Send us your Florida questions!

The face behind the super-popular Florida's Folk History Instagram account joins the podcast this week. Aubrey Naulin talks about her art, her hopes for Florida's future, and Florida's Indians.

Links We Mentioned

Florida Folk History on Instagram

Rosewood Remembered

Islands of Cedars by Shana Smith

Submerged Stories: Florida's Other Histories on Facebook

Lake Hourglass Studio

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Mark Barrow grew up around gators — both the real one and a certain Florida college that pays homage to them. Now, he's written a book about alligators, and he joins Rick and Cathy to talk about why alligators deserve respect, not fear. The trio also talks about the gator's place in Florida's culture, roadside Florida gator attractions, and why gators are amazing creatures.

Links We Mentioned

Mini-Lights and Black children used as gator bait?

Mini Lights proof of concept trailer from Vitale Brothers

Nature's Ghosts (this is the one we mentioned with the dead Carolina Parakeet on the cover)

William Bartram's alligator

"Alligator Capital of the World": A post by Rick Kilby

The alligator engravings some call DeMoyne, but are not

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

This week Rick and Cathy talk about Punta Gorda

Links We Mentioned

Warm Mineral Springs

Things To Do in North Port

Myakka River State Park

Royal Order of Ponce de Leon Conquistadors

Radioactive Fountain of Youth in Punta Gorda

Sunseeker Resort

DeSoto Veterans Memorial Park

Ponce-apalooza

Ponce-y Scheme

Revisiting Warm Mineral Springs

Old World Meets New Age at Warm Mineral Springs

(Image via Google Maps/Fair Use)

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Florida icon Lars Andersen joins the podcast to talk about his passion: Florida waterways.

Links We Mentioned

Book a river tour with Lars at Adventure Outpost or email him.

Lost Springs in one minute with Margaret Tolbert

Wacissa Slave Canal

Big Blue Spring.

Haulover Canal.

Photo: Canon Springs during drawdown.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Michael Grunwald talks about cattle ranching and why Floridians — and everyone — should eat more plants. He, Cathy, and Rick also talk about meat grown in a lab, why Grunwald thinks Michael Pollan gets things wrong, and Michael's new book, We Are Eating the Earth: The Race To Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate.

Links We Mentioned

We Are Eating the Earth

The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Anna Cooke, editor-in-chief at The New Barker magazine, jons the podcast to talk about rescue work in Florida; the long-gone Florida roadside attraction, Dogland; and a few famous Florida dogs.

Links We Mentioned

The New Barker Magazine

An abandoned dog in Memphis

Dave the Wonder Dog (Annie Oakley was a snowbird) (bonus link)

Brownie the town dog of Daytona Beach

Garden of Love

Coonhound Cemetery in Alabama

Senior Dog Sanctuary in Nashville

Donte's Den Animal Sanctuary

Pinkey Sells War Bonds

Suncoast Animal League

Image generated by AI (we couldn't get a real dachshund mermaid to pose for us)

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

The Ocklawaha River in Central Florida has been dammed for decades. Now, there's a chance to tear down the dam and reunite the rivers. That's good news for bass, anglers, environmentalists, and the local economy. Margaret Spontak comes on the podcast to talk about why, and she encourages people to call their state legislators and ask them to support restoration of the Ocklawaha and reuniting the rivers.

Links We Mentioned

Interactive map of the Ocklawaha

Reunite the Rivers and the Rodman Dam

Governor Ron DeSantis and the budget to tear down the dam

Great Florida Riverway Trust

Reunite the Rivers Student Showcase

Rick Kilby: Reclaiming the Sublime on the Ocklawaha

Rick Kilby: Return the Ocklawaha

Rick Kilby: Holy Water, Sacred Ground

Rick Kilby: What I Saw at Silver Springs

Photo by Rick Kilby

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Ryan Worthington joins the podcast to talk about a new initiative he and Cathy are working on — a podcast to document and discuss history in Florida that doesn't get taught in schools. Submerged Stories is the name of the forthcoming podcast, and the Facebook group they've created to crowdsource information. Check out the link below, join the group, and share it with your like-minded friends.

Links We Mentioned

Submerged Storie: Florida's Other History (Ryan and Cathy's Facebook Group)

Magnolia Lakes State Park

Don't Tread on Me history

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!