Morning Glory--Anhinga Trail

(picture by Mike)

Double crested cormorant

Sat, 3/14/09

Long Pine Key, Everglades NP, to Jonathan Dickson SP, Jupiter, Fl: Went for a walk this morning. Saw a little garter snake in the road and we chased him into the bushes. Left the campground at 11:30 after stopping at the dump station. My turn to drive. Stopped at the produce stand on the way out and bought some bananas. Then onto the Floridas Turnpike the rest of the way. The Sunpass is such a big help. It probably doesn’t save that much money, but it saves a lot of time. I drove for a couple of hours until we stopped at the West Palm Beach service area where we had some lunch and then Mike took over driving. We were only about 15 miles from our exit. Pulled into Jonathan Dickson at around 3:00. Got set up by 4:30. Had trouble backing into this site because of a couple of trees, so Mike had to go out and come back in the wrong way and we were able to get it in just fine. Jupiter is such a pretty place. Love it here.

Great Blue Heron--Anhinga Trail

Fri, 3/13/09

Long Pine Key, Everglades NP: Not a cloud in the sky this morning when we woke up. Decided to do a big breakfast—eggs, sausage, biscuits, and orange juice. Tasted pretty good. First time I’ve cooked a big breakfast in a year probably. After topping off the water tank we went for a walk around the campground. By early afternoon clouds started rolling in. We decided to just hang around this quiet and peaceful place today. There’s been a French Canadian couple across from us since we’ve been here. He plays the guitar—just like our French Canadian friends from the Keys, Gerald and Charlie. Wonder if they’re all musical, or is it just something to do during those LONG winters up there? On the other side of us the past two nights have been French Canadians also. Last night was an older couple and tonight is a young couple with two little girls. Steaks, mashed potatoes and pickled beets for dinner tonight. Played rummy again tonight. Mike won two, I won one (sigh).

The original African Queen

Iguana in Pennekamp

Thu, 3/12/09

Long Pine Key, Everglades NP: Another beautiful morning. After our showers we hooked up the hose and topped off our water tank. Put the hose away and started out for John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park on Key Largo. Ever since we’ve been coming down to the Keys we’ve been wanting to check it out. But from Sugarloaf it would be probably a two-hour drive. From the Everglades it’s probably an hour tops. So, after stopping for breakfast at a little roadside café/picnic place, we were on our way.. Wanted to take Card Sound Road this time. We’ve also been wanting to take that road but always had the fifth wheel on the back of the truck so we didn’t. The road wasn’t very scenic until you crossed the bridge at Card Sound. Then you start seeing a lot of pretty little sloughs through the mangroves and a couple of lakes. It’s also a big wildlife sanctuary. At the end of Card Sound Road you could turn right to go to Key Largo or left to go to Ocean Reef. We decided to see what Ocean Reef was all about. Drove through a pretty hardwood forest (also a wildlife preserve) for several miles until it dead-ended into this private residential area called “Ocean Reef”—which boasts three golf courses. Drove back towards Key Largo and saw another old military installation—probably another of those Nike missile bases they had down here. Finally made it to Pennekamp and drove around the campground to see what it’s like. It’s small but the sites are pretty good. This park is all about the reef and snorkeling, diving, and kayaking around the trails through the mangroves. From the little beach it looks like a big lake because you can see land of some kind all around—probably all mangroves. It would be nice to snorkel in the beach area—the water is crystal clear and it’s protected somewhat. We’ll come back next year for sure. They also have a glass bottom boat tour out to the reef. Left the park and drove around Key Largo a little bit. Stopped at the Holiday Inn there and saw the original African Queen used in the movie of the same name. Then started back and stopped at Marley’s Bar and Grill just before you go over the bridge to the mainland. I had a mahi mahi sandwich and Mike had a Cuban sandwich. Sat outside by the bay. Back to our peaceful and quiet campground in the Everglades. Played rummy again. Mike won 2, I won one. Low 80s today. Low 60s last night. Perfect! The solar panels are doing their job. Batteries are fully charged!

Owl chick--Mahogany Hammock

(picture by Mike)

Wood Stork--Anhinga Trail

Gator on the Anhinga Trail

Wed, 3/11/09

Long Pine Key, Everglades NP: Another gorgeous day. Took a shower and washed my hair and went over to the rest room to blow it dry. I told Mike I’d like to not use the generator unless we absolutely have to. The solar panels are doing a great job. I’m sure he’s dying to turn on the TV though. We do get great TV reception here, but no cell phone signal. After we both took our showers we topped off the water tank. It’s really easy here since the water spigot is next to our site so we can run the hose over there—as long as we don’t leave it hooked up. After a light breakfast we drove down to Flamingo to see what’s going on there. They’re in the process of tearing down the old lodge/motel there. Plan to rebuild which should be done in 5 years. After exploring around for a while we went to the marina store and bought some ham and cheese sandwiches and some sodas. Sat outside at a picnic table by the water to have our lunch (on the opposite bank of the river there were a couple of salt water crocks). I had one bite of my first sandwich half and this brazen gull swooped down and grabbed the ham and cheese out of my sandwich and flew off. But not before pooping on my camera case. Couldn’t believe it! Had to really protect my remaining half in order to get to eat it. Drove back and stopped at a couple of ponds along the way. Also stopped at mahogany hammock and walked around. There were two barred owl chicks in one of the trees. They were pretty big but still had some down on them. Back to our nice quiet camp site. Just had sandwiches for dinner. Played rummy. Mike won both (sigh). 82 today.

Aerial view of the three Nike missile launch sites

Moon Rise

Sunset through the pines

Tue, 3/10/09

Long Pine Key, Everglades NP: A beautiful morning—cool at first but warmed up quickly. When we were here last year we were exploring around and found this abandoned military site of some kind. No one seemed to know what it was, but it was gated and locked up. Turns out it was a Nike missile base that was operational through 1979. Was really important during the Cuban missile crisis. Anyway, they’ve opened it up to the public and today we toured it with a ranger. And the Miami Herald had a reporter and camera crew out there to document it for the paper and their web site. Was a great tour. Took a couple of hours. Before we drove down to the missile site we walked the Anhinga Trail. Saw a bunch of gators, water birds, turtles, and fish. After the tour of the missile base we went into Homestead to hit the Walmart to pick up a couple of things and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant. After dinner we stopped to see a Canadian couple we got to know when they were coming down to the Keys. They’re staying at the Southern Comfort RV resort in Homestead now. Hadn’t seen them in a couple of years. Only stayed a little while and then back to our campsite just in time to see the sun set. 83 today.

Our pretty little campsite

(it's really dry--grass is brown)

Mon, 3/9/09

Sugarloaf Key to Long Pine Key, Everglades NP: Left Lazy Lakes at about 10:10. Charlie and Johanne stopped over with their dog, Maple, to say good bye. We arrived at the Long Pine Key campground in the Everglades and were set up by 2:00. Cloudy when we got here but it cleared off to a beautiful day. I love being back here. Sat outside listening to the happy twittering of the birds and the soughing of the wind through the pines. Very quiet and peaceful. Went for a walk around the campground and saw a dead Eastern diamondback rattlesnake in the road (yikes!). If we do any hiking while we’re here, I’ll definitely wear my snake gaiters. Of course they won’t do any good against those damn Burmese pythons. Mike grilled Italian sausages for sandwiches and I made a four-bean salad. After dinner we sat outside for a while. A full moon tonight. Beautiful! Listened to our NOAA weather radio and it’s supposed to be in the low 80s during the day and low 60s at night for the next 6 or 7 days. Perfect!