November 15, 2020

Everglades City

Monument Lake Campground Big Cypress National Forest Ochopee, Florida

Last night I could see millions of stars from my bedroom window.  The Milky Way was visible.  I happened to see two “falling stars” probably the result of the Taurid or Leonid meteor showers. 

I did a couple of loops around Monument Lake this morning.  It took me awhile because I stopped to take pictures!

Oceanblue Morning Glories

Not sure what kind of bird this might be…I thought some sort of small raptor. I got a new App on my phone, Picture Bird, where I can enter a picture and the bird is identified for me…this is a Northern Mockingbird!

George, the mayor of Monument Lake.

We drove about 25 miles to Everglades City.  We rode our bikes along the water, through town, and across the bridge. 

We stopped and got fish dip and crackers for a light lunch.

It was pretty hot this afternoon so I had a lazy book reading day…I wish it was a really good book that I could recommend…

This evening we took a walk around the lake to see the sunset. 

Our RV site across the lake.

We met a woman who appears to be camping in her car/hammock.  She told us that she stayed here at Monument Lake during Hurricane Eta because she had nowhere else to go.  She said that there was a long while that she couldn’t get out of her car.  She said the rangers came to check on her and that if she truly needed to evacuate, she would have.  The resilience of people never fails to inspire me!

Tonight, we grilled chipolte chicken and tortillas with fresh guacamole and asparagus.

We were looking forward to another rocket launch from Cape Canaveral this evening.

We just came in from watching the launch…it was really cool! We could see the glowing red of the afterburn as the rocket ascended into the night sky above the horizon. It was far bigger and much brighter than any star. This picture does not do it justice…There are four astronauts onboard headed for the International Space Station. Cape Canaveral is 190 miles away (as the crow flies).

November 14, 2020

Monument Lake

Monument Lake Campground Big Cypress National Forest Florida

I took my morning walk around the lake.  On my first lap around, I saw this little gator peeking at me.  As I approached, it slid backward into the water.

On my send lap, he was perched on higher ground.  As I approached, he did not move.  I gave him wider berth and quickened my pace.  I was not sure if he was accustomed to being fed and I was quite sure that he could scramble out of the water and toward me faster than I could run!  I didn’t make a third pass…I walked in the campground. 

I noticed the sheriff’s county car in the park next door and headed over.  It was the same officer to whom I had surrendered the debit card yesterday.  She got out of her car and told me that she was able to track down the very grateful owner and meet her at a gas station to deliver the card.  She said “Not many people would have done that nowadays and I am very grateful to you.”  My response was that we all need to practice small acts of kindness in order to make a difference…I believe that!

We were headed to Monument Lake before 9.  Every year, for many years, while Tim’s brother, Jeff, was alive; we came to southern Florida for a couple of weeks every winter.  We had been once right after he passed away but not then for a couple of years.  Monument Lake was always the first place that we truly relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine, warmth, and the aspects of nature that don’t exist anywhere else in the states.  We should have anticipated that the hurricane last week would have left behind a lot of standing water.  Between 10-18 inches of rain fell in this area.  The canals are filled, as is Monument lake.  Fortunately, we are camped in a dryer section.

We set up, had lunch, and rested for a short while.  This afternoon, we took the gravel Loop Scenic Trail to see what we could find.

Cypress swamp.

Bromalid.

Flora….Florida Holly or Peppertree.

Baby Gators.

Great white herons.

Bigger gator…

Normally we see tons of alligators on this trail.  We are thinking that because everything is so flooded and the water is moving so rapidly through the culverts here…they might prefer to be resting elsewhere!

When we reached the paved portion of the trail, there was about 6 inches of standing water to plow through.

Sunset from our front yard.

November 13, 2020

Enjoying Lake Okeechobee

South Bay RV Campground South Bay, Florida Day 2

I was still tired from yesterday’s 16 mile bike ride, but I got up and began my morning walk. I walked the perimeter of Shiner Lake here in the Campground. I saw lots of little gators in the water.

As I began my second lap, I saw a sheriff’s car at the park next door. I still had not been able to resolve the issue of the “found” debit card. I had tried calling the debit card company, I had tried calling the local police, I had tried looking up the name on google and then Facebook. I had also sent an email to customer support but I had NO results. When I saw the Palm County Sheriff Department car, I went to file a report. I was able to give the debit card to the officer who was going to try to locate the owner…shew…sometimes it is a lot of work to do the right thing…but it’s not my problem anymore!

We took our bikes to the Paul Rardin Park and began our bike ride on the levee from there.

So many buzzards…

At the town of Pahokee, the trail was blocked for construction on the levee. Lake Okeechobee is the second largest fresh water lake in the contiguous United States. It has an average depth of 9 feet. Right now the water level is at 13 feet because of recent rain. The levee is important to the towns surrounding the lake. Miles of levee are currently being reengineered. In any event, our ride was over. We did only about 8 miles today and that was enough!

We drove to the Pahokee Marina and took a walk.

A long time ago, the pioneer families in this area of Florida discovered that sugar cane grows well in the soppy, muddy, muck. There is a Domino’s Sugar plant not far from here and other processing facilities as well. It is the wrong time of year, but after the sugar cane is harvested, they burn the fields. The whole world smell like caramel and burnt sugar.

This afternoon I drove about 15 miles to the town of Clewiston to get supplies. Beginning tomorrow, we will be in Big Cypress National Park at Monument Lake for 4 nights. We have clean clothes, empty tanks, and plenty of water and groceries.

This evening, we got Mexican carryout from Dos Amigos. We took our food to John Stretch Park.

As we were returning to the campground, Tim saw what he thought was a vapor trail from a rocket. I looked it up on the Cape Canaveral site and there was a launch just moments before. We drove to the top of the levee but by the time we got there, much of the trail had dissipated…but oh so cool!

I absolutely love this life we are living. I feel happy, content, and alive. I am so very grateful.

November 12, 2020

Biking Adventure on the LOST

South Bay RV Campground South Bay, Florida

I began my day with a walk to the Saint Lucie Lock Recreation Area.

It was very warm and humid already…so early in the day. I was hoping to walk across the locks but due to COVID the locks were locked. It was still a nice walk.

There are tons of squirrels everywhere…probably because there are trillions of acorns! Our RV was backed up to the water underneath a huge live oak tree. Yesterday, we heard acorns dropping on the RV roof all afternoon. By evening they had stopped…when the squirrels went back to their nests to rest!

We took the short drive through farmland to South Bay. Our new site backs up to a small canal. There is a sign right behind us that warns that alligators are present…yes they are!

By noon, we were finished with laundry and lunch and we set out to ride our bikes on the LOST or Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. The trail is paved (mostly) and goes for 25 miles along the berm around the lake.

Little white birds or LWB’s…mostly ibis and egrets.

We saw dozens of these turtles, many crossing the trail.

This alligator had to be 8 feet long!

The trail was paved…until it wasn’t. About 4 miles in, we hit a 1.5 mile stretch of hard gravel/sharp coral. It was very hard riding for awhile, bumping along and trying to avoid the larger sharper pieces of coral. We didn’t want to be thrown or puncture a tire. I didn’t take time to take a picture…because I was concentrating very hard on making it through the obstacle course. We decided to ride a little bit further to see if the trail conditions improved and viola…nice smooth pavement that led us to the Paul Rarden Park. We took a water break in the shade of a big old banyan tree. We were emerging from the park when we found a debit card laying on the path. We saw, far ahead, a woman on a bike and assumed that it was hers. We raced against the headwind to catch up with her. Her name was Sharon. She was a spry, energetic, great grandmother who was out for a long ride. It was not her card…however…as we were talking, she mentioned a detour to get around the rocky trail. She was going to take a farm road around, along a smaller canal, past the golf course, and up to the levee…if she could find it. We told her that we wanted to be part of her adventure and off we went!

We hit some muddy patches.

But, for the most part the road was better than that coral stuff!

I’ve said before that one of the things that is very different while traveling in this COVID world, is that we miss meeting people along the way. Today we got to meet this amazing person! Sharon lost her husband and decided to sell her house and she travels in a camper. She walk and bikes and enjoys the world without fear because of her very strong faith. Have you ever met a person so vital and self reliant and confident that it changes how you think? I know that I will always remember Sharon, her resilience and her wonderful energy and love of life! Thanks for our adventure today! She totally outdid me on the bike, hooting and hollering when she crested the hills!

November 11, 2020

St. Lucie Canal

Phipps Park Campground Stuart, Florida

My morning walk was loops around the campground. The air was thick and soupy. But it felt good to be warm and moving.

We had another short ride today. We decided to get off of 95 south for awhile and took some back roads. It was a ride through agricultural land. Everything was swampy and filled to the brim as a result of Eta.

On our way, we stumbled upon a gourmet farmers market. We chose papaya, mangoes, strawberries, heirloom tomatoes, squash, flatbread, and smoked fish dip. We had a delicious lunch when we arrived at Phipps Park.

We took a great bike ride along the canal and then out of the park and through the surrounding neighborhood streets. We saw lots of critters.

We grilled chicken feta burgers and had caprese salad, fresh mango and fresh strawberries for our dinner…YUM!

We got school pictures today and we wanted to share smiles!

Today is Veteran’s Day. We wanted to thank our family and friends who have served. We respect and admire your sacrifice.

November 10, 2020

Florida

Manatee Hammock Campground Titusville, Florida

It rained off and on all night. I got ready for my walk this morning and headed out, only for the rain to begin again. We drove south on 95 into Florida hitting bands of rain for most of the day. We stopped at a rest area for a break and a walk…and it began to rain. The sky appeared to be lightening and the forecast was for sunshine as we continued to drive.

We saw hundreds of utility emergency response vehicles, heading north, no longer necessary to make repairs on the power grid in Florida after Eta made her exit into the Gulf.

Late in the afternoon, we arrived at Manatee Hammock Campground. It is a simple county facility on the Indian River. It is directly across the water from Cape Canaveral. It is apparently an amazing place to watch rocket launches. There is one on Saturday but by then we will be in Big Cypress. We are going to watch from there and see if we can witness the blast.

Neighbors…

We rode our bikes around in loops. There is no place nearby for a longer ride today. The view at the pier was lovely.

November 9, 2020

Saint Marys

Crooked River State Park Saint Marys, Georgia

After a morning walk, we packed up and got ready to move south. We had a very short ride. We drove on Winding Road, past Meandering Way on our way to Crooked River State Park. We were too early to get into the campground so we hung out by the river while we waited.

We noticed a hitchhiker on the top front of the RV.

Gopher tortoises are the state reptile of Georgia. They dig burrows in the ground that up to 360 other species of animals also use. Their burrows can be 10 feet deep and 48 feet long. Females of the species occasionally visit with other females in their dens.

This afternoon, we drove past the Kings Bay Submarine Base into the town of Saint Marys. Ferries to Cumberland National Seashore leave from here. The town is very well done with lovely parks and waterfront areas.

Southern hospitality…

Nice walk in the campground before dinner.

It looks like our friend Eta is not going to bother with us, so we are heading into Florida tomorrow!

November 8, 2020

Jekyll Island

Blythe Island Regional Park Brunswick, Georgia Day 3

Rain again during the night and into the morning. I did chores and some cooking while waiting for the weather to improve. Gradually the sky brightened and we packed our bike bags with lunch. We took the Jeep to Jekyll Island.

We unloaded our bikes and took off along the oceanside.

The bike path then took us through the marsh.

We had lunch at the pier where we watched from a distance as a a guy brought in a huge fish.

We rode around the top of the island beneath mighty live oaks, dappled sunlight, and long thick strands of moss.

We circled back around to the beach. Jekyll Island was a great place to ride and we enjoyed a really pleasant day!

On our way back to the RV, we stopped for groceries.

The Ravens won today and Tim got to watch the final NASCAR race of the season.

I took an evening walk around the lake.

We have made reservations for tomorrow night at Crooked River Sate Park. It is only about an hour away. It takes us a little further south…but not too close to the storm. We are diligently watching the weather and timing our journey to south Florida.

November 7, 2020

Brunswick

Blythe Island Regional Park Brunswick, Georgia Day 2

Thee was intermittent rain during the night and more rain this morning. We decided to spend another night here. The rain stopped for a short time and I tried to get in my morning walk.

About halfway around the loop, it began to rain again…hard! Thank goodness for my bike umbrella (thanks Vicki!)

The skies began to brighten and we packed the cooler and headed to Brunswick island with the Jeep and our bikes. We rode by the marina.

Through town.

Old City Hall.

New City Hall.

Through Queen’s Square.

Through Hanover Square.

We circled back to the marina on a bike path along the causeway. There was a Farmers Market in the park and we got fresh corn and zucchini and squash and tomatoes and Georgia pecans!

This evening we took a walk. I had noticed 2 rabbits in the campground yesterday…today we saw lots…big, well-fed, soft, fluffy, colorful bunnies that seem to call this park home! A little research revealed that families who no longer want to keep their pet rabbits bring them here. They and their babies are allowed to roam freely. There is a non-profit group, Blythe Island Bunnies, that tries to find homes for some of the bunnies.

Beautiful this evening at the dock.

This evening, we decided to add another day to our stay here. There is this Tropical Storm/Hurricane, Eta, headed for south Florida. We have reservations there beginning on the 14th of November. We had thought we would be be in Florida by now…but we need to wait and see what the weather does and what path the storm takes. So we are going to stall here for a couple of days to let the rain and winds pass.

November 6, 2020

Blythe Island

Blythe Island Regional Park Brunswick, Georgia

The campground had a nature trail perfect for my morning walk.

We drove 242 miles south mostly on 95. Just 20 miles short of our destination we hit heavy traffic for an accident ahead. We sat there a long time…but I kept thinking of the people in the accident and it was no problem to wait for our turn to pass. It was after 3 before we arrived at Blythe Regional Park. This little park turned out to be a wonderful surprise.

Just as we were backing in, rain began. It was the perfect excuse for an afternoon quiet hour. At 4 the skies were blue and clear and we took our bikes on the trail in the park. It was a sandy path studded with pinecones and live oak tree roots…but the scenery was worth it! Lots of huge old trees dripping with Spanish moss, palmettos, and water all around.

Just as we got back to the RV, the rain began again. We pulled the grill beneath the awning and I grilled onions and mushrooms for chicken marsala. I got a little damp…but we have lots of dry clothes!