Saturday, March 2, Shark Valley and Airboat Ride

Another cold front has moved in! At 7:00 this morning it was 13.5C (56F) and cloudy. No shorts today!

We left the park at 8:15, going to the north entrance to Everglades National Park for a Tram Tour and Air Boat ride.

There is construction along Hwy 41, where they are building a 1 mile long bridge that will allow water to flow into the Everglades naturally, the way it did years ago. After years of drainage and alterations, efforts to save the remaining Everglades and to restore a semblance of their original function are underway. The plan to return water to more natural patterns of quantity, timing and distribution throughout the South Florida ecosystem is expected to take 30 years. There are 1400 miles of canals in Florida.

 

On arrival at the Shark Valley entrance of Everglades National Park at 9:20, we had time to wander around before taking the 10:00 Tram tour. We decided to go on the 0.5km (1/3 mile) self-guided trail through a dense bayhead tree island and a sawgrass slough. Dense thickets make this a prime hunting ground and hiding place for wildlife.

 

IThe Tram Tour is a 2 hour, open-air tour through the heart of the Everglades. There are opportunities for close-up views of different wildlife in the Everglades; alligators, birds, turtles, deer, fish & other species in their natural habitat.

 

 

 

 

It was quite windy and very chilly as we set out on the tour. The guide did warn us that because of the cold weather, most of the alligators would be underwater, where it is warmer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the half-way point of the tour, we got to see the 'glades from a different angle. From the top of the 65-foot tall Observation Tower, you can get a bird's eye view of the grandeur of the Everglades and some of its wild inhabitants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was an interesting walk up the curved ramp to the top! The sun was shining, which helped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After returning from the Tram tour, we walked on the "Otter Cave HammockTrail". While exploring the hardwood hammocks you need to be careful where you step. You don't want to fall into a solution hole. Solution holes are formed gradually over time when limestone erodes or is dissolved. This process is caused by a solution, or mixture, of rainfall and the weak acid produced by the decaying leaves found all over the hammock floor. Solution holes like these are often found in the hardwood hammocks.

 

 

Upon leaving the park at 1:00, Chris noticed a restaurant across the highway. We decided to check it out for lunch.

After looking at the sign, we decided what we were going to have!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed a sampler plate of frogs legs, 'gator tail bites, hush puppies and fry bread..... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Chris had the Gator tail bites dinner and Marcel polished off the Catfish dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we drove back to Gator Park for the Airboat tour. Fortunately, it was not too busy, so we didn't have to wait. An airboat, also known as a fanboat, is a flat-bottomed vessel propelled in a forward direction by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine.  Airboats are a very popular means of transportation in the Florida Everglades in marshy and/or shallow areas where a standard inboard or outboard engine with a submerged propeller would be impractical.

 

 

We had a great ride through the "river of grass" and saw more alligators, both mature and young ones and many beautiful birds.

 

 

Chris made some new friends before we left the park.

 

 

Following the Gator wrestling and Wildlife show, we headed back to the RV Park. It did warm up to 18C (64F). 

 

When we got there, Chris picked up his luggage & left for the hotel for the night. He has an early flight home in the morning. It was a great visit with my bro!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, March 1, Fishing day

We were all up at 6:00 for Chris & Marcel to go fishing for Peacock Bass in the channels. There were occasional light sprinkles of rain and it was 17.2C (63F).
Brian texted Chris at 6:10 to announce the early arrival of his 4th child, a boy. Mom & baby are well.

The boys left at 6:30 to meet the guide that was taking them fishing.

I went for a walk to the Winn-Dixie grocery store, 3km each way. At 10:45, I was back with the groceries, then went to the cabana to check email & work on the blog.

At 2:15, I was returning to the trailer to see if the fishermen are back when they drove in, faces beaming! They had a very successful time fishing, but only had pics to prove it. (catch & release)

 

 

Their smiles faded when we discovered that we were locked out of the trailer! When I went shopping, I locked the door using the wireless keypad (which had been acting funny). It wouldn't unlock. One set of keys are in the truck, which is locked, and the other set is inside the trailer. There is another Redwood trailer in the park, so after many failed attempts to unlock it, Marcel went to see if the owner had any ideas.  He came over with his key & voila! unlocked the door! Now, that is just a little unnerving that his key fit our lock! We'll have to look into that.  

Thursday, February 28, back to Miami

We heard light rain through the night, but had stopped by the morning. At 7:00 it was 20.8C (69F).

At 9:30, we were packed up and on the road back north to Miami. It was sunny and 21C (69.8F)

The drive was smooth sailing until 10:25, when we reached the construction at MM 98. While stopped in traffic, I managed to take a pic of this mural on a building.

 

 

We managed to travel 2 miles in 28 minutes through the construction zone then we were on the way again.

 

We kept right on to Hwy 905, Card Sound Road, which is supposed to be a scenic drive. It was interesting, but I wouldn’t call it scenic. There was a toll bridge ($1.00) which was the highlight of the drive. By this time it was cloudy and 20C (68F).

We stopped at the Coral Castle www.coralcastle.com but there was nowhere to park with the trailer so we continued on.

At 12:10 we arrived back at Larry & Penny Thompson Park & got set up.

Chris & I went off to the Everglades National Park to see some alligators.

We went on the Anhinga Trail that Marcel & I had done last week, but this time there were gators all over the walkway!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About halfway around the trail, it started to rain lightly. Fortunately it didn’t last.  We did see many gators!

 

 

 

 

 

Back at the parking lot there were trees covered in Spanish moss.

At 4:45 we were heading back to the RV park.

Wednesday, February 27

This morning was overcast 24C (75.2F). Started off to go for a walk around the park but only got as far as our next door neighbours. Steve & Judy are from Bowmanville, originally from Birmingham, England.

Went down to the pier to watch the fishermen. There were lots of pelicans there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to drive north on the Keys and stopped at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, which is the first undersea park in the US at Mile Marker 102.5. The upland areas offer visitors a unique experience in the mangrove swamps and tropical hammocks.

We made the Visitor Centre and Aquarium our first stop. It features a 30,000 gallon saltwater aquarium, nature exhibits and a theatre showing nature videos.

There are 3 Nature walks available along the Mangrove, Wild Tamarind and Grove trails. We took the Wild Tamarind Trail first.

South Florida is home to a variety of tropical plants not found anywhere else in the continental United States. Many of these plants are found in a plant community called the Hardwood Hammock. The origin of the word of hammock comes from a Native American word “hamaca”, meaning shade; or fishing net for the tangled vines of the forest.

 

 

 

Next we found the Mangrove Trail. Blending land and sea, mangroves form an interesting environment along our coastline. Once considered useless, the many values of mangroves are now evident. A variety of wildlife finds food and shelter in the mangroves. Their roots help stabilize the shoreline and also filter pollutants.

 

 

 

After our strenuous hikes (LOL), we enjoyed a refreshing ice cream cone before returning to the Jolly Roger Park.

Tuesday, February 26, Key West

At 9:00, after pancakes and sausages for breakfast, we were off for adventure in Key West. It is clear, sunny and 25C (78F).

 At 9:20 we stopped at the beginning of the 7-Mile Bridge. It has clouded over & is quite windy.
The bridge on the left is the newer, auto bridge, while the one on the right is the old bridge which is open to pedestrians for a 2.3 mile stretch.

When we arrived in Key West  it started to rain heavily, so we decided to find the Eco-Discovery Centre, an indoor venue. There, we watched an HD movie, “Reflections of the Florida Keys,” a short film on the diverse ecosystem of the Florida Keys by renowned filmmaker Bob Talbot. We viewed a 2400 gallon aquarium stocked with many varieties of sealife and corals.
  http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/eco_discovery.html

By the time we left, the rain had stopped and the pavement was drying up. We drove around looking for a parking spot and finally found one on the beach.

We then walked several blocks to the landmark denoting the "Southernmost Point on Continental USA".
 The marker, actually built to resemble a buoy, stands at furthest south tip of Key West. The monument notes that Cuba is only 90 miles away, and just to its right, a plaque commemorates the brave Cubans who have drowned trying to get to America.

Next stop was the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum. Hemingway bought the 1851 Spanish colonial-style mansion in 1931. The house, set in a lush tropical garden planted by the author, is home to more than 50 cats, descendants of Hemingway's felines. We didn't tour the home, just peeked over the wall.

Before we knew it, lunchtime had rolled around, so we stopped at "Mangoes Restaurant", in the heart of Key West, where we enjoyed a seafood lunch in the courtyard.

For dessert, Chris & I shared a slice of Key Lime Pie down the street at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafe.

At 3:30, we found our way back to the car, where the thermometer registered 92F. I got my feet wet in the Atlantic Ocean before heading back to the park.

Back at the Jolly Roger Park, Chris & I went to the pool to cool off. So ended another great day!

Monday, February 25, Marathon

By 9:20, we were packed up and on the road. It is cloudy but 27C (80.4F)





Passed through Homestead at 9:50 under sunny 28C (82.4F) skies. We stopped at the Visitor Centre in Key Largo to pick up maps and information.

The beautiful drive continued on the Overseas Highway, which is a 127-mile road with 42 bridges connecting a chain of 1,700 islands. The mile markers begin just south of Florida City with number 127 and run all the way down to zero in Key West.

The Overseas Highway is a 127.5-mile (205.2 km) highway carrying US Route 1through the Florida Keys. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. Completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially destroyed in the labor Day Hurricane of 1935. The Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the destroyed sections, so the roadbed and remaining bridges were sold to the state of Florida for $640,000.

 

We arrived at the Jolly Roger Travel Park which is at Mile Marker 59, just after noon, got set up , had lunch then went for a walk around the park. A fisherman was cleaning his catch, which attracted a lot of pelicans!









It is sunny and 30C (86F), so we went for a drive south and across the 7-mile bridge.
The Seven Mile Bridge is a famous bridge in the Florida Keys. Among the longest bridges in existance when it was built, it is one of the many bridges on US1 in the Keys.
There are two bridges in this location. The older bridge, was constructed from 1909-1912. The current road bridge was constructed from 1978 to 1982. The vast majority of the original bridge still exists, used as fishing piers.

We stopped at the "National Key Deer Refuge" at MM 32. The Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) is an endangered deer that lives only in the Florida Keys. It is a subspecies of the white-tailed deer. The shoulder height of Key deer is between 24-32 inches. Does weigh 45 to 65 pounds while bucks weigh 55 to 80. There were many interesting displays at the Centre.

When we returned to the park, we cooked a chicken for supper in the roaster oven,

then enjoyed dinner outside.


After dark, we went down to the water with a flashlight to look for lobsters & crabs. There were many spiny lobsters along the seawall. Unfortunately, they don't show up in the pics.

Such was the end to a great day!

Sunday, February 24, Chris arrives

Misty morning, 21.5C (70.5F).
By 9:00 it was 25C (77F) and very muggy. After making chocolate chip cookies, I went to the Cabana, to watch for Chris to arrive while working on the Blog.. He didn't stop at the office, but went straight to the campsite, so I missed him. He & Marcel came back to get me & we showed him around the park.

After a nice visit and Chris changed into shorts, we went for a drive to find a beach & the Ocean. We drove up Old Cutler Road & went past Deering Estate at Cutler, which is a 450 acre bayfront estate. 
Charles Deering lived on the property for five years, from 1922 to 1927. The property consists of a three floor wooden house built in 1900, known as the Richmond Cottage, and a three floor stone mansion. Other buildings were also built on the property to serve as axillary buildings to the estate. Charles Deering Estate is located in the incorporated village of  Plametto Bay.The house and grounds were featured several times in the 1980s TV series Miami Vice and it was the starting line for The Amazing Race All-Stars in 2007. We didn't tour rhe estate, but admired the stone wall surrounding it. Trees were growing through the wall!

The next stop along the drive was at the Cocoanut Grove Yacht Club. There is LOTS of money in this area!









On the way back, Chris wanted to find the Outback Steakhouse, where he will meet his fishing guide on Friday. As it happened, it was supper time, so we had a lovely dinner there before returning to the park.

Chris tried out his bed & gave it a stamp of approval. He had been up since 4:00am.