Day 26 26 November 2015 Davenport to Highlands Hammock SP (ca 85 miles)
Highlands Hammock State Park is one of the first Florida parks. The CCC was active in its formation.
Mule deer near the park entrance.
[Pine woods ?] treefrog hiding in a portaloo near the CCC museum at Highlands Hammock.
The park had a 1PM ranger tour of the park.
We were pulled in a trailer which jerked and bumped noisily on the rough roads, occasionally drowning out the commentary.
The vegetation changed dramatically as the elevation changed by only a few feet. This is a pine and saw palmetto forest.
A few feet lower and we were in a bay tree wetland.
Alligator in South Canal.
After the tour we went to see the cypress swamp.
Floating plants, including duckweed or water-meal. Each Wolffia flower consists of a single pistil and stamen; it also produces the world's smallest fruit, called a utricle. The plant is found in quiet freshwater lakes or marshes with species worldwide. [from https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/smallestflower.html ]
The cypress swamps were quite dark below the high canopy.
Purple pickerel weed
The campsites were close together and all occupied over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Thanksgiving dinner -- Turkey breast, gravy, green beans, sweet potato and cranberry sauce, with apple pie for desert.
After dark we took a walk around the campground. Many families were still enjoying their Thanksgiving dinners.
Christmas lights and decorations were at many of the sites.
Day 27 27 November 2015: Highlands Hammock to Fort Myers (154 miles)
This [pine woods ?] treefrog tried to hitch a ride on our propane cylinder when we were packing up in the morning.
From Highlands Hammock we headed southwest toward the Gulf of Mexico coast of Florida.
Orange orchard near Arcadia.
Causeway from Fort Myers to Sanibel Island.
Our first stop was the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge ... but it was Friday so the wildlife drive on the inland, Pine Sound side of the island was closed "to give the wildlife a rest", of course.
Still, the visitor center was open. It included a lot about Darling. He started the National Wildlife Refuge system under FDR. He was a prolific cartoonist
He was a prolific cartoonist and skilled enough as an artist to design the first "Duck Stamp". This is his original artwork for the stamp.
Although the wildlife drive was closed we did some of the Indigo Trail from the visitor center.
Sea grape Coccoloba uvifera
Strangler fig
White ibis
It was too hot to go the full length of the Indigo Trail so we decided to go to Bowman's Beach where there was a cool sea breeze from the gulf. The beach is known for its shells, but most were broken.
Willet
Semipalmated sandpiper
Black-bellied plover
Snowy egret
Day 28 28 November 2015: Fort Myers to Flamingo FL Everglades NP (199 miles)
To get to the Everglades we needed to get back towards the Atlantic coast on the Tamiami Trail. We stopped in Ochopee FL at the smallest post office in the US to mail a birthday card to Ansel.
Alligators at Oasis Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve.
Once again we could use our National Park passes to get free admission to the National Park plus a camp site for half price. The pass is available to every US citizen or resident over the age of 62 for the one-time cost of $10. The passes are not good at state parks such as Florida's Highland Hammock, but the work at most federal facilities such as National Forests and BLM campgrounds.
We went directly to Flamingo to get a campsite. No need to rush as the campground was just over half full. The campground and visitor center were just opening for the winter season after a wet summer.
Marina and shop at Flamingo FL
It wasn't easy being a wildlife warden in the early days.
Nickerbean, Gray nicker (Caesalpinia bonduc) seed pods
Another treefrog hiding out in the toilet block. Green treefrog
Red mangrove with bean-lke propagules.
American crocodile Crocodylus acutus at Flamingo boat launch site.
Poisonwood Caution! The leaves, branches, and trunk of this tree exude a sap which, when touched, can cause a severe rash. Poisonwood is common in pinelands, hammocks, and around parking lots. Learn to recognise its glossy leaves with black spots and yellow mid-vein ending in a drip tip. Its orange berries are an important food for many birds, including white-crowned pigeons. [From NPS sign]
Sabal palm Residents of the Everglades have long sought out Swamp Cabbage for food shelter. The cabbage-like growing tip and abundant berries were an important food for Native Americans, while the umbrella-shaped palm fronds, draped in hanging threads, were used to roof their open-air homes or chickees. Look closely for evidence that wildlife is using this palm as well. [From NPS signˆ]
Day 29 29 November 2015: Flamingo FL (53 miles)
We took the 9am inland tour from Flamingo. As it was early in the morning and early in the season, we were the only ones on the tour. Our guide was Roulex from Guyana. He knew a lot about the plants, animals, ecology and history of the area.
Manchineel tree -- every part is toxic, including the sweet fruits. Ponce de Leon is said to have died when attacked in western Florida by Calusa indians using arrows tipped with the poisonous sap.
Walking roots -- the red mangroves
The channel from Flamingo opens out into the vast Wilderness Waterway stretching 160 kilometers north to Everglades City.
Anhinga
West Lake Boardwalk went through a mangroves to West Lake
Mahogany Hammock
The vegetation of the hammocks produce acids that erode the underlying limestone, creating a moat around the hammock.
Spider lily
Morning glory -- a species native to the Everglades.
This turtle was walking down the main highway and car loads of tourists were stopping for a picture. We got a photo too, but then returned it to the water.
A pair of Ospreys had a nest near our campground.
Mosquitos were around all of the time, but as the sun went down, they got worse, which was just fine for this [invasive Cuban ?] treefrog that hopped onto our table.
The mosquitos were not just fine with us, so we fought back with a clever bit of technology, a Thermacell™. We learned about these from some hunters going out to Sapelo Island for a deer cull. The Thermacell burns butane to heat a pad impregnated with a mosquito repellent. The bumph on the package said we'd get protection within a 15-foot radius. It may not have been that good, but it sure made the evenings more pleasant.
Day 30 30 November 2015 Flamingo to Palm Beach Shores (180 miles)
We woke up to a flock (wake, committee, volt, kettle, venue) of about a dozen black vultures on our table. By the time we had a camera they had scattered,
but lingered in the area.
What a difference three feet can make.
Florida panthers are endangered and suffering from mercury poisoning, all the more reason to warn motorists to beware.
We heard about an old missile site near the Everglades and went to investigate. At the end of a dirt road there was a locked gate and this aging sign. The QR code didn't work for us, but you can read about it here.
The attempt to visit the missile site delayed our arrival at the Royal Palm Visitor Center just enough so we made the start of a ranger talk along the Anhinga Trail.
Anhinga drying its wings. Little blue heron lower left.
Gumbo limbo tree
Just outside the park boundary near Homestead the land was drained for agriculture.
Acres of plastic mulch covered growing crops.
Beautiful pictures. Just love them all. Good luck.
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