Friday, March 25, Day 21, 10,000 Island National Wildlife Refuge to Naples

Here are the names of the two birds I meant to put in an earlier post a purple gallinule. Green body and wings, purple body, neck and head; light blue shield and red bill with yellow tip. A great looking bird and not always seen by people. The other bird that I said looked similar to a cormorant, (beak curved end) is an Anhinga, (straight beak).

As I am running out of picture space in my google album, I am becoming more selective. The fun part of this day is the boat tour of 10,000 Island area a MUST SEE. It is an hour and a half trip; boat holds about 40 people and is smooth. The estimate on the number of islands change depending what the tide level is, not like Minnesota where we have no tides.



Osprey hard to see top of dead tree right center



As we head out to the Gulf area and through the brackish waters of the islands, we are treated to a number of great things. The mangrove habitat is composed of three different types of them. It also turns out that the mangrove is thought to come from Africa. Small clumps of mangrove can float around for many months and when they hit sand they immediately start growing its roots at an inch an hour for six hours. They then grow forever outward until the roots cannot it ground. We see osprey nesting and find that they nest for life but winter in different areas. When they return the bird will stand by the nest till the other one shows up. But should the male show and not the female, he will wait forever and never take another mate. But should the female show up and the male doesn’t, in a week she will find a new mate. She lays three eggs a week apart, should there not be enough food, and she never hatches the two other eggs. We also watched an osprey attack a bald eagle. As the eagle eats anything and osprey only eats fresh fish they feel the eagle is a predator.

What a beautiful place, as we approach the island on the edge of the Gulf, bottle-nosed dolphins are spotted. We must have circled and observed a pod of female dolphins with a young one. This was fantastic but hard to photograph with those slow digital cameras like most of us had. A couple of people had the single reflex variety, I am sure they didn’t get as many pictures of plain water (about 36) like we.

Along the way we stopped at Fakachatchee Strand Preserve State park, Copeland FL

 for a mile and a half walk out a board walk to view nature.  

We right of way see the alligator eyeing an egret for lunch. On the way back the bird was still there the gator gone.

Look at the bear hug the strangler fig has on this tree.

Now is the time to drive west and find a place to stay in or around Naples. That was not easy but finally did, then the next hardest thing was finding a place to eat, finally KFC won out. jerr

Thursday, March 24, Day 20, Coral Gables to Everglades City

This is our furtherest point south, 2,552 miles from home. We thought we would eat a brunch, so before we hit hwy 41 going west we went to an IHop. Eggs, hash browns, my spinach/mushroom omelet (senior) with two pancakes, great coffee. We picked up gas as one does not know what to expect on the old Tamiami Trail old highway. This is an old two lane highway but through some neat areas we want to stop at. First being, Everglades National Park – Shark Valley. Shirleen had found in her National Parks sticker book that we visited it in 2002 but thought it would be nice to visit again.


On the tram

 We didn’t remember much so we took the tram, lucked out we were stand-by for 2pm and four of us made it. We went on a 2pm stand-by for the tram and went for a walk on the bobcat boardwalk, a relatively short walk but it is hot around 88.



We sat on a bench and took in the scenery and plotted our strategy or should I say

Shirleen did. It is a two hour circular run eight miles out to a lookout tower and back. Going by many alligators,

some a foot long others their mother’s 6 foot long. They lie in culverts connecting each side of the road. There is little water, maybe 3 inches, there the small and mother alligators lie to waste away the day, using the culvert as shelter from the heat. Birds can be seen by the areas where limestone was taken out to build the roads we are on along with tree stands. In some of these areas there are panthers, raccoons and bear. The everglades are 1.2 million acres of wetlands. It is not only a National park but a UN designated world area to keep as is. At one time there was a river 50 miles (yes, miles) across that flowed at a rate of a half mile a day. Due to government involvement these water days are bygone but there is an attempt to raise highway 41 to recreate what was lost. They wanted to drain the swamp and raise tomatoes. Of course it was to salty to carry out the idea, but to late. Many birds to see along the way cormorants, blue herons and the only tropical bird ----- often confused with the cormorant, crows and mud hens. All one can see is the wide expanse of grass land with a couple areas where trees grow.

We get to the end of the run where a 40 foot tower stands, we stop so we can all go to the landing and see many alligators sunning themselves, Florida gar, bass and small fish abound. There are many soft shell turtles sunning themselves also. The everglades are now being invaded by Burmese pythons, some found up to 16 feet long. They figure 150,000 are in the glades alone. They were people’s pets, as there was no limit as to how many could come into the US and once they grow they become a burden to take care off. Now there are limits on them and they are trying to control them, as they ate all the rabbits which ran the fields and now have found up to a 6 foot alligator in ones stomach. As this is spring and mating season, yes, a couple of birds where caught in the act, many got a chuckle out of that.

As we were leaving the park ranger told us about the Clyde Butcher gallery close to where we are going. Also make sure you see the orchids, which turn out to be bromeliads, in the trees. We notice the flower plants in the trees that line the highway, bright red flowers. We stop by the studio and well worth the stop. He is an accomplished black and white photographer. From 11 by 14 inches to one for $32,000 for a 5 by 8 foot print. Wondered how they printed them that big, as he does his on processing. I remember using an x-ray machine at Hubbard flour mill, there was a year when the wheat was heavily infected with insects. We got an x-ray machine and developed our own film, about 16 by 20 inches negatives. We could then see the insect burrows in the wheat kernels, I am sure it is just a large tray and dumping in your developing chemicals like I did. Had forgotten about this episode of my life. Each print a little different from the other. I said, another Ansel Adams, she said he is referred to as the Ansel Adams of the Everglades. A wonderful stop. The lady behind the counter corrected the ranger and pointed out the cardinal bromeliads. She was a retired ranger.

Off to find a place to stay for this eve, it is 5:05, another 10 miles to go. There are a couple signs where it cautions you that panthers could be crossing over the next 5 miles. We drive into town, a quick speed zone change, that I caught, and a cop behind the trees by the bridge.

We see a motel, looks nice, went in a couple blocks and found where we found our room on stilts, yes the car is parked beneath us and we are on second floor. It must be one of those rentals when they are away, cozy.

Next door is the Everglades Seafood Depot Restaurant. It is Thursday night and it is a seafood buffet which I cannot resist, Shirleen her coconut shrimp with new potatoes. My buffet had oysters on the half shell, scallops on the half shell with a drop of hot sauce, crab claws fresh from there, mussels, crawfish, fried shrimp and white fish, with hot butter, and crab salad. On the salad bar were fresh boiled shrimp. It turns out that when you order the buffet they give you two black bowls, one 18 inch one for the shells and

your work bowl about a foot across and it is black. I asked why? So they can tell who ordered the buffet. We sat alongside the pier watching the pelicans prune themselves. As we sat there and the sun was setting, you can see more deeply into the trees across the brackish water lake.



Shirleen's sunset picture

 We wanted to watch the sun set over the water and found a neat spot to do that.

jerr

Wednesday, March 23, Day 19 at Coral Gables

I forgot to mention yesterday. While at Bonnet garden during the tour, we passed a dug out area where a tree had gone down in the last hurricane; a couple archeologists looked around the tree root area and found arrow heads. They feel it was early Seminoles, but why there? Well it is the high point of the Ft. Lauderdale area, 17 feet; also it sits right on an area that has a spring fed small lake. But remember a hundred yards from the inner coastal area where there is salt water.

Also a couple days ago we saw that there speck’ or speckled perch is our crappie.

I have appreciated the comments and corrections to the blog with pointers on where to go. I mentioned that dolphin and mahi-mahi are the same. As an old submarine sailor who earned his dolphins on two different boats. I found that mahi-mahi is a dolphinfish and there is another fish the dolphin. Hope the sewer pipe sailors don’t take my dolphins away for this gross error. In the mid 60’s the terms were used interchangeably.

Arched trees we drove under

So this morning we go down A1A towards Coral Gables. We meander down the highway, sometimes on it sometimes off it. Again past those tower apartments hopefully filled to the brim with people. You look at all those windows and wonder? Where do they all come from? How much does it cost to own one of those? Well I’ll never know. Through Miami at noon time, oodles of people. Past south beach, youngsters at spring break. We travel through these arching trees headed south, will have to look for Fairchild, but where? We tool down the line and here is a sign,

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens next left. http://www.fairchildgarden.org/

We again use our Minnesota arboretum card for a free pass. This time $40 savings and the last two times were $67, cannot remember if we used it for others but for a membership that costs $85 a year we get that back and more!

We had visited this garden before, it was when Chihuly exhibited his works of glass art. We were told there are three pieces that members bought for the garden.



Multi-colored lizard







Metal crabs in this tree - art



This time there is a couple who are artists in their own right but different styles Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne. He metal smooth and line art, what I am trying to say is not the quirky detail that she does with her work.

We make sure we see all. I spotted one across the lake, a stag, Harry Potter where are you. To those who read those young adult books, as we did, you know what I am referring to.



As we looked across the lake while eating

 We ate at there Garden Café, lake side, with a grilled cheese, tuna salad wrap and chips. As the tram was starting I boorishly took my wrap aboard, otherwise I would have had to wait an hour for the next one. It is always good to hear about many of the items you miss on your own, then you can walk to see more on your own.

Here is a tribute to Elsie the cow out at Supersweet research farm back in 1968. she also had a hole in her stomach, from which we took samples to look at how she was digesting the feeds.

Could not resist the shot of cabbage with legs, taken for all you Krauts out there.


Cabbage with legs



This set of metal garden chairs and table were surprising nice to sit on and not burning hot in the sun.


Shirleen's orchid shot





Chihuly dancing snakes in the pond



We found all the art, plus Chihuly's work and other stationary art that exists.



Another exhibit on display is Yuko Ono Wishing Grove large trees with strings hanging down and notes attached to strings. Yuko Ono has many of these wishing grove, where people place there notes of peace on the Wish tree.

At sometime the wishes will all be buried deep in the ice in a cave in Iceland.

Conservatively we walked two hours, from one side to the other then another statue to find back to the other side. Got our walk in for the day. My lady again with the Lady of the Park. This time I spoke with here also, this lady died at 108 years old. Yesterday at the Bonnet garden she lived to 109. Something to say about being really wealthy, not just millions.

Jerry talking to The Lady

The ladies gave us some tips on hotels. Again they are not signed before you see them you have to spot there logo on the building or drive. Within a couple miles we finally found a place, Kendall Hotel and Suites, a hotel next to the Baptist hospital, big hospital. Thank goodness we got there around 5, as of 3pm they were full. Shirleen said apparently they had some people released by their doctor. The room is spacious and has a wide sliding glass door to go on the lanai to take in the night air.

The restaurant Paradise Bar and Grill on sight at Kendall Hotel had a limited menu but nice. Shirleen’s stand by a filet with demi-glace sauce, mushrooms, spinach – which I consumed – and a crostine potato. There was a Churrasco steak on the menu, have had one before, highly spiced. It is a marinated skirt steak; a large portion of caramelized onions lying beneath it, mashed potatoes with a gorgonzola topped thickly cut tomato with the chimichurri sauce. Nice dish at half the price of Wildfire’s in the cities which have a great one. jerr