Exploring the World with Pokémon Go: Seminole Wekiva Trail Extension
I found that I had not fully explored the Seminole Wekiva Trail. So I returned to check out the extension and see where it went.
Mile Marker 16.5
Back in Seminole County meant less swamp and more Mile Markers as I started my adventure down the Seminole Wekiva Trail Extension. Instead of those endless seas of green, I passed fancy houses with their little gates to keep unimportant people like me out.
A lot of people seem to prefer trails that take you into the wilderness. But I’m of a different mind. While I certainly like being out in nature on these walks, trails that go through suburban and urban settings have their own aesthetic that I don’t think is explored or talked about enough. This isn’t totally a rant about how tired I was of my rail trail descriptions. Nope, certainly not that.
Seeing Mile Marker 16.5 was a bit humbling when I remembered mentally how far the other end of the trail was from here. But distance wise its barely anything by car. Technology really has expanded the range of travel significantly.
Mile Marker 16.75
Heading towards the next mile marker on the Seminole Wekiva Trail extension took me through similar places as the earlier section. Of course given the short distance, you can almost see these pictures in the ones above. Its weird after having entire posts will major mile markers far apart. Now they are close again and the picture sections are smaller.
The trail follows the same road with almost no turns all the way to its end. It creates a fun little game where you can check and see if these photos appear in a slightly different form down below.
Mile Marker 17
I passed the first whole number mile marker on Seminole Wekiva Trail Extension and realized that this would be the last one of the whole trail. This whole section goes beyond where the original trail stops. I assumed that it connects with another trail up ahead, but at the time of taking these pictures, I didn’t know the answer to that yet.
Will I have those answers by the end of this adventure? You will have to keep reading to find out the answer to that.
Mile Marker 17.25
By the time I reached mile marker 17.25 on the Seminole Wekiva Trail Extension, the Florida heat was starting to do its work. Initially I cam here because I needed to take a long walk. And even that extreme heat would deter me from what I needed to do.
Its been a long gap between many of my blog posts. I’ll admit depression is trying its best to grind me down. These walks in part were started to give me a way to go outside and take my energy back from the silent killer. But lately its been harder and harder. So many negative things that I don’t want to talk about in this post.
Mile Marker 17.5
The prior section of Seminole Wekiva Trail Extension had one turn that had me cross the road and get to the other side. The rest of the adventure took me to this side and gave way to some different views. While there are neighborhoods on this side of the street, the Wekiva Springs is also not far from here so those homes are only a few blocks at most from a nature preserve.
I’ll have to explore Wekiva Springs properly at some point for this blog. I have traveled down the river a few times and it would be neat to include some pictures from it on the blog. For now though, I should focus on this trail. Only one mile marker beyond this one stood between me and the end.
Mile Marker 17.75
The final mile marker on the Seminole Wekiva Trail Extension took me right near the location of one of the most recent major construction projects in Central Florida. Toll Road 429 now connects with Interstate 4 and Toll Road 417 to create a proper beltway around Orlando. Unfortunately such construction tends to negatively effect trails.
Its very possible that this trail continues beyond where I would stop up ahead. But without markers to tell me, I have no way to know the truth. So at least for now, I’m moving forward with the assumption that I am reaching the end of this trail in this post. But I have said that before about this very trail. So who knows what the future holds?
Beyond the Mile Markers
The pictures above may not actually be part of the Seminole Wekiva Trail extension at all, but curiosity got the better of me and I continued my walk for a bit longer. Its not everyday I can almost walk onto an interstate grade road. And many of the places I explored in this last section on foot are spots that most only get to see for a moment from their cars.
Its a shame honestly. Yes some of the woodlands has been removed to accommodate 429 being extended. But it could have been a lot worse too. And the way that the road was mostly built around State Road 46 is an impressive engineering feat. One worth looking at on the blog.
There are definitely signs of a trail here. But I’m not sure if its the one I hiked today, a different one, or just an overly wide sidewalk. I’ll be doing some research and when I find the answer, you might find me back here again.
Pokémon Go
Let’s take a look at Seminole Wekiva Extension in Pokémon Go. Well, its a trail not a park. The spawns are good, the stops and gyms are few and far between. There are certainly worse places to play Pokémon Go. But there are also several parks nearby that are better. For a stroll to hatch some eggs, this is actually one of the better spots on the trails nearby to do so. But if you need items and rare spawns, I recommend a park instead.
I hatched a Shuckle.
This will be the last adventure with Leavanny. It will be hitting maximum friendship with me in a day or two as of the writing of this blog post. But that means you can all look forward to another buddy. And since I’m working towards that quest still, it will be another one you have seen before.
I’m doing my best to smile here. But things have not been so good lately. I’ll spare the details, but things are probably gonna be difficult for a bit. And that is discounting the problems happening world wide. But I’ll do my best to keep writing these adventures and showing at least one smile each time.