(upbeat music) - [Announcer] On this episode of The Outsiders, Selah and Brandon are in Marianna, Florida, hiking and exploring Florida Caverns State Park. - Oh man, this is amazing! - [Announcer] It sure is! They also get a look-see at some of the local wildlife. Oh no, Selah! I'm so sorry you had to see that! Then, it's off to Tampa, as Brianna gets a backstage pass at the Florida Aquarium. - I've never been this close to a penguin before, and he's so soft. - [Announcer] Lucky, I wanna pet a penguin! And Brianna learns firsthand what it really takes to take care of all of those animals. - These red drum fish are really hungry. Watch this.

(splashing) - That's cool. - Wow. - [Announcer] All of this on The Outsiders Club.

♪ Come on let's go outside ♪

♪ We're gonna have some fun outside ♪

♪ It's where we are, it's who we are ♪

♪ It's The Outsiders Club ♪

- Check this out. - We are surf fishing at Sebastian Inlet State Park. - [Both] Wow!

(coughing) - Brandon? - Over here! - It's over there! - [Both] Keep it outside.

♪ Come on let's go outside ♪

♪ We're gonna have some fun outside ♪

♪ Yeah keep it outside ♪

♪ Where the sun shines bright ♪

♪ It's The Outsiders Club ♪

- [Announcer] The Outsiders Club is brought to you by Florida State Parks. Visit floridastateparks.org to plan your next adventure in the real Florida. - Okay. Water, sunscreen, first aid kit, my trail maps, hiking sticks.

(grunting) - Okay. Got it. Okay, I'm ready. - Brandon, what's in that? - You know, just my stuff for hiking. - That's a lot of stuff for a day hike. - Selah, you can never have too much stuff. Welcome to The Outsiders Club, I'm Brandon. - And I'm Selah. Today, we're in Florida Caverns State Park in North Florida. - That's right, and today, we're gonna be sharing with you hiking tips, and showing off some awesome trails. - Okay, but Brandon, I just wanna be sure we're only going on a day hike, right? - That's right. - Okay, 'cause it looks like you have enough stuff for a week in that backpack. - Hey, when you're whining for a good book to read, or a can of peaches, or duck tape. - Oh boy. - He's not gonna last 10 minutes on the trail with all that weight in his backpack. Tell you what. While I help Brandon lighten his load, here's some intel on this truly epic state park.

(electric guitar music) Just about an hour northwest of Tallahassee, in Marianna, is Florida Caverns State Park. This is 1,300 acre park, and it was one of the original eight state parks in Florida. This park has so many great things about it, but of course, the maze of underground caverns steals the show. Okay, I just think these caverns are so cool. Look, you literally take an underground guided tour into the caverns, and then, wow! You're surrounded by all kinds of stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, more on those later in the show, but for now, all you need to know is that you've got to see these caverns to believe them. Beyond the underground awesomeness, this park has plenty of TTDs, like fishing, swimming, canoeing, horseback riding, camping, and believe it or not, it's got a nine-hole golf course. But, it's the park's reputation for all-terrain hiking that has Brandon and I packed and ready to go. Brandon, why do you need a soccer ball? - Hey, a soccer game could break out at any time! - Okay, well that's definitely going on the things you'll never need on a hike pile. Okay, I think I've got you down to the basics. Try that on. - Can't be that much better. Wow! That's a lot lighter than it was before. - Told you. I think we're all set for our day hike, and packing for that is pretty simple. Water, binoculars, compass, your trail maps, some snacks, first aid kit, sunscreen, your hiking sticks, and that's pretty much it. - While Selah and I begin our hike, check out fellow outsider, Brianna, as she visits the Florida Aquarium to become a biologist for the day. Thank you. Leaving that soccer ball behind was a big mistake. - [Selah] I think we'll manage without it.

(light pop music) - I'm here at the Florida Aquarium. You know, I've always been fascinated with marine animals. So, today, I'm getting a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to care for all of these animals.

(light pop music) It's a Burmese python, and it's 23-feet. Hope I don't have to clean this habitat. - Really excited to meet Brianna today. I've got a great day planned for her. She's gonna have a whole lot of fun. My goal today is to get Brianna to touch some animals, to learn about some animals, see what kind of things we do for behavior, show her some behind-the-scenes stuff, and we're gonna get wet and dirty. Let's walk over here and see what they're doing with our lemurs today. We've got Remy, Annie, and Lulu here. Those are the lemurs, not the biologists.

(laughing) Our first stop is the ring-tailed lemurs of Madagascar. Biologists are in there getting them used to tactile, getting them used to different equipment that we use for their wellness checks. - And they're so cute and they like to climb on top of branches and eat lettuce. - We need to make sure that when our vets come in here to give them their annual physical that the lemurs don't get upset or stressed out by the whole situation. So, you'll see that Alex here, she's kind of just touching him in different areas, so that when the vets touch them, they don't think that's it's this big thing going on. We want to make sure that no matter where they need to be examined, it's gonna not be stressful for them. So, all of the biologists on our team, we've got this little whistle, and it basically works to snap a photo in the animal's mind. So, when they're doin' the right thing, we'll just do a quick little toot, and that's just like taking a picture in their mental frame, and they know that that's what they're getting rewarded for. You ready to gets hands-on and touch some animals? - Really? - Yeah! - Let's do it. - Alright, let's go.

(acoustic guitar music) This is the dome. We call this our wetlands area, and this whole dome is inspired on natural Florida wetlands. We, actually, are one of the few places that have managed to grow mangroves indoors. So, it's pretty cool that we can provide a very natural environment for them. This is really what they would be living in if they were in the wild. We, actually, our roseate spoonbills here. They were all born here, in the wetlands, either this past summer or the summer before, and they'll just kind of make their nests up in the runs, up in the top of the dome. - Whoa! - [Announcer] Hey, don't go away! - Oh, would you watch it with that thing? - What? - You're watching The Outsiders Club. We'll be right back.

(rock music)

(rock music)

(acoustic guitar music) - Come on, Selah, you're falling behind. - I'm not falling behind, you're just going to fast! - Right. Woo. I'm officially the king of hiking.

(acoustic guitar music) I like it. Okay, let's keep moving. - Brandon, how could you even take that in? Anyway, one of the things I love about hiking is that when I'm out here, it's a chance to clear my head from distractions. And, if you're quiet enough, you'll get to see some really cool wildlife. What is that? This one time, I saw this crazy big fox squirrel, and if you've never seen one, don't feel bad. I hadn't either. But when you see one, you'll know it. Big bushy tail and about three times as big as a gray squirrel. My point is you never know what you're gonna see when you're out on the trail. My advice is to bring some binoculars and some plant and animal ID cards to help you know what you're looking at. Brandon, wait up!

(soft rock music) - The ideal hiking shoe has good arc support, covers your ankle for added support, and is waterproof. Just in case you need to cross a creek. And one more thing, don't come hiking in a new set of shoes. Believe me, been there done that, bad idea. To avoid that, make sure they're well broken in, or else it'll be blister city in the foot region. Oh, hey, Selah, wait up! Check this out. The fact that we can walk through these caverns instead of having to crawl is all thanks to the Civilian Conservation Courts, or the CCC, as they're better known. They were a group of hard-working Americans that worked on public works projects all around the country from 1932 to 1942. So, yeah. Thanks, CCC, for all the hard work you've done so we can enjoy these caverns today. Hmm, good info. Whoa! What's this? It looks like a cave in the middle of the trail. - Well, it looks like exactly what it is. - Oh. - Did you know this is the only park in Florida that has a trail that runs straight through a cave? - Well then, let's go! - [Selah] Hey, while Brandon and I work our way through this cave, this is a good time to intro this state park's main attraction. - [Guide] You guys read to go cave explorin'? - [Selah] Oh, definitely. - Earlier in the day, Brandon and I got to take a guided cavern tour, and wow, it was amazing! This is amazing! - [Brandon] Yeah, baby! I feel like I'm Indiana Jones or something. - Oh, would you watch it with that thing? - What? - [Selah] First, they teach you different mineral formations. - [Brandon] Wow. - [Selah] Stalactites are mineral formations that hang from the ceiling. Stalagmites are formations that grow up from the ground, and my fave are the soda straws. - These baby stalactites are called soda straws. - [Selah] They're basically hollow mineral tubes that really do look like straws. They look so cool, and you're like, how did these even get here? - So, what do you guys think so far? - That's cool. - Wow. - [Selah] Then, they take you different rooms, each with their own names based on the formations. My favorite was the wedding room. - Welcome to the wedding room. - With an amazing stalagmite that I guess, kind of looks like a big cake with a crazy icing job. Whoa! The tour lasts about 45 minutes, and is full of great info. Let's just say if your teacher ever gives you a pop quiz on underground caverns, you'll totally pass. - Selah, this is so cool! Sorry. Wow. Check this out. One thing you wanna make sure you have with you on the trail is some good snacks. I personally like my own trail mix. It's my own concoction of mixed peanuts, cashews, and raisins. It's simple, it's good for you, and it packs a powerful protein punch to keep you hiking. Okay, that was cool. - Yeah, it was, but did you hear something in there? - Oh yeah, those were the bats. - Bats? Nobody said anything about bats! Brandon!

(liquid pouring)

(light piano music) - Let's talk about your immune system. First off, it's very important. It's how your body protects you from getting sick. Here's the deal. It's a good idea to give your immune system all the help it can get, and drinking 100% Florida OJ

(whipping) is a great start. Stacked with vitamin C and other essential vitamins and nutrients. Florida OJ, paired with a healthy lifestyle, may help support your immune system. For more information on how amazing Florida OJ is, visit floridajuice.com. Florida Orange Juice, there's amazing inside. - [Caroline] Go ahead, right here. - [Announcer] Hey, don't go away. - These red drum fish are really hungry. - Alright, penguins, swim! Come on, penguins, there we go. Woo!

(rock music)

(rock music) - I'm here at the Florida Aquarium. - We're ready to get hands-on. We're gonna see our African penguins. Got 10 African penguins here, so. - Caroline and I took a little adventure, and she took me into this room, and next thing I know, we're in a room full of penguins. It was so cool! - Now, there are 18 different species of penguins in the world, and only five of them are doing okay. Most penguin species are endangered. So, we're raising awareness and hopefully, we can make a difference for them out in the wild. - The smell in there was killer! - When we first walked into penguin holding, I could tell that Brianna had that look on her face. She definitely smelled the essence of penguin. It's always important when we come in to interact with them that we sanitize properly, we wanna make sure that the penguins are healthy, we're healthy. So, let's wash our hands before we get started. 60% of all diseases in the world are zoonotic, and it can be transferred from human to animal and animal to human. So, it's really important to sanitize our feet, sanitize our hands to avoid any cross-contamination. - Woo. - Good to go. - Yeah. - Now, Cliff here, he's a great penguin. He's a very friendly people penguin, so you can go ahead and put that up against him. It's kind of something that he's used to. He's used to new people, and we make sure that we work with our penguins every day to make sure that they're comfortable around these wellness checks and around new faces, as well. See these cute little spots on the white part of their chest there? - Yeah. - [Caroline] Now, those are kinda like a fingerprint. - [Brianna] Oh wow. - [Caroline] They all have a different pattern and they will grow back in the same place every time they molt. - I'm never been this close to a penguin before, and he's so soft. - [Caroline] Yeah, Cliff is a great penguin. - Yeah. He's really sweet. - [Caroline] Yeah. He just always wants to come out. He always wants to be around new people. Let me introduce you to Reef, here. Reef is our tiniest penguin. She's not our youngest, but she is our smallest penguin. Now, you've got this fun towel on your lap because we're gonna do a little foot training and these guys poop every 10 to 15 minutes on average, so we don't wanna get you too dirty starting off. Alright, there we go. - [Brianna] Like this? - [Caroline] Yeah, you can go ahead and touch her pads a little bit. - Soft.

(whistling) - Good. Alright, now what I just did there is I used my bridge to let her know that she did a good job. We were rewarding her for an exact moment in time. These guys are climbers. In the wild, they live in really rocky, hilly beaches, and their feet are built for climbing. So, if they have any sort of little nicks or injuries or anything like that, we need to be able to give them the best medical care as soon as possible. Make sure that they're back and on their feet.

(laughing) - Being here today made me realize that it's a lot that goes into a marine biologist. This is yummy lunch. Protein. - [Caroline] If you don't mind just passing me the fish? - [Brianna] It's kinda heavy. - Yeah, they eat a lot of food. These penguins weigh about six to seven pounds on average, and some of them can eat up to two pounds of food every single day. Alright, penguins. Swim! Come on, penguins, there we go.

(whistling) Good job! Good job. Woo! But, that comes with the territory. I mean, definitely when I get home, it's laundry day every day. - You wanna work with penguins just overall, you have to get used to the smells and all the sounds, right? - We walk into this room. To us, we don't smell anything, you know? But to somebody who's not used to it, they are gonna smell, well, this. You know? I had a real treat for Brianna today. One of my favorite things to do is to go feed the red drum. This is what we're going to be feeding them today. We've got some herring, there's some butterfish, capelin, krill, and we give them a variety of food. Everyday, we change their menu because every fish has a different nutritional factor. - I'm just used to giving goldfish, little baby goldfish, little food to eat. But no. I was feeding these ginormous red drum fish fish. - So, these are our red drum here. These guys have been here pretty much since we opened. We want them to be comfortable coming to us. If we need to pull 'em out of the tank for tank maintenance or medical reasons, we don't want them to be stressed out every time we need to catch 'em up. So, we actually have gotten them used to going into our net. So, what I'm gonna do here is I'm gonna give them our target, our signals.

(tapping) Alright, here we go. Go ahead and throw some pieces right here. He's already coming in through the back end. Go ahead and throw a couple more pieces right here. That's great, see how they go right through the net? Now, sometimes, you get somebody that's a little brave and they wanna stick their hands in this tank.

(splashing) That is why you should not put your hands in the tank. - They just snapped everywhere gulping the fish up. I had to throw it and they swam through the little net, and then they went to the little edge of the tank, and went.

(chomping)

(splashing) These red drum fish are really hungry. Watch this.

(splashing) That was really cool. Then, Caroline took me to go feed T-Rex, the turtle. - I am working with our green sea turtle, T-Rex, and what I'm doing is working on targeting with her. What we do is we'll put the target in and ask her to come over to where we are and that way, we can feed her really easily. And if we ever have to work with her for any kind of medical conditions, we're able to bring her to where we are and then we're able to remove her from the tank. - My job, I definitely think is the best job in the world. It's amazing to being able to come here to the Florida Aquarium and being able to make a difference in these animals lives. They can definitely react to us, and that's what makes it all so worth it, because you can tell, in the animals, that they enjoy having us here. - Do you wanna feed her? - Sure. - Kay, you're gonna take this, and then just put it right by her mouth. Perfect. - She's so sweet and she's really cute, and I got to feed her squash and lettuce, and she would just swim up with her little pink marker and eat everything. So, what happened to her front flippers? - So, she was actually found in the wild, and she was actually already like that. So, what we think may have happened is a lot of times in the wild, sea turtles and other animals can get caught in things that we leave in the ocean. So, plastic bags, monofilament, fishing line, basically anything they can get tangled in. So, our best guess is that she got caught in fishing line. - After being here today, I realize is that there was a lot that goes into being a marine biologist. I mean, you have to go through years of training for that, but its definitely something I think I wanna do. - You have fun today? We saw the whole aquarium! - I did, thank you so much for having me. I didn't know this much went into taking care for all of these animals. I had such a great time hanging out. - Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. You're welcome back anytime. We can definitely put you to work. - I might take you up on that offer. - Alright, see ya. - You definitely wanna put the Florida Aquarium on your bucket list. It's a must do. You're watching The Outsiders Club and we'll be right back.

(splashing)

(rock music)

(rock music) - Check this out. There are tons of places to hike in Florida. To start, there are 174 Florida state parks that have some kind of nature trail to hike on, and don't forget the huge Florida trail. That sucker's like 1,300 miles of great trail to hike on, and we have plenty of places to hike. So, grab a walking stick, pick a friend, pick a day, and get outside and hike Florida.

(heavy breathing) - Okay. How long was our hike? - Well, with the 20-minute detour we took after you claimed you saw a deer, I'd say about three hours. - Hey, that was a deer, or a large rabbit with a white tail. Anyway, that's all the time we have for today. We hope you had fun watching. - Because we had fun making it. - From touring the cave to hiking in outdoor Florida, this was a great episode. - Yeah, and seeing Brianna and Caroline take care of those fish and penguins? That was so cool. - Hey, you guys wanna play some soccer? - Yes, of course, are you kidding? Yeah man, let's go! - Unbelievable. Let's say goodbye first. - For more information on this episode, go to theoutsidersclub.com, and remember, - [Both] Keep it outside! - I told you a soccer game could pop out at any point. - I'm sorry, you just don't carry a soccer ball in a hiking pack. - [Brandon] Well, I do! - [Selah] You do a lot of weird things. - [Announcer] The Outsiders Club was brought to you by Florida State Parks. Visit floridastateparks.org to plan your next adventure in the real Florida. - Oh, would you watch it with that thing? - What? Selah, this is so cool! This is so cool. Sorry.