Wind your way through Cornfusion

Looking for some down home, good old-fashioned fun this Halloween? You might want to check out Cornfusion, just north of Lakeland. You navigate through a corn maze and hopefully find your way out.

"We had a really good turn out last year, so this year we tried to make everything a little better and more permanent and a little bigger," Ted Smith said. Smith and his wife Donna own the farm on Moore Road where Cornfusion is held.

The event was such a success last year, they built a big cornbox to accommodate more kids, put up a concession stand, and bought two more trailers so they can run more hay rides.

Cornfusion is just one example of ecotourism, which is booming all over. It is certainly starting to make its mark in Polk County. Not long ago, Safari Wild opened. You can see African and other animals roaming on hundreds of acres there. Just a few weeks ago, a ranching family held a mud run on their property, which goes through the Green Swamp.

And that's just the beginning. There are more than a dozen events or attractions in Polk that are considered ecotourism. Tourism officials say most are doing well because people want to get back to nature.

"Just kinda re-connecting, seeing the wildlife in its natural habitat," said Al Snow, who works for "Visit Florida."

For more information about Cornfusion, go to www.cornfusionmaze.com