828 October 24, 2022 Panther Sighting

I took my walk while catching up with family this morning.

This bird was very interested in our mirror!

We took our bikes out to ride around the campground and then to Florida Bay.

We also checked on the manatees, enjoying the only bench in the shade of this sea grape tree.

There was a couple who had tried the visitor center but it was closed today.  The woman showed me her Everglades map.  She wanted to know where to find the flamingos and the other animals in the picture. 

Flamingos are extremely rare to see here and the truth is that the other animals are here but it requires a lot of patience to see cool things.  Most people rent convertible Mustangs at the airport and breeze through.  It is probably often a disappointment, especially during the wet season.  The first time we ever came it was the most magical.  It was January and there were tons of gators and birds.  That first amazing visit captured us.  This place will always be one of our very favorite places.

I worked on the blog this afternoon and Tim took another bike ride.  He saw that the water in Florida Bay was very high.  The nearby grassy areas were flooded.  We were thinking we might take dinner there but made a new plan.

I made Caesar salads with shrimp and fresh mango for dessert.  We packed the car and headed out.  We saw this rainbow.  It hadn’t rained here at all.

We continued to West Lake.  We saw two fishermen trying to catch fish and a crocodile lurking in the water.  Each time they cast their lines, the croc would make its way to the float.  At one point there was a fish on the line and the guy was trying to reel in the fish and the crocodile was on the prowl, coming in quick.  The fisherman caught his line on a tree in his haste to get to the dock and the fish, a snook, got away.

As soon as Tim got the cooler out of the Jeep, we were surrounded by a team of 5 crows. 

We ate our meal, watching the man vs. crocodile show.  The men were aggravated and were hoping that the crocodile would get bored and leave but the croc was still there in the water when we left.

We went to Nine Mile Pond and were there all by ourselves tonight.  No UFO like things.  There was a pleasant breeze and once we sprayed with OFF, we were happy there watching the sun go down and watching the stars pop out.

We headed back to the campground.  There are 3 loops here.  We are in T Loop.  B Loop has no hookups and is mostly for tent campers.  C Loop has been abandoned for years.  It is overgrown and gradually being reclaimed by the vegetation.  We rode bikes on C Loop earlier in the day.  There was a fair amount of scat around.  I wanted to drive through this evening in the dark.  We saw a panther cross the path in front of us!  It was amazing!!  My heart was pounding.  We couldn’t believe what we had seen.  We talked it through together.  It was definitely NOT a bear.  It was definitely NOT a coyote.  It was definitely NOT a bobcat.  It was sleek and brown and had a long cat tail…it was definitely a panther!!!

We rode out to Florida Bay one more time.  Tim had taken the roof off the Jeep and so we stood and looked at the multitude of stars and the Milky Way.