827 October 23, 2022 Dixie Vodka 400

I had some unusual cheerleaders as I took my morning walk. 

A ranger stopped to help this turtle across the road.

This is the first flock of white pelicans that we have seen. They are migratory birds that come here for the winter. The soared on large loopy circles overhead.

Today was the Dixie Vodka 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.  This was a NASCAR playoff race.  When we knew that we were going to be in Florida and there was a race, it was a no brainer! 

I do love the pageantry of a live race; the driver introductions, the invocation, the national anthem, the patriotism, the fireworks, the military jet flyby.  Then, there is the thrill as the racecars come around the corner at the beginning of the competition; the thrum of the engines, the smell of racing fuel, the excitement of the crowd. 

It was hot.  That beautiful Florida sunshine was intense.  I went to get us frozen lemonade before the end of stage 1.  Every line was ridiculously long.  I was in the shade and it was cooler there under the grandstands so I elected to wait behind 50 other people!    It took almost an hour and by that time, Tim had joined me.  We decided to get hotdogs as well.  It was $63.75 for two lemonades and for our sandwiches…WOW!  I will say that the hotdogs were exceptionally delicious and that the frozen lemonade saved the day!

Neither of our drivers had a stellar race but we had fun being a part of it! 

We didn’t leave the track until almost 7.  We decided to stop at the Cracker Barrel in Homestead where we knew that we could get salads for dinner.

We reentered Everglades National Park well after dark.  We didn’t stop to look at the first snake we saw but we did stop for the second.  Tim thought it might have been a python, but rangers on Monday identified it as a water moccasin or cottonmouth. 

We stopped at Nine Mile Pond and got out to look at the stars.  There was no moon and the sky was glorious!  We could see the milky way as it reached out over the Everglades.  At the other end of the white swath, sat Miami with its bright city lights.  The stars at that end were obliterated by those lights.

As we went to leave, we saw what looked like a pair of eyes gliding across the lake.  As we watched and the “eyes” got closer, we noticed that they looked more like lights.  In fact, it looked like a ring of lights around a dome of some sort.  What in the world had we seen?  I though it looked like a UFO on the lake or more accurately like our dish satellite with a string of lights.  Maybe, it was a kayaker with light on his boat.  Weirdly, it came to rest in the high grass along the edge of the lake so that it was almost invisible…like it was trying to hide.  We drove away then after wondering if it might be someone who did not want to be seen.  Maybe it was some kind of research equipment? 

By the time we got back to the RV, we were tired but it took me a long time to settle.  It was a busy and stimulating day. 

826 October 22, 2022 Biking At Nike

Another good three mile walk in the cool morning air.  There was a very fresh pile of what we believe is bear scat right on the campground loop.  We read that animals like to mark their territory with scat and that they often use paths and trails.  That makes sense!

We packed a picnic and took the Jeep with the bikes to the Nike Site Road.  We parked at one end and biked to the other.  Our round trip was 8.5 miles.  It was a nice easy ride on a straight, flat, and newly paved road with gorgeous scenery. It was 78 degrees and we had a pleasant breeze…perfect riding! It doesn’t get much better than that!

We saw lots of egg shells by the road.  We are not sure if there is an animal robbing bird nests or maybe someone used chicken eggs as bait to draw animals out.  It is a riddle! There were more than half a dozen empty eggs.  We are always reminded; the more we see…the more we realize how much we do not know! 

A small snake hit by a car in the road.

Did you know that a single dragonfly eats hundreds of mosquitos every day? we like having these guys around.

We drove to Royal Palm and walked the Anhinga Trail.  This area was crowded with international tourists.  We saw a mama gator and her babies and not much else.  Later in the year, during the dry season, there will be lots of gators and birds here.

We drove to Long Pine Key and found a table in the shade.

After lunch, we drove to Mahogany Hammock and walked that trail.

On the way back we stopped at West Lake and sat watching the water…no wildlife there either.

We grilled bison burgers and brussel sprouts and enjoyed a delicious papaya from Robert’s.

We drove to Florida Bay to watch the sunset.  We are warm and outside and active and eating mostly healthy foods.  We are trying to take care in our retirement.

825 October 21, 2022 Exploring

What a wonderful place to take a walk!  All the way to Florida Bay and back.  A good three-mile circuit! 

These yurts are brand new and sit right on the water.

Some critters.

Home for this week.

We have seen lots of very large scat in and around the campground.  It has probably been left behind since the hurricane.  What is lurking out in these woods?  We asked the ranger and he thinks either coyotes, bears, panthers, or bobcats…that narrows it down!  We are thinking that it might be a good sign.  For a long time, mammals were not here in this part of the Everglades.  Burmese pythons had eliminated all the smaller mammals like raccoons and rabbits and some of the larger animals as well.  We read that bobcats eat python eggs.  Maybe nature is taking care of these invasive snakes in its own way.

We took our bikes and cycled to the bay.  We heard excited yelling and then we watched these fishermen pull in this shark. 

We biked to the marina and watched manatees.  These three were all about getting fresh water from this large pipe.

Some gulls were every interested until they discovered that we were not going to feed them.

Ibises hunting.

A crocodile was sunning himself on the boat ramp.  He looks positively prehistoric!

Later, we packed dinner and road about thirty miles on the park road to a pond.  We saw this sixteen-inch snake on the way in.

We ate our evening meal and watched the sunset.  

At one point there were ten crows waiting to be fed.

The end of another good day.

As we headed back toward home, we watched for wildlife.  Tim spotted another small snake.  We saw some beady red eyes and we think they were night herons standing along the road.

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.