March 24, 2010

We have now visited the Blue Springs State Park. The campground is very nice and we had an excellent spot. The highlight of the park though, is the 1/2 mile boardwalk that follows the spring waters and joins with the St. John's River. This is a big winter spot for Manatees when the ocean waters and the fresh water rivers get too cold. At one point, the park personnel counted more than 300 manatees in the springs during the coldest months of January and February. We visited the park last year and were so impressed that we wanted to revisit it this year. The water is extremely clear, the temperature stays at a constant 72 degrees and swimming is allowed most of the year.

As we walked along the boardwalk, we were able to see several fish - Blue Tilapia, Bass, Long Nose Gar, Cat Fish, Carp and small minnows. The Blue Tilapia is not a native fish, they have been introduced to this area from Africa. They have taken over the waters and Fish and Game personnel are concerned they are driving other species of fish out. They dig their nest in the river/spring bottom - an area about 2 feet in diameter - lay their eggs and then hover over the area until the eggs hatch. All quite interesting. Last week they were laying eggs, this week when we were there they were hovering.

Along the boardwalk from the viewing areas, we saw several manatees. They were still there but starting to move out into the river to eat. They are vegetarians and love the sea grass that grows on the river bottoms. At night when the waters cool, they will swim back into the spring waters until the next morning.

Also on our walk, we spotted several turtles and alligators sunning themselves on tree limbs/roots and along the bank. Of course, in Florida, any body of water is suspect for alligators!

Next stop, Monticello, where my cousin's son and family live. We will do a couple of day trips from there, possibly down to the Gulf of Mexico - about 45 or 50 miles.

March 20, 2010

We have left the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park and have taken many wonderful memories with us. We had a chance to spend time with our friend Debbie Tuel who is the Director of the Agape Home for Women in Moore Haven, and take a few days to heal from the KOA experience. Unfortunately, both of us acquired a nasty cold and we were laid low for a couple of days. On Sunday, while Ken wasn't feeling the best and I was feeling about 2 days better than him, we went on a Swamp Buggy Tour of the Prairie. This swamp buggy has only room for 9 people which includes the driver. The buggy was built on a Ford F150 chassis - the truck bit the dust - and has two transmissions. One for the vehicle itself and the other to put it in 4-WD which we experienced only one time. The tour guide - Tom - was extraordinary. He volunteers January, February and March at the Prairie and the rest of the year he volunteers at the Walusa Springs State Park in the Florida panhandle and at the Fish and Wildlife Center in Monroe, Louisiana. Anyway, he was funny, very knowledgeable about the Prairie and very informative. Here are some of the facts about the Prairie. They have scheduled burns throughout the year and depending on the time of year they burn determines the vegetation of the area. The Loblolly Pine and the Wire Grass need the heat of the fire to burst the seed pods and germinate. If the burn is during the time that doesn't affect these plants, the vegetation turns to Sawtooth Palm plants and greener grassier plants. The most interesting plant we saw was the Oak Tree. This tree is on a horizontal level with the trunk buried in the ground and only about 1 foot of the leaves and branches showing above the ground. You can tell them from other vegetation because the leaves form a big circle in the ground. In this picture, Tom is standing above the trunk with the tree top behind him. Notice the shape. Just one of those weird and wonderful things on this earth.

Next up was having to put the buggy in 4-wd because of the rain. Usually during the winter the roads are extremely dry. Not this year. This was the week of the monsoon rains that everyone in Florida got to experience. As you can see in this picture, the road became a stream and this was the norm for at least 50% of the tour.


The tour was 12 miles long, lasted 3 hours, including the Prairie information and a Pig Dog Rescue. This dog was obviously lost and wanting to be found. She was just standing in the road and followed the buggy to an area that the guide could get over and stop. With some help of some of the passengers they were able to retain the dog - Tom used his belt as a leash - and hold her until the ranger could come get her and return her to her owner - "Spook". Spook hunts the wild boars on the preserve and last year took over 300 boars off and they expect him to do as many this year. They are being hunted and removed because of the damage they are doing to the land by rooting up the ground looking for grubs and tender roots. This is what a small part of what they can do. And a look at the Pig Dog. She is about 16 inches high at the shoulders - not a big dog at all. She was young and Tom thought she probably stopped to get a drink and couldn't catch up with the group.

We saw several birds - Split-Tailed Flycatcher, Black and Turkey Vultures, Eastern Meadowlark, Northern Mockingbird, Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, Red Shouldered Hawk, Crested Cara Cara, Sharp Shinned Hawk, Great Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Wild Turkey, and several Alligators. Florida isn't complete without Alligators - here are my favorites.

One last picture of the Prairie. Next stop - Blue Springs State Park - Manatee Country.

March 10, 2010

A short lesson about alligators. First of all, they grow about 1 foot a year until they reach 6 feet. So a 4 foot alligator would be around 4 years old. Second - they prefer to be above ground but near water. They use the water as their cooling system as they don't have the thermometer that we mammals do. Third, they don't eat much. An 8 foot alligator is happy with a 5 or 6 pound chicken or the equivalent once a week. As they don't metabolize as other animals do, they really don't need much food. And this is an important one - 4th, they only eat when they are hungry, unlike crocodiles that eat just because they can.

We are still at the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, going to visit with our friend Debbie tomorrow and unless something exciting happens, you won't hear from us until next week.

Have a good week.

March 8, 2010

Today we decided to go exploring. One of the campers in the Preserve told Ken that an alligator was just around the corner so off we went - me armed with my camera and Ken armed with his walking stick to fend off the alligator if he got excited. Of course, a lot of good that little walking stick would be against this 8 foot alligator. We walked around the corner and kept checking out the water and the bank and finally, Ken spotted the "giant" alligator. The "giant" was only about 3 to 4 feet long - still a youngster. We laughed about the size as we were really expecting something a little more impressive. As we turned back to walk back to our campsite, we decided we should go down to the area where there were 2 Crested Caracara's. So, into the truck we go and as we round the corner where we spotted the alligator - there he was and starting to move towards us when he disappeared into a hole that goes under the road. As we look up across the water - about 8 feet further out, here is this huge alligator, half submerged. Now this is what we were looking for -- big. Off we go to find the birds - get there, sit there for awhile and nothing. Ok - so we will check it out when we get back from the grocery store. First lunch at McDonald's and then to find a good place to sit out of the sun to make necessary phone calls, get online and make some more reservations at a couple more state parks and then we are heading back to the Prairie Preserve - about 3 hours later!!

Back in the Preserve we are determined to see the Caracara's. I spotted one on the phone pole before we got back to the park. They have a flat head with a beak like an eagle and are pretty big birds. We stopped again in the area the pair was supposed to be but again nothing so we moved on. When we rounded a bend in the road, Ken spotted some deer grazing up ahead so we stopped and got the binoculars out - 2 does. About a mile down the road, we spotted 4 more does in the field and as we got into the camping area, next to the office in the field was a button buck - all alone. Oh yes, we spotted another alligator near where the first deer were and he was just a little one, about 3 feet long. And as far as the other alligators we had seen on the way out, they were still there but it was getting cooler so they would be moving soon into deepr water for the night.

I forgot to tell you about the darkness here. Last night we opened our door on the rv to look outside and it was DARK! There are not any lights in the park so there isn't any interference with star watching -- awesome.

As far as pictures go - I have to reacquaint myself to the camera and how to download pictures so they will follow later.

Tomorrow we are staying put - maybe look for the Caracaras again and of course, the alligators - they are always interesting, even if they don't do much. Guess when you are looking at them, it is a good thing that they aren't doing much.

More later.

March 6, 2009

Well . . . the good news is that we are officially "retired". The bad news is how it happened. It definitely wasn't pretty - we were fired on Thursday and thrown out of the Daytona Beach KOA. It was a shock to both of us but as they say - all things happen for a reason and we are waiting for the answer to this one.

We traveled south from Port Orange and spent thursday night in a Flying J truck stop just outside of Fort Pierce as campsites were not to be found - anywhere. On Friday we went to the Kissimmee Prairie Preservse State Park but no sites there until Sunday so we kept on traveling until we got to Okeechobee and found a campground, actually a county park and marina, we are now staying until Sunday. Tomorrow we will head back to the Prairie Preserve and stay there for a number of days. With us being Florida residents the fees for state parks are half price for residents so it will cost us $8.00 plus tax a night. Can't beat that! Plus the benefit besides the price will be the wildlife that is abundant in the park.

So for a brief synopsis of the bad news - 1. got thrown out of the park 2. No room at any of the inns 3. pulled out of the Flying J and clipped the motor home's mirror, took it off and broke our dining room window 4. Got another phone call from the owner of the Daytona Beach KOA with several more untrue accusations and told no pay check 5. And lastly, when we got to the marina and park and had a few moments to chill out - decided to take a ride and had a dead battery. Decided that was enough of the bad stuff and made the decision that we will go forward and grow from our experiences. Watch for updates on these situation.

The best thing about today is we were able to have time with our friend that lives in Moore Haven and is the director for the Agape Home, a home for wounded women - drugs, jail, alcohol and the like. These women coming out of there after a year are blessed to say the least and I believe the success rate is in the 90% and up bracket.

I will be posting periodically on this blogspot until we get back to Pennsylvania and finally in May leave for Alaska. Til then - have a wonderful day or day's until then.