Rain, Shine and Swamps

Friday the 18th

It started raining during the night. It was expected. Just not the volume. By the time we got up around 7:15 AM, the creek behind us was rising... fast. After putting on a rain coat I took the kids out for their morning walk. It was pretty quick, I was wet through by the time we got back. After drying them off I stepped back outside and notice we had forgotten to bring the big awning back in and there was probably thirty gallons of water in it. We had all our Christmas lights strung and lit.

Standing on the ladder I slowly got all the lights unstrung then grabbing a broom and pushing it up against the awning from underneath, I managed to spill most of the water out. With Tina at the switch inside the coach we tried to bring it in (electric in and out awning). No luck. We tried several times before I realized that the big roller was bent in a big curve from being weighed down with all that water. So I got the ladder and by using my hands to help roll the roller tube we managed to bring the awning in.

Coming in after being out in the downpour, I stripped and put my swim suit on. While I was changing Tina told me we had a leak in the shower. Sure enough, water was seeping out around the skylight over the shower. So I grabbed a screwdriver and took the inner dome off. I knew we had a serious problem when several of the screws came out looking like beavers had gnawed the threads off the middle of the screws and they were all wet and rusted. Sure enough, the outer skylight was leaking and water was soaking into the backing for the vinyl headliner. The backing is a 3/8's inch foam and it was soaked.

I spent the next hour squeegeeing the water out from behind the headliner. Fortunately, the rain began to taper off and had stopped by the time I got the majority of the water out. After toweling off and cleaning up the shower I called Tom's Mobile RV Service. By now its nearly lunch time so I fixed a sandwich, had a pop and a yogurt and settled down to wait. They were able to come out within a couple of hours and after looking at the situation agreed to come back the following Tuesday to repair the problem and seal the rest of the roof. Wheeeeewwww!!

With everything under control, my neighbor Fernando and I went to the Sharks Den for a couple of hours. When I got home Tina had pot of black bean chili ready. With a dollop of sour cream it was delicious. We watched a movie after dinner and called it quits around 10:30 after a very long day.

No photos today.


Saturday the 19th

Its cooling off and drying out. The cold front moving in from the north is pushing a lot of wind. Enough to make going for our morning bike ride a real hassle. The creek finally quit rising about three inches below the top of the bank. So we decided to take it easy this morning and do a bike ride later in the afternoon.

Eventually the temperature made it into the sixties so we had lunch and saddled up to ride into town. After getting over to US 41 we took a right on 10th St to stop at the old "Train Depot" where Santa was giving rides to kids on an old 1/20th scale train that made a circuit of the depot building and parking lot. Inside, the model railroad club had set up a huge model train display where half a dozen trains wound their way through mountains and towns. The display was at least twelve feet wide and thirty feet long. It took two operators to keep everything running smoothly.

There were platforms all around the display so kids could get close to the trains. Buttons were placed all around the edges that the kids could push that would light up different buildings, activate a ferris wheel, load and unload logs and barrels, etc. It was really neat!! The last time I saw this big a working display was fifty years ago at the Lionel Train Store on Hwy 99 in Des Moines, WA.

Leaving the train Depot we rode through town over to Gulf Shore Blvd and then south for three miles through Port Royal to the mouth of the Cocohatchee River. Turning around we wound our way through Port Royal looking at all the beautiful mansions and estates. Returning to 2nd St we rode north back to town and over to the "Boardwalk" Shops for an ice cream. Finishing our afternoon treat, we rode home. Since we probably did about 12 miles total, that our exercise for the day.

It only got up to 66 degrees oday so we closed the door to the coach and spent the rest of the day relaxing.

No photos today.


Sunday the 20th

Since it's Sunday, Tina fixed Bacon and Eggs with Toast and Jam. After breakfast we watched our regular Sunday morning TV program while we waited for the temperature to get up into the sixties. Around 11:00 AM we decided to drive to the "Fakahatchee Strand Preserve" down by Everglades City. Since it was cool we took the kids with us hoping to give them some exercise.

It was about thirty miles to the entrance to Fakahatchee Preserve State Park. The Fakahatchee Strand is a forested swamp about 20 miles long and five miles wide where the underlying limestone has dissolved to form a shallow, seasonally-flooded depression with a canopy characterized by bald cypress, red maple and royal palm trees. Within Fakahatchee Strand, deeper channels called sloughs provide a protective environment for tropical plants that cannot survive South Florida’s extreme temperatures.

Water flowing through layers of organic soils allow smaller trees to form a rain forest-like mid canopy,with lots of bromeliads and orchids. The southern portion of the Preserve is composed of salt marshes and mangroves which border Fakahatchee Bay. During the rainy season, fresh water flows southward into the Gulf of Mexico, gradually mixing with the salt water of the Ten Thousand Islands, creating conditions for a highly productive estuarine ecosystem.

The park’s wildlife is as diverse as its flora. Imperiled species such as the American crocodile and the West Indian manatee dwell in the mangrove lined waterways to the south, while wood storks, bald eagles, Florida black bears, Everglades mink and Florida panthers make their home elsewhere in the park. While there we planned on doing a short drive in the park called "Janes Scenic Drive", an 11 mile ride through the Fakahatchee.

After turning off County Road 29 we passed through the small community of Copeland. As the paved road turned north we passed the forestry tower at the Preserve Administrative Office. As we drove off the pavement the road ahead was unpaved - a combination of shell and crushed rock . With Tina at the wheel we slowly made our way forward asking ourselves if we really wanted to do this. Since there wasn't anyone around to ask, nor any signs about what lay ahead, we decided to push on with our morning adventure.

The sun quickly burned off the morning cloud cover. After driving for a few miles on rough washboard, the road smoothed out as we left an open wetland prairie, heading to the forest. Here the road is a dirt path, barely allowing two cars to pass with trees on either side and a small drainage canal running along the roadside. We stopped several times to see what was stirring in the roadside ponds and to enjoy the quiet and peacefulness. At the end of the road is a slow moving canal with numerous wading birds out for lunch.

We turned around to retrace our course, we stopped at a small man made lake, the result of quarrying. As we parked by the pond, there was a large flock of vultures in the trees and on the ground, it looked like there were over 80 birds in a half acre. We continued through Copeland and back to CR 29. Heading south we crossed US 41 and drove to Everglades City for lunch. A small town on the gulf coast, Everglades City is a tourist town economically dependant on nature tourism, sportfishing, and commercial crabbing. It is also the gateway to the 10,000 Islands, a paddlers paradise.

We ate lunch in a restaurant dedicated to old cars and petroleum memorabilia. Sitting next to a 1902 Oldsmobile we had hamburgers and fries, not bad. It was pretty quiet in town, our waitress said it doesn't really get busy until after Christmas. We decided not to go to the Everglades Museum and to drive to the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk up on US 41.

We parked and put the leashes on the kids. After reading the introductory material we learned that the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk was taking us into the wetlands of Fakahatchee. The swamps recharge the underground water supply in the porous limestone while helping to moderate the climate and maintain moisture to guard against wildfires. The Fakahatchee Strand is a major drainage slough of the Big Cypress Swamp and a part of the greater Everglades ecosystem. Water drains through the swamps of the strand, to the mangroves of the 10,000 islands and the Gulf of Mexico.

Walking along the boardwalk, we crossed into the central slough, the deepest part of the Fakahatchee Strand. The dominant trees are bald cypress, native royal palm trees, sable palms, pop ash and pond apple, a tree of East Indian origin. Pop ash and pond apple are small trees with multiple trunks and rough bark that support the growth of epiphytic orchids, ferns and bromeliads. Reaching the end of the we found a beautiful pond, a good example of an alligator hole. A water sanctuary for many types of animals, especially during dry periods. There was at least one young alligator basking in the sun along with several wading birds.

Walking back we saw a huge eagles nest where a couple of young birds were being watched over by one of their parents while the other was away foraging. Bald eagles mate for life and always return to the same nest. Over the years, as nests are repaired and continually built upon they can reach depths of twenty feet and eight feet across. This one had been continuously occupied since 1991 and looked to be about six feet across.

Returning to the car we headed home only to pass a flock of Wood Storks along the road in an area still wet from the recent rains. They appeared to be searching out small critters for lunch. Mixed in with them were several small Black Ibis, Snowy Egrets and a couple of Cattle Egrets. After stopping for photos we returned home where I grabbed my cue and headed over to the Sharks Den for a two hour session with Fernando.

After dinner Tina and I pretty much settled in for the evening.

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