Sun. Jan. 31-Thu. Feb. 4: Sunday
we all were up in time to go to the 9:30 service at Emmanuel UCC, just down
Hammock Road from the park. It was a nice service followed by a lively social
hour where people all sat at long tables. It helped us see the advantage of
Edgewood, where there are only a few tables set up so those who need to may
sit, but others move around and there are much better opportunities to visit.
After lunch Kris expressed a desire to see more of Florida so we all piled in
our truck and Marv drove us to Lake Okeechobee. The town of Okeechobee is at
the top of the lake and there is a city park with a walking/biking trail along
the top of the levee and a fishing pier on a channel that is high enough that
we could get a little glimpse of the lake in the distance beyond a small,
grassy island. But in general one can’t see much of the lake because of the
high levee. The town itself is poor and depressing and, because it was Sunday
night, there weren’t many places open to eat. We ended up at Parrot Island
restaurant where we all had seafood—the guys had blackened catfish and Heidi
and I each had a Seaside Cobb salad with blackened shrimp in it. It was
delicious! It was well after dark when we got back to the campsite but we
played games for a while before bed.
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| Channel and island at Okeechobee |
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| Great Blue Heron along the channel |
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| Looking across the channel from the top of the levee at Lake Okeechobee |
Monday
at 9:00 we all attended a Naturalist led walk on the Fern Garden trail. As
we started out the alligator and snake were not in sight. There was a very
large group and the naturalist, Susan Woodrow, who usually does the hikes with
her husband was on her own so she felt a little overwhelmed but she did a nice
job. She talked a lot about the flora and less about the fauna but did point out
a large red shouldered hawk near the end. By the time the group had circled
back on the trail to our starting point both the Cottonmouth (probably the one we
had seen on Friday in the same place?) and the alligator, whom Susan calls
“Fern” because of the trail, had made their appearance. I also talked to two
men at the end of the hike who were discussing their days at MSU when they were
younger. It seems like everywhere we go, we run into people with ties to MSU,
or at least to the state of Michigan. Each
couple had errands to run and things to do in town so we went our separate ways
until around 3:00, when we drove together to a “Par 3” golf course on the other
side of Sebring. It was only $12 for nine holes with a cart so we forgave them
the condition of the course itself, which turned out not to be a par 3 at all. Kris
had left all his woods in his camper and Peggy and I had left our drivers in
the truck, so it was an interesting game.
Kris managed to make par on the par 5 hole, with only his irons, not
bad. As usual we let the guys go first
and Heidi and I spent a very pleasant time knocking the ball all over the
place. Heidi lost three balls but actually made par on one hole with a great
drive to the green. As usual, I had some nice drives but blew it on putting so
I still have never made par. I didn’t lose any balls though. We were the last
ones on the course, it was partly sunny and 83°, and we saw lots of birds
including osprey, a great blue heron, and sand hill cranes so it couldn’t have
been more enjoyable. We were hot, tired and sweaty by the time we got back so
after quick showers I made a chicken stir fry for all four of us, they brought
a good dry red wine and we chatted and relaxed in our screen tent until an
early bedtime.
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| Cottonmouth |
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| Fern the alligator |
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| Primrose |
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| Red shouldered hawk |
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| This is why it's called Fern Garden walk |
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| Naturalist Susan Woodrow |
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| Heidi and Peggy on the last hole |
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| Great Blue Heron beside a water trap |
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| Sandhill Cranes in the Rough |
Marv got up early on Tuesday
and got tickets for the 1:00 Tram ride of the park for the four of us. We’ve done
the ride every year we’ve been here and it’s always fun because it takes you
into the back country of this large park that is inaccessible otherwise. The
water is still very high because of all the rain and we saw more wildlife than
we remember from the past, including lots of alligators, turtles, and
especially birds. One part of the Bay Gull swamp area was full of feeding
Ibises. After the ride we rode our bikes up to the gate to get a phone signal
and call Ken and Jen. Ken gave us the good news that they are 98.5% sure they
are having a GIRL! They have an official Tech appointment in three weeks which
will be even more accurate but it’s looking good. Of course, we will adore
whatever gender but Jen especially is hoping for a girl so we’re pleased for
her. Kris and Heidi were running errands and doing some internet work in town
so the two of us made deviled eggs, a salad, and a four cheese rice mixture to
finish off a Vegetarian Day. When they returned we played more Golf (card game)
and Euchre with a fan blowing on us in their trailer and were very comfortable
despite the warm evening.
Wednesday was
our day to drive to Siesta Key to visit Louise Sternberg and give Heidi and
Kris a chance to catch a glimpse of the beaches on the Gulf. We took mostly
highways and farm roads and made good time until we got very near her place.
Louise arrived Monday and as still settling in but looked at home in her little
apartment at Siesta Sun, an old, low, but well-kept and updated line of
walkthrough, one story apartments among 4 and 5 story buildings. After a short
visit she sent us out to walk the beach on the powdery white sand without her.
There has been a “Red Tide” warning along there for a while and there were
loads of large clams and small conches at the high tide line. I don’t really
understand it all but apparently the decaying material, though not terribly
smelly, causes many people to cough, which is what we all did. But it was
beautiful and sunny and 83° so we were happy to be there. We took Louise across
the street to her favorite Captain Curt’s for lunch and all had some sort of
seafood basket. Heidi and I also had their world renowned Clam Chowder, which
as fantastic and very filling. Should have skipped the fish basket!
We dropped
Louise at her apartment and then drove about 45 minutes away to explore Mayaka
State Park, where we have been twice and camped once. The water level there was
VERY high so the alligators that customarily laze on the Mayaka River bank by
the bridge were nowhere to be seen; the banks were full of water. The hammock
floor was also full of water in most of the park. We walked around the lakeside
concession area a bit but the walk to the fishing weir was completely flooded.
Across the access canal there we did see three large alligators sunning
themselves. We drove all the way out to the Bird Walk, which was thankfully
still above but completely surrounded by water. It is quiet and peaceful so we
tarried and watched an alligator slowly swimming and repositioning herself, a
Great Blue Heron fishing, and a small tricolor heron or two hunting in the
shallows. At the Canopy Walk we found the path was very flooded but we could
pick our way to the towers by stepping on patches of higher ground or on
palmetto fronds others had placed in the pathway. The entrance tower was
completely surrounded by water so we had to enter at the exit tower before
climbing up, up, up for a bird’s eye view of the park and to walk on the
suspended swinging “bridge” between the towers. Our final stop at Mayaka was at
the Visitors Center, where we saw the displays and watched all five short
videos on the history and ecology of the park. It was dark as we made our way
back to Highlands Hammock and stopped in Zopho at a local Mexican restaurant
that turned out to have good reviews and good food. We still weren’t terribly
hungry after our big lunch so three of us had their Taco Salad. Safely back at
the campground, Kris and Heidi began doing some packing to be ready to leave on
Thursday.
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| Tricolor Heron |
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| Bird's Eye View |
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| The observation tower |
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| Kris picking his way through the water |
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| The Osprey caught a feast |
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