2016 Feb 25 - Shopping and a Free Disney Tour

As I mentioned earlier, we met our friends, Gary & Andrea, here at Turkey Lake. They have spent a bunch of time in this part of Florida, so they've been playing tour guide for us. On Wednesday, we went shopping at a large mall, the Container Store, and Ikea. We happened to go by Portofino at Universal Studios, so I snapped a pic. It's a replica of the village of Portofino, Italy.

Thursday, we took a free Disney tour. The only money we spent was for lunch! We went to the different hotels, shops, restaurants, and campgrounds via Disney's monorail, boats, and buses. All without charge. It was a fun day.

We went to so many places and saw so many things that I won't be able to remember all the names. I'll try to put meaningful captions on the pictures, but I hope you enjoy them even if I can't label them correctly.

2016 Feb 22-23 - Left the Everglades and arrived at Turkey Lake, Orlando

We were headed out of the Flamingo Campground in the Everglades National Park bright and early at 7:40 on Monday morning. The GPS said that we should arrive at Turkey Lake Campground in Orlando at 1:50 PM. It was a 310 mile drive, but we stopped to restock our groceries and give the car and the camper a quick wash.

We needed the wash because they were irrigating the fields in the nursery farms outside of the Everglades National Park. There were many big pumper trucks, each attached to a well head out in the field. Each truck was like a giant oscillating yard sprinkler that shoots a six inch stream of water a hundred feet or so. That's just an estimate, but I bet it's pretty close. There was muddy water all over the road and water from the truck shooting across the road as we passed under it. It was kind of fun, but the car and the camper were a mess!

Anyway, at about 4:40 PM, we got a call from the campground. They gave us the access code for the gate in case we got there after 5:00. Now that's service! We arrived at the gate at 4:45, so we had no problem getting in.

Our friends, Gary and Andrea, were waiting for us. After talking to them and being polite to several people who came over to see the camper, we got the awning set up just before dark.

Tuesday, we attempted several times to walk around the park and explore a bit, but every time we left the camper it started to rain. Finally, we just got in the car and drove to Publix to get some ice. Gary and Andrea invited us to dinner at their camper. It was delicious, even if it was "healthy." LOL!

So, we were back in the camper before 8:00. The good news is - we get great TV reception here!

2016 Feb 21 - A lazy day in Flamingo

Our last day in Flamingo was a lazy one. We packed up the car in preparation for an early departure in the morning. Then we sat around and made a few plans for next year's Florida trip before having a bite of lunch and heading for the visitor center to hear a presentation on the Burmese Python that has invaded and flourished in the Everglades.

We strolled around the marina and checked on the crocs and the manatees. Nothing exciting there. Then it was back to camp for showers and cocktails before going to the Buttonwood Restaurant for dinner. The food was surprisingly good and so was the Beck's Beer, an import from the USA. I say that because we were charged the import price for it even though it said, "product of the U.S.A." on the can.

After dinner and an extra imported beer, we headed back to camp and our campers to escape the hoards of hungry mosquitos.

Here are a few thoughts to summarize our seven day stay in the Everglades:

We were astonished to learn that the Burmese Python has wiped out 80% to 90% of all of the small mammals in the Everglades. We spent seven full days here and didn't see a single rabbit, squirrel, racoon, possum, or any other small mammal. In the last two months, south Florida has received about 500% of their normal rainfall. The result is that, compared to a normal season, there are relatively few wading birds here because the water is too deep. And, although Flamingo is notorious for its mosquitoes, people who have been here during several winters say they have never seen the mosquitoes so thick. The weather has been ideal - mid 70s in the daytime and mid 60s at night. The Everglades are very diverse in that just a few inches of change in elevation can create a different environment, each with different plants, trees and flowers.

All in all, it's been a great camping location and Jim & Jan are the perfect camping companions. Unfortunately, tomorrow we will go our separate ways and meet up with them again at Ramsey Lake State Park in Illinois in early April on our way home from Florida.

See you tomorrow in Orlando!

2016 Feb 20 - Croczilla, Mahogany Hammock, Nike Missile Site Tour

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!  

2016 Feb 19 - Manatees, Crocs & Raptor Talks

We got up early and had bacon and eggs for breakfast. We hung around camp until lunch/nap time. After that, we went to the visitors center to hear talks about manatees and raptors such as the osprey.

Part of the manatee talk was a walk over to the marina to see if we could spot some. There were several there today. While we were at the marina, we checked on the crocodiles. There were several of them there, too.

Other than that, it was a lazy, but good day. The weather has been great, but windy. Having a great time.

2016 Feb 18 - Ranger guided canoe trip

At 7:45 AM, we met our guide and eleven other people to start a 3 1/2 hour guided canoe trip through the mangrove forest. We saw a few gators from a distance, as well as many birds. It one point we heard several male gators "bellowing" to warn others (perhaps us) not to encroach upon their territory.

Several times, we went through mangrove tunnels where we had to duck our heads and gingerly guide to canoe to make it through. Sorry, no time to take pictures there. Everyone made the trip without falling into the water, but several of us will be sore in the morning.

On the way back to camp, we stopped by the marina for ice and saw several manatees. If I didn't know better, I'd think each one was a big rock sticking out of the water.

Back at camp, we had a quick lunch then it was nap time. By the time I woke up, Jim was lighting the charcoal to cook our chicken dinner. We ate a good meal, preceded and followed by the usual cocktails. Then it was back to the campers at about 8:15.

Good night!