November 28, 2020
Heroes Of The War That Wasn’t
Flamingo Campground Everglades National Park Homestead, Florida Day 9
I had vultures as my walking companions this morning. There are lots of them here. They are a nuisance in the campground. We have seen them tearing campsites apart, dragging trash and looting food…slices of bread and potato chips left out. You can shoo them away but they are relentless and walk about undeterred, always on the hunt for goods! They will also eat the rubber on an RV or a car. In areas where the vultures are very numerous, there are tarps to protect your vehicle.
Turkey vultures.
American black vultures.
We learned that the Nike Missile Site was having open house today from 10-2. We like biking there because it is a more protected back road and the traffic this weekend has been heavy on the main park road. We parked a couple of miles away and pedaled into the site.
We mentioned the other day that men were stationed here to enforce the US boundary during the Cold War and to protect the US from Soviet missiles that might potentially come from Cuba. There were three missiles ready to roll. In a matter of minutes, the crew could have the missiles on the launch pads ready to deploy. They could have either been used to intercept incoming artillery directed at the East Coast or they could have been sent directly to Cuba. Some of the missiles contained a nuclear warhead. The missiles flew at 1,000 feet at Mach 3.5…fortunately there was never any need to launch missiles from this place or any of the other 200 sites. The site doesn’t look that different than when it was decommissioned in 1979.
“It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization.” John F. Kennedy October 27, 1962.
After touring the site, we biked another 12 miles. This is the easiest, flattest, smoothest bike ride ever…especially because there was no wind today!
This softshell turtle was crossing the road. It is the fastest we have ever seen a turtle move. It was comical to watch…he had flippers rather than feet but he could motor!
We saw this round pool of water and we were intrigued. We aren’t sure if it is a sink hole or a manmade structure. There were little fish and the water was so clear that we could see the bottom.
A 7-foot gator about 6 feet off the road. We swung back to take a picture. He was very aware of our presence. He suddenly dove into the canal with a huge splash startling Tim and I. I guess he had enough posing for pictures!
It was hot this afternoon and so we stayed in with the air on. We grilled fish for tacos with Mexican Street Corn, peppers and onions, and frijoles…just YUM!