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.

1200 February 4, 2025 Love Is In The Air

We got up and got packed for a trip to Shark Valley.  It was very foggy.  The sun tried to break through as we made our way east on 41.

By the time we got to Shark Valley the fog had taken over once more.

We biked on the paved path into the Everglades.

We met a couple who was visiting here from Poland.  They had their Range Rover and bikes shipped over and they were out to enjoy the ride as well.  They have been in Florida for the past several weeks and their next destination is South America…world travelers!

There were thousands of dew-covered spider webs.

We made our way 7 miles to the observation tower.  This is one of Tim’s favorite viewpoints.  He likes being able to look out at the Everglades for as far as the eye can see.  I love riding on the path and being IN this place.  We figured that we have ridden here more than a dozen times.  Each time it shows up different. 

As we stood in the tower, we could hear a pair of owls calling to one another.  We heard a male alligator bellowing.  We watched a pair of purple gallinules with their comically large bright yellow feet walking across the lily pads. 

We saw a huge turtle and a couple of smaller ones. 

There were several gators and we heard a great thrashing and splashing.  The larger gator was chasing the smaller.  Not sure if he was trying to intimidate another male or of he was looking for love.

We got back to our bikes and spotted what we thought at the time was a large alligator at the edge of the parking area. We actually found out later that this was a huge crocodile!!! We both noticed that he was a different color and I thought his snout looked more narrow…we were not aware that crocodiles lived in Shark Valley!

8 more beautiful miles.  It was not crowded today and we got to spend a lot of time…just us…in this magnificent place.

A wood stork plodding through the swamp, looking for breakfast.

We drove back to the campground and we were ready for lunch and naps!

The Miccosukee are serious about pythons in the Everglades!

It was very pleasant with a mild breeze and we spent time outside this afternoon. A pair of woodpeckers kept us entertained.

Eggs and grilled toast for our dinner followed by another lovely sunset.

1199 February 3, 2025 Monument Lake

We both took walks this morning around the perimeter of the huge casino parking lot.

Mexican petunias.

A loggerhead shrike.

We had a 45-minute ride to Monument Lake Campground.  We made a stop at Midway to dump tanks and fill with potable water. There are no hookups at this campground and we wanted to be prepared. 

We stopped again at the Oasis Visitor Center at Big Cypress National Preserve.

The alligators were out enjoying the brilliant sunshine.

Anhinga.

We arrived at Monument Lake a little after 11am.

We put the awning out and sat outside for a long time this afternoon. 

There was a palm warbler bebopping around our campsite looking for crumbs.

A red-bellied woodpecker flitted from tree to tree.

We rode bikes around the lake.  One of the resident alligators was sunning himself on a rock.

We had mango and greens with mango white balsamic vinegar and grilled tuna steaks for our dinner.  It was nice enough to eat outside and there were relatively few mosquitos.  We sat outside until after dark enjoying some music. 

Monument Lake always feels like coming home.  We have been coming here for most of the last 20 years.  When we had just a short couple of weeks to visit Tim’s brother, Jeff, we would race from home down 95S to Florida.  When we got to Monument Lake, we would finally breathe and relax.  Lots of great memories here in this beautiful place!  We will spend the next 5 nights here before moving on. 

1198 February 2, 2025 Miccosukee Resort

This morning it was 67 degrees and very foggy.  We both took walks in the balmy and soupy air.

I had my breakfast outside at the picnic table and the sun broke through, instantly ratcheting up the temperature.

Today we had a short 71-mile ride to Miccosukee Resort.  This is a casino that allows RV’s to stay overnight. 

We have been here before and we came back specifically to have dinner at La Brisa.  This restaurant was just newly opened last time we were here.  The food was so excellent that it left a lasting impression!  The restaurant began dinner service at 6pm.  We went to the casino early and walked around.  We watched as close to one thousand people sat before blinking noisy machines.  I thought the place was wildly overstimulating!  The gamblers inserted their cards or money and waited earnestly for the big payout.  It is not like it used to be where quarters spill out of the machines.  Instead, people get paper tickets that they can take to the cashier to collect their winnings.  We saw one guy getting more than $700.00…not sure how much he spent to get that!  We went to the lounge to have a glass of wine.  At the restaurant we were the only patrons.  We shared the tuna tartare tacos, an excellent crabcake, and then we split a cobb salad.  The food was as good as we remembered. 

We walked back through the casino and out to the RV.  We marveled at the fact that there are indeed people who come here to have fun.  It’s not our thing…but everyone does life differently!  We know there are people who should not be here spending their hard-earned money but everyone makes their own choice.  We certainly live an alternative lifestyle.  I asked Tim as we walked “home” if he was tired of doing this yet…this crazy life where we go from high end beach properties to sugarcane country to casinos all in the span of one week!  His reply: “No, I’m not tired of it! and neither am I! 

1197 February 1, 2025 Getting Ready!

Another lovely walk in the park.

We spent the day preparing. Tomorrow we will move. We will spend one night at the Miccosukee Resort and Casino. After that, we will be staying in Big Cypress National Preserve.

This morning we got all of the laundry washed and dried and folded and put away. Tim wanted to go for a bike ride and so he pedaled to John Stretch Park. I drove the Jeep to meet him and walked while waiting.

We know that for more than a week we will be far away from stores and so we drove into Clewiston and did a huge Walmart run. On the way back, we stopped to get fresh drinking water.

We got stuff organized and rested for a while.

This evening, we drove into Belle Glade to the Winn Dixie, looking for the things we could not find in Clewiston. Walmart had NO eggs. Winn Dixie had 18 eggs for $10.99…wow what a deal! We bought them anyway. We eat eggs for dinner all the time and we always have boiled eggs ready for a quick high protein snack.

I made pulled pork bowls for dinner. We used red beans and rice for our base. We added the pork, salsa, corn, and black beans. I made avocado crema with avocadoes, lime juice, Greek yogurt and seasoning. It was very good!

Today was Wade’s first birthday party. We were lucky to have the chance to FaceTime while everyone sang Happy Birthday! Hugs and kisses sweet baby Wade!

1196 January 31, 2025 The Best Weather In The Country

We slept with windows open last night…so nice!

It was a really pretty morning for a walk.

Later in the morning, we packed lunches.  Tim was inspired to take the roof off of the Jeep after I relayed a conversation that my mom and I had about convertibles in Florida.  The sun was shining and we had the wind in our hair…well…my hair!

Tim drove the Jeep north along Lake Okeechobee.  Our first stop was Canal Point.  The bike trail from here was gravel…ughhh…

We drove further north to Port Mayaca Lock.  The park there was beautiful.  We had lunch down by the lock. 

We drove up to the berm.  It was really windy and so we opted to walk in lieu of riding our bikes.

We rested this afternoon.  For dinner, we went out.  We had seen a nice Mexican food truck in Belle Glade.  When we got there, the place was rocking.  There was a long line of farm workers that had arrived by bus.  The music was loud and festive.  We might have stayed but it was really crowded.  We decided to go back to the Cuban food truck where we had dinner the other night but they had closed for the evening.  The Marathon gas station next door had a restaurant, Dos Amigos, where we were finally able to order dinner.  We drove back up onto the berm to watch the sunset and eat our meal.  Tasty food and lovely scenery.  The weatherman has told us every evening that we have the best weather in the country.  It is perfectly pleasant here!

1195 January 30, 2025 Pahokee

I woke up feeling much more normal.  I had the energy for a good walk this morning and did lots of loops around the campground pond.

I spent the morning catching up on some chores.

At lunchtime, we packed our bike bags with lunch and drove the Jeep to Pahokee Marina.  We sat by the water and enjoyed our lunch. 

Afterward, we biked about 5 miles.  Today was the first day in several that I felt like riding and so 5 miles was enough for me.  Tim wanted to ride further.  He headed south on the LOST and I drove the Jeep to meet him at Paul Rardin Park another 5 miles away.

This great old banyan tree was the home for lots of lizards. 

The lizards were slick and quick and so it was hard to get good pictures.  Tim spotted this red and black beauty and I got two fast shots before he slipped away.

When we got back to the RV, it was 91 degrees inside.  We ran the air until sunset.

After dinner, Tim changed the innertube in my front tire.  Part of our ride today was on a rough gravel road and a sharp rock must have pierced it.  He has changed a lot of bike tires in the past many years and he is getting really good at it.

1194 January 29, 2025 Rocket Launch

Happy First Birthday Sweet Baby Wade!

I felt well enough to take a decent walk this morning. It was sunny and breezy.

Tim wanted to bike to John Stretch Park. It was a 5 mile ride. I decided That I wasn’t ready to bike. I took the Jeep to meet him there. I walked while I waited for him.

The berm is about 35 feet higher than the lake. Tim rode on the berm parallel to the highway.

From the park, we drove to Clewiston for gas and water and a few groceries.

After our errands were completed, we took a ride south of South Bay. There is a nice wide highway with lots of truck traffic that runs through miles and miles of sugarcane country.

We had another quiet afternoon.

Powered paragliders flying above the campground!

We had breakfast for dinner and then after 8pm, we went up onto the berm to see if we could see tonight’s rocket launch from the Space Coast.

The launch was scheduled for 8:34pm. We watched the countdown and waited…We heard on the broadcast that the rocket was fueled b-with one million pounds of kerosene and liquid oxygen!

We saw a bright red fireball on the horizon. It steadily rose.

Tim’s video has the best view.

What an amazing thing to be able to witness!