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First aidLand, Sea and Air LbNA #30432

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Apr 21, 2007
Location:
City:Bonita Beach
County:Lee
State:Florida
Boxes:3
Planted by:LollyDog
Found by: I dig toasters
Last found:May 5, 2010
Status:FFaFFFFFaaaFFFr
Last edited:Apr 21, 2007
Air, Sea and Land

This series of three letterboxes is located in Barefoot Beach Preserve, 342 acres of natural land and one of the last undeveloped barrier islands on Florida's southwest coast. To reach the Preserve, follow the Tamiami Trail (Route 41) until you reach Bonita Beach Road, at which point you’ll turn west toward the Gulf of Mexico. Travel approximately 2.3 miles and follow the signs for the left turn onto Barefoot Beach Boulevard. Proceed about 1.5 miles through the beachfront development until the park entrance. You will pass the ranger station and parking areas One and Two. Continue to the third parking area, where the clues commence.

First, some useful information and details:
1. As of this writing, the park admission is $6 per car.
2. The beach is stunning and we’ve found many beautiful seashells here. There are also showers, a picnic area, a concession stand and a ranger station.
3. To minimize the impact on the dunes, coastal strand and maritime hammock, the boxes are placed close to a fairly well-used nature trail. Please try to be discrete as you log in and re-hide the boxes well.
4. There is a logbook in the final box only.
5. The series was placed by a Connecticut family during our annual spring pilgrimage to visit our Naples family, and is dedicated to all of them, present and past.

After parking in the third lot, find the beach access path at the Northwest corner of the lot. From the bicycle rack, proceed 40 steps west to the log bench, at which point the path continues west to the beach beyond and the Saylor Nature Trail is at your left hand. You may want to pick up a trail map from the adjacent trail box: it details the locations of over 5 dozen different species of shrubs, grasses and trees—most of them native to southwest Florida. The trail box with the maps is visible just a few steps southeast from the log bench.

Air
To find your first letterbox, proceed south on the Saylor trail, looking for the “Earleaf Greenbriar” marker on the east side of the trail. At the marker, proceed three steps east, on a 90 degree course, to the palm tree. The “Air” letterbox can be found tucked into the tree’s trunk, about chest-high, in a crevice formed by the fronds and trunk. The stamp depicts a Wood Stork.

Sea
After stamping in at “Air”, re-hide the box and continue south on the Saylor trail. Proceed about ¼ mile to the “7 Year Apple” marker. Laying your compass on top of the marker, sight the palm tree at 90 degrees, approximately 14 steps east from the edge of the trail. At its base, you will find “Sea”, which shows a Bottlenose Dolphin.

Land
To find the third and final letterbox, return to the trail and continue south, until you come upon the fourth beach access path. From the log bench, follow the beach access path west about 14 steps until the “Inkberry” marker is visible on the left. The Gulf will be audible and visible ahead of you. On a 208 degree heading from the “Inkberry” marker, proceed ten steps to the palm tree, where you will find “Land” at the Southeast side of the tree’s base, hidden under debris and sand. The “Land” stamp portrays the Florida Panther, which, as of this writing, numbers fewer than 70 in the wild. Please re-hide the box carefully. You may want to return to the third parking area by returning to the beach access path and heading out to the beach. Alternately, you can continue counterclockwise on the Saylor trail, which circles back to the southeast corner of parking lot three.