The Old Florida

When I think of Florida, there are few places that scream Florida like the Everglades and The Big Cypress. Our home for the next week sits in the more northern of the two (Big Cypress) which is a key component to the ecosystem that feeds the Everglades. Our location is at the midway point between Naples and Miami and gets its name Midway from that location. As a part of the National Preserve, which makes up a large portion of southern Florida, it is home to the multitude of species, many rare or endangered and the parks and surrounding areas are rustic to say the least. Midway is a small slice of camping heaven that we have enjoyed in the past and I'm sure will be a part of our travels for many years to come. Today's much needed rains will keep us indoors but the views outside are full of birds, plants and reptiles that have stood the test of time. In fact the native alligator has changed little from the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The signs around the campground remind me that we are in a place that hosts some mighty predators including bear, panthers and both gators and occasionally a crocodile. My walk with Blue last night was a quick one with both of us feeling nervous with the new surroundings and potential danger. Especially after the campground hosts warning me to make sure I carry a light when walking at night because the gators tend to walk around at that time. This is the heart of the Florida panther territory, but as much as I would love to see a panther it's not likely to happen in the wild.

Calm before the storm

After a week of warm weather we had a fast moving storm last night. No issues in our location but Gary's brother who was heading home was stuck on the runway for 3 hours, making his day a very long one.

Days with Don

This week we enjoyed a visitor, Gary's brother Don. its always nice to have another person to enjoy the areas warm weather and good food. Our lunch in Fort Myers beach encluded a group of dolphins swimming by as we had lunch. So cool!

An Osprey a day...

Well I'm not sure what rhymes with that but I just like it as a title. The osprey are very busy around these parts and with much success in their fishing, unlike Gary these days!

Camping with the horses

A byproduct of screwing up Lake Okeechobee is that while they spend millions of dollars trying to fix the mess, they are creating new opportunities for us folk that pay for this cleanup to use and enjoy the area. Our home for these few days is a Horse camp and if you know me you know that there is no place like a horse barn to make me happy. And this is a beautiful facility with two small barns, a larger barn with individual stalls leading out to private runs, complete with water in each stall, several padacks and miles of groomed trail to enjoy. I came close getting a ride today but chickened out on the asking part. Maybe tomorrow.

Lake Okeechobee

That very large lake in the south central portion of Florida is circled by dikes that make it impossible to view the lake while driving around it. as mentioned in earlier post it has its issues, not the least of which is destroying the natural beauty that a lake should have along its banks. Good news (if there is any) it's created a trail system around the lake with primitive campsites at intervals for walkers or bikers. The lock at the eastern side of the lake is Port Mayaca.

Big bird

Who's egg is this? Must be that great horned owl above the campsite to our north. Her mate was the vocalist we enjoyed last night.

A fabulous night for a moon dance

Our home for a few days gave us a full moon and the song of owls last night, but nothing I could dance to.

The little campground

Our little campground is host to nine electric sites for RVs, three sites along the river for tents and eight slips for boats that move along the Ockechobee waterway. The size and close proximity to the nearby Atlantic and small town of Stuart, make this a popular spot to stay and hard to get a reservation in during the new year. It also plays host to many creatures including a daily migration of birds (Pictured are Pelicans) that move along the waterway each day. Last night cold snap seemed to bunch up this group of white egrets in a tree across the river from our campground. Other trees play perch to vultures who love the lift the river and lock give to their flight paths. They float up in large circles above the campground and swoop down through the trees for our enjoyment.

Creatures of the lock

This Red headed agama is one of the many species that live and thrive along the waterways of the St Lucie River in southwest Florida. During this time of the year these iguanas have dramatic colorful markings to attract their female counterparts. This morning on our walk we found a beautiful little corn snake warming itself in the sun on the blacktop to combat the cold front that has dropped our temps into the 60's.