There is nothing left to see of Port Leon. That's the remarkable thing about this former town of 450 along the lower St. Marks River. You can hike or bike there, heading west about three-and-a-half miles from the St. Marks Refuge Visitor's Center on an unpaved refuge road or the Florida Trail. When you near the St. Marks River, there it is, or was, in a spacious pine and live oak forest-a once bustling port town that was connected to St. Marks and Tallahassee by a mule-drawn railroad. There are a few foundation pilings just off the trail, but those were likely from an early refuge headquarters, not Port Leon.

I am happy to say that I have stuck with my New Year's Resolution to get my family in shape. I would love to say that all six of my children have shared my enthusiasm, but that would be telling a fib. The other day we attempted a bike ride around the neighborhood. It took two hours just to get all of the bikes out of the garage and air in all of the tires. That took longer than the ride around the neighborhood which lasted less than 15 minutes! The older kids rode so fast that by the time the little ones and myself made it up the first small hill, they were already home. It was then that I realized that if we are going to bond while we are getting in shape, than I am going to have to find some things to do that are new for all of us.

The weather in town has been a fickle beast as of late, but for those who call Tallahassee home, this isn't anything new. The mornings start cold, and the days end freezing. I've been staving off the cold bones with hot teas and coffee, but at night, my sweet tooth gets the best of me. It drives me to venture into the elements to secure a frozen delight.

I'm convinced that the Twilight Trail near Woodville was named because people liked to ride the trail after work and often finished during the twilight. That was certainly the case for me on a recent Friday. I began my 9-mile loop ride at the Lewis Park in Woodville with the sun already dipping behind tall pines.