Paint Your Landscape

Back to the Wilderness ~ Everglades National Park

March 7, 2014March 7, 2014LuAnn

Walking along shadowed paths, the sun not yet quite ready to greet the day, contentment settles over me. I feel as if I am floating upon the fog that is blanketing the grasses, alert to the callings on the wind and the chirping of insects underfoot. I think this is how it feels to be in the moment.

I marvel as egret wings caress the pastel sky above me but I am keenly aware that I am only seeing a small percentage of the birds as those seen back in the 1940’s when this land was slated for protection under the National Park system.

We are back in the Everglades, and after the exhilaration of the Keys, this has been quite an abrupt change. A bit of sadness washed over me as we left to start our trek north, but strolling this campground my spirit is buoyed by the calm, ready for a week devoid of cell phone and internet connectivity, free of the trappings of modern existence.

Our travels have taken us to the southern tip of the Everglades, the Flamingo campground, our home for five days. This is America’s Crocodile Capital, where saltwater melds into fresh, the only place in this country I have read where alligators and crocodiles co-exist. We had already visited the western part of the park so I was wondering if we would find enough to occupy ourselves for this length of time. I need not have worried.

Here are our top 6 favorite activities while visiting Flamingo (in no particular order):

1) Eco Pond

A trip to Eco Pond, about 0.5 miles from the Flamingo campground, particularly at sunrise, is a birder’s delight. Bug repellant is a must as these pesky insects seem to like first light as much as we do.

Hundreds of egrets with a splash of pink coloring the landscape.

The roseate spoonbills’ captivating pink plumage comes from a red pigment found in some crustaceans they feast upon.

The ravishing roseate spoonbill — The ravishing roseate

2) Anhinga Trail

We were lucky to be in the park for the ‘Big Day Birding Adventure’, led by Ranger Christi, conducted only twice monthly. We started at the Anhinga Trail, spending a couple of hours there, and headed back south, making several stops until we arrived back at the Flamingo Visitor Center.

Ranger Christi (center) pointing out anhingas nesting in the surrounding trees

Lots of boardwalks cross over lily pad laden waterways, with countless wading birds on the shores contemplating a delicious breakfast.

Long lengths of boardwalk traverse the watery depths.

We entertained ourselves watching a cormorant try to gulp down a rather large walking catfish before a waiting wood stork swooped in. He swallowed it just in the nick of time. 🙂

A cormorant desperate to enjoy a big breakfast before having it stolen away.

3) Bike Rides

We spent many a day biking the campground and roadways, stopping off at various ponds or boardwalks to enjoy the wildlife.

4) Pinelands Trail in Search of Tree Snails

As you walk this 0.5 mile trail, keep your eyes trained up into the canopies of the smooth-barked Jamaican dogwood and gumbo limbo trees, and you just might spot some of the colorful Liguus tree snails.

5) Hang out at the Marina

This time of year, spending time at the marina will reward you with some pretty spectacular views of osprey nesting, and if you’re lucky, you might be there for feeding time.

A tender moment captured as an osprey feeds her chicks

Many also come to the marina to spot the crocodiles lying on the banks or taking up residence in the boat slips. Early in our stay this is where we saw the crocs from a safe distance. Much to our surprise, the very next day a 9-footer decided to visit us at the campground, causing a bit of excitement.

6) Kayak to your Heart’s Content

We spent many a day paddling the waterways in the park. It is one of the best ways to see roosting birds, pelicans feeding, dolphins frolicking, and alligators and crocodiles sunning themselves on the banks.

The water level in the Florida Bay rarely exceeds a depth of six feet so watching the tides is important if you don’t want to get grounded in the seagrass. Low tide is the best time to check out the variety of birds on the mudflats. We paddled Florida Bay one blustery day at low tide, which made for a nice shoulder work-out. We also experienced it at early morning high tide, paddling from the marina to Snake Bight, a 5-mile round trip that rewarded us with dolphin sightings and a variety of roosting birds in the mangroves.

At peace on the water

Reddish egret spotted in the mangrove canopy

If you want a bit more excitement, venture out into the Buttonwood Canal and paddle among the crocodiles and alligators. I didn’t let my mind linger too long on what would happen if our inflatable decided to spring a leak.

Traversing the Buttonwood Canal - a much different feel from the open Florida Bay — Traversing the Buttonwood Canal – a much different feel from the open Florida Bay

Nature’s many voices can be heard in this pristine wilderness. Hopefully the future health of the Everglades can survive the many demands being placed on her water supplies so future generations can enjoy her wild beauty.

Our journey north and back to civilization officially begins.

The Vibe of Key West

March 1, 2014February 27, 2014LuAnn

1890 Key West icon, a "place for travelers to rendezvous". — 1890 Key West icon, a “place for travelers to rendezvous”.

We weren’t sure how we would feel about Key West prior to our visit. Would we love her quirky, laid-back vibe or be turned off by her tawdry, overly done commercialism? After having visited, we give it a big two-thumbs up and decided we would love to come back for a longer visit, as a day just scratches the surface.

The city’s official motto of “One Human Family” drew me in immediately. The belief that “all people everywhere are entitled at birth to equal rights, dignity and respect; and lives that are free from prejudice, discrimination, harassment, or violence” is one that all cities would do well to embrace.

Since we arrived early to get ahead of the crowds, the first order of the day was to sample the local coffee and we found just the right spot at the Old Town Bakery, where one of the local residents rushed up to make our acquaintance.

Not everyone in town is excited to see these colorful characters roaming the streets.

We opted to enjoy our few hours here on foot, taking in the sights and sounds at our leisure. We wandered along the Historic Seaport Harbor Walk, where people were already lining up to take a cruise on a sailboat or catamaran. From there it was on to Mallory Square, the place to be at sunset and for the show that accompanies the sun’s final rays of the day, flame-tossing jugglers, tight-rope walkers, and sword swallowers. It is also here where you can sit, enjoy a meal, and watch the cruise ships dock.

Colorful chairs awaiting their first customers of the day

One of the many cruise ships in port

Near Mallory Square is the Key West Art and Historical Museum, with its many life-size bronze statues scattered about and is where Terry decided to be the perfect gentleman and help an elderly lady.

With lunchtime nearing, I don’t know about you but I think it looks more like Terry is trying to steal her groceries. We’d better get this boy some food fast!

Since there is a large Cuban influence here (and we love Cuban food) we decided to wander into an Old Town residential neighborhood and check out El Siboney for lunch, the place we were told where the local Cubans dine and is the “epicenter for good Cuban food”. We were not disappointed as we dined on the best roasted garlic chicken and plantains we had ever eaten, and the homemade sangria was pretty tasty too.

Pleasantly full and recharged for the rest of our visit, we headed south to get a picture taken where everyone who visits Key West does, at the point furthest south, and the line was already growing.

I recently read that this buoy does not stand on the southernmost point of Key West but rather land west of here on the Truman Annex, where the “Winter White House” for Harry S. Truman stands, claims that right. No marker exists there as it is U.S. Navy land and cannot be accessed by civilians.

The brightest spot of our day was visiting the Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. The magic begins as you enter, where hundreds of butterflies swirl around you, dancing to the relaxing music, as you stroll paths lined with flowering plants, colorful birds and gurgling waterfalls. Fifty to sixty different species of butterflies from around the world can be found here, all beautiful, all guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

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A day in Key West would not be complete without a stroll down Historic Duval Street, running from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, and in many ways the heartbeat of the city. Any manner of shop or eating and drinking establishment can be found here, like a continuous happy hour. I read somewhere that Key West is the place to “find yourself, lose yourself, be yourself, or re-invent yourself” and this just might be the street where those discoveries are made. At the least it is probably the hottest place in town to people-watch.

Well, it looks like the end of the road for us, at least for this day.

There is no end to the activities in Key West to delight your senses, and food and drink aplenty to dazzle your taste buds. Galleries, museums, historic buildings, and beaches await our next visit to eclectic Key West, city with an effervescent magic all her own!

Our time in the Keys has flown by and we leave dragging our feet but with fond memories we carry along. It is back to the Everglades for us, land of gators, crocodiles, exotic birds, and raw, wild beauty. Hopefully the mosquitoes will have had their fill before our arrival. We will most likely be out of cell phone and internet range for several days. Have a wonderful week! 🙂

Which way will you go?

Quaint home with yard bursting with foliage

Trash becomes a work of art!

A Little Slice of Paradise ~ The Florida Keys

February 25, 2014February 26, 2014LuAnn

The Florida Keys, land of 1700 islands…

Grassy Key is one of the northernmost islands that form the Middle Keys and is to be our home for the next week. When we decided to spend our winter in Florida, we quickly learned that it is no easy feat to book the RV park of your choosing in the Keys without planning many months or even a year ahead of your visit.

Although wishing for a state park stay but feeling lucky to have gotten a reservation here at all, we are thinking that Grassy Key RV Resort may be the little slice of paradise we were looking for, a tiny gem. She may be small and not as plush as some parks, but we cannot resist her charms when sitting on the dock each morning, enjoying our coffee, as the sun casts its first colors of the day across the glassy waters. Having the ability to walk our kayak down to the dock and cast off into the Gulf is an added bonus.

Terry relaxing on the dock at Grassy Key, in awe of our views.

My morning ritual, up to watch the sun rise over the Gulf.

Colorful chairs on the dock begging us to come sit and relax.

Exercise has been high on the agenda during our Keys visit, and we are fortunate to have a section of the Overseas Heritage Trail just outside our RV park. When completed this bike trail will connect Key Largo to Key West and will span 106 miles, crossing over 37 bridges – the “Tour to Land’s End”. This trail parallels US 1 and currently 70 miles of this aggressive project is complete. Love, love, love seeing this type of work unfold.

South of Grassy Key is where we planned the bulk of our exploits for the week, which meant crossing over a bridge connecting the Middle Keys to the Lower Keys, the famous Seven Mile Bridge. It is part of US 1 known as the Overseas Highway, famous for being one of the longest bridges in the world at time of construction but now sits at a paltry 54th in the world and 9th in the US. Size is impressive in this case but celebrity boasts as well, as scenes from Mission Impossible III and James Bond’s License to Kill showcased her breadth.

A lone fisherman at the base of Seven Mile Bridge

After reading MonaLiza’s wonderful post on the Lower Keys, a good part of our agenda was set. Sometimes it is best to be the follower instead of the leader. 😉

Bahia Honda State Park is a fabulous way to while away a day, and with the park’s generous admittance fee, we were able to leave for a few hours to explore further south, and come back to enjoy the sunset, at no additional cost.

Coconut palms, sea grape & turquoise waters frame a glimpse of the new Bahia Honda Bridge.

This park boasts an award-winning beach, a historic bridge, roads to bike or walk, short trails to traverse, and snorkeling and kayaking activities. After biking the 3.5 miles, we slowed down and took time to soak in the park’s beauty and history.

The defining landmark at Bahia Honda is the Old Bahia Honda Bridge, a reminder of the industrious dream of Henry Flagler that still rises like a phoenix from the deep waters of the channel, albeit a bit worn.

This part of Flagler’s East Coast Railway, a rail system that ran down to Key West, was completed in 1912. Its “day in the sun” was short-lived, destroyed by the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, the strongest cyclone of that Atlantic hurricane season, and the most powerful to make landfall in US recorded history.

Walking up a short trail to the section of the old bridge that remains open affords you a great vista of the park and award-winning beach.

As I stayed atop the bridge admiring the views, Terry decided to continue his exploration below. It seems the expression “right place at the right time” fit his wandering, as he was rewarded with a close-up visit from a great white heron, only found in the Florida Keys. This white cousin to the great blue is endangered and is a bird we thought we might not see unless we traveled to the wildlife refuge established in its name. Isn’t she a beauty? Her light-colored legs (resembling my very own in color!) lets you know she’s a heron, not an egret. As I take a closer look, her legs may be a bit shapelier than mine however. 😦

We took a break from the park and headed south to the National Key Deer Refuge, where we hoped to catch a glimpse of the petite Key deer, the smallest sub-species of the Virginia white-tailed deer, standing no taller than two feet. They are listed as endangered due to past human interaction. Thankfully today the residents here on the 25 islands in the Lower Keys where they reside take their safety seriously. I find it quite interesting that these little cuties can easily swim between the islands.

Too busy eating to pose or to be spooked by me either.

By now we had built up a thirst so went in search of the No Name Pub, on the tiny little island known as No Name Key. If your eyes weren’t wide-open searching for the pub, you might blink and miss this Key, sparsely populated with only 43 homes.

Terry heading into the No Name Pub to quench his thirst!

What I found most interesting about the No Name was not its pub but the fact that, due to a county ordinance prohibiting it, the residents of this pint-sized island have been off the commercial power grid until recently, relying on solar or generators instead for electric needs. After a decades-long fight, these steadfast residents won their suit and were plugged into the grid in May 2013.

Back at Bahia Honda State Park, I was praying for a lovely end to the day, by way of a spectacular sunset. The weather was turning hazy so I had my doubts.

Will the sunset disappear behind the clouds?

What do you think?

After a long wait, the sun made one last appearance.

But I think the best show may have been seen not above on the bridge, but down below on the beach.

Key West here we come!

Marking Time at Markham Park and a Long Awaited Visit

February 21, 2014LuAnn

Bordering the Everglades, in the city of Sunrise sits Markham County Park, a sprawling oasis where we were fortunate to stay on our trek south. This was to be our restocking stop before heading to the Keys and we hoped it would be a location where walking and biking trails could be found. Much to our surprise and delight, it far exceeded our expectations, even though at registration we learned the annual Boy Scout Camporee, where thousands of Scouts converge, was to be that weekend at Markham. Other than a few fireworks on their last night, we heard not a peep from any of them.

Besides camping, this 600+ acre park has something for almost everyone, to include the following:

Barkham at Markham (3.5 acre dog park)
Radio-controlled airfield (50 acres for model airplanes)
Personal watercraft lake (26 acres)
Mountain-bike trails (11 miles)
Disc golf course
Shooting range
New River Canal – used by fishermen, boaters and jet-skiers
Biking, walking and nature trails throughout the park and along the canal bordering the Everglades
Tennis and racquetball courts
Swimming pool
Fox Observatory (open Saturday nights)

Juxtaposition of civilization and Everglade wilderness

Lazy canal snaking behind the campground

Radio-controlled plane taking off at airfield

Fishing and boating lake

Miles of bike paths meander through Markham

A peek at some 4-legged beauties

Barkham dog park

Late afternoon across the Everglades

Markham sunset

If all of this isn’t enough, you can get your retail fix by visiting Sawgrass Mills, the largest outlet mall in the United Sates, boasting 350+ stores. I dared to venture into this retail maze to pick up a few items during our stay in Sunrise. Shopper beware – keep directory map close at hand to navigate through and back out to the parking lot or you could be lost for days. And if you can’t find what you are looking for here, I don’t believe it exists or you are just way too picky!

So, we got our walking and biking fix, a quiet campground to chill in, and some retail therapy to boot. But the very best part of our stay in Sunrise, hands-down, was finally meeting up with MonaLiza and Steve of The Lowe’s RV Adventures. After having decided that no restaurants in the area jumped out at either of us, MonaLiza extended an invitation to dine at their lovely home and I whipped up a little dark chocolate treat as our contribution to their yummy meal.

To say I have looked forward to meeting them is an understatement and with a short window of opportunity to get together, I had my fingers crossed that nothing would prevent our paths from crossing. Meeting them was everything I knew it would be and more.

Terry, Steve and MonaLiza

Me & MonaLiza patiently waiting for Terry to snap the photo.

Joy is the word that best describes this petite island girl. MonaLiza exudes it, whether she is speaking of family, their past travels, plans for the future, or even eating. And although Steve’s personality may be tempered somewhat from that of MonaLiza, we felt that here was someone we could visit with for hours, very warm and engaging. We can’t thank them enough for taking the time to get together and for writing such a wonderful blog that has been like a virtual tour guide for us as we winter in Florida. Given the roads we RVers travel, we feel certain there will be other visits with the Lowe’s in our future. 🙂

What? No Sharks! ~ Shark Valley, Everglades National Park

February 15, 2014March 6, 2014LuAnn

On what was to be our first glimpse into this intriguing land known as the Everglades, we loaded up our bikes before the light of day and were on our way to Shark Valley, an interesting name for a valley whose watery depths average 3-4 feet, with not a shark to be seen. The Shark Valley Slough runs through this terrain, supplying much of the water to the Everglades, and feeding into the Shark River. It was at this river where early settlers saw the fins of bull sharks, hence the name.

Shark Valley can be experienced in several ways, a two-hour tram ride, on bikes, or a leisurely stroll. We opted to bike, allowing us to traverse the 15-mile loop at our leisure, making plenty of stops to see yet another bird species or an alligator lazing upon the canal bank.

Limpkin

Common gallinule

Mama gator and her pod

I’ve got my eye on you!

An observation tower at mile seven provides a 360º view of nothing but Glades.

Visiting Shark Valley at first light gave us the chance to share its quiet beauty with just a few avid birding photographers (at least for a short time). As the sun welcomed the day, the mist rose off the marshlands, the air refreshingly cool. The bellows of unseen alligators mingled with the calls of wading birds, a lyrical yet eerie chorus.

Don't get any closer! — Don’t get any closer!

Nicknamed the “River of Grass” for the sawgrass prairies that tower six feet above the land, the Everglades stretch 100 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico. Woven throughout her vast watery plains lies a symbiotic mosaic of nine distinct ecosystems. It is home to 36 protected animal species, has the largest mangrove ecosystem in the western hemisphere and boasts the most meaningful breeding ground for tropical wading birds in North America. Shark Valley is a beautiful embodiment of this montage.

Black-crowned night heron

Juvenile black-crowned night heron

Prior to visiting the Glades, my mind conjured up images of swampy bug and reptile-infested waters but the Everglades is ever so much more. This National Park was created, not for its unique topographical features, but rather to protect a fragile ecosystem, one that has suffered greatly by human hands in our never-ending quest for development. This region’s only source of water is the rain that falls on it and the extensive canal systems that have been put into place to support the explosive population growth in South Florida have redirected these crucial life-giving waters away from the Everglades. The natural habitats of many species are being threatened to the point of extinction. We can only hope that the 30-year Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) put into plan in 2000 will revive a dying ecosystem and allow this natural wonder to heal.

We have just scratched the surface of the Everglades and have a future stop planned later this month in Flamingo, at the southern end of the park, where we hear the mosquitoes are as large as some of the wading birds and quite the voracious little eaters too!

Just a few pics from a pole-boat tour taken in Big Cypress National Preserve: