Big Cypress Preserve, The Western Everglades, Day 1

It can get pretty easy to just sit in place and get lazy. The whole world is out there waiting and yet you watch television and grouse about unimportant things…. So we decided to head further south and go birding at Big Cypress Preserve.

I, for one didn’t know that the Preserve was the western extension of the Everglades. Composed of cypress strands, pinelands, seas of sawgrass, and inhospitable swamps, and thousands of islands, Big Cypress Preserve immediately impressed us with the magnitude of its size.

It was obvious we wouldn’t be able to see everything and so we divided the three days we will be here into three distinct field trips. Our first excursion was to the very western edge where we would see the Thousand Island Area, The Turner River-Wagonwheel-Birdon Loop, and birding at some of the other campgrounds.

As usual, when visiting a National Park, our first stop was at the three visitor centers. There we talked with Park Interpreters and their infomation caused us to adjust our new plans. The Rangers, and I know they are now called Park Interpreters, told us of the different birds we could see and with these insights decided to spend most of the time getting an overview while still attempting to add some new birds to our life list.

The first day found us heading to Everglades City. It’s a small community but one of the gas stations had diesel fuel at a good price. We also found a fresh water container we needed and with our to do list done we headed to the Park Headquarters. Here besides a very helpful ranger, one can access the Thousand Islands Area.

However, we decided our time would be best spent by birding along the loop road and so after taking a few images we drove up the first road, the Birdon Road. Not far up the road we passed a canal/waterway that was filled with feeding long legged waders.  Wood storks, rosette spoonbills, snowy egrets, and others all feed in the muddy shallows. An alligator slept peacefully besides them all, probably dreaming of a bird sandwich.

Just past a house, there are many private inholdings, white lilies bloomed among the saw grass. I carefully stepped into the dry swamp and keeping an eye out for threatening critters, and took images of the Sting Lily. A deputy sheriff stopped and asked up if we had seen any of the deer. I am sure he doesn’t see too many truck with Wyoming plates.

We pulled over along the Wagonwheel road and watched for birds hoping of course to see a snail kite but it’s the wrong habitat, we plan on visiting that tomorrow. No kites appeared so we continued on and found a birders paradise along the Turner River Road.

Of all the images we took Renita got the best one! She was focusing on a snowy egret and just as she snapped the image a little blue heron photobombed the image of the snowy. You can see the snowy is looking at the Little Blue Heron with a look of disgust/fear/hate, (these similar size birds often fight for roosts).

Our last stops of the day were at Burns and Monument Lake campgrounds. At the very last one Renita spotted a black ibis, and after quite a bit of study of its eye color, brown verses red, we decided we had a new bird for our life list. It’s a glossy ibis and is very similar to a white-faced ibis.

An Election Day Fishing Trip, 2016

After voting last week, the plan for today was to go to Fort Desoto, laze away the day on the beach, fish a bit, and have a beach picnic. So I packed the truck, while Renita made a lunch and after stopping for bait we made it to our favorite spot.

I quickly baited up, with a piece of frozen shrimp and made a cast. The tide was going out and just as quickly my bait weeded up. Moving down the beach I cast another bait when a man walked up and asked me how the fishing was. I told him I had just cast out and that’s when the fish hit!

I had a pretty good suspicion it was either a shark or a sting ray but as I fought the fish in it continued to make several good runs and sure enough I saw the shark’s dorsal fin break the surface. It was a bonnethead shark, which is a type of hammerhead, and it was a big one at that, (a large adult bonnet head is three to four feet)!

Bonnetheads, which are a very common shark, are good to eat and so I normally would have kept this one. However, it was just my second cast and I didn’t want to bother with keeping it fresh for the whole afternoon. Besides you can only keep one shark a day.

Surely I would catch another so I released the fish. and cast back out to the same spot. Time passed and more time and no more bites. A willet feed in front of us and I tried the old trick of eating lunch. Now that usually brings a bite, but nothing happened.

Sanderlings played in the surf, a great snowy egret tried to steal some food from some other fisherman, and jet skis raced past. It was a beautiful day and a nice breeze kept us cool. A couple walked by and the man and women had on matching thong swim trunks. Renita and I aren’t used to such sights in Wyoming and we agreed that those swimsuits were not for us.

I guess I could drag this out some more but you have surely already figured out that I never had another bite. So no grilled shark for dinner. Doesn’t matter as we have plenty of cornbread. Cornbread tastes as good as grilled shark, when you don’t have any shark!

At least I will remember this day as the election day on which I caught a really nice shark! Clear skies

Crystal River, 2016

We said our goodbyes to Bob and Sue, and their new puppy, and headed south to Crystal River. Its been a long trip but we are a few days early so we stopped at Rock Crusher Rv Park, deciding to check out the manatees.

After resting a day, we decided to return to Crystal River Archeological Park. There we discovered they had redone several of the exhibits and were now showing a new film of the park. We also walked the paths outside hoping to see some wildlife and after climbing the largest mound, Renita heard the sound made by an aquatic mammal spouting.

Sure enough, there were three manatees swimming in the river, heading towards Three Sisters Springs. Even though they were quite far away but we were still able to see them as they came to the surface to breath.

The next day we packed a lunch and headed to Fort Island Beach. The area was damaged from the Hurricane Hermonie. As we drove in we saw a few palm trees that had not recovered their fronds from the high winds but the beach and parking lot was open.

Walking along the beach a large flock of black skimmers rose in alarm before circling and landing in the same spot. The tide was out and there were quite a few seaweeds rising from the ocean floor. A little further we saw the boat ramp and a boardwalk were closed from the surge.

On the fishing pier a couple checked their crabs traps and put a nice blue crab in the bucket. Another fisherman cast his net trying to catch some bait but the bait kept just far enough from the pier and he didn’t have any luck.

I waded out and the water seemed quite cold, but it was still warmer then the cold trout streams of western Wyoming. It’s definitely a place to kayak but we didn’t bring the kayaks, (we are in the process of looking for shorter kayaks and not quite ready to buy).

So today we are driving to St Petersburg where we will spend two months. We do hope to make a trip to the Everglades and of course search the beaches for sharks teeth, shells and beach glass. Clear skies

From Branson to Tallahassee, Miles and Miles

We left Branson, Mo and drove some of the hardest miles. Taking US Highway 65 south, the road turned bad, in Arkansas, from four lanes to two. Further it narrowed and old style high curbs threatened our new tires.

Pushing on into Little Rock the road seemed to be an endless series of peaks and valleys and on one I misjudged the gradient and the truck heated up. Stopping near the top of the hill I admired the view but decided I would cross Arkansas off in my new road atlas.

Arriving at Little Rock Renita found a beautiful place to camp, at Maremelle Park. It was on the Arkansas River, and being a Corp of Engineers, (COE) campground it only cost us twelve dollars a night. Sitting for two nights we rethought our route and took Interstate 40, crossing the Mississippi River and driving to Tupelo, Mississippi.

At Tupelo, I noticed that the truck was making a noise and that the alternator seemed to be struggling to keep the batteries charged. Making an unscheduled appointment at the Chevy garage we found out that the noise was in our transmission, at low gear, and that the batteries needed replacing.

After this we had them check everything else, and getting the all clear we drove to Montgomery, Alabama. There we got lucky, it being a weekend, and got the last spot at Gunter Hill COE. It’s one of the best campgrounds we have stayed in and rested for three days before continuing our cross county oddessy.

From Montgomery, we drove south and east and finally reached Tallahassee, Florida. Here we have stopped to visit some friends Bob and Sue. We had met them eight years ago, when we started our full time rving adventures. When we met them they were also full timer rvers, but have since settled back into a house, along with their four dogs.

It’s one of the best things about being a full time rver, meeting new friends from all over the USA.  The plan from here is to rest and then stopping at Crystal River and then St Petersburg. There we will spend two months before heading back west. Clear skies.

From York to Branson.

We left York with our fingers crossed and, hoping for clear skies and no more truck problems, headed for Keosauqua, Iowa. There Renita’s sister and brother were taking part in the Fall Festival. The campground was full when we arrived at Lacey Keosauqua Sate Park, but waiting patiently for people to leave, we found a spot with water and electricity. 

The park is such a beautiful spot and it always brings me into focus. There are few places as quiet and peaceful. Parking the rig we drove into Keosauqua and met Pam at their vender tables in the Firehouse. Roy was working at their artist coop in Bentonsport, talk about busy retired people.

Returning to the camper we watched as the campground emptied and the park returned to normal. The next day, driving to town we had to stop as a flock of turkeys blocked the road. A tom turkey paused to show off his beard and it was the longest beard I have ever seen.

That evening deer moved back into the campground and it was as it should be. We did spend the days visiting and of course sampling the pork tenderloins, of which Iowa is famous. Our favorite was at a place called Misty’s, but they were all good.

From Iowa we drove south to Lake of the Ozarks.. We are taking our time as we cross the country and using the, "2,2,2", rule we are enjoying our stops,(the rule is that you drive 200 miles, stop by two pm, and stay for two days).  The movie “Deep Water Horizon” was playing at the local theater. As we were camping at Grand Isle, Louisiana, when the rig exploded we needed to see the film, Suffice it to say that we both cried as we watched the films story as to how the disaster unfolded.

After the film was over Renita told me she had had the same image in her mind. That was of the crosses commemorating those lost. So I am reposting our feelings from 2013.

“We stopped to read the crosses, with the names of those lost during the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. Three years ago, almost to the day and we were here as the smoky clouds covered our camper at the state park. Gary told me we had passed the deadline to file a health claim and I told him I would probably never live long enough before BP would ever pay a cent,(right now the trial to place the blame has just begin and the judge will now determine who is/was responsible).”

Oh and the charges were dropped. Companies and people with money are rarely held responsible for their actions! Now we are sitting in Bronson, Mo and the plan is to head to Montgomery, Alabama before continuing to Florida and our usual stop in St Petersburg. Clear skies

The Nebraska Gem and Mineral Show and The Clayton Museum

From Ogallala we made a short drive pull to York, Nebraska. The reason for stopping there was that the Nebraska Gem and Mineral show was being held in Omaha. Normally we would try and find a closer park but there was a Nebraska Home football game in Lincoln and we didn’t want to fight the rv parks near the game.

So we made the drive to the rock show and the first booth we stopped at had a lot of beautiful stone. As we left almost everything in Wyoming, we had room for new rocks and we bought some. I was really looking for dinosaur bone and other materials for knife handles as we are adding those and letter openers to our store.

The next day we planned on driving to southern Iowa and so we got the rig ready to travel. Starting the truck, I put it into reverse and the truck started to move before jerking to a halt. Putting the truck into drive also caused a sudden lurch accompanied by a loud noise coming from the transmission. After a tow and followed by lengthy repairs, we now have a new, warrantied, remanufactured transmission.

Deciding to drive around a bit, before getting back on the road, we went to the Clayton Historical Collection housed in York College. It’s a private collection of Byzantine and Roman artifacts from 800 BC to about 300 AD.

Looking for art work we found lots of cool things including a carnelian studded sword sheath, partial piece, and a carnelian engraved ring. The stones were all formed in cabochon, like the shape of the stones we grind today. The ring was used for impressing seals. There were also displays of wax seals, ancient coins, and one case had a Roman trident and a fishhook.

The museum also contained ancient pottery including small oil lamps and a large amphora used for storing oil, wine, and other foods. I would be afraid to purchase any of these things now as you would really have to be on guard for modern forgeries.

So now we are halfway to our Keosauqua, Iowa. After visiting Renita's sister and husband, Pam and Roy, we will continue on to Florida. Our original plans were to go to North Carolina and then Florida but the hurricane has devastated the areas we were planning on visiting.

In fact, my brother’s wife texted us to let us know there was flooding and rescues being conducted in their city. She did say that they were okay and that they still had power. So we are adding extra prayers for our family, friends, and all the good people of the southeast coast. Clear skies.

Off to Florida, Heading East by Southeast 2016

Before we left Star Valley we had to winterize our Bighorn fifth wheel. Here the snows are deep and so many buy or build boxes for the roof of their fifth wheels. The purpose of this is for safety to prevent the person who shovels the roof from falling through one of the skylights.

Draining and bypassing the water heater, the next step was to run rv antifreeze through the waterlines. It’s really easy with our rig as we have an attached hose that one inserts into the gallon jug before running the faucets till they turn pink.

Finishing we hooked up to our new, (to us), rig and headed for Casper. There I had my last doctor appointment. As we neared Casper we got an email saying my appointment was in Riverton, but we continued to Casper, and camped at an rv park.

The next day we drove to Riverton and made the mistake of stopping at two of our favorite rock shops. Exchanging lots of perfectly good money, for rocks, we left happy as we had found some beautiful Wyoming jade, a new mine find called purple sage, (a purple muscovite mica), and some finished green jade knifes.

The doctor’s appointment was good, no change in my heart, and the next day we left for the long trip to Florida. Seventy-five miles down the road the low coolant light came on! Opening the hood, I saw that some hose had blown and we had dumped all of the trucks coolant.

A quick call too Good Sams and five hours later the tow truck showed up having traveled all the way from Casper. Luckily a dealership was in Wheatland and two hours later the problem was fixed. It was the same hose that had failed last year and the problem was the repair shop in Afton had used the wrong pressure hose, (I definitely intend to return next year to have a discussion with the service department).

Our next hop was to Ogalalla, Nebraska and then on to York. At the rest area we spotted a beautiful baby snake which we move to a safer place. It was coiled up under a bench and it soon would have been killed by a less understanding visitor. We are now parked here for two days as there is a Gem and Mineral show in Omaha where we plan to exchange more light weight money for rock ballast for our new rig. After all Lucy, (Renita), and I can never have too many rocks! Clear skies