cross. In fact in all of Central Florida, there are only 10 different streets that cross the river. That’s a large area considering the river flows past several major towns and cities.
Special shoutout to State Road 46 which crosses the river twice. Its the only road to do that. And best of all, that major road has featured in my blog a couple times. It might show up again in the future. Pretty sure I saw a bike path that follows it west.
Oh right I should talk about what I saw here too. I went under the bridge. Looks like the trail flips to the other side. I don’t know why. I’ll have to look into it more. Seems like a lot of work just to have it on the other side of the highway.
Lots to see under that bridge too. Not a place I normally find myself on foot so I wanted to take some time and look at it. But chalk this up to the same as before. Lots more people, including those of you reading this post probably care more about nature and less about concrete. Let’s move right along.
Over the River:
Anyway, after going under the bridge, R 415 Trail 2 continues over the river and leaves Volusia County. The trail ends there as well. Not surprising. But before it does, those who travel down it will get a spectacular view of the river and surrounding area.
This bridge was built high enough that even the chronic flooding caused by the hurricane didn’t damage it much. Given how important it is that people are able to cross this bridge, I’m not surprised by how high up the engineers designed it to be.
I saw a restaurant and some houses down below. Not really somewhere I would go, but it might make for a unique experience for those of you looking for something a little different and away from tourist traps in Central Florida. There are lots of these hidden spots all over the state. I should start pointing out more of them.
Pokémon Go:
Let’s see how R 415 Trail 2 measures up in Pokémon Go. Well its a trail near the swamps in Florida with very few man made landmarks. You can already guess how gameplay is based on a few of my other posts.
Near the bridge at least, there are lots of spawns. But besides Beck Ranch Park and a nearby restaurant, there were basically no Pokestops at all. So if you want to hatch eggs, take a walk, this trail isn’t too hard to navigate at all. And its right by a major road too. But as far as Pokémon Go is concerned, this is not the best place to play.
These are two different Bergmite. You can tell this is so based on their cp. Otherwise I’m a bit shocked by hatching two of the same Pokémon with the exact same moveset. Highly unlikely odds.
Look at Noibat flying over the Saint Johns River. Sorry little baby Dragon, you can’t claim a major river as your territory. No matter how big you look relative to it.
I used a blue incense since there were very few spawns away from the bridge on R 415 Trail 2. And I didn’t get anything remarkable. I ran into a wild Flareon outside of the incense due to an event going on as of this hike. Normally that would be quite a rare find.
Wrap Up:
Here I am excited about being under a bridge. Many people spend much of their lives doing whatever it takes to not end up under one. Hence why I might be drawn to seeing what those that create our ideas might be hiding under that concrete.
So this trail is all complete. I wonder where I’ll head next. Be it a park or a trail, I’ll be sure to write about it.