824 October 20, 2022 Flamingo!

I got in a good walk this morning before we left Monument Lake.  The cooler weather does make it easier to get the work done!  As I rounded the third turn of the lake, I saw the big gator laying on the bank.  I gave him wide berth and then decided not to pass that way again. 

We had to stop at Midway to get fresh water and to use the sanitation station. 

We drove 1 ½ hours to Homestead.  Our first order of business was to go to the laundromat.   Once we had clean clothes, we went to the grocery store.  We found a place to park the RV but when I came out with a cart full of groceries, I wasn’t able to push the cart.  The wheels were locked!  Tim had to weave his way through the crowded lot to find me and help me load the groceries. 

We had to stop at Robert Is Here.  I found an article yesterday that called this the “Disney World of fruit stands.”  We got mangos and a papaya and mamey sapote and mango butter.  Tim had a delicious Cuban sandwich. 

Fully supplied, we were ready to drive the 43 miles into the Everglades to the Flamingo Campground.  This ride is one that we always enjoy.  We started to come to southern Florida about 15 years ago.  For many years, it was a favorite place to spend part of the winter.  It is familiar and we know here things are.  We are looking forward to spending time here.

It was almost 4pm by the time we arrived and got settled.  We jumped on our bikes and cycled to Florida Bay.

We went to see the Visitor Center and the Marina.  We were disappointed to see that the construction that had begun when we were here two years ago is still not complete. 

We saw a bunch of manatees.

We saw a crocodile.

We had a picnic dinner and Tim enjoyed his mamey.  This fruit is common to Mexico and Central America.  It has a texture similar to an avocado.  It tastes kind of like a sweet potato or a pumpkin.  Tim really likes it…me not so much!

Much more to explore tomorrow and in the days to come!

823 October 19, 2022 Wagon Wheel Road

We had rain during the night.  The temperature dropped and we finally had cool air.  It felt wonderfully chilly!

Pictures from my morning walk.  This is our big backyard.

A kingfisher suspended on a wire above the canal looking for breakfast.

Pretty flowers.

A giant water bug.

A night heron.

Here comes the rain.

It rained for most of the rest of the day.  We went exploring anyway.  We took a Jeep ride on Turner River Road for about 20 miles north through Big Cypress.  We saw tons of wading birds and lots of hawks and smaller predatory birds.   No bears, no panthers. 

Our exciting sighting of the day; a flock of wild turkeys.

We took Wagon Wheel Road through great expanses of open swamp land.  Even on a rainy day it was magnificent.  Then, because we were close by, we drove back to Everglades City.  We stopped and bought some smoked fish dip.  We found a new lunch place, Triad Seafood.  They had just reopened this week.  It was raining harder and raw and cool and so clam chowder hit the spot!

We napped this afternoon and it still rained.  We ate our fish dip and the sky began to brighten.  We enjoyed an evening walk as the sun went down. 

The sky was gorgeous.  Our whole world was bathed in soft pink and peach and lavender light. 

Tomorrow we will move to Everglades National Park and stay at Flamingo Campground for the next week.  Hopefully we will have enough service to post!

822 October 18, 2022 Monument Lake

We got our morning exercise done and made preparations to move.  We stopped to empty tanks and fill with fresh water.  We traveled 8 miles to Monument Lake Campground. 

We really love it here.  We have been here many times.  When we used to come to visit Tim’s brother. Jeff, we would leave Maryland and drive for long days.  When we finally got to Monument Lake, we felt like we could breathe, the first place that we could truly relax.  It is very pretty.  It feels wilder than Midway.  We are backed right up to the Everglades.  There are no hookups so we will only stay for two nights. 

Enjoy Tim’s video!

When we arrived, we met a ranger who told us that a twelve-foot python had been spotted at the communication tower…100 yards from our campsite.

Tim was walking along the edge of the tall grass and he called for me to come quickly.  There was a three-foot snake right behind the RV.  He did not scare easily and I had lots of time to take pictures! 

We were able to spend most of the day outside.  It was finally a little cooler and there was a nice breeze.  We sat in the shade and enjoyed the peace.

We had our dinner outside as well.  This gator was our dinner company.

Tim biked and I walked this evening as the sun was setting.

This is the first little blue that I have seen.

Tim was scoping out the area behind the RV and called to me again.  This time it was a little alligator.  Wonder where mama was hiding?

821 October 17, 2022 Shark Valley Take 2

We got to Shark Valley before 8:30. 

I saw an area surrounded by tape and with a posted sign indicating that there was an active alligator nest.  Mama was present but I didn’t see hatchlings.

We started biking the trail and quickly came upon this big guy. 

I decided today that I was going to take less pictures.  I just wanted to enjoy the ride!

We noticed that the water was brimming and right to the edge of the path.  We have had thunderstorms and steady rain every evening.  The water level in the Everglades is not only affected by the rain that falls here but also by all the rain that falls in central Florida.  There were less gators and very few birds today. 

Even so, it was a beautiful hot and sunny day and we had a great ride.  I was in my happy place…well one of many!   The breeze was in our face as we rode into the glades; but it felt good and didn’t hinder our riding.  As we got closer, the path was flooded with several inches of water in many areas.

The view from the top of the tower was gorgeous and there was enough wind blowing to cool us down.  It was a nice place to rest and have a snack.

This is periphyton.  It is spongy and holds water.  This becomes especially important in the dry season.    It is an integral part of the food chain and also functions as a habitat for small creatures.

The rest of our ride was almost completely devoid of wildlife.  It is amazing how different our ride today was than our ride last week. 

We were back at the campground by noon.  The afternoon was too hot to enjoy being outside and so we spent the day quietly. 

820 October 15-16, 2022 Loop Road At Night

I had some walking company on Saturday morning.  I am happy to report that I was moving much more quickly than this little guy…despite the heat and 96% humidity.

There were thousands of mayflies on the RV this morning; piled on the windowsills and clinging to every surface.

We went to Monument Lake to publish the blog.  We met a guy who was fishing.  He had been sitting in this chair when this 8-foot alligator crept out of the water.  The fisherman “really liked his chair” and was waiting for the alligator to go for a swim.  Alligators can move at speeds of 20mph on land and this was no little gator!

If you look closely…it looks like he is smiling!

We traveled 43 miles to Naples so that we could get produce and water. On our way back, we stopped in Everglades City and went back to City Seafood for lunch.  We both liked what we had the day before so much that we ordered the same wraps again!

I took another walk in the afternoon.  My hawk friend was eating something in the roadway.  I watched him take off and fly.  I heard and felt the air from his wings as he passed about a yard from me.  He landed in the tree.

We watched these crows fight over a banana peel…we are so easily entertained!

When the sun had set, we decided to go explore Loop Road.  We have been wanting to do this but there have been thunderstorms every evening.  It was a little spooky.  It was even creepier when the thunder and lightning began.  This area has several apex predators; panthers, bears, snakes, and alligators.  They live in Big Cypress and were lurking somewhere in the darkness.  I saw one set of eyes in the water among the cypress knees.  Tim saw one small alligator.  We also saw a rat-like creature scurry across the road.  We might have seen more if we had gotten out of the Jeep to look…but it was nighttime and raining and that was way outside our comfort zone!

Sunday morning was slow and lazy…like Sunday mornings should be! 

Morning walk.

It promises to be a day filled with sports; NASCAR and Ravens football.  I might have a little self-spa day!

819 October 14, 2022 Everglades City

I walked loops around the campground and was lucky enough to have enough cell service to talk with my good friend, Vicki, and my mom. 

This hawk lives here. 

We decided to ride into Everglades City today.  We took our bikes but didn’t do much.  Tim is nursing a sore hip.  We did drive through the ravaged town.  Furniture and debris are in great piles along the curb…people’s belongings…

The grocery store is closed.  The hotel has been gutted.  The post office is operating out of two mail trucks. 

Hurricane Ian caused a three-foot surge to flood streets, businesses, and homes.

Only a couple of businesses were operating.  We went to City Seafood for lunch.  I made the mistake of saying that it looked like they were one of the “lucky ones.”  The woman behind the counter said that they were not lucky at all.  They had major flooding and damage to their kitchen equipment; fryers and coolers.  A lot of food was lost.  They have however been able to recover quickly.  Today was the first day that they were serving a full menu. 

This community is constantly exposed to dangerous wind and weather.  In September of 2017, Hurricane Irma swept through leaving incredible damage in its wake.  The blue line on the wall represents the water level during Irma.

On a beautiful day like today, it is hard to imagine what it must have been like here during the storm.

Our thoughts are with these folks as they attempt to recover…again.

We went to Monument Lake where we knew we would have good cell service and therefore WiFi.  I sat in the shade, working on the blog with a beautiful view.

818 October 13, 2022 Shark Valley

We got up early and drove to Shark Valley.  We were the first to pass through the gate at 8:30. 

This is absolutely my favorite place to ride bikes.  It is such a privilege to be able to ride into the Everglades. 

It was so quiet this morning.  We could hear small plops as frogs slid into the swamp, the only evidence of their presence, the tiny ripples in the still water.

We passed dozens of herons and egrets standing still as statues at the edge; a few allowing us to pass without taking to startled flight.

We could hear the chirping of baby alligators calling for mama.  They are easy to spot with their rings of yellow.

And other gators…

I tried to notice the small things…like dragonflies

And grasshoppers.

Lots of flowers are in bloom at this time of year.

Ahead on the path, we watched this 8-foot big bull alligator crossed.  He slipped away with almost no trace.  We did find his wet footprints on the asphalt.

We spotted this beautiful turtle.  He ducked his head in as we approached and we waited patiently for him to emerge again. 

We saw researchers performing some kind of testing or survey.

After 8 miles, we came to the observation tower.  From the top, everything you can see is the Everglades.  The water slowly makes its way from here to Florida Bay and the Gulf more than thirty miles away.  This is where we encountered the first other tourists of the day.

Another couple of hatchlings, this time the mother alligator was close by and watching us.

We have biked here before.  We are earlier than usual.  It is still the wet season here.  Big Cypress gets 54 inches of rain each year.  Most of that falls between June and October.  The water is plentiful and the temperatures are hotter.  The alligators like to be in the cooler and deeper water now.  The migratory birds have not yet arrived.  Each time we come here, it is a new adventure and we love it!  We hope to be able to ride here again this week before we leave this area.

The storm clouds were gathering as we left the park.

And then the rain came.  It rained on and off all afternoon and evening…filling the glades in preparation for the dry season ahead.

817 October 12, 2022 Big Cypress National Preserve

We did our morning exercise and then packed up and got out on the road.  We dropped down through the center of south Florida.  We took roads that we had never taken before and it was an interesting and easy ride.  We passed US Sugar Company and lots of sugar cane fields.  We saw egrets sitting atop cattle.  We passed a citrus processing plant and acres of lemon and orange trees.  We saw a few isolated roseate spoonbills, their bright pink plumes a stunning contrast to the black soil.  There were alligators floating in canals.  The roads were decent and there was very little traffic.

We turned onto 29 and passed through the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.  As many times as we have visited this area, we have never seen a panther.  I believe they move around more after dark.  

We stopped at a HP Williams Roadside Park and walked the boardwalk.

We arrived at Midway Campground in early afternoon.  We are here for 5 nights. We have an electric site for 15.00 a day! This sign is directly in front of our site!

It was 91 degrees and stifling.  We didn’t venture out until later in the day.  We drove the Jeep to Shark Valley to check trail conditions.  We hope to ride bikes there tomorrow morning.

816 October 11, 2022 Lake Okeechobee

I walked circles in the campground alternately stopping in the laundry room to switch clothes.

I also drove into Belle Glade. I wanted to get more drinking water before we head south.

We got a late start on our adventure of the day. We took the Jeep and bikes and drove to Pahokee. We biked only a short distance today; it was 90 degrees!

Pahokee has a nice marina area on Lake Okeechobee. This is the third largest inland freshwater lake in the lower 48 states. It is 36 miles long and 29 miles wide at the widest point. Okechobee was named by indigenous peoples. It means big waters. The lake is alligator infested with about 30,000 American alligators.

This lake has been repurposed as a flood control measure. With mutiple pumps, canals, dikes, and dams, as well as the immense berm and levee, the lake serves as a collection point for floodwater. This water is then strategically released into the Everglades and surrounding farmland. There is a wonderful walking and biking trail along the top of the levee but it is often interrupted by construction and service work on the equipment necessary to control water flow. Recreation here is incidental and not the primary use of the lake.

We traveled along the eastern edge, through Canal Point and Port Mayaka before turning back.

We discovered a taco truck and purchased chicken quesadillas for our lunch. We took our meal back to Pahokee.

This evening we had a light meal of avocado toast with soft boiled eggs and pistachios…YUM!

We drove up onto the berm for one last Okeechobee sunset.

We have enjoyed being here and biking every day. We are headed to Midway Campground in Big Cypress tomorrow and will stay for five nights. We may not have good cell service or WiFi so we will post as we are able!

815 October 10, 2022 Clewiston

When we got up this morning it was already quite balmy…78 degrees and 100% humidity! A nice morning for a walk. I was glistening when I finished my 2.5 miles.

We took the Jeep and drove to Clewiston with our bikes. We had wanted to continue riding on the LOST or the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. We got to Clewiston Commerce Park and unloaded. The trail though, was blocked because of construction. We ended up riding through neighborhoods and along canals. We logged 8 miles.

We got back to the park and rested in the shade of this southern live oak tree. Grackles cackled and called from the branches above us. Tim may have thrown out a handful of peanuts. A dozen or more grackles swooped in to get a tidbit. It is fair to say that these birds are accustomed to being fed!

While in town, we picked up a prescription, got groceries, and found the local post office.

The afternoon was a bit too soupy and warm, 86 degrees with 81% humidity, to enjoy being outside. We stayed in and rested in the AC.

This evening, we packed our dinner and drove to Paul Rardin Park.

We watched the sunset from the levee path.