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First aidChoi’s La Ranita de Labio Blanco LbNA #20086

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jan 16, 2006
Location: Rye Reserve
City:Parrish
County:Manatee
State:Florida
Boxes:1
Planted by:oldhounder & Siamese
Found by: KehresClan
Last found:Jan 8, 2017
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFOaFFaFFa
Last edited:Oct 12, 2015
Time: 40 minutes, round trip, except for stamping.
Terrain: Level, sandy, occasional horse-droppings.
Shoes and bug-repellent recommended.
Clues updated: Dec 30, 2006

Choi has reached down into the Caribbean, found a frog…a white-lipped frog (Leptodactylus albilabris, for the scientific purists), and brought back a specimen that you can find at Rye Preserve in Parrish, FL.

Rye Preserve, also known as Rye Wilderness Park, is Manatee County conservation land that is FREE and is described as an undiscovered gem. It has trails, a campground, nice picnic areas, a playground, and a quiet, meandering river monitored by one 10 foot alligator and a ranger who travels about on an ATV.

From the intersection of I-75 (Exit 220) and SR- 64, go East towards Zolfo Springs and Wauchula, 2.4 miles.

Turn Left on Upper Manatee River Rd, go to the end of the road, following the signs to the Florida Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch. Turn Left on Rye Rd. and go over the bridge.

Turn Right on Rye Wilderness Trail which will take you further into the preserve and towards the Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch.

Pass two parking areas, a small one your right and a big one at the picnic pavilion. Park at the next one on the right. You may be able to get a copy of the trail map from the box on the fence. If there are none, it is not a problem. We will get you to where you need to go. BTW, there are good clean restrooms near the kiosk.

Stroll down the gravel road towards the Youth Ranch. On your left will be a barbed wire fence followed by a short wooden fence. At the end of the wooden fence, enter the Settlement Trail. It forms a border between Rye and the Youth Ranch.

For some distance the trail is a straight sandy path and was probably a road at one time that got people to the Rye Cemetery. That’s where you are going.

There will be trails off to the left, stay right.

The cemetery is a well-cared plot surrounded by a nice white wooden fence. It was interesting to go inside, look at the old stones, and to fantasize about the people there. However, the frog awaits you, white-lip and all, nearby but not in the cemetery.

Outside the cemetery, face the gate and go to the right along the fence. At the last fence support before the end of the fence – STOP – turn right. Walk SEVEN steps and find a four foot up-rooted stump on your immediate left. See the Spanish moss and a piece of palm frond sticking out of the bottom? They don’t belong there. Remove the moss, and pull, gently, on the palm frond. Behold! The den of the white-lipped frog—two little film canisters taped together. Froggie awaits you under one cover; the log under the other.

After stamping in, please double check that the two covers are on tight, replace in the stump and stuff the moss back. Go back the way you came.


Drop by for a visit:oldhounder & Us'uns