February 21, 2005 (Mon)
Quails Run Condominium 3
Not a lot to talk about. The last couple of days has been a time to "catch up", Joy with her mother and sister, Mark with the finances, and both of us with the mail. The mail didn't bring any surprises but it was good to get it and know we weren't being sued or anything. Quicken needed to be brought up to date, reconciled really as it about takes care of itself if we keep up with it. Tomorrow we start for home.
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February 22, 2005 (Tue)
Walmart Parking Lot, Savannah, GA
Englewood, FL - Savannah, GA (398 miles) Q011456
Again we said good-bye to Bom and Frannie. This time it was harder because we won't be coming back as soon. We got off at 8:25 (68.9°) and headed North on US-776. Our first stop was a Publix on Jacaranda Blvd. to pick up a few needed supplies then to I-75 and North. A stop at Camping World on I-4 lightened our wallets by $135 and generated a pledge not to ever stop there again then Lazy Days is having a "Super RV Show and Sale". Not only were all the parking spots taken but all the non-parking spaces were as well. We had about given up when we found one. It was a car sized space so our rear end and step stuck out into the road but we didn't care. Others were doing worse things. The Flying J (gas station) next door was also over crowded but we "lucked out". A pump opened up just as we selected that particular line to wait in.
We had lunch at a rest stop on I-75 just before getting off to pick up US-301 to I-95. This Wamart is about 1/3 of the way home and seems to be a good place to spend the night. Also there are 3 large class A motor homes from Oregon over-nighting here. They were at the Daytona races over the weekend and are on their way to a NASCAR race in Nashville this weekend. There was also mention of another race or two between here and Oregon. I guess they must be car race junkies. Anyway, one of the fellows was very interested in Q as he and his wife are getting ready to down size. He was very impressed.
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February 23, 2005 (Wed)
Flying J parking lot, Ruther Glen, VA
Savannah, GA to Ruther Glen, VA (534 miles) Q011990
There were six other rigs and a small pick up (with a cloth thrown over the windshield) around us when we woke up this morning. But it was a nice quiet night and we felt perfectly save. We would definitely recommend Camp Walmart in Savannah.
We got up at first light and watched the moon set as the sun rose. Beautiful! After a quick breakfast we hit the road again (7:20 - 59.9°). About 30 miles up I-95 we hit some heavy fog. Not so heavy that it slowed the traffic much but it was a concern. It cleared after 50 miles or so, though, it was mostly sunny the rest of the way to Richmond, VA.
One of the things Henry does well is find specific commercial establishments for us. Unfortunately he doesn't bother giving us any indication of value. Neither of the two Wamarts he found in the Richmond area are any good for parking lot sleep-overs. Both were crowded with stores all the way around so there were no remote sections. There were no other RV rigs there either. So after wasting a couple of hours and putting our relationship to the test, we got back on I-95 and headed 20 miles North to a Flying J Travel Plaza. That's where we're spending the night. It seems to be quieter than most so should work out well. We were sorely in need of some comfort food and it's available in great quantities in the Country Market Restaurant and Buffet (associated with the Flying J). The South Beach Diet and comfort food aren't compatible but we didn't care.
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February 24, 2005 (Thu)
Maryland Welcome Center parking lot
Ruther Glen, MD to Centerville, MD (140 miles) Q012130
We slept, last night to the roar of big diesel trucks coming and going and although the shower availability announcements were few and all but inaudible, we were awake and ready to get up at 5:30. It was a cold (30°) dark 6:00am departure and visibility was poor because of the snow - flurries at that point - so we were glad to see a McDonalds restaurant within the first mile. It was Egg McMuffens for breakfast!
As I write this I can see a sign that says "2 hour parking maximum". We've been here now for several hours and we'll probably spend the night - most of it anyway. There's a snow storm going on out there. From what we're hearing on the radio it's due to dump as much as 6" on NJ by the time we get there so we've decided not to try to make it home today. There's no real reason to. When we asked the man at the information desk if it would be all right for us to stay he said, "I didn't see you come in and I won't see you leave." We took that to mean that we probably wouldn't be bothered. So We've been sitting here reading, playing RummiKube, and doing what we can to keep from being bored or get on each others nerves.
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February 25, 2005 (Fri)
Home
Centerville, MD to Home (164 miles) Q012294
We slept pretty well considering our "unsafe" location and the sound of trucks roaring past on both sides - the welcome center is located between the North and South bound lanes. We half expected a Maryland Highway Patrol officer to come knocking but we were undisturbed. It was supposed to stop snowing around midnight but it hadn't by 3:00am. It looked to be cloudy at 6 and we were treated to a spectacular sunrise as we ate breakfast at 6:40. Our thermometer recorded a low of 22° last night but it was up to 27° by the time we got on the road at 7:12. Our heated seats gave welcome warmth until Q's heater could take over. The bicycles are completely coated with ice and salt. They'll need a thorough cleaning when we get home. The roads were clear and even dry in some places but the traffic was very heavy. Our windshield washer fluid ran out just as we approached the Delaware Memorial Bridge - seeing signs and avoiding other vehicles became a real challenge especially since we were headed into the sun.
We stopped at the Flying J Travel Plaza, got gas and broke one of the holding tank valve handles trying to dump. The valves were frozen shut! There was a Chinook Glacier (27' with slide out) - purchased from the dealer where we got Q - in the Camping World parking lot when we stopped for repair parts. There were no customers in the store so we didn't get to share experiences. We stopped to see Shane - boy has he grown and gained confidence in his walking - and Jennifer on our way through Freehold and got home at about 12:30pm. Unpacking and putting Q back into winter mode again was exhausting. We were glad when we could finally sit back and relax.
Home again - #51-12
To Quail's Run - #51-11
February 16, 2005 (Fri)
Highlands Hammock State park #17 w/e $19.60 B
Lake Wales, FL to Sebring, FL (57 miles) Q010964
We woke at first light and lounged around until 7:15 or so watching the news on TV - there was nothing world shattering, thankfully. We took bath-house showers before breakfast, prepared Q for travel after and were pulling out of the campground at 8:40 - 59°. The cell signal at the campground was too weak for data transmission - though probably OK for voice - so we stopped in a Publix (supermarket) parking lot in Lake Wales so we could upload/download email. Joy took the opportunity to do some grocery shopping. The trip to Highlands Hammock State Park was short and uneventful. We arrived at about 12:30 so after lunch we had time to explore the park on our bicycles. The one "bicycle trail" is about 8 miles long - it seemed more like 20. Calling it a bicycle trail was a real stretch in many places - the sand was so fine and so deep that riding a bicycle was impossible. We did ride more than we walked though and it was pleasant being out there by ourselves. There wasn't much in the way of wildlife but the pine forest wilderness was wonderful to experience. Just hearing the wind in the trees was soothing and emotionally restful.
We are a little disappointed with the campground after hearing such good things about it. The atmosphere is "State Park" but we are crammed in like many private parks. One reason for our disillusionment may be that we probably have the smallest site in the campground (not our choice). Q's bicycle rack is just far enough off the road to avoid being hit and our back door is maybe 5 feet from the site limit (The campground utility post keeps us from going back any further.) There is a tree about 6 inches outside our living room window and a tree on the other side allows just barely enough room for the awning to be deployed. The ground under the awning is so rough and uneven that sitting in our chairs is an adventure.
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February 17, 2005 (Thu)
Highlands Hammock State park (day 2)
Many campgrounds seem to have a character or theme. It might be boating, hiking, partying (unfortunately), birding, or hiking. In this park it's bicycling. It is a good park for that - and it seems as if everyone has one - although there are many sandy areas. We went out this morning and did the Park Loop Road (4 miles) - a beautiful ride through a palm and pine forest (called a hammock here abouts) with the underbrush being fan shaped palm and palmetto fronds! Most of the hiking trails are off this road and we stopped along the way to hike three of them - each just under a mile long. The Ancient Hammock Trail was loaded with huge Live Oak trees and, surprisingly, many wild Orange trees. Just as surprisingly, the Wild Orange Grove Trail had very few Orange trees. The Fern Garden Trail had lots of fern as did the other trails.
We spent the rest of the day acting like retired folks, sitting around under our awning reading and watching life go on around us. Three folks with a fifth wheel a few sites away provided entertainment for a couple of hours by playing bluegrass music on banjo, mandolin, guitar, and fiddle. One of the fellows even sang a bit too. They sounded very professional and it was really quite pleasant to listen to.
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February 18, 2005 (Fri)
Highlands Hammock State park (day 3)
We bicycled the Park Loop Road again this morning and hiked the Young Hammock, Cypress Swamp, Alexander Blair Big Oak, and Hickory Trails. On the Cypress Swamp Trail we ran into a school bus load of 1st or 2nd graders on a field trip. They were so cute. Their reactions to what they were seeing was priceless. The featured attraction on the Alexander Blair Big Oak Trail was - well - a big oak tree. The sign there said it was 1000 years old. Its trunk measures 36 feet around. Amazing.
And the locusts descendeth! About mid afternoon the camping sites that had been vacated this morning and the in last few days as well as those empty since we got here, began to fill up. And they kept coming and coming - and coming! By 5:00, when we went to dinner, most of the spaces around us were full to overflowing with 1, 2, and 3 family units - with as many vehicles plus tents, trailers and camping vans. A couple of times the Park Ranger had to encourage squatters to move their vehicles so rightful renters would have access to their sites. Our reaction: Good Grief!
Our dinner was All-You-Can-Eat fish fry at the in-park restaurant - not bad. The cars were still piling in when we got back to Q. There were even two car's worth of campers squeezed into the space between our site and the next - on the other guy's site. And they kept coming well after it was too dark for us to watch them. Good Grief!
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February 19, 2005 (Sat)
Quail's Run Condominium Parked in SunTrust Bank parking lot
Sebring, FL to Englewood, FL (94 miles) Q011058
We had been worried that it would be noisy last night - there were hundreds of kids - but by 10:00 or 10:15 all was quiet. The kids around us must have been a church youth group. Earlier in the evening they had been gathered in a site nearby singing, accompanied by guitar and violin. While we couldn't hear well enough to understand the words, the sound (tune, beat, harmony, etc) was distinctively "religious". It, too, was pleasant to listen to as we played our nightly game of RummiKube.
We were very curious to look out this morning. When we did it was like looking outside in the morning after a big snow storm. There were tents, cars and campers everywhere - squeezed into every available piece of bare ground. The poor armadillos we'd seen rooting around the last couple of nights had no place left to dig for their bugs.
We couldn't turn left toward the campground exit when we pulled out of our campsite at 7:00am (49.6°) because there wasn't room enough for Q to get between the parked cars. Turning right wasn't much better but we got through. We wondered how the folks in a large Airstream trailer, getting ready to leave for Key West, were going to make out.
Our drive across the state to Englewood was uneventful. We got here at about 9:45.
Lake Kissemmee SP - #51-10
February 11, 2005 (Fri)
The Great Outdoors RV-Nature & Gulf Resort (day 2)
It was cold this morning, 40°, which made for a brisk 4 1/2 mile walk. Not much excitement today. We spent the morning here puttering around and doing some chores - laundry, correspondence, updated computer utilities, etc. This afternoon Joy went over to hang out with Dorcas, knitting, while Mark did some web research, updated our computer banking data, and practiced the guitar a bit. Dinner was take out from the community fund-raising pork barbecue event. Delicious and we ate way too much!
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February 12, 2005 (Sat)
The Great Outdoors RV-Nature & Gulf Resort (day 3)
Another brisk walk this morning, 4 miles at 37° with frost on the grass, but it warmed up pretty fast. By noon, as we got our bicycles ready for action, we were in shorts. We and Dorcas and Mike went out to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore on Merritt Island. Our goal was to bicycle the 5 mile long, hard packed dirt Bio Lab Road. The name sounds like something out of Jurassic Park but we saw evidence of only one experiment gone bad - skins of the dreaded Black Burlap Snake lay across the road occasionally, half buried as if holding back erosion. We had a good ride and saw lots of real birds and, of course, alligators. We think the road should have been dead ended though. Since there was access from both ends some vehicles, mostly young men in pick- up trucks and SUVs, more intent on getting to the other end as fast as possible than on sightseeing, sped by kicking up clouds of dust. The speed limit was 15 mph but they were going as fast as the very narrow road with many sharp curves and pot holes would allow, setting up a very dangerous situation for those of us on bicycles or stopped to view the wildlife. Fortunately there weren't many of those guys.
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February 13, 2005 (Sun)
Lake Kissimmee State park #49 w/e $19.00 A+
Titusville, FL to Lake Wales, FL (115 miles) Q010907
It was 41° when we got up but it had warmed up to 55.7° by the time we got off at 9:40. The traffic to Camping World in Kissimmee - we wanted to get a folding picnic table like the one we'd seen in Flamingo and Joy wanted a folding laundry tote - wasn't too bad when you consider now close we were to Orlando and Disney World. Back on I-4 we hit a solid wall of traffic. Whether it was from construction or an accident we don't know. It eased up after a while - but not much. Nor was it much better on US-27 when we turned south. We pulled into a Wamart parking lot for lunch and some shopping around 12:30 or so. Big mistake! Everyone from Haines City was there with their kids and parents. Now we know why people tend to leave campgrounds on Wednesday.
We're in Lake Kissimmee State park, we got here at about 2:30. We were here last year for one night and liked it so we've come back. Our site isn't as big as we had last year but it's plenty big enough. And again we can barely see our neighbors through the tropical vegetation.
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February 14, 2005 (Mon)
Lake Kissimmee State park (day 2)
This morning a Sandhill Crane came to breakfast. He wandered around our campsite, with great dignity and grace, for several minutes then wandered off. He acted as if he expected to be fed - probably has been. Mark got some real close up pictures. After breakfast we took our bicycles out to explore the campground and park. There are many walking trails but all but one are closed due to hurricane damage - trees across the trails or in danger of coming down on the trail (or hiker). While riding out to the entrance gate (8 miles round trip) we saw what looked and acted like a large squirrel, much larger than our squirrels at home. It was dark gray with a black face and a very long bushy tail. I hope we're able to learn about it before we leave.
Although this is "Lake Kissimmee" State Park the lake is inaccessible except by boat via the narrow Zipper Canal. It can be seen though - by climbing an observation tower in the picnic area.
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February 15, 2005 (Tue)
Lake Kissimmee State park (day 3)
Back in the 1800s this area was cattle country - apparently not like the old west but with an atmosphere all its own. It seems that there were "cow hunters" here who rounded up and branded "Florida Cracker" cattle - descendants of Spanish cattle brought here by early explorers and settlers. We could have learned more had we been here on a weekend. That's when there is a "Cow Camp" when one can learn through living history what the life of an 1876 cow hunter was like. We walked out there to see the area and found corrals, work areas and living quarters reminiscent of that time. It would have been fun to see the area in action. Maybe next time. We also hiked to only open trail - a half mile nature walk.
We've had a visitor the last couple of nights. He makes a great deal of noise in the bushes, and last night we spotted him with our flashlight. He was a little armadillo digging here and there for bugs to eat. We've also seen lots of deer and heard owls in the early morning.
To The Great Outdoors - #51-09
Sunday February 6, 2005
Zachary Taylor Resort campground #23 w/e/s $20.25p C+
Flamingo, FL to Okeechobee, FL (239 miles) Q010507
Our stay in the Everglades has been an experiment in a way. Camping in Flamingo is dry, no hook ups, so Mark took the opportunity to see just how effective Q's solar panel is in keeping the batteries charged. Well, we went the whole 6 days using power normally without having to use the generator. (If we'd conserved we could have gone somewhat longer.) We reached the limit last night, though. We woke in the middle of the night to the sound of the low battery warning followed by all systems going dark - Q shut the coach power off completely. This wasn't a problem, we just turned over and went back to sleep, but we couldn't fold the bed away without power in the morning. Nor could we take showers. Since the campground quiet hours weren't over until after 8:00am, we left Flamingo (at 7:20, 60.5°) in night-time mode and didn't really start our day until we'd stopped at a road spur and fired up the generator. We got off for real at 8:40.
Laundry was our next high priority activity. But it was not to be. The laundromat in Homestead where we'd stopped on the way down was packed full of people - all machines in use. The story was the same all the way to Miami on US-1 at every Laundromat Henry could find. We did get some food shopping done though. The traffic through Miami could have been horrendous if it hadn't been Sunday. Even so it was bad and we were glad when it was behind us. Our campground guide told us that no reservations were accepted at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Not true! When we got there about noon it was full and booked into the near future, as were all the other campgrounds in the area. If it weren't for the desperate need to do laundry, we'd have headed for the Flying J truck stop north of Fort Pierce. Instead we headed West to Lake Okeechobee and the Zachary Taylor Resort where we've stayed before. Not the best of campgrounds but "any port in a storm". Joy was able to get several loads of laundry done. And there turned out to be an added bonus of a WiFi hotspot at our campsite so Mark was able to get on the internet and download our banking data and look for Costco and Camping World locations (none of either nearby).
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February 7, 2005 (Mon)
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park #18 w/e $13.20 B+
Okeechobee, FL to Okeechobee, FL (135 miles) Q010642
It's disorienting sometimes to open the curtains in the morning. For almost two weeks we've looked out on natural beauty. This morning it was a big class A motorhome 10 feet away out on either side, a big fifth wheel 20 feet away out our back door and the Finsters in a fifth wheel across the narrow road - not to mention lawn chairs, bicycles and cluttered picnic tables all around. It was good we weren't staying another night. After showers and breakfast we were off at 9:32, 73°. Our interim destination was Palm City where Jack, an old high school friend of Mark's and his wife Olive live. Henry helped us find a more direct route East than we'd traveled West yesterday (CR714 is not on our paper maps but it was really a very pleasant and scenic drive) but got very confused when we got near Jack and Olive's home in Palm City. After a some unproductive wandering around, we finally called Jack for directions. It turned out that the street sign into the condominium was missing. Henry got us there but we didn't know enough to turn in! We had a great visit with Jack and Olive - reminiscing and catching up - but it was far too short. We had a campground, space reserved (this time), and had to get there before 5:00 when the security gate is closed. We didn't make it - not because we started too late but because there was a huge traffic jam at the Flying J - too many vehicles, too little space to get around, and too many pumps out of service. A fueling stop that should have taken 15 minutes took over 45.
It was 5:20 but the gate into the state park was still open so we drove in. A sign indicated that the campground was down the dirt road ahead of us. The land here is absolutely flat and almost treeless. The road was dead straight and disappeared off into the distance. For three - it seemed like ten - miles that's all we saw except for some horses and cattle. There wasn't a car, truck or RV going in either direction. Except for the tropical plants and an occasional palm tree, we might well have been driving across the Oklahoma in the late 1800s. Finally off in the distance we could see what looked like some trees and the end of the road. Great, we'd made it. Wrong. It was only a right angle turn and around the bend, more dirt road stretching on out of sight. A mile later or so later we reached the campground - and a traffic jam! 2 motor homes with towed vehicles and a fifth wheel were lined up trying to get in. As we waited our turn the campground host explained that this is a group that will be leaving their rigs here and going on a cruise. A cruise? In the middle of nowhere, no water in sight? Maybe we'll learn more later
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February 08, 2005 (Tue)
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve SP (day 2)
This morning we took our bicycles out exploring. There are several roads/trails out into the prairie and nearby swamp but none are suitable for bicycles like ours with narrow tires - too sandy. (there are signs forbidding motorized vehicles too.) After trying a couple of them we rode out the entrance road to the gate, instead. Henry's maps show this area gridded off with roads with street names. We saw no indication of any roads! We speculated about how this may have been the site of one of those land sale scams in the past. It's amazing how flat this country is and how uneventful the scenery. There is a building, a small house, upon which a huge live oak tree fell some time ago - years. We wondered what the story was - whether the occupants had left before or after the tree fell.
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February 9, 2005 (Wed)
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve SP (day 3)
For excitement today we walked out into the prairie - two miles out one of the straight flat sandy roads/trails we tried on our bicycles yesterday. We imagined ourselves being early pioneers walking across the plains and realizing how they must have felt picking a goal in the distance and thinking it wasn't getting any closer no matter how long they walked. We were at it for only a couple of hours, they were at it for months. Wildlife wasn't plentiful but it was there - white and glossy ibis, great white herons, great blue herons, anhingas (there must have been fairly deep water out there), egrets, hawks, turkey vultures, and the ever popular alligator. We also took a half mile (or so) loop trail through the hammock (woods) near the campground and saw white tail deer scamper off onto the trees, raccoon, and several small birds (including robins). As I was writing this, we heard a couple of owls talking with one another. At times it was almost as if they were arguing - loudly.
This evening, before stowing our bicycles for traveling tomorrow, we went for a sunset ride - again out into the prairie - there is nothing else here to ride out into! It was very refreshing after a hot day. Later on we walked out to see the most spectacular sky display. Because we were so far away from civilization, there were no distant lights to compete with stars. This has been a very nice place to camp. We will probably come back again sometime.
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February 10, 2005 (Thu)
The Great Outdoors RV-Nature & Gulf Resort #440 Oak Cove Rd w/e/s A+
Okeechobee, FL to Titusville, FL (150 miles) Q01792
Well here we are again at The Great Outdoors RV-Nature & Golf Resort. We tried to make reservations at several campgrounds for the weekend but all were full - apparently because of the Daytona 500 car race and reduced facilities from hurricane damage. We probably could have stayed at Kissimmee Prairie Reserve State Park but decided to take the opportunity to see Mike and Dorcas again before we headed North.
We were up early this morning - in time to see a beautiful sunrise over the prairie out our dining room window. We breakfasted, showered, dumped and were off by 8:00 (55.4°). Mark had tried to shorten our route by over riding Henry's directions. The short cut turned out to be a private sandy dirt road where we almost got stuck. Henry knew better this time! We got off I-95 at Vero Beach to do some discount mall shopping. It turned out to be a very congested area - there was a whole strip of malls, one right after another - but we had some success (and failure). We got here at about 3:17, set up and went looking for Dorcas and Mike.
The Everglades NP - #51-08
January 31, 2005 (Mon) Ochopee, FL to Flamingo, FL (213 miles) - On the road again at 8:15, 51°, foggy. Our first stop was Shark Valley in the Everglades at 8:45. It's a valley because it's a few inches lower than the surrounding area. We offloaded our bicycles and took off on a 15 mile loop 7 miles into the Everglades. The wild life along the trail was outstandingly abundant. There were alligators, of course, many lying with their snouts inches from the pavement. Most were quite large - 10, 12, 15 feet long but there were babies too - as small as a foot long and cute (for alligators). The variety of birds was too extensive to list here but the most interesting were the Roseate Spoonbills - large white birds with flamingo pink wings and wide flat bills - and Wood Storks - large white birds with gray heads and pointed bills. We saw no mammals, the alligators probably had something to do with that, but we did see turtles. When we got back we found a Chinook Concourse (like QI) parked right behind Q in the long RV parking slot. We had quite a long talk with the owners. They are a relatively young couple from Sedgewick (Blue Hill), ME also headed to Flamingo. We'll probably talk again.
In Homestead we found a laundromat where we were able to replenish the closet, so to speak, with a Winn Dixie Food Mart next door where we were able to replenish the larder - both badly needed. In the campground, we locked our bikes to a table, to claim the site, and went off to dump and take on a fresh water - also badly needed. We will be here at the southern tip of Florida until Sunday.
February 1, 2005 (Tue) Flamingo, FL - Our walk this morning took us around Eco Pond where we saw a Red Shouldered Hawk sitting on the fence along the trail, and to the marina. On the way we saw a family of little red Marsh Hares along the road not nearly as skittish as the rabbits we see along the road back home. At the marina we checked to see if the makeshift modem access (remove telephone, plug in computer) was still there. It wasn't! Phone and wiring completely gone; the wall painted. The fellow in the camp store said he didn't know of any facility in the area to connect a computer to a phone line but he had a dazed look in his eyes as if he'd never heard of a computer. The clerk at the campground registration desk also said there was no way to do it.
February 2, 2005 (Wed) Flamingo, FL - We bicycled out to and down a two mile long dirt road to Bear Lake this morning. Well almost. Again we encountered a sign stating "Back country permit required beyond this point". Bear Lake is where we and Bob and Pat canoed to last year. And where Mark lost his hat in a stiff wind. He was hoping to see it washed up on the shore but, alas that was not to be. The young man in the visitor's center (in khaki uniform with gold badge so apparently knowledgeable), when we got back, said a back country permit is not required to just be there, but only if we wanted to spend the night. He also went into great detail about the concessions (camp store, marina, lodge, etc.) are a monopoly and not really interested in providing services (like telephone access for computers) and how bad the telephone service in general is down here. Mark passed on the opportunity to point out that 2 minutes on the phone that sat at his elbow would cost the NPS nothing. That's how it's done at other parks where specific facilities are absent.
On the campground entrance sign there was an osprey working on a fish he had just caught. The fish was still flapping its tail! He was still there when we rode back into the campground but there wasn't much left of the fish - just bones.
February 3, 2005 (Thu) Flamingo, FL - Our adventure for today was to bicycle over to the marina in search of the resident crocodile. We had been told that he was across the bridge but there was a gate across the road (path?) and a sign proclaiming "KEEP OUT Authorized Personnel only" As we stood there wondering what to do a trolley of sorts lifted a boat, transported it over the bridge, and lowered it again into the water. (Yes it went over the bridge, not under it.) On top of the superstructure that was part of the trolley there was a large bird's nest and in it an osprey and at least two babies watching the world go by. When the trolley operators came down off the bridge, we asked if it was all right if we went across - people seemed to be ignoring the sign. They said no but they weren't baby sitters so wouldn't stop us. They said not to let the NPS see us though. So after they'd gone we walked our bikes around the gate and across the bridge. The crocodile, maybe 15 feet long, was there as predicted, just off the bridge ramp about 10 feet away. We watched him for quite a while and took pictures. In all that time there wasn't a flicker of movement, not even a heart beat as we've seen with alligators. We and another couple there came to the conclusion that he must be a stuffed display model. We're going back tomorrow to see if he has moved.
During the afternoon we watched a storm system, very dark clouds with pillars of rain coming down, pass to the north. No rain here but we were treated to a spectacular rainbow. It arched all the way across the sky with both ends visible. It was even double at the west end. At just the right time a beautiful Roseate Spoonbill flew across in front of it. Wow!
February 4, 2005 (Fri) Flamingo, FL - The prairie part of the Coastal Prairie Trail, at the far end of the campground was our destination this afternoon. The threat of rain diminished during the morning so we could go without fear of getting wet. We hiked about 2 miles out the trail before giving in to the mosquitos and turning back. We had also begun to think there was no end to it - it just went on and on with little change in scenery. The walk total was just over 5 miles. When we got back to our campsite (B22) there were three pickup trucks each with a large fishing boat in tow and 6 young adult males setting up camp next door and across the road. Six tents and a dining canopy went up on the two sites, great quantities of supplies (food, ice boxes, bags of whatever, cooking utensils, etc.) were taken from the pickups and stowed around, and several bags of fire wood were stacked by the fire ring. We immediately thought loud party late into the night. When one of the fellows brought out a 2 liter bottle of a certain shape and color and lifted it to his lips without benefit of a glass, we - well, we're now in site A48 where it's nice and quiet.
February 5, 2005 (Sat) Flamingo, FL - The coastal loop part of the Coastal Prairie Trail is much more interesting than the prairie part we took yesterday. The trail follows the Florida Bay coast through a forest of mangrove There seemed to be more wildlife, from birds to spiders, and the mosquitos were practically non existent. This afternoon we rode our bikes out to the marina to check out the crocodile. Not only had he moved but there was a different one there - also not moving. In a nearby palm tree an osprey was working away at a fish while the female sat on the nest squeaking as if to say "hurry up! My babies are hungry."
After supper we hiked over to the amphitheater for the Saturday night Ranger program. It turned out to be a pictionary game focusing on Everglades wild life. We would rather have seen a slide show or even heard a lecture on the topic but the young Ranger, female, was cute and very enthusiastic about guiding us through the game. This is her first year here having come from the Assateague Wildlife Refuge in MD/VA. We didn't get a chance to ask her if she knew Charlie but maybe he will remember Megan.
Q010268 Flamingo campground, Everglades National Park #B22(x2) #A48(x4) dry $7.00s A-
