The main objective for today was to go on the tour of the Nike Missile Base, HM-69 that was established during the Cuban missile crisis of the cold war. Since the tour didn't start until 2:00, we stopped at Nine Mile Pond, where we put in for our canoe trip on Thursday. We also toured Mahogany Hammock on the way.
At Nine Mile Pond, we saw Croczilla, a huge crocodile, sunning himself on the bank. We went down the road and took the .4 mile boardwalk through Mahogany Hammock where we saw one of the largest mahogany trees in the United States.
At the Nike Missile Base, I learned that we came a lot closer to nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis than most people thought. The officer in charge of the missile base, a 26 year old Captain, was authorized to launch nuclear missiles if and when he saw the need to do so! That's pretty scary, but the whole situation was pretty scary.
The missile base was about 30 miles from camp, but still within the Everglades National Park, so we didn't get back until about 4:30. Jim fired up his Weber Grill and we had a quick supper of brats and stuff and were able to finish before the mosquitoes got real bad.
It was a good day!
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