About Midway to Okeechobee

Now I’m in Mr. Peabody’s Way Back machine. Or so it seems. I’m so far behind in my posts that I need a kind of time machine in order to remember all the places I’ve been and what I’ve seen. That’s the problem with having so much fun, “work” is an after-thought that you only get to when there’s nothing else to do. And there’s always something else to do. But I will try to get my thoughts in a coherent form of some sort and get them on the page.

Biscayne

While I was still in the Homestead area I decided to visit Biscayne National Park. I really wish I had a kayak for that. I still haven’t been able to replace the one I sold before I bought my bigger RV. I finally found the one I want, but nobody has it in stock! The store that has it in their catalog doesn’t actually have it in stock yet, and they don’t seem to know when it will be available. Having something shipped to you when you have no permanent address can be a problem. Particularly when it is a big, heavy something.

Pretty fish for dinner

Meanwhile, I was in Biscayne and most of what there is to see there is either underwater or on one of the many little islands that dot the bay. I have snorkeling gear, but the reef action was farther away than I wanted to swim to, so I had to be satisfied with just walking around on the shore. It really is a beautiful place. I will be going back there after I get a new kayak, either next year or the year after, depending on where I decide to winter next year.

The bay is teeming with life. Colorful fish abound, birds everywhere, the ocean sparkling and bright. I want to go back! There is no camping there, aside from a couple of spots for park volunteers to put their RV’s. But there are a few spots for RV’s to park for the day, you just have to get there early if you want one. I met one guy who camps in store parking lots in town every night, then gets to the park as soon as it opens in the morning. He spends the whole day fishing, soaking up the sun and enjoying the beauty of the place until it closes for the night. He told me that he does that for a month or two every winter. Having a mobile house is nice for that kind of thing.

crab

hermit crab

 

 

 

 

I had planned to spend a second day at Biscayne but decided to go into Homestead instead and have a new radio/CD player and speakers installed in the RV. The old unit was too old to be able to “read” a lot of my mp3 format CD’s, thus I couldn’t listen to them while driving. And the speakers were so beat up that they were a joke. There are two speakers in the dash, installed flat on the surface, face up. They have had a lot of moisture roll into them over the years; condensation from the windshield, spilled drinks, whatever. The paper cones that were in common use when they were installed weren’t in very good shape anymore. They popped, crackled and made other unseemly noises, particularly if the volume was turned up much past the “marginally audible while driving” level. I felt that since I was replacing those two, I might as well have the two in the coach “living room” done at the same time.

_____
This, of course, added up to a bunch of money (the speakers alone were $100.00 each) and a whole lot more time than anticipated. The speakers in the coach were installed in such a way that it was obvious that Itaska didn’t want them to EVER come out again. But they were finally removed and the new ones installed. The new speakers do NOT have paper cores and if something gets spilled into one of them, it can be mopped out with a paper towel or vacuumed out with a wet/dry vac.  Sweet. The sound I’m getting now is even sweeter and no matter how high I turn up the volume, no distortion. Yes! You’re never too old to rock and roll.

___________
Since that shot the entire day, I ended up “camping” in the Home Depot parking lot for that night, then headed up to Midway Campground in Big Cypress National Refuge the next day. I really like Midway, but for some reason the park service powers-that-be decided that it should be by reservation only this year. And the reservations must be made at least 48 hours in advance of your arrival. Then they raised the cost of camping there (also the cost of all nearby campgrounds). There were no improvements to the campground itself. No reason to charge more that I could see. But it is what it is, and I wanted to stay there. Unfortunately I could only get five days in a row, then I would have had to go somewhere else for a day, after which I could have returned to Midway for another four days. Which is way too much trouble, so five days was it for me.

wood stork

butterfly

While I was there I did get to visit Sweetwater Strand again and also hike a couple of trails that I had missed on my last visit here. Since I was visiting slightly earlier in the year, things were a little different. The birds weren’t nesting yet, so there were fewer to watch and photograph. The air plants weren’t blooming yet either. But beautiful is beautiful even if it’s different from what you saw before. I also got a chance to make some new friends, but that happens at almost every campground. Most RV’ers are very friendly.

great blue heron

white heron

Once I left Midway, I headed north to Okeechobee, both the lake and the town. I had been told about a campground a little north of the town of Okeechobee, near a boat ramp, that was free and very peaceful. I wanted to check it out. On the way up, I drove along the east side of the lake. Not that you can actually see the lake that way. The lake is surrounded by big earthen dikes to prevent flooding, so no views of the water.

————————————————-
As I neared the town, there was campground after campground nestled along the road. Most were very small and basic, but they had character. I thought about stopping and finding out prices and availability (full hook-up sites are so nice), but there wasn’t much in the way of parking in most of them and the traffic moves pretty quickly in that section. I also knew that if I liked the place I just might decide to stay for a week or two and not meet up with my friends in the other camping area.

______
So I continued into the city of Okeechobee, then decided to spend the night in the local Home Depot parking lot. I was tired and it was getting late. I didn’t want to find myself trying to locate an unmarked campground after dark on roads I had never traveled before. It seemed prudent to wait for the morning light.

______
The night was ever so peaceful. I parked by the side of the store, near the back. Traffic noise barely reached me and scenery wasn’t bad either. There was a large pond behind the store and a lot of birds were taking advantage of the water for a meal and a night’s rest. If it hadn’t been for all the pavement, it would have seemed like I was out in the woods somewhere.

campground

Upon reaching the campground the next day I found that It was everything I expected and maybe a little more. I found a nice spot under the oaks and set up camp; putting out the slides, unrolling the awning, setting out my lounge chair and table, etc. Since I still don’t have my solar panels, being where the sun could hit my roof wasn’t necessary. Although it would have been warmer. Mornings in the inland areas in that part of the state were still pretty cool.

‘gator

It was a great place to camp. There were no hook-ups, not even a place to get water. The only “amenity” was a bunch of trash cans near the boat ramp. So at least you could dump your trash. All this meant that there weren’t that many people in the campground. Which is always nice. The other plus sides were; water all around for boating, kayaking, fishing, etc., birds of every description abounding, solitude and stars at night beyond count, a pleasant trail to walk down to the river, vibrant sunsets and peace beyond measure. Whew! If it hadn’t been for needing to get my generator serviced, my kayak replaced and a dozen errands to run, I might still be there.

 

sunset

sunset two

But all good things eventually come to an end (to be replaced by other good things, of course.) So I took my baby into town and found a place to get the generator serviced. By the time I finished that, plus picking up my mail and getting by errands run, it was already almost 5 PM and that’s no time to start a days drive to the next destination. So I went back to the campground for another night. While I was taking Topper on his last stroll of the evening he started growling at something off to one side of the trees. I shone the little flashlight I was carrying in that direction but didn’t have enough light to get any detail on what had his attention. Then what I had thought was a shadow in the tall grass moved. Judging from its size and the fluid grace of its movement, I may have seen a Florida panther passing through. It also caused me to purchase a better flashlight so that if it ever happens again I will know exactly what I’m looking at!

River near campground

I finally bid farewell to the peaceful place under the oaks and headed back toward the eastern coast, then north. Vero Beach as my destination. But that needs to be a different post. Too much to write about, too little time…

Everglades City and a SmallWood Store

The day after Dennis and I took our trip out to the strand, we took one out to Everglades City. It’s a rather unusual place, at least to someone who isn’t from this area. The first thing I noticed was that all the houses were up on piers. The newer ones were not just on piers, they dedicated their whole lower story to keeping the water out of the living areas when storms and high storm tides flood the city. The bottom floor was only for storage, parking, access to the upper levels. We spent a few minutes just driving around checking it out.

Everglades City new house

Everglades City old house

After that we drove to the “end of the road” and came to Smallwood’s Store (actually in Chokoloskee) which was built in 1906. It, too, was up on stilts and is now a museum dedicated to the history of Chokoloskee, the Smallwood family and the surrounding area. There were a group of people in a shelter in the parking lot when we pulled up. They had their guitars, a bass and I think a fiddle player and were playing and singing and having a wonderful time, just good, old-time music that I suspect dates back to around the time the store was built….and then some! The store/museum is filled with history and handcrafts. There’s too much to see there to really go into it, but suffice it to say, if you’re in southern Florida and you don’t stop in and see this place it’s your loss! Admission is $5 and worth every penny.

Smallwood’s store

Smallwood’s Store

Additionally, there is a great view of Chokoloskee Bay and a few of the 10,000 islands from the rear balcony of the store.

View from the rear of the store

On the way out to Everglades City, we also passed the Ochopee Post Office. It’s the smallest post office in the US. The post office is barely large enough for one person inside and has sliding screen doors to close it off from the outside world when business isn’t being conducted. The doors keep the postal worker from being eaten by mosquitoes, which aren’t bad in the winter, but seem to get to be the size of hummingbirds as soon as the weather warms up. I had a few “babies” snack on me after a few days of unseasonably warm weather. I’m not sure I would want to be down here in the summer. In fact, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t.

Ochopee post office

The post office does a great business just selling postcards that people mail to themselves or friends back home with the Ochopee postmark on them. It sells so many of them that it could probably justify its existence on the basis of that alone, but it IS a full-service post office, accepting mail, selling stamps, etc.

We also explored a couple of other campgrounds in the area (who knows, both of us like the area enough that we each have plans to come back here some time. Best to know where all possible places to camp are.) We were both also looking into the logistics for kayaking in the 10,000 islands.

I’ve spent most of this trip looking at possible ways to get my kayak on my RV. I’m pretty sure that it’s going to take some sort of pulley system that will allow me to get it on the roof. Still working on that one. But now it may entail another facet. I think I might want to get a sea kayak, which is considerably longer than the one I currently own, which makes me wonder if I can find a way to get both of them on the RV. One for exploring smaller waterways where something 15 feet long might have a lot more trouble maneuvering than a kayak that’s barely 9 feet long. Hmmmmmm, have to think about that one.

Florida “hunting” permit

The next day Dennis headed for Lake Okechobee and I set off for the gulf side of the state with hopes of making it into Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana in their coastal areas before heading back to St. Louis. I will have to make better time if I’m going to do all that, but this trip hasn’t been about making time, it’s been about making memories and adding knowledge. That aspect of the trip has been most successful. But I’m also scouting for a possible new home base. It’s not that I don’t like St. Louis, but I sure don’t like the winters there! Plus, St. Louis was never supposed to be a permanent home. It was originally supposed to be a stop-over for three to five years. I’ve been there almost 30 years now, I’m thinking it’s time to move on.

Midway campground

I like this life on the road. Actually, I love this life on the road. I would like to have some place to get my mail and maybe spend the holidays. Mostly just a place to store my “stuff” and call home when I don’t feel like traveling. Of course I may be fooling myself with that last one—I’m not sure that there will ever again be a time when I don’t feel like traveling. The jury is still out. I’ll just have to see what happens down the road.

A Sweet (water) Journey

I’ve been on more than a few little explorations since I’ve been in the Everglades/Big Cypress area. All of them have been interesting, some of them have been fabulously beautiful. One of the more fantastic “explores” was a trip to Sweetwater Strand. Well, two trips actually. It was so beautiful that when one of the friends I made while on the road down here came to Midway campground, where I was staying, I had to share it. Which gave me a second chance to visit this unique and wonderful place.

cypress water hole

A “strand” is a like a little river in the glades. Water is pretty much everywhere, of course, but when it’s concentrated in areas where it can become deeper, where channels can form, you have a strand. The water in these places is very, very clear. If it’s a few inches or three or four feet deep, it doesn’t matter. The amount of life that exists in these things is wild…no pun intended (wink, wink). Something new in every corner and hole. And, wait for it… birds everywhere. Since so many people come on the scenic drive that crosses the stand many of the birds have become rather blase about the human encroachment. I saw a tri-colored heron fishing about 20 feet away from where I was standing, but he wasn’t having any luck. So he flew over to my side of the bridge and set down about 4 feet from me and calmly started fishing again. Then cocked an eye in my direction as I was holding my camera as if to say, “Well, what are you waiting for? A better pose?”

white egret

Sweetwater strand

Great white egrets, snowy egrets, great blue herons, tri-color herons, white ibis and anhingas are everywhere. There was also one section where the black vultures liked hanging out. I don’t know what the appeal of that one spot for them was, but boy-and-howdy did that place stink! Of course there were alligators everywhere and quite a few snakes and turtles. Here’s a funny; I heard one person calling to another as they stared at a smaller ‘gator (maybe four feet long), “Be careful! They can move fast! If he starts chasing you, change directions every few steps, they can’t do that!” It sort of reminded me of the zig-zag bridges in Asia that are supposed to keep ghosts away because ghosts can’t turn corners. Silly ideas abound everywhere.

anhinga in tree

anhinga in swamp

There is a hike visitors can sign up for where the rangers lead you into the strand. You wade through the water for miles, deeper and deeper into the swamp, all to see the critters better, closer. If the ‘gators were that dangerous, that aggressive, would they really do that? I don’t think so. That little guy was not much of a threat to a six-foot tall, somewhat over-weight man. I really don’t think the ‘gator was considering the guy as an appetizer. Most likely it was more concerned that the guy might eat him!

In spite of all the visitors to the area, the place just radiated peace. All those animals and all those people calmly standing next to one another, going about their business. The alligators weren’t eating the birds or the tourists. They had all the fish and turtles they wanted. The birds were not threatened, the constant influx of humans didn’t interrupt their day. Just the best nature show you ever saw, on a life-sized screen, complete with the scent of fresh, sweet air and an occasional gentle breeze wafting through. Fabulous special effects!

egret and reflection

My first trip out there was on my scooter. The road is dirt with large gravel/small rocks, wash-board, rutted, pot-holed. The scenic drive is roughly 25 miles long. Sweetwater Strand is about 5 miles in from the highway. I went on about a mile past that point, then turned around and went back to the campground. I wouldn’t have been able to complete the drive before dark under those conditions. The second trip was in Dennis’s truck. We did the whole drive, plus checked out another campground in the back country. It was nice to be able to see the whole thing. He was as impressed with the strand as I was.

There are so many weird and wonderful creatures down here. On my way back to the campground after my first visit to the strand I stopped at an art gallery along the way. When I went back out to the parking lot to get on my scooter, I noticed some strange-looking insects on plants beside the pond. They looked like tiny black grasshoppers with a yellow stripe running down their back. I asked a woman that worked at the gallery what they were. I don’t remember what she called them, but I do remember that she told me that I was seeing newly hatched babies, that they grow to be four to six inches long! Wow! That’s a big bug! Unfortunately I don’t have time to see them all grown up.

bugs

Maybe some other year….but a picture on the ‘net somewhere will probably be enough.

Fly, (to) Flamingo, Fly! (away)

I took a drive to the end of the line today, down to Flamingo campground, which is the end of the road as far as pavement in the Everglades goes. Well, also as far as land in the Everglades and the state of Florida goes.  Lots of islands out there, but no roads leading to those.

It’s very pretty down at that campground, and the fresh sea air blowing in off the gulf was divine. I wish I had spent a couple of days there as well as spending time in Long Pine campground. Shortsighted of me. Sigh. Well, there’s nothing that says I can’t return here some day and stay in Flamingo next time!

One of the cutest things I saw on the drive to the “end of the line” was a sign saying, “Rock Reef Pass” next line? “elevation 3 feet”. Three feet. Tee hee. Then, about a mile later on, a sign pointing out a dwarf cypress forest, elevation 4 feet. One foot higher, and an entirely different type of vegetation. That’s the glades.

The infamous “river of grass”

It was out in this section that I finally got a really good look at the “river of grass” that IS the glades. I also got a good view of a whole lot of mangroves and the ecosystem they create. Plus a lot of great bird-watching. I saw two wood stork rookeries close to the road. Pretty spectacular. Particularly since the American wood stork in another endangered species. The second I’ve seen on this trip. It’s not so great that they’re endangered, but it nice that I was able to see them in case we keep screwing up this planet the way we have been and they disappear. I have to say that it boggles my mind how little so many people seem to care about these things. I hate to break it to them, but once we destroy this place, it’s not like we have somewhere else to go!

wood stork rookery

I also saw a grove of dwarf cypress. The cypress down here lose their leaves in the winter (they’re called bald cypress, wanna guess why?), obviously not from the cold, but from the shorter days. Since they are having a warmer than normal winter, the cypress are getting their new “leaves” (actually more like a modified needle) early. Like any new spring leaves, these are a lovely, bright, fresh, apple-green. Beautiful to look at.

It wasn’t a long trip, but it was a pleasant one. At the end of it, I headed on down the highway with Big Cypress as my destination. Which wasn’t quite as nice a trip. The Tamiami (short for “Tampa to Miami”)  highway is under construction. Every couple of miles there were heavy steel “rumble strips” across the road. These things were so high and rough that even when I slowed down to 20 miles an hour, the vibrations just about rattled the fillings out of my teeth, not to mention re-arranging everything in the cupboards and anything that wasn’t completely nailed down. At those points, the road would narrow down to one lane–where we would all sit while the traffic going in the opposite direction passed that section. Then it would be our turn. A couple of miles later it would start all over again. After the fifth or sixth time it really got old. You would think they would find a way to repair the road that wouldn’t destroy the cars trying to drive on it. It was really, really dumb and really, really a pain. Note to the state of Florida highway department, we can read signs!  We can see flashing lights! And rumble strips don’t need to be so high and large than they damage the vehicles passing over them. Sheesh.

I did make it to Midway campground before dark, but just barely. Still, I did make it. The Tamiami highway is an interesting place. One side has a canal dug all along the side. Most of these places were dug out to get the rock needed to raise the roadway high enough to keep it from being covered with water every rainy season. They are called “borrow pits”. This results in there being water in the ditch along the road all the time. So, of course, there are lots of herons, anhingas, gators, etc. all along the road also. In other words, nice scenery. The traffic on the highway, not so nice. People down here drive like lunatics. Everywhere. The cities are insane. The Tamiami is insane-er. The speed limit is 60. People mostly do 70. And many drivers don’t think that’s fast enough. So they pass at 80. In the emergency lane if the opposite lane is full. Oh joy. So much fun. It was good to get to the campground, park, hook up to the available electricity (heaven!) and take a nice long rest. Plus it’s a really pretty campground.  Think I’ll stay awhile and explore this area of  Florida.