Trip to the Everglades National Park - October 18 thru 28, 2013

Freedom from habits, routines, and obligations…let the travels begin.



 

Theme:  dreaming out

the jetty at Cape Canaveral

  

 

Making our way along the jetty, we witness the full moon ascending up from the horizon, mixing with dusky shadows to create soft violets and blues.  Fishing men and women of varied ethnicities have claimed their spots along the rocks that form this part of the Canaveral landscape.  Warm, moist ocean breezes comingle with the sound of different languages and if you close your eyes you feel like you could be in another country.  Until, of course, you open them again and see a giant cruise ship silently gliding thru the dark inlet out to sea.  Lit with twinkling lights and drifting sounds of glitzy music, tiny human forms dot the ship decks in anticipation of a night of gambling and carousing out on the Atlantic.

 

One of the sights that interested us was a fisherman pulling up several eel like creatures that we later learned were ribbon fish.  We watched the man take the hook out of the fishes’ mouth and noticed quite a set of teeth there as he quickly slid it into a nearby cooler before the fish could decide to take one of his fingers with it.

 

Early morning moon ride on our bikes thru the pine scrub forest.  Wild turkey, osprey, turtle, and a bunny were among the wild life we were fortunate to observe. 

 

 

 

We enjoyed a panoramic view of the park and ocean from the Hobe Mountain Observation Tower in the Jonathon Dickinson State Park.  Just a glimpse of the Loxahatchee River was all we needed to satisfy our curiosity.
 

young crocodile

Flamingo Campground

A virtual wilderness for the soul, the Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical preserve in North America providing habitat for hundreds of bird species.  We learned that south Florida is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles coexist…amazing!
 


Roseate Spoonbill on Florida Bay

 

 
 

Gumbo Limbo Tree

 Water management is the key issue for the survival of the Everglades, whose watershed begins in the Kissimmee River basin in central Florida.  Elaborate water controls now disrupt the natural flow allowing either too much or too little water to flow southward.  In other words, without clean water at the critical seasons and in the right quantities, the “River of Grass” and much of its wild life will die.

This strangely beautiful place boasts the largest mangrove forest in the world.  In this floating forest where fresh water mixes with salt we observe the red and black mangrove trees reaching out with their finger like roots for establishment.



emerging from the mangrove forest

The dark water here is tannin stained from fallen leaves and debris creating a soup of nutrients at the base of the mangroves and is the primary nursery for shrimp and fish.

Lance-Leaved Arrowhead

 

Some wild flowers we saw are Swamp Lily, Lance-Leaved Arrowhead, Spatterdock, Morning Glory. 

Fear less. 

 

Anhinga is a bird here in the Everglades and a wildlife trail is named after it. 

The Gumbo Limbo Trail introduced us to the Gumbo Limbo tree also known as the tourist tree for its red, pealing bark.

 

Pay-Hay-Okee Overlook for a panoramic view of the “River of Grass”.  



Dwarf Cypress Forest

 



Mahogany Forest

Pontoon boat cruise of the Florida Bay and its diverse wild life provided an opportunity to view an amazing selection of birds.  Birds of a feather:  Brown Pelican, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Black-Crowned Night-Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, White Ibis, Turkey and Black Vultures, Osprey, variety of Hawks.  Throughout our stay here we heard the distinct hoo notes of the Barred Owl at dusk. 

campground at dawn

We ended our stay here with an airboat ride just outside the park.  Seated on board with a dozen other souls, our captain fearlessly led us out into the glades as gators scurried from our path.  Once out in the open river of grass the captain took us on a fast and furious journey, swirling and turning the boat to create sprays of water that soaked us tourists sitting in the front of the craft.  It was super fun and well worth our time. 

 

Lunch time at the
Alligator Farm

 

 

 

Last stop before home is Fort Pierce.  We even enjoyed some wine tasting at the Endless Summer Vineyard.  They specialize in growing the muscadine grape which is able to withstand the hot Florida summers.  A sweeter grape than my palette favors but it is always nice to experience something different.

 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park - May 2013

Sunday - May 5, 2013

"Beergueritas"  in hand, we toasted Cinco De Mayo with our buddies, the Duponts.  Our official first day of vacation began leisurely tailgating the Bob Dylan Concert at the St. Augustine Amphitheater.  Perfect weather accompanied our evening of entertainment as we kicked back and enjoyed the deep, raspy and still quite unintelligible lyrics of Mr. Dylan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ---So what's next on our agenda?

 

 

 

 

 

Monday - May 6, 2013

I need to reconnect  with my inner mountain woman so off we go to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park for some "souling".

Departed Palm Coast 1030

1230 tire blow out!
1310 tire blow out #2...yikes!

$250 later, thanks to some awesome folks in Brunswick, GA who attended our tire needs in a timely fashion, we were back on the road at 1500.  Made it as far as Irmo, South Carolina before calling it day.

Tuesday - May 7, 2013

Stopped at a "waffle house" along the way and as we exited our truck, Lana (our chihuahua) leapt out, landed and broke a puppy nail off.  Blessedly, the bleeding stopped in a short time after applying pressure.  I ended up getting my patty melt to go.  Close to our destination we stopped to stretch our legs and her wound started to bleed again...held pressure for another 30 minutes before it let up.  Finally arrived at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Cosby, TN at 1500.  We're heeer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday - May 8, 2013

The landscape is a brilliant green and so different from our trip here last October.  We decide to revisit our favorite trail noticing some of the changes that had taken place.

 

  Wild iris are spotted along the way and some fallen trees that must have made a big boom when they landed on the ground.  A few dogwood trees still hold onto their blooms.

Thursday - May 9, 2013

I enjoyed some time playing with my paints today. 

 

 

 

We made a lovely little campfire in the late afternoon, the sun still offered a bit of warmth and dazzling light as I sipped on my wine.  I felt content.

 

Friday - May 10, 2013

Feeling adventurous on this fine morning, we decide to explore Hen Swallow Falls.  A distance of 2.2 miles didn't seem too far out of our capabilities.  Well, halfway into the hike and climbing at about 1 mile an hour, we began to feel our lack of mountain hiking conditioning.  Tenacity is the word of the day and best describes our pathway laden with tenacious tree roots competing with one another for a bit of precious mountain soil for survival…

 

 

So quiet at times you can hear a bumble bee buzzz and then suddenly a noisy creek can emerge chasing your daydream away.

 

 

 

 



Is that fairy dust I'm seeing?

            
At last our tenacity pays off and our reward is the majestic waterfall.  A splendid show of water sluicing over massive, gleaming rock in a rush to the mountain's bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

 Back down we go for a total of 4.4 miles...not bad for a couple of Florida flatlanders.

 

Saturday - May 11

Mother Nature is truly the master designer using repetition with an unending variety of flora. 



an interesting mushroom sprouting from a fallen hemlock tree

 

 

Sunday - May 12 

Happy Mother's Day from the Smoky Mt National Park in Tennessee.





a mountain road winding thru our camp

 

 

Monday - May 13

We took a road trip thru Gatlinburg on our way to Cades Cove.  A mountain cove is a sheltered valley with deep, rich soils and this one was inhabited by pioneers long ago before it became part of the National Forest.  A beautiful and most interesting mountain stream led the way for us, twisting and turning, up and down, over and under it wove thru the landscape.  Peacefully meandering or with roaring gusto, the water steadily followed its course until we arrived in the Cove. 

 

 

We drove the loop along mountain meadows, past ancient log cabins, and thru tracts of forest  in the hopes of seeing a black bear.  We did spot a mamma and baby from afar.  Very cool.

 

 

Tuesday - May 14

A hike on Snake Den Ridge Trail near our camp in Cosby was most satisfying.  Amazing weather was our companion boasting blue skies and warm temperatures.  I tried to savor each lovely detail encountered here in the Smokies.  Noticing the groupings of mountain wild flowers, graceful ferns, furry mosses, the way the sun shines on the cascading water of a stream, a bowl made of rock holding pebbles in a brook, ancient trees standing tall and majestic against a backdrop of brilliant green foliage, earthy scents wafting my way as I carefully chose my footing on the rooted and rocky path.  My heart rejoiced and I was grateful for the journey.

 

 

 

 

 Wednesday - May 15

Fly fishing may be my next passion thanks to two young men I met while hiking my favorite trail.  They were traversing the wild creek at Cosby, rock hopping with their poles in hand and having a grand day!  They stopped to chat with me and I learned so much in just a short time.  Like, where are all the fish?  Hiding under river rocks, of course.  Apparently, one has to lure them out with a "fly" on the end of their pole and with a quick flick of the wrist, the fish is snagged.  So one of the guys actually demonstrated how to catch a wild brook trout.  Within a few minutes, he had a gorgeous little trout, which they promptly photographed and released back into the stream.  Well, that clinched my desire to become a fly fisherwoman and is right up there with my ever evolving  mountain woman status.  Its amazing the impact we can make on each other's lives in just a few precious moments.  Unfortunately, I left my camera back at the camper and missed this important "photo op".

 

 

                                                                             Thursday, May 16

This is our last day here in the Smokies, so I decide to go for one last hike of course.  Sweet mountain air fills my lungs as I breath a little harder walking up the steep rocky incline.  For my delight, I always discover something new and I love to collect bits of nature to add to my journal reminding me of where I've been.  I imagine myself as a tree growing in the same spot year after year, season after season, thru good weather and bad.  What would it be like to be planted in the same spot your entire life?  Does the tree wish it could just once take a little journey and move up the path?

 

 



 

Gathering wood for our last campfire with Little Lana watching!