1210 February 14, 2025 Snake Bight Trail

Happy Valentines Day!

After coffee, I took a short walk in the campground.

We drove the Jeep to the Snake Bight Trailhead.  Tim wore long pants and long sleeves to protect himself from mosquitoes.  I chose to wear capris and short sleeves but I sprayed myself with an ample coating of OFF.

The trail is raised on an old road bed.  There hasn’t been any rain and the path was dry.  The mosquitoes were mostly absent.  We enjoyed the straight and flat trail through this tropical hardwood hammock.

The trees met overhead to form a sort of arch or tunnel.

We saw bromeliads or giant air plants growing on host trees.  These plants get their nutrients from the air and don’t need much water.

We walked 1.8 miles to the boardwalk at the end.  We could see Snake Bight a small bay within Florida Bay.

We watched birds.

There were lots of osprey flying overhead, their cries piercing the silence. Many carried sticks and other nesting materials and others had small fish grasped tightly in their talons. 

There was a bench and we sat, basking in the sunshine and welcoming the occasional breeze.

We hiked back to the car.

Tim drove several miles further to Parotis Pond.  The ranger told us that there were three pairs of nesting spoonbills on the island in the pond.  She urged us to wait and watch patiently; the hatchlings needed to be fed and the parents appear every 20-40 minutes as they gather food for their young and then return to their nests.  We caught sight of these giant birds, neon pink against the bright blue sky.  At one point we saw 4 out flying together.  I got pictures but no great pictures…it was really something you had to be there to see!  Nothing like looking for big pink birds on Valentines Day!

When we got back to the RV, my first priority was to shower off all the grime and bug spray from our hike.  We rested until late afternoon.

I got out a couple of crabcakes that I had been saving.  I cut up some papaya and made a nice green salad.  I had some huge red strawberries as well.  We packed our dinner and drove to a small pond on a gravel road.  We had our picnic there.  We stayed until the sun went down.

On the way back to the campground we hit a couple of areas of intense mosquitoes.  The Jeep windshield is covered in bug detritus!

We spent this Valentines Day doing things that we like.  Together, we hiked and did some birdwatching and had a picnic.  I hope that all of our friends and loved ones found a way to experience some love and joy today!

1209 February 13, 2025 All Dressed Up And No Place To Go!

We were up early.  I walked laps around the campground.  I could tell that my legs were tired from yesterday’s work.  I saw police cars with lights flashing headed into our loop and walked back just to check.  Prayers for those who needed medical help here today.  We are 41 miles from the park entrance and more than 50 miles from help.

We went to the Visitor Center and asked about hiking trails.

We rode our bikes to the marina.  This pair of ospreys has a huge and sturdy nest.  Mama was sitting on the eggs while papa was on patrol.

There were a few manatees in the marina.

We went back to the RV.  I slept little last night and felt queasy and I had no energy.  I slept this afternoon; something I rarely do.

This evening, we showered and dressed.  I put on a dress and makeup and earrings and everything!  We went to go to an early Valentines dinner at the Flamingo Lodge Restaurant.  Sadly, there was a CLOSED sign on the door…no water!

We drove to the marina and went to the food truck.  We had pulled pork sandwiches.

We sat by the water for a while…not what we expected…but fine enough!

1208 February 12, 2025 Exploring

I took my walk around the campground and then out toward Florida Bay.  I was trying to capture pictures of this osprey pair in their nest.  Papa was not having it!  He spread his wings wide to warn me off. 

Tim was riding by on his bike.  We both went to sit on a bench by the water.

Tim saw this dead water snake by the edge of the road.

Later in the morning, I decided to take my bike out.  I was feeling strong and cycled all the way to Mrazek Pond.  5 miles there and then 5 miles back.  Sometimes, the trees around this pond can be filled with all kinds of birds.  Today, no birds!

We packed our lunch and drove the Jeep to West Lake.  We ate while watching a pair of kingfishers and several osprey hunting for lunch.

We walked the boardwalk trail.  Out on the water it was very windy.

We went to see the new Visitor Center.

At 2pm there was a Ranger Program called Mangrove March.  We walked around the park listening as Calvin told us about the trees growing here in Flamingo.

These are seeds from the red mangrove trees ready to drop.

This strangler fig has wrapped itself around this palm tree…entangled until one or the other dies.

This evening, we took our dinner and sat by the edge of the bay.

1207 February 11, 2025 Everglades National Park Flamingo Campground

As we got up and got ready this morning, we began to prepare for a move. 

We did take the time to exercise and walk before leaving Midway.

We had a big list of things to do.  We are going to be camping in Flamingo Campground for 10 nights.  This campground is 41 miles from the park entrance in Homestead.  We wanted to be as ready as we could to stay as long as we could without having to make the trek back into Homestead.  More than likely, we will need to go out at least once…we shall see!

We left Big Cypress at around 10am.  We made our way through our list and arrived at Robert is Here Produce Market at around 2pm.  We cannot drive through Homestead without experiencing a flood of memories.  Tim’s brother, Jeff, lived here and his presence here enticed us to come and visit every year after Christmas.  If he had lived elsewhere in Florida, our whole experience would have been very different.  Because we came here and we fell in love with this place, we keep coming back.  Over the years we have seen many changes.  We noticed that Homestead is a lot cleaner and that there are less abandoned stores and properties.  There is a ton of building going on here…luxury townhouses and single family homes selling for 300,000 and  400,000 and  500,000 dollars and more.  It looks very different.  The farm field that always had fresh tomatoes that grew in front of Jeff’s house will have even more houses. 

Jeff introduced us to the Everglades and to the Keys.  He has been in our thoughts a bunch today. 

At Robert’s I chose a key lime milkshake and a Cuban sandwich for my lunch and we shopped for papaya and avocadoes and big fresh tomatoes.  Tim got a piece of mamey as well.

We continued on our journey.  We used our Lifetime Senior Access Pass at the entrance to Everglades National Park. 

We were settled after 4pm. 

We ate an easy dinner and then drove the Jeep over to the new Visitor Center.  We sat on the upper deck enjoying the view and the breeze coming in from the Florida Bay.

As we sat and watched the water and the sky, the full moon rose up over the mangrove trees.  I think we are going to like it here!

1206 February 10, 2025 Shark Valley Take 2

We got up early this morning despite having stayed up to watch the whole Super Bowl.  What a surprise to see the Eagles dominate the Chiefs.  I know two very happy little boys…Oliver and Austin are over the moon!

We packed some water and breakfast and poured a second cup of coffee and off we went.  We drove the twenty miles to Shark Valley.  We arrived at 8am and parked outside the gate.  It was a beautiful morning to be out and pedaling.  The sky was clear and the air was balmy and warm.  The sun shone.

I biked for a while, I had a good rhythm and I was moving at a good pace.  I realized that I was in my own head and that I hadn’t been paying attention to my surroundings.  I pulled back and started to notice…of course this meant that I was slowed down by the need to stop and take pictures! 

Anhinga out to dry!

Red-shouldered hawk.

Blue thistle.

I noticed a wet trail across the road and we doubled back to look and see what had crossed.  We spotted a small gator along the path.

Bright yellow lilies on emerald green lily pads.

Brilliant purple gallinule.

Pickerelweed.

We climbed the observation tower at mile 7. 

Today, the alligators were very loud.  We could hear a deep throated thrum coming from the swamp.  There were at least two males bellowing.  Tim tried to get video/audio but the sound quality was too poor.  That’s a shame because it was really quite something to hear and witness.

We saw a couple of huge aquatic turtles.

Common American crows…always right there at snack time!

Once again, when we came down from the tower, there was a crocodile sunning herself at the edge of the parking area.  Tim rode back to check and see if it was a gator or a croc…definitely a croc!  We didn’t know that there were crocs this far north and inland!

The best oatmeal I have ever had…the ambience!

Starrush whitetop.  These were tiny dainty flowers.

Lots of dragonflies flying in tandem.  This one waiting to find a mate.

Tim and I almost had a wreck.  I saw this big dark snake and I wanted to go back to look.  Tim turned his head to look and almost ploughed into me.  I had stopped to go back!  We are not positive but we think this might be a python.  It is too heavy and thick to be a black racer.  If we zoom in, we can see a pattern on his skin…not positive.  This is as close as I was willing to get!

Soon after, we saw this pretty smaller snake.  He had been injured either by a tram or bike or perhaps by a predator.  We can’t find any picture of any snake that is supposed to look like this one.

I am glad that we had an extra day to do the 15-mile loop at Shark Valley a second time.  This is absolutely a highlight for us. 

We were tired this afternoon and we rested.  I listened to a book most of the day.  After his nap, Tim went to sit outside and ended up visiting with our neighbors for a long time.

We took our dinner, butter chicken, garlic naan, greens with orange olive oil and orange white balsamic and we drove the Jeep to Kirby Sorter Park.  We walked the boardwalk.  About ¼ mile in, the walk stopped abruptly.  The boardwalk caught fire, perhaps due to a lightning strike and the walk has yet to be repaired.

We made our dinner and enjoyed a picnic.

We watched the sun go down over Big Cypress.

Another great day in Southern Florida!

Tomorrow we will drive 100 miles south to Flamingo Campground in the Everglades.

1205 February 9, 2025 Gator Hook Trail

I only took a short walk this morning.  I knew that we had planned a hike later in the morning and so I wanted to conserve my energy!

We had talked with a camp host about this hike.  He commented that it might be quite muddy.  We dressed in long sleeves, long pants hiking socks, and old tennis shoes.  We were prepared with bug spray and buffs in the event that the mosquitoes became too intense. 

We saw this tiny 2 ½ foot alligator crossing the road.

We drove to the Gator Hook Trailhead on Loop Road.  I saw other people starting out on the trail.  They were dressed in in cute sandals and shorts and sleeveless shirts.  I suddenly felt very overdressed.  We began to walk.  The initial portion of the trail had a layer of gravel and it was nice and flat. 

Then, there was mud.  There were wooden beams lying across the path with squishy muck between.  This is where those nicely dressed people turned around!  We were ready for an adventure and we persevered. 

There were coral rocks scattered along the path. We had to carefully pick and navigate our way from one rock to the next.  When I missed and landed in the mire it sucked my foot in and I had to yank it back out.  This hike required good balance and lots of concentration.  At one point, I looked around and just laughed out loud.  What a thrill to be out there in the middle of the cypress swamp, wending our way!  I did discover that the cypress trees grew in drier soil and so I did a bit of bushwhacking.  We saw no snakes and no gators and no other people.

We had walked ½ mile in when we came to a place on the trail where we could see the yellow blazes marking the trail but the trail was under several inches of water.  This is where we decided to turn back.  I later read that in places the water could be 4 feet deep…nope…no way!!! It had been a long time since we had that kind of excitement!

Some very large paw prints out there in the middle of nowhere…panther???

We went back to Monument Lake where we could get cell service so that we could post the blog.

The rest of the day was quiet. 

A bit of rain and a rainbow in the campground.

We had a picnic dinner and then Tim set up the outside TV and we watched the Super Bowl on Telemundo …in Spanish.  That was the best we could do!  Our neighbors came over to watch with us.  The mosquitoes were mild.  We had fun watching.  Tim and the neighbor guy narrated the game.  Our little Austin is a big Eagles fan.  He is dressed in his Saquon Barkley shirt and he is so cranked about this game…but too nervous to watch! Go Eagles!!!!

1204 February 8, 2025 Midway Campground And Loop Road

We had one more opportunity to walk at Monument Lake.  I did several laps on my bike as well.   We were in no great hurry.  We had less than ten miles to travel.  We woke up this morning and the coffee maker did not work and then the fridge went off.  Our batteries are not holding a charge despite using the generator for many hours each day.  We were trying to be careful to use the generator after our neighbors were awake and when they were out for the day.  Monument Lake is so peaceful that even though we could run our generator all day…it seemed a shame to disturb the quiet.  The batteries will need replacement, I think. For now, we were moving to Midway.  There we have electric hookups which will improve our power situation. 

We left before 11am.  Checkout was at noon and check-in at 2pm.  Tim drove to the Visitor Center and let the coach engine run…another way to charge the house batteries.  I drove ahead to Midway to see if our site was available and if we might be allowed to come in early.  Unfortunately, the woman in our site was not ready to leave.  I found a nice bit of shade with a nice breeze and sat and waited.

Noon came and went and there was no movement.  I saw her go to the camp host.  She wanted to stay at Midway as long as possible because she was headed to Monument Lake and she would have no ability to run her air conditioning.  The camp host very gently informed her that she was supposed to have already left.  The guest had the argument that check-in was not until 2pm…but I was already there and waiting and so she was asked to leave.  Finally, I was able to call Tim and tell him to come on over.  He dumped tanks and then as he approached our spot, she still hadn’t left.  He waited patiently, diesel engine running, at the end of her drive as she made final preparations to go and finally, she went!  Tim backed into #3.  It was then that I realized that there was no water hookup.  Tim pulled out and drove back over to get potable water for showers and dishes.  We were getting settled at last and we were plugged in!  It took us 3 hours to make the “short drive.”

We had a late lunch and had some quiet time.

This afternoon, we took the Jeep and drove Loop Road.  This is a 24-mile gravel road along a canal.  This is one of my favorite things to do her in Big Cypress.  Today was a great day to make this drive.  We saw more than a dozen alligators floating in the water and laying out along the roadside. 

There were also lots of fish.

Great egrets.

Tricolored herons.

We had rotisserie chicken and avocado toast with boiled eggs for our dinner.

The sun went down behind the trees.

This evening, we had the extra special treat of FaceTime with Kyle and Wade.  This is a picture of Wade playing with a spaghetti noodle!

1203 February 7, 2025 Seafood Festival

We took our time this morning.  We did our morning exercise, I read, and then I did some laps around the lake on my bike. 

Killdeer.

After lunch, we drove the 41 miles to Naples; back to civilization.  Land of the manicured golf courses and estates with grand entrances.  More importantly, there was a laundromat and shopping.  We haven’t had hookups for almost a week.  We move tomorrow but at Midway, we will only have water and electric.  We need a septic hookup to be able to utilize our own washer and dryer…hence…the laundromat.  We had three loads done in less than 1 ½ hours.  That is the good thing about a laundromat.  This place was clean and the machines were new. 

We fueled the Jeep, got fresh water and went to Walmart for lots of supplies.

We had our timing worked out so that we would arrive in Everglades City at about 5pm.  The city was hosting a Seafood Festival this weekend.  The price of admission was canned goods.  We wandered through and found a nice food stand with almond encrusted grouper sandwiches topped with slaw and sides of yellow rice and a great vegetable medley.  Dinner was delicious.  We sat with some other folks from Saint Louis who are happy to be spending a month away from the chill at home.

We sat and listened to some music and then wandered through the festival again.  This is a highlight of the year for this small town.  We can see that these people try very hard.  They have had the misfortune of getting slapped time and again by hurricanes.  They cleanup and rebuild and carry on.  The festival was well organized with a wide array of really nice craft vendors and food choices.  Resilience in the face of so much adversity!

1202 February 6, 2025 Wagonwheel Loop

It is easier to walk when it is beautiful outside.  The warm sunshine is a balm.  This place is so peaceful.  The water was still.

We packed a picnic lunch and drove the Jeep.  Our first stop was the H. P. Wiliams Roadside Park.  From the boardwalk we saw lots of gators.

There was a common water snake coiled up on a rock.

We took Turner River Road into the outback.  Big Cypress National Preserve covers and area about the size of Rhode Island.  We drove about 20 miles. 

We passed beneath Interstate 75.  The underpass was designed to allow animals to migrate further north without crossing the busy roadway.

We drove to Bear Island Campground and found an isolated spot for our picnic.

This creepy looking running crab spider was in the bathroom on the ceiling.

We saw no bears and no Florida panthers.  We did see a long and skinny black snake wriggling its way across the road.  We saw a few turtles in the grassy verge.  We saw tons of birds.   Hawks, ospreys, egrets, herons, anhingas, storks, ibises…lots of birds!

We took Wagonwheel Road back to the highway. I love this drive.  The scenery is wild and untamed.  Big creatures live here and the possibility that we just might see them is enticing.  As we went, we were reminded of the enormity of the wilderness here.  Most everything south 75 is public land.  This is “Real Florida.”

We got back to the RV and had our customary quiet time.  We spent the remainder of the afternoon outside. 

A kingfisher.

This alligator staked out a space on the grassy bank less than 100 feet from our site. He looks like he is about 10 feet long! He was still there went we went in for the night!

A ranger came to invite us to an evening program.  We went to hear her speak about fire in the Big Cypress and the Everglades.  Emily was young and smart and had great positive energy.  She talked about the importance of fire in maintaining the ecological balance.  The park service here is responsible for prescribed burns.  The idea is that the entire preserve undergoes a burn every 5 years.  Each year about 20% of the park is managed by fire.  This is meant to simulate the cycle of natural fires that would occur as a result of lightning. 

We returned to the campsite and grilled mushrooms and spinach which we enjoyed with some orzo.  The sun went down as we ate.  A few mosquitoes began to emerge and they chased us inside.

 1201 February 5, 2025 Everglades City

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning for a walk around and around Monument Lake.

Millipede on the walking path.

We have been having some difficulty dry camping in our new bigger rig.  Both mornings, we had low battery and had to wait until a reasonable hour to start the generator and make our coffee.  Tim decided to check the water level in the batteries.  As often happens, one thing led to another.  He was not able to open the basement door.  The large slideout had sagged.  In order to open the compartment to the batteries, he had to jack up the slideout.  He had to do this once before and he had cut a 4×4 to the exact length he needed.  He must have cut that length with the airbags inflated.  The prop was too long which meant that he had to get out the saw and reshape the prop.  Once that was cut, he was able to use the jack and readjust the slideout.  With the battery compartment now accessible, he was able to check the batteries and add water to each of the six batteries.  We ran the generator to recharge and we will see if the batteries will hold a charge longer now.  This took most of the morning.  Sometimes. You have to take the good with the bad…

We drove the Jeep with our bikes to Everglades City.  We parked the Jeep and pedaled to Everglades National Park.  This portion of the park is currently closed and undergoing an extensive construction project.  Hurricanes had repeatedly decimated the park headquarters and now a much larger and more substantial building is going up.  We cycled along the waterfront. 

We had lunch at City Seafood, delicious shrimp wraps that we ate out on the patio.

We stopped at Triad Seafood for smoked fish dip and then we went to the small grocery for some crackers and bananas

This afternoon, we rested and then sat outside.  There was a really nice breeze and the humidity seemed to be less today. 

Mockingbird.

Our neighbor was going out fishing today and asked us if he could bring us some fresh fish…he arrived back at the campground with no fish.  We enjoyed our fish dip with salad and mango and crackers and it was plenty!

Another nice sunset here at Monument Lake!

We rode our bikes in loops around the lake.  It was such a nice day.