Mapping Sarasota, One Story at a Time
When I started Bohemian Sarasota, I never thought it would lead me to so much knowledge about the city’s incredible people and unique experiences. I’ve been mapping Sarasota by traveling from place to place, attending events, and persistently asking people for interviews.
One of the most unexpected experiences was attending an event at Triangle Ranch, hosted by its fabulous owner, Elizabeth Moore. I had no idea what to expect, but everything about it felt distinctive.
The cowboy-inspired dress code set the tone, perfectly complementing the event's theme—the signing of Isaac Eger’s book, The Great Florida Cattle Drive. The surprising tunes of The Garbage-Men, a Sarasota-based band, took sustainability to a new level, crafting instruments from recycled materials—unlike anything I’d seen before. Learn more about The Garbage-Men.
On the Photos: Elizabeth Moore and Michael Barfield. Isaac Eger, the author, signing books. And Iru Barfield, the author of Bohemian Sarasota.
Isaac Eger’s book signing celebrated Florida’s historic cattle-driving heritage. The Great Florida Cattle Drive offers a vivid look at the state’s ranching traditions and the growing threats they face from relentless development. The event was a tribute to that legacy, blending history, culture, and storytelling into one unforgettable experience.
For those interested in more details about the cattle drive that Isaac participated in and inspired his book, there is an excellent article in Sarasota Magazine covering his firsthand experience. Read the article here.
However, I wanted to learn more about the author, so I asked Isaac to meet with me a few days later to discuss his writing, journey, and the story behind the book.
A Dream, A Ticket, A Cattle Drive
For Isaac, the journey to writing The Great Florida Cattle Drive started unusually. “I just kept dreaming about horses, even though I had never really been on one,” he said. Years ago, he had written a profile about Elizabeth Moore for Sarasota Magazine, and they became friends. She often invited him to events and informed him about what was happening around Sarasota. That’s how he first heard about the Great Florida Cattle Drive—a historic reenactment of Florida’s old cattle drives.
“I knew I had to go when I found out about it. It felt like my dreams were leading me there,” Isaac said. He pitched the story to different publications, trying to find a way in. Then fate stepped in—Moore injured her hip and couldn’t attend. She handed him her ticket. “I want you to go for me,” she told him. So he went. He drove to the event, rented a horse, and figured things out as they happened. “It was my first time riding, but somehow, it felt right.”
Rediscovering Florida
Isaac grew up in Florida, but as a teenager, he was eager to see more of the world. At 18, he set off on his journey—spending a year in Nicaragua before heading to college in Oregon, drawn to the experience of trottering the world. “I didn’t fully understand Sarasota back then. It felt like a place for a different stage of life.”
Looking back, he realizes part of that disconnect came from not understanding the place itself. “They never really taught us Florida’s history. I remember driving past stretches of land with cows in the strangest places and wondering, Why are there cows here?” Years later, after extensive travels, he returned to Sarasota and learned that cattle once roamed freely—even on the city's beaches. He found old photos of cows on the shoreline, a forgotten piece of Florida’s past.
He started putting the pieces together. “Now, I have to make up for lost time. I misunderstood this place, and now I want to know it truly,” Isaac said. For him, the best way to understand Florida is through its ranching culture. “Ranchers represent the last real, continuous culture in the state.” He sees modern Florida as a place losing its history, reshaped by transplants who bring their traditions while erasing what was already here. That desire to reconnect with the real Florida led him to the cattle drive. “I wanted to feel Florida—to experience it firsthand. And there’s no better way than being on horseback, riding through its ranchlands.”
A Vanishing Landscape
Elizabeth Moore has been a significant force in preserving what’s left of Florida’s wilderness. She helped save 1,400 acres of ranchland in Myakka that would have otherwise been developed. Fittingly, she held the book signing at Triangle Ranch, representing precisely what she’s fighting to protect.
For Isaac, that stretch of land between Fruitville and Myakka City is one of Sarasota’s last remaining authentic spaces. “I’ve visited different farms, and I truly believe it’s the best part of what we have left,” he said. “The buildings are taking over quickly, and I crave what’s still real.”
The Future of Florida’s Land
Every time Isaac drives past Fruitville, a new development breaks. “It’s endless,” he said. The irony, he believes, is that people move to Sarasota for its beauty, destroying the very thing that brought them here. “They buy tiny plots of land and call them ‘ranchettes.’ They bulldoze real ranches to create artificial ones—these fake versions of country living.”
Florida’s economy is fueled by population growth—1,000 new residents arrive every day. “At some point, maybe it’ll stop. And when people finally start leaving, I hope there’s enough nature left that it can reclaim itself.”
Until then, Isaac kept writing, exploring, and advocating for the land. “Sarasota isn’t just about commercial restaurants and tourist attractions. It’s a place with a deep, rich history that deserves to be protected.”
On Closing Note
The book is set to be published soon, and I was lucky to get a copy at the signing event. It’s beautifully written, capturing the essence of Florida’s cattle-driving heritage with stunning illustrations that look straight out of a movie. You can purchase the book online here:
Follow the author on Twitter: Isaac_Eger.
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