Oleta River State Park, Another flat!, Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, Everglades, Night-time gator spectacle
(posted from Homestead Library)
(This post covers 17 – 20 February, 2009)
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Friday, 20 February-
This morning I hung around the campsite awhile and talked with a few folks. A guy from Bellingham, Washington has a chance to buy a kayak like mine and had many questions. The bottom line is he really needs to paddle it in the rougher conditions he wants to use it in and not take my word for it. But we did have a pleasant hour talking kayaks.
A bit later I greeted a neighboring camper whose vehicles had Maine plates. He’s from Skowhegan and was quite a talker. He had worked around machinery all his life and eventually had developed health problems working in a paper mill which used toxic chemicals for paper finishing. He spun many stories, telling me in great detail about pouring lead bearing babbits and working on ships with pistons as big across as a dinner table. I eventually had to just say I needed to get on with my day or we’d probably still be there talking. But they would all have been interesting tales.
I headed south to Flamingo since I wanted to get into the campground for the weekend. The campground person where I stayed last night said the Flamingo campground may fill up for the weekend and I didn’t want to have to make the long haul out of the park if that happened.
After checking in and having lunch I read about the Everglades for a couple of hours since I wanted to walk later in the day. The temperature today was supposed to hit 85 but I don’t think it even hit 80 and the van was very pleasant with the doors open and a nice breeze blowing through.
I stopped at the visitor’s center and then got on the Christian Point Trail by 1500. I walked it for almost two hours in very pleasant weather. I then drove north to check out the birds at Paulotis Pond, where I saw wood storks and a few roseate spoonbills— but fewer of the latter than last time (two winters ago with Labashi).
I continued north to Mahogany Hammock where I jogged the half-mile boardwalk. I wanted to get back to Eco Pond by sunset and barely made it. I walked the circumference of the pond as the sun set but didn’t see anything but a few spoonbills, two bitterns, and a handful of stilts.
I went back to the campsite and made a quick supper and took a short break. I then walked a mile and a half to the visitor’s center for the evening program. This one was on sea turtles and I learned of the five types of sea turtles here in Florida Bay (green sea turtles, loggerheads, leatherbacks, hawksbills, and Kemp-Riddleys). The ranger turned out to have grown up in York, PA.
After the presentation I walked back the mile and a half under an incredible sky. I could pick out most of the Seven Sisters and could easily see the Milky Way. And I saw a nice, long shooting star.
I am one tired puppy tonight. I figure I walked somewhere between eight and nine miles today.
------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 19 February –
This morning I drove to nearby Biscayne National Park to check it out. As many times as I’ve been to Florida I’ve never been there. As it turns out, there’s not a whole lot to the mainland portion of this park so I only spent a couple of hours, taking a short walk and watching visitor films. I did see interesting footage of the damage done by Hurricane Andrew to the park and to Homestead and Florida City in 1992.
I then realized I was actually pretty close to the Everglades National Park entrance—only 15 miles away. I had become tired of the look-alike beach communities as I came down Florida’s east coast so I was ready for something different.
I drove into the park and felt at home right away. Ah---- THIS is better!
After an hour at the visitor’s center I drove on to the Long Key campground and picnic area. I read a bit at the picnic area then decided I’d stay in this area tonight rather than go on to Flamingo. I checked in at the campground and took a walk on the main Pinelands Trail late in the day. I walked five miles and timed it to get back to the van at dusk. After supper I took it easy for an hour or so, then once it was good and dark I drove to the Royal Oak visitor center. The visitor center itself is closed at this time (about 2000) but the boardwalk leading out of there is (I heard from a ranger) an interesting night-walk.
As I began my walk, I left my lights off and listened to the many night sounds. There’s LOTS of splashing and grunting and groaning going on out there! I followed the boardwalk around to a turnoff and heard an amazing amount of thrashing around and some grunting. I turned on the light and the scene reminded me of a horror movie. I could see dozens of shiny-orange eyes—gators. And just below me the bushes were moving about—much like Jurassic Park just before the T-Rex attacks. In this case it was caused by the unseen gators brushing against the roots of the bushes under the water. And then I’d see the side of a gator or a back. Or two gators rolling over each other. The whole cove was alive with thrashing and roiling and it was downright thrilling in a primitive, I-sure-hope-they-can’t-get-me way. Incredible!
After things settled down a bit I walked to the end of the boardwalk and saw a small group of people nearby. I walked over and told them to be sure to take the turn that would take them to the thrashing-about area. I then started back toward the van.
I was walking along with the flashlight off and suddenly saw a log-like something across my path ahead. I turned on the light and there was an eight-foot gator across the pathway. This section wasn’t boardwalk—it was a paved path along the impoundment. I backed away from the gator and waited a bit for it to move on but it just settled down on the path. I soon realized I’d either have to wait it out or take the boardwalk turnoff the long way back around to get back to the van. I took the long way.
That actually worked out well. I caught up with the folks I had directed to the turnoff and joined them in watching the gator spectacle. My tactical light was much brighter than their conventional lights so they were able to see the gators much more clearly. We had a great ol’ time.
After awhile I split off from the group and headed back. After I made it back to the paved path I looked back up to where the eight-footer had been blocking my way and it was gone.
Back at the van I thanked my lucky stars for this night. THAT GATOR SPECTACLE WAS FANTASTIC!
I drove back to the campground and caught up the blog before reading a bit to end the day.
-----------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 18 February –
Today I continued south along the beaches. I drove down A1A through Miami Beach and South Beach, crossed back to the mainland, then back out the Rickenbacker Causeway to Key Biscayne. At the end of the Key lies Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. I took a look about, then walked five miles of trail while listening to music and ‘This Week in Saskatchewan’ on the iPod. Once again I took a short nap, then crossed back to the mainland during rush hour and drove down US1 out of Miami and on to Homestead and Florida City.
I knew there’s a Wal-mart that welcomes overnighters at Florida City so I stopped at the Miami-Dade library at Homestead and had a long chat with Labashi and read the Wall Street Journal. I was also going to read the New York Times but I noticed it was a week old. I asked about the current one and was told the week-old one is the latest available. To save money they have the Times sent by bulk-rate mail. So would you still call that ‘news’ when it arrives a week later? I’d think a week-old Times is so out of date the library would be better off to just cancel the subscription.
After closing the library at 2100, I drove on to the Florida City Wal-mart for the night.
------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 17 February –
This morning I left the Wal-mart in Miramar and went looking for a library. The GPS led me to a very nice one—the Miami-Dade County Library at Miami Garden. I set up in a private corner and had a nice-long video-chat with Orat. He’s coming down to Florida next week and we’re going to have a good time!
I updated the blog and then called Labashi. She’s visiting her parents at their home outside Detroit and today she was at the local hospital as her Dad prepared for a surgery.
After my chat with Labashi, I headed east and spent the rest of the day at Oleta River State Park. This little park has the most wonderful mountain biking trails. I’ve never seen anything like it. They are very intricate and made for interesting walking. The trails are very narrow and one-way trails so I had to enter them at the ‘Wrong Way’ sign (as instructed by the ranger) so I’d see the mountain bike riders coming in time to get out of their way. I walked five miles of trail, enjoying it all. The trails wound in and out of mangrove-lined lagoons which looked very spooky, yet the water was a clear green--- very unique.
I pushed hard on the walk and felt pretty well wiped out afterwards. I found a nice shady and breezy spot for Mocha Joe, open the doors and took a nap for an hour or so.
As I began winding my way out of the park after my nap, I heard an odd slapping sound. I stopped and checked the tires on the right side of the van and saw nothing. I drove a little more and checked again. And again. Finally, I saw it--- a screw embedded in the right-front tire tread. It was so nicely seated in the tread it looked like it had been installed there by the factory.
The head of the screw was pointed directly forward so I decided I’d try plugging the hole right where it was. I dug out my handy-dandy Wal-mart premium tire plugging kit and the tire pump. I used vice grips to unscrew the screw and of course air began leaking out. I used the rasp tool to enlarge the hole for the plug and then installed the plug. I used some soapy solution to check it and it appeared fine. I had only lost three psi of air doing the plug. That was easy to replace using my tire pump and I was soon on my way. The whole process only took ten minutes or so. This was the fourth tire I’ve plugged this year—two of mine and two for some young guys broken down on the McCarthy Road in Alaska.
I’ve now had flats on three of the four tires on the van since June. The right-rear was holed near Tombstone Park in the Yukon (I had that one professionally plugged). The left front was holed on the McCarthy Road in Alaska (not far from where I plugged the tires for the young climbers) and now the right front picked up this screw in Florida.
Oh, yeah, and I forgot to mention that my windshield is now cracked. It was hit by gravel kicked up by a car in front of me on I-95 just above the Florida-Georgia state line about ten days ago. I took five hits on the windshield in Alaska and Yukon but this one is the worst. I now have a ten-inch crack in the windshield on the passenger side.
I left Oleta River State Park as it closed at sunset. I found a Wal-mart nearby (the 163rd Street one in Miami) and saw it would work for the night so I went on to the Miami Garden library again. I called Labashi again to check in on the surgery and all had gone very well.
Back at the Wal-mart I rented ‘Traitor’ with Don Cheadle. Good movie! I had expected a shoot-em-up but it was a well-thought-out movie which gives us something to think about.
********* END OF POST ***********
(posted from Homestead Library)
(This post covers 17 – 20 February, 2009)
------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 20 February-
This morning I hung around the campsite awhile and talked with a few folks. A guy from Bellingham, Washington has a chance to buy a kayak like mine and had many questions. The bottom line is he really needs to paddle it in the rougher conditions he wants to use it in and not take my word for it. But we did have a pleasant hour talking kayaks.
A bit later I greeted a neighboring camper whose vehicles had Maine plates. He’s from Skowhegan and was quite a talker. He had worked around machinery all his life and eventually had developed health problems working in a paper mill which used toxic chemicals for paper finishing. He spun many stories, telling me in great detail about pouring lead bearing babbits and working on ships with pistons as big across as a dinner table. I eventually had to just say I needed to get on with my day or we’d probably still be there talking. But they would all have been interesting tales.
I headed south to Flamingo since I wanted to get into the campground for the weekend. The campground person where I stayed last night said the Flamingo campground may fill up for the weekend and I didn’t want to have to make the long haul out of the park if that happened.
After checking in and having lunch I read about the Everglades for a couple of hours since I wanted to walk later in the day. The temperature today was supposed to hit 85 but I don’t think it even hit 80 and the van was very pleasant with the doors open and a nice breeze blowing through.
I stopped at the visitor’s center and then got on the Christian Point Trail by 1500. I walked it for almost two hours in very pleasant weather. I then drove north to check out the birds at Paulotis Pond, where I saw wood storks and a few roseate spoonbills— but fewer of the latter than last time (two winters ago with Labashi).
I continued north to Mahogany Hammock where I jogged the half-mile boardwalk. I wanted to get back to Eco Pond by sunset and barely made it. I walked the circumference of the pond as the sun set but didn’t see anything but a few spoonbills, two bitterns, and a handful of stilts.
I went back to the campsite and made a quick supper and took a short break. I then walked a mile and a half to the visitor’s center for the evening program. This one was on sea turtles and I learned of the five types of sea turtles here in Florida Bay (green sea turtles, loggerheads, leatherbacks, hawksbills, and Kemp-Riddleys). The ranger turned out to have grown up in York, PA.
After the presentation I walked back the mile and a half under an incredible sky. I could pick out most of the Seven Sisters and could easily see the Milky Way. And I saw a nice, long shooting star.
I am one tired puppy tonight. I figure I walked somewhere between eight and nine miles today.
------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 19 February –
This morning I drove to nearby Biscayne National Park to check it out. As many times as I’ve been to Florida I’ve never been there. As it turns out, there’s not a whole lot to the mainland portion of this park so I only spent a couple of hours, taking a short walk and watching visitor films. I did see interesting footage of the damage done by Hurricane Andrew to the park and to Homestead and Florida City in 1992.
I then realized I was actually pretty close to the Everglades National Park entrance—only 15 miles away. I had become tired of the look-alike beach communities as I came down Florida’s east coast so I was ready for something different.
I drove into the park and felt at home right away. Ah---- THIS is better!
After an hour at the visitor’s center I drove on to the Long Key campground and picnic area. I read a bit at the picnic area then decided I’d stay in this area tonight rather than go on to Flamingo. I checked in at the campground and took a walk on the main Pinelands Trail late in the day. I walked five miles and timed it to get back to the van at dusk. After supper I took it easy for an hour or so, then once it was good and dark I drove to the Royal Oak visitor center. The visitor center itself is closed at this time (about 2000) but the boardwalk leading out of there is (I heard from a ranger) an interesting night-walk.
As I began my walk, I left my lights off and listened to the many night sounds. There’s LOTS of splashing and grunting and groaning going on out there! I followed the boardwalk around to a turnoff and heard an amazing amount of thrashing around and some grunting. I turned on the light and the scene reminded me of a horror movie. I could see dozens of shiny-orange eyes—gators. And just below me the bushes were moving about—much like Jurassic Park just before the T-Rex attacks. In this case it was caused by the unseen gators brushing against the roots of the bushes under the water. And then I’d see the side of a gator or a back. Or two gators rolling over each other. The whole cove was alive with thrashing and roiling and it was downright thrilling in a primitive, I-sure-hope-they-can’t-get-me way. Incredible!
After things settled down a bit I walked to the end of the boardwalk and saw a small group of people nearby. I walked over and told them to be sure to take the turn that would take them to the thrashing-about area. I then started back toward the van.
I was walking along with the flashlight off and suddenly saw a log-like something across my path ahead. I turned on the light and there was an eight-foot gator across the pathway. This section wasn’t boardwalk—it was a paved path along the impoundment. I backed away from the gator and waited a bit for it to move on but it just settled down on the path. I soon realized I’d either have to wait it out or take the boardwalk turnoff the long way back around to get back to the van. I took the long way.
That actually worked out well. I caught up with the folks I had directed to the turnoff and joined them in watching the gator spectacle. My tactical light was much brighter than their conventional lights so they were able to see the gators much more clearly. We had a great ol’ time.
After awhile I split off from the group and headed back. After I made it back to the paved path I looked back up to where the eight-footer had been blocking my way and it was gone.
Back at the van I thanked my lucky stars for this night. THAT GATOR SPECTACLE WAS FANTASTIC!
I drove back to the campground and caught up the blog before reading a bit to end the day.
-----------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 18 February –
Today I continued south along the beaches. I drove down A1A through Miami Beach and South Beach, crossed back to the mainland, then back out the Rickenbacker Causeway to Key Biscayne. At the end of the Key lies Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. I took a look about, then walked five miles of trail while listening to music and ‘This Week in Saskatchewan’ on the iPod. Once again I took a short nap, then crossed back to the mainland during rush hour and drove down US1 out of Miami and on to Homestead and Florida City.
I knew there’s a Wal-mart that welcomes overnighters at Florida City so I stopped at the Miami-Dade library at Homestead and had a long chat with Labashi and read the Wall Street Journal. I was also going to read the New York Times but I noticed it was a week old. I asked about the current one and was told the week-old one is the latest available. To save money they have the Times sent by bulk-rate mail. So would you still call that ‘news’ when it arrives a week later? I’d think a week-old Times is so out of date the library would be better off to just cancel the subscription.
After closing the library at 2100, I drove on to the Florida City Wal-mart for the night.
------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 17 February –
This morning I left the Wal-mart in Miramar and went looking for a library. The GPS led me to a very nice one—the Miami-Dade County Library at Miami Garden. I set up in a private corner and had a nice-long video-chat with Orat. He’s coming down to Florida next week and we’re going to have a good time!
I updated the blog and then called Labashi. She’s visiting her parents at their home outside Detroit and today she was at the local hospital as her Dad prepared for a surgery.
After my chat with Labashi, I headed east and spent the rest of the day at Oleta River State Park. This little park has the most wonderful mountain biking trails. I’ve never seen anything like it. They are very intricate and made for interesting walking. The trails are very narrow and one-way trails so I had to enter them at the ‘Wrong Way’ sign (as instructed by the ranger) so I’d see the mountain bike riders coming in time to get out of their way. I walked five miles of trail, enjoying it all. The trails wound in and out of mangrove-lined lagoons which looked very spooky, yet the water was a clear green--- very unique.
I pushed hard on the walk and felt pretty well wiped out afterwards. I found a nice shady and breezy spot for Mocha Joe, open the doors and took a nap for an hour or so.
As I began winding my way out of the park after my nap, I heard an odd slapping sound. I stopped and checked the tires on the right side of the van and saw nothing. I drove a little more and checked again. And again. Finally, I saw it--- a screw embedded in the right-front tire tread. It was so nicely seated in the tread it looked like it had been installed there by the factory.
The head of the screw was pointed directly forward so I decided I’d try plugging the hole right where it was. I dug out my handy-dandy Wal-mart premium tire plugging kit and the tire pump. I used vice grips to unscrew the screw and of course air began leaking out. I used the rasp tool to enlarge the hole for the plug and then installed the plug. I used some soapy solution to check it and it appeared fine. I had only lost three psi of air doing the plug. That was easy to replace using my tire pump and I was soon on my way. The whole process only took ten minutes or so. This was the fourth tire I’ve plugged this year—two of mine and two for some young guys broken down on the McCarthy Road in Alaska.
I’ve now had flats on three of the four tires on the van since June. The right-rear was holed near Tombstone Park in the Yukon (I had that one professionally plugged). The left front was holed on the McCarthy Road in Alaska (not far from where I plugged the tires for the young climbers) and now the right front picked up this screw in Florida.
Oh, yeah, and I forgot to mention that my windshield is now cracked. It was hit by gravel kicked up by a car in front of me on I-95 just above the Florida-Georgia state line about ten days ago. I took five hits on the windshield in Alaska and Yukon but this one is the worst. I now have a ten-inch crack in the windshield on the passenger side.
I left Oleta River State Park as it closed at sunset. I found a Wal-mart nearby (the 163rd Street one in Miami) and saw it would work for the night so I went on to the Miami Garden library again. I called Labashi again to check in on the surgery and all had gone very well.
Back at the Wal-mart I rented ‘Traitor’ with Don Cheadle. Good movie! I had expected a shoot-em-up but it was a well-thought-out movie which gives us something to think about.
********* END OF POST ***********
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 13:25
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