Monthly Archives: February 2014

The Tamiami Trail and Big Cypress

We were tired after such a big day before, so we slept in until after 8AM.  I made a breakfast of pancakes and sausages, coffee & OJ while Louise rinsed out the stuff from the beach. The RV was a mess, so we cleaned it up, and tried to take some spots out of the rug that we had gotten early in the trip, with limited success. I had stepped in something in the Carolinas that had something in it that really attracted dirt.

I completed some comment sheets I obtained and gave then my fifty cents on Flamingo and Long Pine Key campground that involved ownership by the personnel, and how the park service via Congress is in the process of abandoning the personnel and the parks. We spoke with Kate and Scott, the campground hosts, who take care of things for free, in return for a spot to stay and electricity, and asked them to pass RK4_4003onto Gretchen, a camper we met earlier on the east coast of Florida weeks earlier, that there was camping in the keys at Long Pine Key in the primitive section and it looked really nice even if the bathrooms were fairly far removed from the primitive sites.  The world is truly a small place. Always be on your best behavior.  The conversation evolved into a really nice discourse regarding how things get done at the park, the broad ecosystem, and places to look for on the next leg of our trip. Continue reading →

Biscayne National Park

We got up at 7:30 AM, figuring that since it was Sunday, and we had a kind of schedule in mind so we figured that on the way we would check out Eco Pond.  When we arrived at the pond the parking area was just about full, so parking the RV was a challenge. WE finally wandered over to the pond we found more cameras than birds. The assumed professional who needs teenagers to get good wildlife photos from the day before at Mahogany Hammock was there taking shots of one of the roseate spoonbills.  Continue reading →

Flamingo to Homestead & Back

We started the day slowly and straightened up and organized things before we left the site, after we packed everything up; didn’t know if we would be back, we needed fuel, propane, and water.  The gauges for the levels seem to be incorrect.  We had a full load of water before coming out to Flamingo and the grey water and black water tanks were registering a flicker over empty by the time the water was indicating gone.  Later in the day, after we filled up to the point that the tank was overflowing, the gauge reads 2/3 full. Perplexing. Continue reading →

Everglades, Sightseeing at Flamingo

We slept, but it was really, hot. The fan we bought at the truck stop after the trip to West Virginia is loud, and Louise thought that it was the neighbor’s VERY loud generator going all night.  Fortunately, she is a kind and gentle soul and did not storm over to the next site and demand, unlike her not so shy husband, that the offending source of noise be quieted.  It was 81 when we got up, and just got hotter as the day progressed.  We had breakfast outdoors, cleaned up very little, and took off walking. Continue reading →