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.