Heading To Texas Soon

Here it is Monday December 28 and we are finalizing preparations for our trip to Texas. Thursday we will move the Cougar to the drive for ease of loading. We plan to leave Saturday morning to make the drive to Fairborn, OH were we will stay at Wright-Patterson AFB for a night. Sunday morning we will join up with the Rush's for the trip to Garner SP near Leakey, Texas.

So Sad

Tomorrow is November 1, and the camping season is over here. The Cougar has been winterized and all the 'lost wheel' damage repaired. Soon we will begin putting things in for our winter in Texas. We will head south sometime after the 1st of January (2010 can you believe).

Made one last trip the week of the 18th (October that is) to Salt Fork SP. It was primitive hunting season so there were lots of hunters in the park. Every day we saw deer in the campground - where hunting is not allowed.

Met the Rush's there for our usual game playing-sightseeing-laughing-find different places to eat trek. Made the long drive to Newell, WV one day to tour the Homer Laughlin factory. They make, among other things, Fiesta ware pottery. Had a good tour and did pick up a few items from the 'seconds' room.

To the Beach

September saw us heading to Myrtle Beach for 10 days of fun and sun. Enjoyed the time and pot-luck dinners. Mark, Kyra and the boys drove down for a day and left Niko with us. We had him four days and he enjoyed being buried in the sand and the ice cream cones.

Trip home was uneventful until we were 14 miles from our exit. Front wheel on the curb side came off some time and we were stuck with three wheels on the ground. Appeared that one or more of the lug bolts snapped and we lost the tire, rim and lugs. Jon and Dale came to the rescue and we made it home using a brake drum and lugs from Jon's trailer. Got it all replaced but still working on the broken plastic fender.

No Major Summer Travels (May- August)

We've stayed pretty close to home this summer. Did get out with the Rainmakers for Memorial Day and then the weekend after the 4th of July (group tried something different). In mid July we met with the Rush's at one of our favorite locations - Delaware State Park.

TRAVELS OVER

We spent a week getting back home. Three nights in Georgia and four near Davidson. Enjoyed the time with the boys and Judy got to visit two old friends in Georgia.

It was good to get back home though. We had rain much of the trip from Davidson but we did manage to get most of the trailer unloaded on Monday. Tuesday we awoke to nearly 2 inches of snow - welcome to Ohio!!!

Anyway that is about it for this trip. Not sure when the next one will be. We calculated that of the past 15 months, we have been on the road seven so maybe it's time to spend some time on Tricaso Drive.

LTI Page 8

Woke up Monday morning to overcast skies, a chance of rain and close to 100% humidity, but we decided to try to get some painting in before the sky opened. Well, the sky never opened and finally after lunch we finished up the back of the bait shop. We had thought about waiting until Tuesday, but we were already paint spotted and had so little to do that we ate lunch and wrapped the task up. We were returning the paint tools and paint to the shop when we ran into Aaron.

When we told him we were done he showed some surprise and wondered if we felt we had time to work on another task. The equipment shed at the Park Manager’s residence will be done on Tuesday so we will paint it beginning Wednesday.

He again told us that we did a fantastic job on the trail and that he has never in his years at the park seen it look so good. It will now be up to the park folks to keep it cleaned up!

Tuesday we were at the Reed house doing laundry when one of the rangers told us that a large turtle had washed up on the beach. He said the shell measured 3 feet by 4 feet and was dead. So, after we had lunch and had done some errands we stopped by the ranger station to find out where it was located. We went home and rode our bikes to the beach and had to walk about ¼ mile down the beach where we saw Kathleen, and three other employees with their trucks. As we approached Kathleen shouted out that it was not a turtle, but a fish! When we got close we could see that it was not really a fish – just part of one. It was at least three feet high and what was left of the length was a little better than four feet. You can see by the size of the nearby truck and shovel the size of this thing.
They were trying to drag it up further on the beach and then bury it deep. No matter how they tried they could not move it. They had tarps under it but the ropes just pulled through the grommets. They finally gave up and were hoping the high tide – which was coming in – would wash it out. We will go try to check it out in the morning.

Kathleen, in the middle is flanked by ranger Michelle and Judy.

This is the small shed we are now working on. We were painting on the sides and back even before the other volunteers had completed the doors. The sides are made of ‘hardy’ or ‘cement’ board so they do not soak up paint and will not rot in the sun and moisture. We completed the base coat and now have only the trim to paint. We really don’t want to complete too soon as this will be our last project.












In the afternoon we rode our bikes on the blacktopped bike trail to the ‘south end’ and made our way through the sand to the beach. We rode on the beach back to the first boardwalk…a very pleasant ride as the tide was coming in. We found the fish, it moved up the beach – north – by the tides. According to Michelle it is/was a Sun Fish - not like we would think of at home!

Another task completed! We finished up the shed a little before noon. We are sure that we could be assigned another painting task, but the chance of rain this afternoon is 70% and runs the same through Friday morning so no need to tackle anything else.


Here’s a painter’s trick we leaned. See the blue tape on the one brush? This keeps paint from going all the way to the heel of the brush, which makes cleaning easier. It also keeps the bristles all together.

Friday at the shop when putting the painting tools and ladder away, Kathleen asked if we might want to go to the Home Depot in Jacksonville to pickup some material. So we took off in the old Ford dump truck (standard transmission) and drove into the north end Home Depot to pickup thirty 12 foot composite boards which they will use for bench seats. They are slowly moving from wood to composite as it lasts in this salt/sand climate. That will be our last job for this park as tonight we have a pot-luck with volunteers and staff.

Friday late afternoon we had a rain move through and it certainly cut down on the pollen! Between the cedar, the live oak and the flat wood pines it was getting pretty bad. Later that evening we had a potluck with most of the volunteers and a large number of the staff. Lots of good food and socializing and nice to see the staff out of uniform and to get to know them a bit more.

Michelle verified that the fish found on the beach is commonly referred to as a salt water ‘sun fish’ - really a Mola Mola - and it can weigh up to a ton! Here’s a link with more information about this strange fish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_sunfish

Saturday we did some packing and made a final trip to WalMart. It was not too sunny so we made one final ride on the beach. The winds were pretty strong out of the south so it was a hard ride to the south end of the island. The sand was really blowing on the beach, but we did not have to pedal much on the way north. It stormed hard nearly all night so things are wet and soggy. Some of the stuff we pack away will have to be opened to dry.


Sunday afternoon there are three speakers at the Rebault Club talking about Florida history so we will go there to help fill in the day. We plan to be on the road by 8:30 for the two plus hour drive to Valdosta.

So this ends Florida portion of our travels.

LTI Page 7

Thursday morning we had just started working when Kathleen and Aaron, the two Assistant Mangers drove up. They were surprised at how far we had gotten and how good the building now looked. We finished the north end and as a reward made what may be our last trip to Singletons. With the ferry now running it is really only minutes away. We rode the ferry across the St Johns River and after a great lunch did some shopping and came back ‘home’ for the rest of the day.

It is surprising how friendly the fishermen – and women are. Would guess that 80% are black with a few Orientals and the rest white. The fishing must be good as there are always people using the old bridge. The ‘bait shop’ also houses the restroom facilities so we get to see a lot of folks. Friday morning a group of Orientals stopped just as we were getting our gear together. In somewhat broken English they inquired about bait. We gave them directions on where to buy and they were quite pleased.

We finished the weeks work before noon – only the back or west side to paint now. So we came home and did some chores and split some wood and we will have a fire. We cooked kielbasa over the fire and heated the beans too….very satisfying meal.
They don’t have us scheduled to paint the trim, just the wall sides. Don’t know what they will put on next as we will only have a few days left here. We should finish the back side early Tuesday so that will leave us time to do another small project for them

LTI Page Six

In keeping with out ‘bucket list’ of things to do, after church we stopped in town at a little café called “Jack and Diane’s” in the historic district for a late breakfast. It was a neat little place and we had nice meals. After our usual grocery shopping we headed to Pumpkin Hill Creek SP, about 25 miles from LTI. It is one of seven parks/park locations serviced out of Little Talbot Island. It is considered an “upland park” that protects the headwaters of the St Johns River, a source of Jacksonville’s drinking water. It is 4000 acres of scrub, pines and palmetto that has a number of “trails” and pathways for hikers and horses. Many of the pathways are just ‘plow lines’ to separate burn zones to control fires. The soil is mainly pure white sand.

Early Monday morning met with Kathleen about our next task. The small shed will not be ready until probably the middle or end of next week, so that is off our “to do list.” But, she had another more involved project for us and we spent the morning checking it out and gathering our equipment and paint supplies. It’s a building that they are remodeling for us as a bait shop. The contract for a concessionaire is out for bids and they are working at getting it all prepared. It is at the north end of an old bridge that is now used solely as a “fishing” bridge with no vehicle traffic. We will get started on it Tuesday – if it does not rain. We had thought about riding our bikes, but it is nearly 6 miles along highway A1A, which is busy.

This is the bait shop we are working on now. We have painted the front side where the ladder is leaning.

There are lots of people out fishing on this old bridge which was built in 1948. On the weekends it is nearly full. Several places in this area they have left the old bridges standing for use by fishermen.

Monday afternoon excitement! A couple walking the nature trail next to our camper came up to tell us that there was a diamond back rattler on the trail. By the time we got to the spot in the trail, the snake had moved about 5 yards off the trail (out of the bright sun shine) in amongst some live oak saplings. Here he/she is…really hard to spot in the dead oak leaves and sun beams.

LTI Page Five

Monday we continued our ‘door painting’ at the shop. We rode our bikes the one mile there and back, an easy ride after the daily trips on the prairie! Finished the outside and overhang, and now with what little paint is left, Kathleen wants us to do the one side that you can see. It is different and weather beaten. The equipment shed at the park manager’s will be next, but it is not nearly ready. She did agree that it made sense to let us paint before the trim is put on. So John Mason (volunteer doing the work) is going to cut and tack on the trim pieces and then mark them and take them off so we can paint them separate - lot less cutting in to do.

Spring beaks have started and there are several campsites full of college kids. We met two girls from Wittenberg who drove down for the week. Looks like a good week weather-wise as it has gotten much warmer.

This is the tractor barn we painted. Oh yes, the inside of the doors are all painted too – as well as the overhang.
As we finished this task and the equipment shed won’t be ready for paint until maybe the middle or end of next week, Kathleen has linked us with Eric, the Park Service Specialist. We will be working with him for the next several days doing a “UTAP” on that trail we trimmed. UTAP stands for Universal Trail Assessment Program and was developed to grade and mark trails all across the country. The goal is to have a trail in Summit County’s Metro Parks, “graded” the same as a trail in Tucson, Arizona or Okeechobee, Florida.

Here are Judy, Eric and Mike working on UTAP.
Judy is recording the data that the rest of us are giving her. Mike and I used devices called clinometers to gauge the degree of grade change from one point to another (could be 20 to 100 feet down the trail) and then fancy compasses to get the direction. I then GPS each point. The first day we did less than ½ mile but on the second we covered over ½ a mile……another mile plus to go and then we have to do the beach and boardwalk portions.

We finished our UTAP of the beach trail a little before 2 on Friday. We had started as usual at 8:30 and as we neared the beach wanted to finish the work. It was interesting working with Mike and Eric as they are both into plants, animals and the environment. At one point Judy was standing by the side of the trail ready to make notes when suddenly a small lizard dropped out of an overhead tree. It scurried a way very quickly. We learned how to tell the difference between a young palmetto and a young cabbage or sabal palm. The weather was cool and damp and when we reached the beach, to the east was a solid fog bank. You could not see the ocean, only the waves as the tide reached high up on the beach

Saturday we went to the Volunteer Appreciation Day at Dudley Farm SP – a two hour drive with Cliff and RuthAnn. We have been with them at KPPSP the past three years and now here at LTI. We toured this old farm/homestead and had a great BBQ chicken lunch. They served 400 people in less that a half hour. Here is Judy waiting through all the speeches before lunch.

At the luncheon they had one of the ‘fire trucks’ that is used by the parks. Each park has at least one of these units to combat wild fires and most of all to be used when they do a prescribed burn of an area. This is what their fire trucks look like. It not only carries water, but also liquids they use to start the burns and back fires. Most all of the staff enjoy the fire fighting/prescribed burning they do at all the parks.

No they aren't red - all white alike all the park trucks, but they do have lights and sirens.

LTI Page Four

So far this has been a quite week on the island. Sunday morning a wicked storm blasted through with strong winds and rain and even a tornado warning. Boy were the live oaks and palms swaying above us. But, down at ground level no problem. We debated about church, but around 9 it seemed to clear some so we drove up to Fernandina. Went through some strong cross winds over the bridges, but by the time we got to church all was calm – and when we came out the sun was shining.

After dinner (roasted chicken from Harris-Teeter) we drove down to the Ribault Club (part of this park system). It was built in the late 20’s as a winter recreational resort, similar too but on a much smaller scale than Jekyll Island. It fell into disrepair for a number of years until the park service took it over in 1989. They worked at restoration and it reopened as a park facility in 2003. It’s the site of weddings and wedding receptions and the beginning of a 4.5 mile trail around Fort George Island. The site of the club building is on top of and late 1800’s hotel that burned and that hotel is over a large midden. A midden is an ancient Indian landfill – a place where the early inhabitants of Florida dumped shells, fish bones and even early pottery.

Monday we went back to work on the trail. We now have a new line head for the trimmer and it made the job much easier. As we progress towards the beginning, the dense areas become fewer, but there are more overhanging limbs and branches. Any large branch or tree that needs a chainsaw to remove, we are marking for a park ranger to cut.
Tuesday we took off as Lilly’s vet appointment was in the early afternoon. We will be glad when the ferry starts to run again as it’s a long way around from here to Mayport! In the morning we went to the Reed House and took care of laundry and gave the truck a good bath.

We’ve passed the one mile marker on the trail and are on the home stretch. Today we started early and were done a little after noon. We are within 50 yards of the half-mile marker and that last half mile will go fast. There are several stretches of just white sand so no trimming to do. As we past the ranger station this morning on the way to the trail, Aaron came out and stopped us. He wanted to know when we though we would finish as they have our next task waiting. It will be back to painting. A couple of volunteers have replaced the four big doors on the tractor barn and they need to be painted so that’s what’s up next.

Notice the palm at the right of the picture. It seemed to grow parallel to the ground out of that sand dune.

Here’s a closer picture. It came out so far and then curved up to the sun. If it were totally vertical it would be 25 to 30 feet high.

Well we did it; finished the trail today (Thursday.). It was a little before noon so we decided to celebrate and drove Fernandina for a late lunch and walked the old town…..quite a tourist place. It’s probably quite busy during the summer months.

This is the marker at the start of the trail.
On Friday we went to the shop and got our next tasks. We will paint the newly re-built tractor barn doors and then when we finish that paint small storage building near the park manager’s residence. The doors (there are four are 6x10 T-111 doors) were rebuilt by two other volunteers. We got started and did get the interior portions all done. We had to brush paint them all as this is where all the 2x4 supports are.

Monday we will work on the exteriors and the new over-hang that they had to rebuild too. Will see what we can do for fun this weekend.

LTI Page Three

Finished up our week of work earlier than planned. Thursday we were really moving along when the line trimmer gave out. The head would no longer hold the line. We decided to take it back to the shop and see if they had another and so along the ¼ mile ride down A1A, we picked up a lot of trash. No other trimmers but they had new line so we thought we’d give it another shot on Friday.

You could see from one of the pictures how closed in our camp site is. Anyway, on a long shot tried to do the satellite dish using my flag pole mount on the front of the trailer. Some how managed to find a small hole in the trees and hanging moss and got a good signal. Nice to have multiple choices for TV viewing, but we are usually too tired to stay up too late.











Friday we really had to stop early as the trimmer went belly up. The Assistant Managers said they would get a replacement head, probably by Monday so we can finish up the 2 mile trail. We have almost a mile done, and our goal for Friday was to get to the one mile marker. We are about 200 yards short of the goal. So we went to get a few groceries and stopped by a quilt shop. The camp ground is full and you can smell the camp fires.

Saturday sister Judy drove down from St Simons Island to spend some time. We walked the long boardwalk to the beach and showed off the beautiful white sand. Afterwards we headed to Singleton’s Seafood for a late lunch.

Judy and Lilly were soaking up some rays while waiting for Judy to arrive.

LTI - Page Two

As noted before, we are camped in a very private spot. Here are several pictures of what our site is like. We have no campers on either side of us and to the back about 25 yards through the brush is a nature trail.

Saturday tried to get the satellite dish aimed, but there just seem to be too many trees and hanging moss. The campground was pretty full so we took Lilly for a hike on the trail we are working on. As we walked we kept noting areas where we will need to trim and cut.

We found our way, with the aid of the Garmin GPS, to St. Michael’s church in Fernandina Beach. The church is very old and is located just on the edge of the ‘old town’ historic area of Fernandina Beach. It is located toward the north end of Amelia Island. We drove through some very pricey areas. The church was packed and we had to sit in the balcony.

Here are a couple of pictures of the beach area on Sunday. We rode our bikes to the south end of the actual park. The sand is pure white. The water in this huge tidal pool was extremely cold.

There used to be volunteer camp sites just over the dunes here.

Dinner was the usual, no peak roast with potatoes and carrots. Boy was it good.

We were working on the trail on Monday when the two assistant managers drove up. This was the first time they had been out to see our work. They both indicated that it looked good, but we told them we needed more line for the line trimmer. We drove out to the beach for lunch, but it was too windy to sit in the open. Later in the afternoon a ranger stopped by to drop off a new spool of trimmer line.

These are some of the trees on the beach. The sea, salt air and sand have honed them smooth and the root patterns are really interesting.


This is the view down the beach from where the trees above are located.

After work we drove up to Fort Clinch State Park for a visit. It’s at the very north end of Amelia Island. Construction was started in 1842 and the fort was used off and on from 1847 to 1945. While there we had a chance meeting with the park manager and inquired about volunteering. We will contact the volunteer coordinator there for maybe future jobs.

After work on Tuesday we took Lilly with us to Reed House to do our laundry. She scared up two armadillo. She had fun chasing them some, but they managed to find their way to their den under the drive.

This is what our site looks like. As you can see, there is a canopy of trees and no real way to get the satellite aimed through all those leaves, palms and moss.

Below is the sun through the live oaks and moss as it sets beyond the reeds of Myrtle Creek

Little Talbot - Page 1

We moved into our site a little after noon on Sunday, quite a difference from the prairie. We are in a canopy of moss draped live oaks, pines and a few palms. Have yet to find a location for satellite reception, but regular tv is not bad.

A little after 7:30 am on Tuesday we showed at the shop and met with Aaron Rodriquez, one of the Assistant Managers here. The maintenance shop is about 1/3 mile south of the park campgrounds and offices. This park is actually has 7 different locations/parks that it overseas and maintains. He told us our initial task will be to trim up a 2 ½ mile trail from near the ranger station to the beach. After showing us around the shop and introducing us to several other volunteers and staff, we piled in his truck to drive the trail. Along the way he told us where we could do laundry and get ice. He said that a 4 wheel drive was needed on this trail because of deep sand in several areas. It took us a while to drive the winding path to the beach where we stopped to turn around….and got stuck. His Chevy would not go into 4 wheel drive. He called for help, but before the other ranger could pickup another 4X4 to get us, we winched our way out. By then it was too late to start work as the vehicle we will use is needed by 11:30 for the late shift, so we went off and did laundry.

The laundry area is located in what they call the “Reed House” – so named for the doctor who formerly owned the house. It’s now used for meetings and training. Here’s a picture of it.

The tall pines look lacey against the blue sky.

Wednesday we were at the shop at 7:30 and Aaron and Tom have agreed to set us up with the ‘beach’ Polaris Ranger to use. After getting it checked out and getting all our tools we hit the trail about 8:30 and worked until 11:30. It looked like bad weather brewing so we headed in. After lunch it cleared so we went back for a couple more hours. After working prairie trails this is different. Here are a couple of pictures of this trail.

The living and dead live oaks form interesting sculptures and the sun peaking through certainly adds to the mystique.

Severe weather rolled through the area over night, well actually early in the morning. It was too wet and windy to get started too early on Thursday so we waited until nearly 10. We packed lunch and worked through until 2. That gives us 24 hours in three days, 4 more than the minimum required.

Friday was our ‘play day’ in celebration of the birthday girl’s day. We headed to Mayport Naval Station to set up the appointment for Lilly’s checkup and get her meds. We made a quick stop at the Navy Exchange to check out necklace chains, but the sales clerk told us to wait because beginning next week there will be a sale. By then it was noon and we headed to Singleton’s Seafood for lunch. It’s a favorite when in this area. If a building inspector were to walk in, not sure it would pass, but the food is great.

Then it was off to Jo-Ann’s to find some special material and then to Wal-Mart to pickup some grocery and other items. When we got back, the campground was beginning to fill for the weekend. Temperature never got much above 50, but it was bright and sunny.

End of the Prairie and Start of the Marsh

Thursday we had a nice Volunteer/Staff luncheon with lots of good food and deserts. One of the rangers brought in pulled pork and it was really good. He said all he did was carry the crock-pot, his wife did the rest. Charlie, who bakes as relaxation, made bread sticks and sponge cake. We were stuffed, but did do one more painting project in the afternoon.

One of the other volunteers had constructed a big box for recycle bins to go in. We painted it to match the rest of the park. We didn’t even get out our ‘painting clothes’ to handle that job. Friday was just a catch-up day, a few last minute things. Judy helped make new car passes and Jon painted the plastic covers he made last year for over four of the lights in the bath house porch/laundry area. Whenever the astronomy groups come in they always covered these lights with red cellophane. Last year the plastic covers were installed with the red cellophane, but after a year it had degraded and the lights were full of bugs. This year we are trying red paint on the Plexiglas with red plastic paint.

Worked on getting things packed up on Saturday and then went into Okeechobee for our last time. We went back to Cowboys for a Valentine late lunch, did some grocery shopping and church then back to the prairie for the last time. We had showered and settled in for the night. Then Lilly announced company, several rounds of visitors. It was other volunteers stopping by to bid us farewell.

Sunday’s drive was easy but oh the traffic lined up for the race at Daytona. We did not have any problems and sailed right through. When we arrived, we found that the site that would be ours for the next 6 weeks was occupied. They put us done by the boat launch where we dry-camped for the night. It was early when we arrived so we took a drive up to Fernandina Beach to see the sights, pick up a few groceries and get a bite to eat. With no power, we were in bed reading by 8.

This is where we spent our first night at Little Talbot Island. The environment here is quite a bit different than what we are used to. So many trees!

While we waited for our site to vacate, we took Lilly for a walk on the short nature trail. We had only gone a short distance on the walk when we saw a lady and a young girl (maybe 5 or 6) coming toward us with two big dogs. The lady pulled the Shepard mix dog off the trail but the little girl could not handle the chow mix. It lunged at Lilly and got Judy in the mix. She was pulled down on the ground wrestling the dog. Fortunately no one was hurt.

This is the marsh at low tide. This marsh (called Myrtle Creek) separates Little Talbot Island from the mainland of Florida. You can see a bridge way in the background that links Little Talbot to Big Talbot.

This is near high tide. Notice that all the high ground spots are now covered.

We met with the Volunteer Coordinator (Ranger Brian) and got some information as well as gloves and shirts. We will report to the maintenance area about 7:30 in the morning

Last Week on the Prairie

We spent about 6 hours away from ‘home’ on Sunday. After church we toured the “Speckled Perch” festival grounds and vendors. Okeechobee has a 5 block grassed mall/park in the center of town. This is where they hold various outdoor activities. The “Speckled Perch” is actually a crappie - have no idea why they call them speckled perch. Apparently it was a very plentiful fishing the lake, before it began to dry. It’s up nearly 4 feet from where it was last year. Enjoyed a good lunch at a new BBQ place in town and did some grocery shopping. Stopped at the Goodwill store and picked up a ceramic bowl Judy needs for some sort of sour-dough bread starter she is working on. Monday will be the first day to pull from the starter and bake some bread.

Well this Monday in the park has been renamed “Stuck Monday.” First one of the rangers got his truck stuck in the south side of the park. Then the AmeriCore worker got his ATV and trailer stuck in a slough along the south fence line. Well, we joined the group too! On the way to the Audubon area (the east side of the park) we met up with Charlie on the road and he asked what we were doing. We told him we were putting in the new trail intersection markers and then going north to put in the final marker along the fence line. He said we “should have” no problems driving the road through Seven Mile Slough. He was wrong! We made it to within 150 yards of our goal when we hit it. The water was not the problem; it was the mud, swamp grass clumps and palmetto roots. We were finally ‘rescued’ after over an hour. Turns out that if we had been able to go another 25 feet we’d have made it. Oh yes, the bread was great.

These are the trail markers we have been installing.

Tuesday was spent checking out and cleaning up the 6X6 ranger. I now know more about a Polaris Ranger than I really need to know. The undercarriage was full of mud and grasses.

Amy came up in the afternoon and spent the night. With the last of our apples from home, we enjoyed an apple pie after cooking ‘brats’ over a fire. Wednesday we went to the big culverts and saw 13 ‘gators sunning. Amy said she had never seen that many gators in the wild before. We took a short hike and saw scat from what we think is a coyote, picked some oranges from the wild citrus trees in an old homestead hammock and spotted two deer.

Can you see Amy in her camouflage outfit?

The two deer we spotted were bucks lying in the high grass about 30 yards off the trail. One of the bucks is affectionately named “one horn” by the park staff, and you can see why. They just laid there and watched us move past them. Here they are.

End of a Cold Week

Well, Friday was a bit warmer than Thursday but not by much and the wind was pretty strong out of the North. Using GPS points we relocated one trail marker that was in the wrong location (park folks had put it in 2 years ago) and put in an additional marker. Because a couple of ‘roads’ were mowed that were not part of the trail system, we had to cut down brush and use debris to block the ‘roads’ that aren’t trails. They use mowed pathways to mark and separate the areas of the park for burning zones.

We decided to reward ourselves with a trip to town as Judy wanted to get her hair cut so we enjoyed a good Mexican meal. I know we both looked strange as with our red faces – windblown not sun burned.

This is one of the many owls in the park.

Saturday we decided to mark a 1/3 mile path from a mowed road to a foot bridge through a slough. Charlie had this on our list of things to do. Well we tried to do the best we could but it was tough going. First we had to cut our way through an old barbed wire fence and then work our way around a swampy area. Then we ran into an area of palmetto about 4 feet high. Too thick and tall to hack through with a brush axe and line trimmer. We managed to find our way to the foot bridge and most of the path follows an active animal trail (they know the way for sure). We spent 6 hours out and were bushed when we got in. We drove 40 miles in the prairie, from the time we left our camp site until we return the 6X6 to the pump house and never left the park!

One advantage or our long day was that we found a big citrus grove. We were able to pick about two dozen grapefruit and some oranges. However, these oranges were not as good as the ones near the camping area. These trees were 30 to 40 tall and the grapefruit tree was loaded. If it weren’t so far to drive, we’d try to return and pick some more.

There are so many deer this year.

Cold Week

Sunday we went to see the re-enactment of the battle of Okeechobee which was fought during the Second Seminole Indian War. It was interesting and here are a few pictures taken during the re-enactment. The Seminole’s have never really signed a ‘peace treaty’ with the United States.

After the show we went to a local seafood restaurant for an early dinner. One of the ‘famous’ dishes is deep friend pumpkin bread. It’s good and unusual.

It rained most of Monday but we did manage to take advantage of a brief window of now rain drops to complete the trim on the shop building. Only thing left to paint there are the doors and we are not sure how Charlie expects to do that job. They are all metal doors (including 4 metal roller garage-type doors) and brush or roller applications would show. Ah well not our worry. It drizzled most of the morning and then broke for about 3 hours and then started up again.

For the past two days we have been out in the 6X6 Ranger scouting primitive camp locations and removing old fence posts. Spending six hours in the outdoors with 12 to 15 mph winds certainly tires us out. We’ve been to some locations that few folks ever visit in the park. Yesterday we were out in the northwest area following what we thought was the correct mowed ‘road’ but realized something was a miss. Glad we had the gps units and radio with us! Called in to the office and gave the intern our coordinates and she was able to tell us about where we were on the park map. We have been working with her to mark and verify areas for the creation of a new map for the park. Below is a satellite view of the park area, hopefully you can see all the various ‘roads’ in the park.
Today we saw a number of armadillo as well as turkey and deer. While eating dinner, a one antlered buck walked right by the back of our camper. The one antler he had showed 6 spikes.

Wednesday night we had to disconnect the water as the temp was to drop….and it did. Paul the park biologist noted that the weather gauge on the prairie near the visitor center showed a low of 19! That’s right 19 degrees in Florida. We tried to do some more trail work on Thursday, but after 3 hours we stopped. It was just to cold and windy. Temperatures are two warm up on Friday and more on Saturday so we may put in extra hours to complete our trail work.

Still Super Bowl Week

Thursday we enjoyed a potluck luncheon for volunteers and park staff. Lots of good food and friendship. The main course was lasagna made by one of the park staff and the park manager’s wife. We enjoyed it all, including all the deserts (carrot cake, cherry pie, dump cake and double rich chocolate cake) but still had to go to work after lunch. We wanted to finish up the outside walls of the shop building, which we did. We’ll take a few days from painting to do trail work before going back to do the trim. At the luncheon, Charlie (Park Manager) gave us a topographical aerial map of where he would like an additional primitive site. He also said that hogs had routed up the area of a site we marked last year and he could not find it. Fortunately we kept the GPS coordinates and will look for it to remark it.

Here is an interesting picture of a wood stork, and endangered species, which appears to have found a home in the park. They are hoping that they will develop a rookery on the preserve.

I know we mentioned the coyotes earlier and we have seen tracks along the road when we ride in the mornings. Here’s a close-up of a pair.

These appear closer to the gator, but they were taken from a safe distance.

These pictures were taken by a couple we met the first week we were here. They come here often and she is really into photography.

It rained part of the night and most of Friday Morning. According to Paul, the park biologist, we got a little over an inch in 12 hours. That’s a lot of rain for now as this is not the rainy season. You could see how it greened things up and there is more standing water. When it cleared in the afternoon we worked on the short nature trail. Relocated several trail markers and put in a couple too as well as trimmed so the markers could be seen. Did break a post hole digger handle trying to cut through the roots of some scraggly brush.

You can comment on the pictures on the blog.

Super Bowl Week

Had a quiet weekend as the campground had a number of astronomers here. There were all sizes of telescopes and some with cameras attached. They generally stay up late so they sleep later in the mornings. Did our usual Sunday church and shopping and returned to handle the ‘blue-boy’ empty job before we had desert. One of the other volunteers had made a sour cream raisin pie so we all gathered for desert and story sharing.

Monday we started putting the paint coat on the maintenance shop. We worked until nearly 2 and by then it was so hot that the paint was drying too fast. The bike ride home was a bit of a challenge after climbing up and down ladders, but we made it. So far we’ve ridden about 120 miles, most of it too and from the shop area for work.

This is a picture of what our site looks like from the prairie behind us.

On Wednesday we made the hour plus drive to Sebring to get the bad tire replaced. We had been emailing the area sales manager for Denman tire and he told us where to get one. Was expecting to pay for it and then get reimbursed, but when the Tire Kingdom manger called the Denman guy, all we had to do was sign and drive away. This was the tire that lost tread on I95 in Georgia. It never blew (was still holding 62 lbs today) but you can see from the picture, the tread did let go.

Anyway had a good day in Sebring and took care of a few errands and it was a different drive than that long run to Okeechobee.

Another week has past

Sunday was a quite day in the park even though all sites were occupied. Think everyone was worn down from the long weekend and the chill of Friday and Saturday nights.

Monday we headed for the shop area to work on the kiosk again. It was a beautiful sunny day and a bit warmer than the past few days. We started working on the base color and finished that in record time and decided to work on the balance of the trim. Worked straight through and finished it all. Already got several complements on how good it looks.

About noon the wind began to kick up so by 2 when we were ready to head home it was pretty strong out of the west/southwest. The 3 miles from the shop to the turn west towards the campground was rough, but that last 1.2 miles was a chore. It was the hardest ride we’ve ever made.

On Tuesday we just drifted around a bit. Judy worked on the drapes for Amy’s music room and Jon did go to the shop for a bit. It was really too cold and windy again to paint and it looks like Wednesday will be a repeat. Just after lunch and the swearing in of the new President, Judy saw a Caracara next to the trailer. The ‘Crested Caracara’ is a rare bird in this area. It’s mainly found in Mexico and some parts of Texas. I got a couple of shots through the window and then went outside to get a few more. Here is a picture of two cleaning a campsite.










The next is of a turkey vulture. Did you know that the turkey vulture is an endangered species? It is and for a very round-about reason. Here is one sitting on a dead cabbage palm across from our site.










On Wednesday we took it easy as it was too cold to paint so we surveyed a nature trail that Charlie (park manager) wants us to clean up. Need to repaint some markers, move a couple and put in some too. We will also have to trim the prairie grass growing up around some marker posts. Then we headed Fort Pierce for some shopping and late lunch. Didn’t get back home until nearly sunset.

Thursday - BRRRRRRRRRRRRR it has been very cold here for four days. We were to start painting on the maintenance shop (finishing the priming before painting the back and one side) but it was too cold to start in the morning. We did ride over about 10:30 and managed to complete the priming of the east end and then rode home about 3. We did have a treat for lunch today. With the fresh oranges we picked on Monday, Judy made a half batch of the Smithfield Inn orange cookies. Boy were they good more body and hunks of orange than the ‘mixed’ ones. She had to mix them with a fork as we don’t carry a mixer.

Couple of astronomers moved in for the weekend, even though there is still a crescent moon. We’ve had some beautiful sunrises but it has been too cold to go out and try to get a picture.

Friday we finished priming the maintenance shop with Kilz. Now we have to ‘paint’ the east and south sides and do the trim too. May not get it all done before time to head on.

This is Jon dong some prime work. A community service worker had started the job but his hours were completed before he finished. He left the hardest part, the trim priming and the indentations in the T-111 siding. The siding was very dry and really absorbed the paint.

On the way home we rode our bikes up to 7-mile slough to see if any ‘gators were out. This is a sign at the slough.

We found 14 of various lengths resting in the afternoon sun. Guess that they too were glad to see the sun and some heat.


Can you count them? Could not get all of them in one picture.

Next week will try to add comments a couple of times so the blog wont be so long. And oh yes, you can comment on the blog if you want and if the pictures are small, just double click on them to make them larger.