My Week at Trail Lakes Campground-Part 2

Greetings and welcome back. I couldn't resist capturing these two memes from FB. My AC is working fine keeping Winnie a comfortable 77 inside. My winter blanket away, the spring lite weight now in use.

And this from my neighbors at the River House in Peekskill. You may not be New England but I'm sure the sentiment is the same with the relentless weather serving up another round of freezing rain and ice. 

And Skunk Ape headquarters

With great anticipation, I await granddaughter, Sara, who will drive about an hour to spend hopefully, a relaxing few days with "Poppa Charlie." Being a vegetarian, she'll be bringing her own food of which one meal will be my grilling Veggie Burgers...a first. No, not for grilling, but eating a veggie burger. My report pending...

I took a walk around the pond for some photos:

Sara took a peek inside one of them.

They say the key to survival is adaptation.

From the other side of the lake toward my site...behind the clump.

Clumps like these palms keep campsites private from one another.

The bath house. The campground is within
the Big Cypress National Preserve

I love the plush flora

Think this satellite dish is serving any purpose?

While relaxing amidst warm, gentle breezes, I observed:

Why just one?

So far, every day has been a gin and tonic day
or a wine day
or a beer day.
And yes, Tony, I'm drinking water.

Friday afternoon, Sara arrived with necessary
items for a relaxing weekend--for her.

Wood...

...Wine

and Wilderness

Wood, Wine and the Wilderness; how can it get any better?

In a matter of...

...minutes, her...

...sleeping quarters were ready.

Dinner that night consisted of her homemade macaroni salad and 'veggie burgers.' Well, this new experience had to be tried before I could pass judgement. I've always said, "don't tell me you don't like it if you've never tried it." Well, it was my turn to "eat my words." I did and it passed muster...although I used ketchup and cheese. Even with more calories than beef patties, I enjoyed my meal and won't poo poo the foo foo meal. 

With temps dropping down to the mid-60s,
campfires each night were perfect. We went 
through five bundles.

Sara's keen eye spotted a Monarch

SATURDAY'S HIKE THROUGH 10,000 ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

No problemo...we saw seven. Had we gone a bit
further along the trail we would have seen four more.

A more gentle species, the Gulf fritillary or...

Passion butterfly.

A bird watcher's dream come true. More than 360 species
have been sighted and categorized into either wading birds,
land birds or birds of prey. The numbers of swimming or wading
birds seen from the observation tower was impressive. This is
truly a "preserve" where Nature, left alone, produces magnificent
spectacles 

The Anhinga

The unique root system of the mangrove.

Observation tower for great photography

Gator No. 1

Zooming in for a closer look...

..up close and person. Side to side at the abdomen
it had to be close to 24".

A little further along, Gator No. 2...

...and just to its left, Gator No. 3

Sara passing by a couple perhaps bringing lunch to the local inhabitants.

Difficult to see but Gators Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7 basking on the shoreline.

Gator No. 7 far right

To the left, Gator No. 6

Zoomed as much as my camera allowed.

A scene of tranquility. When sundown brings a dip in the temperature,
those basking beauties will return to the warm waters and silently swim away.

On our way back, we caught a glimpse of a 
Great Egret in our line of sight of Gator No. 2

Young mangroves dotting the surface of the "River of Grass."

A Wood Stork on the left, pelican on the right.

An Anhinga perched on a branch, ...

...posed for a dive...

  

...into his own territory to fish.

Like cormorants, their bodies are less buoyant which enhances
their diving skills and cause them to swim with most of their bodies
underwater.

We watched this one dive 6 or 7 times surfacing with a fish
in its beak more often than not.

It remained underwater several minutes each time and 
swam with its tail feathers spread open.

Evidence of an old fire.

Great White Egret

On the way home, the chance of rain forecasted began to materialize and provided some beautiful cloud formations.

 

Sara, while driving, spotted this stationary gator along with....

...two Manatees.  We made a U-turn and returned to get some shots. All I could see were two massive submerged, brownish areas in the water; they never surfaced nor did they seem to be going anywhere.

The glare of the afternoon sun prevented a better look.
The second was behind (to the left) of the first. The way they float
just below the surface, it's no wonder that boater's are their biggest danger.

BACK AT THE CAMPGROUND AND A VISIT TO THE REPTILE EXHIBIT

OUTSIDE

One of two mating pairs living on the premises...H-U-G-E

Not real

One of the other pair.

The endangered Florida panther...about 60 left.

Blink, blink...another week has just flown by. Tomorrow I'm headed for Delray Beach for another week of visiting friends and relatives. The two hour trip northeast will take me across Alligator Alley (I-75) to I-95 north. Thanks for joining me here in the Everglades. See you in Delray. Stay warm and safe.

My Week at Trail Lakes Campground

 

Trail Lakes Campground is a unique campground. Be sure to click on the link to see some great drone photography that gives the full flavor of this special environment in which this campground resides. I've always wanted to "be in the Everglades."  The name itself conjures mystery and wonder. Everyone knows this vast, largely uncharted biosphere is home to numerous rare and endangered species like:

American Alligator and American Crocodile...

...the elusive Florida state animal, the Florida Panther. There are
only 70-160 left depending on what you read; and...

...the Manatee.

A common sight traveling south on SR-29; every mile
or so, drivers are alerted. Being they are nocturnal hunters,
speed limits are posted, "55 DAY, 45 NIGHT." 

Researching the Everglades, I learned

• the Everglades is actually a river that's constantly moving...from Lake Okeechobee to the north southward some sixty miles wide and a hundred miles long. It too is being destroyed by construction and related drainage projects;
• that it's the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators coexist in the same environment. Crocs tend to occupy the more coastal salty areas while gators prefer the inland fresh water;
• that it provides drinking water for 7 million Floridians;
• that there are nine habitats providing a home to 16 endangered or threatened species; and
• fire is common in the Everglades and important. It's necessary to maintain the complex system of interdependent ecosystems allowing them to thrive.

Speaking of fire, Tuesday afternoon George and Vicki picked me up for an afternoon of air boating out of Everglade City and an early dinner to follow. The incredible air boating experience will follow but after dinner about 6:30 when they were bringing me back to my campground about 10 miles east, we were stopped and told that a wildfire ahead has caused US-41 to be shut down; Officer said it may be twenty minutes or a couple of hours. We were five miles away and there were no roads to circumvent the affected area and come in from the other direction. I spent the time waiting back at G/V's  RV. After contacting the Highway Patrol periodically, we got the 'all clear' around 10:00 pm. I was grateful my RV was not involved in yet another fire.

THE CAMPGROUND:

Approaching campground entrance on SR-41. Miami 80 miles straight ahead.

Office, Store, Museum, Reptile Exhibit and Skunk Ape Research Center.

Read all about the massive, smelly 7', 700 pound primate HERE.

The Skunk Ape: Florida's Bigfoot/Yeti 

The campground is gated and an entrance code is needed.
George provided this photo; he said the test is to see if
you can figure out the code. If you said, 1, 2, 3, 4, you're correct.
Guess the 5 is pushed for extra measure.

Water, 30-amp service but no sewer.

A small picnic table and a 3' galvanized fire ring.

A few steps through the brush gives an idyllic look at one of the ponds.
(A pond become a lake when it's deep enough and cannot support plant life.)

A Chickee Hut

"The Indigenous built Everglades chickees are styled after the original native American chickee huts and are built by locally residing Seminole native Americans. The thatched roofs allow air to pass underneath and through during the Florida Everglades summer months."

Lots goin' on beneath the surface. School of fish no doubt.

AN AIRBOAT ADVENTURE:

Vicki's excellent choice of airboat tour companies afforded us
an incredible 90 minute tour; one of the best adventures I've
ever experienced.

This family owned and operated has a small fleet with the quietest airboats we've seen (and heard). Check out their website HERE for great drone shots. Our tour through the "River of Grass" was captained and narrated by the owner's son-in-law, Steven.

Instructions and tips for making our trip safe and educational.

We lucked out by being the only three scheduled for the 2:30 pm tour.
Well designed for the task, the headsets allowed for two way conversation
with Steven while muffling the sound of blades moving the air. This company
developed a manifold system that greatly reduced the engine noise. Nothing
could be done to reduce the sound of the blades.

There's no way I could describe and share the wonder of the Florida mangroves. Captain Steven says it takes 2-3 months of training (and memorizing) the routes before they let drivers out on their own. There are 496,000 acres of mangroves. 

The main reason I chose to include the Everglades in my Winter Adventure itinerary was so I could meet up with granddaughter, Sara who lives and works in Miami. After graduating URI, she continued her education and is also a 2020 graduate from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science with a degree in Professional Science. She has interned and written extensively on the Protection and Management of Mangrove Ecosystems in Blue Parks Marine Protected Areas by Region. In July she accepted a full time job with

Florida International University as a Senior Researcher in their Coastal Wetland Ecology lab based in North Miami and is conducting field work in Everglades National Park. She's also worked the beaches of Miami during the sea turtle hatching season (March to October). 120 miles of the Florida coast is home to the annual event. She worked her area late night and early morning patrols to protect against racoons, birds and humans to make sure these little critters made it safely to the ocean.

I was so fortunate to have this tour in her backyard...her playground. She is my mangrove guru.  She's studying mangrove ecology and using GIS for her research which mainly focuses on impacts from sea level rise and climate change. She's in charge of directing graduate students on mangrove surveys which includes driving their research boat through the Everglades. She's been focused on mangroves throughout her masters degree and has found her true dream job in Miami.

After viewing some sites along the tour, I've included a one-minute clip of the experience.

We passed V/G's RV. at Everglade Isles  
Alas, Stella was not in the window waving.

Mangrove roots dropping from branches above.

On the way out, Captain Steve caught a glimpse and we slowed down.

On the return trip, the basking gator at the edge of the grove changed positions.
Thanks to a great camera and the ability to zoom.

Your bio lesson for today: Mangroves are halophytes (salt tolerant plants) due to the fact that their main water source is derived from the ocean. There are three main ways in which mangroves control the salt absorbed from the water. These include Accumulation in which salt is stock piled in certain parts of the plant for example, leaves, until it reaches a high concentration and the portion of the plant is shed. Alternatively, Excretion is the process by which salt is removed from the plant via the salt glands on the upper surface of the plants leaves. Finally, Exclusion occurs in the membranes in the root systems of some mangroves, these membranes disunite the salt from the water allowing the plant to absorb the water whilst excluding the majority of the salt."

Source: https://homebushmangrove-ecosystem.weebly.com/mangrove-adaptions.html

The upper side of a mangrove leaf has a thin coating of salt. 

The murky brown color of the water is due to the decomposition
of mangrove leaves dying and dropping into the water,
decomposing and producing tannic acid.

When Captain Steve paused early in our trip, he asked if everything was going all right. Was the speed okay?...not too much rocking or swaying? When Vicki told him she wanted to go faster, you'd think you had given a kid his new toy. Her request was music to his ears and this one minute is a sampling of what I captured on video...an 18 minute ride that outdid any you'd experience in Disney. Enjoy the trip through Sara's backyard.

Thank you, Captain Steve

Back at their campsite, we relaxed before riding down to the on-premises restaurant-bar, the Lighthouse Club and Tiki Bar.

Maryland crab cake, tater tots and Cole slaw...

...and a toast to the end of a terrific and memorable day.
Strawberry daquiri, Lemon Drop Martini and to George's clean hands.

Thanks for joining me here in the Everglades. Friday afternoon, Sara joins me, Jason on Saturday and the subject of my next blog. Can't wait. Be sure to click on those links provided; loaded with good information.

Oh...and this just in: 

Wintry Mix, Hazardous Outlook For Hudson Valley

Rain, snow and sleet will freeze solid, so clear storm drains ahead of time and expect icy roads Thursday night and Friday.

Sorry.