Flamingo

Friday, Jan 22

I think we have found a place that makes owning a motorhome/recreational vehicle special.

This morning, we packed up and left Buttonwood Bay Resort.  We’ve enjoyed our stay.  It has all the amenities and we’ve taken advantage of them.  We met some really nice people (especially Linda, she is probably one of the most friendly people we have met in all of our RVing experience).

We have remarked this week that living in our motor home (especially in a resort like this) is similar to living at home in a lot of ways.  We have the similar routines as we have at home.  The morning, I workout, have breakfast and spend some time on the computer with e-mail, etc.  The difference comes afterward when we explore our new community.  Every day we try something new and different, just as someone who visits Beaufort and environs would.  Then the evening may hold something new and different, or we may settle in for an evening of TV and relaxing.  Again, much as we do at home.

However, it’s when we get to a place like I think we are in now that we really begin to see the opportunities that traveling and seeing this country are special.

We have NO Internet service.  We are isolated from the world.  There are no highways close by with their traffic noise.  There are no lights around.  We now depend on our home on wheels and its amenities to totally immerse ourselves in where we are and what we can do.  And we’re excited.

We are in Flamingo, Florida, on Florida Bay, the southernmost tip of mainland Florida in the Everglades National Park.  After entering the National Park near Homestead, Florida, we drove nearly 40 miles through the park, never seeing a structure of any kind, to reach this remote location.  South of us (across the Bay) are the Florida Keys (where we hope to be next week). 

There are four different campgrounds.  Of the four, only one has electric service.  We’re staying in that loop.  The sites  are large, probably a third of an acre.  Very unusual for an RV park.  Most of the time the RVs are stacked in.  They are all pull-thru sites, making the hooking up of the car simple. 

One of the campgrounds is for tents only, one for small travel trailers, and one for larger RVs, and this one.  There are no street lights, no noise.  Just nature surrounding us.

It rained all day yesterday on the way down here, sometimes hard. But it stopped for the first time just as we pulled into our site.  A lot of the roads and grounds are covered in shallow water.  The weather forecast is for clearing so hopefully everything will start drying out.

We are looking forward to a great week of new adventures

And I think it’s going to be fun not having Internet service.

Saturday, January 23

It has been very windy today – up to 35 mph according to the rangers.  Although it has been relatively (compared to home) warm – mid 60’s, the wind has made it feel a little cool. 

We acquainted ourselves with the area a little more today, visiting the Visitor Center and talking to rangers and learning more about the area.  Flamingo was a derelict fishing community before the park service came in during the late 1940’s.   The Park Service’s goals were vastly different from the somewhat “renegade” fishing community and the Park Service essentially ran the existing dwellers off (they condemned their property and bought it).  There weren’t many people, apparently around 75, and it wasn’t a very friendly transition. 

Today, Flamingo is still a very remote place.  The park service has done a good job of creating a nice place to visit by offering the campgrounds, a nice marina, a nice marina store, a visitor’s center, and what appears to be a good restaurant.  Other than that, there isn’t anything here.  We WILL commune with nature this week.

This afternoon, I attended a good presentation on the history of the hurricanes that have impacted this area and took a couple mile hike. 

I’m really liking it here.

Sunday, January 24

This afternoon we went on a ranger led tour on the History of Flamingo.  There have been efforts in the early 1900’s to bring development to this area, but because of its remoteness, none have ever been successful.  In the 1950’s a hotel was built and run for several years, but a hurricane in 1985 caused so much damage to the building that it was torn down 4 years later.

I have really enjoyed the ranger led discussions 

The Visitor Center was built in the 1950’s and survives today because it is a solid cement structure. 

There is a staff of 8 NPS personnel here in the winter and in the summer, a caretaker staff of only two people remain.  There is very little activity in the summer months, driven a lot by the huge mosquito population.  

Even in the winter, on a cool day like today, mosquitoes are still an annoyance.

 

Monday, January 25

We are finding that the ranger talks that are presented daily on a variety of subjects are proving to be the best way to find out about the park and what happens here.

Today, we went on a 3 hour car caravan exploring various features about some of the lakes here in the park and the wildlife they support.  This has led to a better understanding of the natural ebb and flow of the waters, the differences in the salinity of the water and its impacts on both the plants and animals supported. 

Another ranger led hike

I have also taken this time away from Internet access to start re-discovering the capabilities of my Nikon camera.  Hopefully, this will lead to improved photos for the blog.

Tonight I tried my hand at some night photography and made some interesting discoveries.

This photo is the result of experimenting with my camera.  I couldn't see anything except a few dots of light coming from RVs.  Only the moonlight.

Primarily, I discovered that the mosquitoes are much worse at night than they are in the day – resulting a rather abbreviated night photography lesson.

Tuesday, January 26

Today’s ranger led excursion is a kayak trip at Nine-Mile Pond.  Clara wasn’t up to going, so I joined the group at the pond at 8 am (which is pretty early for us now-a-days).

Kayaking in the mangroves

and in the grasses

The trip started across a pond, then into the mangrove caves (at least that what it felt like as we paddled through them).  It reminded me of times I’ve had to hike through laurel thickets in the mountains – branches flowing in every direction.

It was a great trip over a three hour period.  Again, having someone along to explain what we were seeing was so much better than exploring on my own.

I also went kayaking late afternoon on the canal that goes north of the visitor center.  There wasn’t much to see, but I needed the exercise.

There was a crocodile sunning at the put-in ramp - and wasn't moving for anything.  The ramp had to be closed until he decided to leave.

Lazy kayaking on the canal.

We’re beginning to think about leaving here and heading to Key West.  In some ways going to Key West is a little concerning because we can’t make reservations at the Naval Base.  It’s first come-first serve.  Earlier this week, we happened to meet the guy who manages MWR (basically all the amenities) at the base.  He said they have never had so many RVs as this year (probably because of the price of fuel).  The campground has a reputation of never turning away a RVer.  Somehow they find space, but as the guy indicated, they have really had a lot more than normal.  I don’t know what we’ll do if they can’t accommodate us.  We’ll see I guess.

Wednesday, Jan 27

This afternoon we rented a small skiff from the marina here in the Park and took a two hour excursion up the canal and into a couple of inland lakes.  Clara has not been able to do any kayaking, so this was the best we could do for now.

The highlight of the trip was a nice big crocodile laying on the bank.  He was in the same position two hours later we went came back. 

This crocodile stayed in the same place for at least 2 hours

Tonight, we went to the restaurant at the visitor center and had a surprisingly good meal.  As we sat there looking over Florida Bay, I was reminded of our trip a few years back when we came back from Key West on the sailboat.  That time, we traveled on the Western side of the keys in some very skinny water, which is the same Florida Bay we are looking at tonight.

We’re hitched up and ready to leave in the morning.  We actually have another day on our reservation here, but it’s supposed to rain (it’s been raining off and on a little tonight already), so we decided a rainy day will be a good day to travel.