March 14 - 24

 

Before we started home from the shop on Tuesday we had gathered what we would need to begin working on the trails – blue paint, yellow paint and reflective tape – so Wednesday we headed out Military Trail to the first marker and began the next task.  We were able to complete nearly all of the Prairie Loop Trail before running out of blue spray paint to mark the posts.  We also ran out of the flat black that we needed to cover blue blazes on trees.  Someone had marked the trail in spots with blue blazes on trees, some of which were right next to a post with a blue end.  Charlie was going to town later and said he would pick up more paint.  That ended our trail work for a while.

On the way back to the campground we spotted this gofer tortoise along the edge of the road.  They borrow long tunnels deep into the sand for a nest.

 

On Thursday we found out that Charlie had not gotten us the paint we needed to continue so we decided to take the day and head to Sebring.  There is a quilt shop along the way and we needed to pick up a few grocery items.  Nothing at the quilt shop said – “Buy me”- so we left empty handed and drove through Sebring looking for a spot to stop for lunch.  After lunch things went down hill in a hurry.  As we left the restaurant we had to make a “U” turn to head back north on US27.  The turn was nearly completed (US27 in a 6 lane divided highway with a wide median) when we either side-swiped or were side-swiped by a VW Passat.  Fortunately no one was really hurt and no citations were issued that we know of.  Judy’s seat belt caught her across the chest and her upper back was sore.  The EMS checked her out and we both refused treatment.  This is the truck loaded on the flatbed for transport.  The driver actually drove it up and onto the truck.  We rode with the driver to Alan Jay GMC/Chevrolet that happened to be a State Farm Select Service shop.  We managed to get the info called in and arranged for a rental.  

This is the Ram on the bed of the tow truck headed for the shop.

By this time Judy was beginning to feel it some so we stopped by a drug store and picked up a few things, including some Naproxan.  She took two on the way back to the RV and when we got back stretched out on the bed.  One of the other volunteers who is a retired RN came over and also did some checking and brought over several large ice packs and told Judy to use the ice – 15 to 20 minutes on each hour.

Needless to say we did not sleep well but Friday was a new day.  Initially Jon was going to finish the Prairie Loop trail (repainting markers and painting over trees that had been marked), but all good plans……  The park has an 1800 acre prescribed burn set for today.  On his way to the fire zone, Charlie drove into the campground and asked Ron (another volunteer) and Jon to get the “Duce and a Half” (old military truck they have a large water tank loaded on) to get it to the burn zone.  As Jon knew the way, he drove the ranger 4x4 and Ron followed in the truck.  It was about two and a half miles out so by the time we got and back it was lunch time.  We had just finished eating when Ron came by and said that Charlie wanted Mike and Jon to take the repeater radio out to the zone and set it up and on the way back, pickup a Polaris 6x6 that had lost a wheel. 

After gathering everything we stopped by the RV and Judy decided to tag a long, even though she was still feeling it some.  We made it out to the burn area and set up the radio antenna and station. 

 

Judy was a bit tired from it all but said the bumpy ride was OK. She is probably discussing knitting with Carol.

Saturday was a day of rest and laundry.  In the afternoon we went to town early to take care of a few things and then met the other volunteers at Golden Corral for St Patrick’s Day.  And yes they did have corned beef and cabbage!

After taking it easy on Sunday, we headed out to finish the trail and take care of remarking some intersection markers and repainting the posts.  Charlie also wants us to put reflective tape on the post so they can be seen in the night with a flashlight.  When we got back in we both looked like raccoons in reverse – white around our eyes our faces and gritty and dirty.

The thistles are growing here.  They are feeding plants for all sorts of insects and butterflies.  This one is about five feet high.

This is a bug down into a big thistle flower.

As we have completed the Prairie Loop Trail it is on to the intersection markets on the other hiking trails.  We had initially put them up several years ago so are pretty familiar with where they are and how they are marked.We finished all of the ones in the ‘cattle lease area’ except two.  Those two are in areas too wet to get to with the ranger.  On that trip we saw some neat things.  We were bouncing along, Judy driving, when we came upon a 4 foot diamond back warming in the sugar sand trail.  He saw us and flicked his tongue but scurried off the trail.

We also spotted several of these. 

They are beetles stock on a barb of wire by a loggerhead shrike.  These birds enjoy hanging their prey on the wires…sort of a trophy.

We also spotted a young gofer turtle trying to cross the disked sand road. 

We were unable to make it to two of the markers.  The one was in a very wet area and we did not want to get the ranger stuck.  The other was at the north edge of the park (about 2 miles out) and we would have had to drive on a freshly disked path that was far from smooth.

This is a view across the prairie from “Peevine” the road the follows an old railroad bed through the park.  As far as you can see is nothing but the prairie.

Wednesday we had to drive to Sebring to clean out the truck and swap the rental.  The passenger’s side airbag was not working - well at least the light was on saying it was not.  We managed to get everything in the rental and did get a photo of the truck. Sorry it is not to sharp.  They have stripped the interior and were ready to remove the hitch and bed.

As the 4x4 Ranger was running a bit rough, Thursday it got a minor tune-up.  Cleaned and adjusted the plug, cleaned the air cleaners and blew out the junk from the radiator.  On the trip from the shop back to the campground it was running so nice. We will head west in the prairie to work on intersection markers in that area on Friday morning.

It was another beautiful morning as we headed west on Military to reach the first marker, almost4 miles from the camp ground.  We had not trouble finding the next four markers.  During our ride out we spotted a wild hog and several deer.  About noon as we headed south on Duck Slough Prairie Trail we stopped for lunch in the shade of the only live oak we could find.  We had to drive on a freshly disked ‘road’ and that made traveling slow and bumpy.  When the sand got too soft we moved over to the cut down palmetto/grass beside the road.  We found the marker and the south boundary and decided to head west along the boundary road to the final marker – at the extreme southwest corner of the preserve.  We had traveled about a mile when the ranger gave out a ‘clunk’ and stopped forward progress.  It would go a foot in reverse but not forward.  After some checking we determined that the drive belt had either slipped or broke.  We tried calling on the radio but could not raise anyone, nor could we hear any other radio calls.  We thought we were just a little out of range so our only option was to start walking and get into range.  We thought that even if we raised someone on the radio it would take an hour or so to get to us.  And so we started to walk - walking we did.  We had about a half cup of water left in Judy’s bottle and about the same in Jon’s coffee cup.  We also had a bag for dried cranberries.  As we walked back east to the trail north we kept calling but heard nothing.  It was 12:45 when we left the ranger and began walking. 

We came upon a small flock of wood storks hanging out in the trees along the boundary.  There is a wetland just south of the fence that they are apparently using as a temporary home.

 It took nearly and hour to reach the north trail marker so we could head north from the south boundary.  We had to walk in that freshly disked road or if it was too soft in the mowed palmettos stepping over ‘gator backs’ or areas the hogs had rooted.  Going was slow.  We did stop several times to rest, when we could find the shade of a lonely palm or high growth of palmetto, but the sun was nearly overhead so little shade was to be found.  By the map we had another 3 plus miles to hike before we even reached Military Trail….all of it in a freshly disked road.  As we walked we kept trying the radio but could not get a response, nor hear any other transmissions.  We were really dragging and our rest stops became for frequent.  About 3:20 we heard a faint radio transmission and tried to reach someone, with no luck, but that did give us a slim glimmer of hope. As we continued to hike and press on we kept trying the radio.  It was 3:30 when we finally heard complete transmissions.  We tried to reach the office but got no response.  We heard the office talking to Paul the biologist so we tried going direct to him.  He was on the main road out of the park nearly to the shop area in his truck.  He heard our call and turned around and headed our way.  At this point we felt some revived, but Judy was done in.

Jon took his rest by leaning against the trunk of a palm that was giving shade to the work out hikers.

At nearly four we saw Paul’s truck slowly making its way down the soft sand road.  He brought cold water and we were so thankful for the ride.  On the way back we discussed, among other things, the need to roll and compact these roads once they are disked.  They use the roads not only for hiking, biking and horse trails, but as fire breaks when burning. 

Paul, the biologist had an interesting theory on our loss of radio reception/transmission capability.  When we started our long walk, we could hear planes making practice bomb runs on the Avon Park range that is just across the Kissimmee River from the park.  In fact the river is the boarder between the park and the range.  At any rate, the entire three hours we were walking, we could hear but no see the planes.  Just before we heard the first radio transmission, we heard what turned out to be the last plane making a run.  All the while we waited for Paul, no planes.  Curious thought is that when the planes are practicing, they have activated their anti-jamming radios and that blanks out the park radios.  Maybe???

When we arrived at the RV we had some more to drink then drove to the shower house.  Our bodies were so grimy from the sand and dried from the sun and our clothes so full of dirt we did not want to stay in then longer than necessary.  We both felt so food after long hot showers.

About 7:30 Frank, the on duty ranger, pulled up in front of the RV.  He had the 4x4 on a trailer ready to take to the shop for repairs.  He felt too that the belt had broken and said he would have it ready for us by Monday. He said it took him and hour and a half to go from Military Trail (a decent road) south to the boundary and then west to the 4x4. He could not believe how far out we were and how bad disked roads are to drive on and agreed that the roads need to be rolled and compacted as soon as they are disked.

Needless to say, it was an early night to bed.

Saturday we took it easy until we had to go to town.  We manned the park information booth at the BassPro bass fishing tournament on Lake Okeechobee.  Met some interesting people and saw some awesome fishing boats.  These guys are professionals, with sponsor labeled boast and tow vehicles.  ESPN was there and apparently the contest will be on TV in the future.

Later this coming week we will do a follow up on the truck.  We may have to return this rental too as one of the ‘warning’ lights just came on.

Feb-28 to Mar 13

Tuesday morning we left the Famcamp at 9:30 for the drive to “the prairie.” This time we took the Leroy Selmon toll road from just a few miles outside the gate to near Route 60.  That cut a miles and time off the trip and we had very little traffic.  We pulled into the park a little after 1:30 and spotted two volunteers painting the front gate sign – the one we had painted last year.  Stopped to chat with them and found out we were the “hail” part of a “hail and farewell” potluck that evening. 

After getting setup and checking in at the office we had an enjoyable first evening meeting the other volunteer couples and getting acquainted.  On Wednesday morning we went to the office to see what Charlie had in store for us.  One of the other volunteers had suggested to Judy that she heard we would be painting Charlie’s residence.  Anyway Charlie walked in and after some pleasantries gave us several tasks to start off our month.  Painting his residence was not among them even though Judy said that if he had any big projects for us we would like to get started now.  First is to make new burn markers and then to check the other trail markers we had done in years past.

We went back to the Greystone packed lunch and got on our bikes for the ride to the shop.  Our first task is to make a complete set of burn markers and to complete a set that has some missing.  A burn marker is a five inch section of PVC pipe that has a letter stenciled on two sides and reflective tape at the top and bottom.  In the top opening is a block of wood so that when the marker is placed on a metal post it stays up.  They use the posts to mark the sections of the area they are burning.

We spent most of the day finding all the materials and tools (stencils, tape, pipe etc.) and then cutting the 5 inch sections.  Thursday we assembled, and painted the markers and put on the reflective tape. 

Here Judy is fitting the blocks into the top of the pipe.

These are the finished markers.

We were done when Charlie drove up and asked us to go to burn area 6 and pick up the markers there.  So we got in a Polaris 6X6 and started out to pickup the markers.  The markers surrounded a burn they had done over two weeks ago.  The burn area encompassed nearly 1800 acres!  Here is one picture of the area.  You can see the green coming up all over the blacked areas.

Thursday three couples from central Ohio arrived.  We were invited down to chat with them before dinner.  One is a retired Ag prof from Ohio State and he is very much interested in getting a buggy ride over the weekend.  They are from the Dublin area near Columbus and had been on the west coast of Florida since early January and were slowly working their way back north.

A ‘buggy’ ride took most of Friday.  Jen, a ranger, took eight volunteers out for a buggy tour and a side trip from the usual tour into an area that they are planning on burning.  We saw wild hogs, lots of birds, a few ‘gator, deer and even a zebra!  The ranch to the east has a number of exotic animals on it.  Normally the buggy tour is a two hour trip – for paying customers – we were out from 8:30 until a little after one.

Here we are taking a break in the shade while on the long buggy ride.

Judy and Jen, the ranger leading our tour, are talking about plant life in the hammock.

Saturday we were going to work on lettering the new “Trail Closed” sign but alas – no red paint.  Sunday was our big day.  The long drive into Okeechobee - we had forgotten just how far it is!  After church, grocery shopping and filling the Ram it was that long drive back.

On Monday we decided to drive to the shop rather than ride as it was chilly and windy.  While Judy worked on her sign, Jon gathered materials and tools to work on the main gate.  The yellow is faded and it needs to sanded in spots (rust) and then repainted.  As there is no power nearby, we loaded up a generator to run the grinder.  While unhitching the trailer from the 6X6 Ranger, Jon ‘pinched’ his thumb so that ended the work for Monday.  Tuesday it was very very windy but we managed to get the new “Trail Closed” sign put together and finished sanding and prepping the gate. 

On the way to the shop we spotted these Sandhill cranes in the pasture next to the main park road.  Sandhill cranes mate for life. They seem to be hanging out in the pasture along the road to the shop

Because of the high winds predicted for the next three days, there will be no spray painting.  The gate project will be on hold for a while.  Charlie says the 4X4 Ranger should be back so we will do some trail work until the winds die down.    This is an old live oak that was pushed over many years ago by the winds or a hurricane, but it still kept growing.

We asked Bruce, one of the rangers, to bring over from the shop area some items we will need on Wednesday to work on the mature trail.  It is shorter loop trail through a nearby hammock and because of some dead live oaks (sort of an oxymoron) the trail had to be re-routed.

It was a late and a bit frustrating start to Wednesday, but we did get moving on the trail with a wheel barrow, post hole digger and extra posts.  It was a two wheeled model and that made the pushing a bit easier.  We re-located several existing markers and put in some new ones to mark the rerouted section.  Judy and one of the other volunteers pulled a lot of brush into the old pathways to serve as a barrier.  While out there we also looked at a foot bridge over a now dry slough.  It is too narrow to take the mover over (no one thought to measure the width of the mower before construction).  Charlie had suggested that we move the posts over an inch and a half on each side to make room.  After looking at it we decided the most cost effective way would be to move the bottom scuff board (a 2x4) in inside the posts.  It means a lot of cutting and re drilling and screwing, but much easier than digging out and moving posts.

On Thursday we just messed some.  Put some arrow marks on several of the posts in the nature trail and hauled the old temporary posts to the shop. Charlie has agreed to the relocation of the scuff boards so now we have three tasks to work on: finish painting the main gate; move the scuff boards on that 40 foot bridge and get out on the prairie and fix the intersection markers.  All of these jobs are dependent on the weather and us getting some transportation.  Alas the 4X4 Polaris Ranger is to be picked up from the shop Thursday afternoon – we shall see.

Yes, we still do see plenty of gators.  The first week we arrived you could see the tail draggings from when one crossed the road on the way to the equestrian area.  Jon was ridding his bike and saw the trail and then the gator walking along the ditch at the edge of the road.  They look different when up on all four legs.

It did arrive….the 4X4 Polaris is back and is ours to use.  It was lunch time by the time we gathered what we needed to do the bridge (tools and screws) and gassed up the ranger.  After lunch we started on the bridge. The first board took us a while to figure out but we got the scheme down and did two more sections before the drill batteries went dead.   

  

Friday night we had a real thunder storm roll through and it rained very hard for several hours.  The campground had a number of tenters (a group of Seventh Day Adventists) and some of them did get wet.  The campground dryer saw a lot of action.

It was a bit difficult cutting the 2x4 small pieces for supports using the circular saw so Saturday Jon went to the shop to use the table saw to cut supports pieces.  He cut 30 pieces and then used the drill press to pre-drill two holes in each for the deck screws.  We found that the original 2x4’s had been put on with a mixture for phillips and torques head wood screws – had to have two different drivers to take them out.  This is Jon cutting one of the 12 foot 2x4’s to fit between the support posts.

We finished the weekend with a drive to Palm Beach Gardens to visit Jo.  She is getting along good after her surgery.  Judy made a big pot of Olive Garden’s cream of chicken gnocci soup and Missy had made a deep dish peach cobbler.  On the way home we stopped to pick up a few groceries and as we drove out of Okeechobee it started to rain.  It rained for several hours.  Not a hard rain but a good rain for here. 

As Judy took Lilly out for her morning walk on Monday, several campers were gathered at the front of our RV.  She came back to say that three Swallow Tailed Kite had landed it the live oak behind us.  Here are several pictures.  Apparently it is mating season and at least one of them is a male.  We have seen them flying in the distance but never up close.  They are a much larger bird than expected.

We finished up the bridge on Monday.  We were taking a break near lunch time (the drill batteries needed a charge) when Gary, a fellow we had volunteered with here several times stopped by for a visit.  We had a nice long visit and shared a desert Judy made.  After Gary left we finished up the bridge.  On the right below is the “after” side and on the left the “before.”

 

The next project on our agenda is to finish the main gate.  We had prepped it earlier but had to wait for a calmer day to paint.  The park has a burn scheduled Tuesday (about 150 acres) so the winds are down and we can try to paint.

 

As we were driving to the shop we passed a ranch vehicle on the property next to the park.  Being friendly we both waived.  While we were scraping the old reflector tape off, the pickup drove up and out jumped a lady who introduced herself as Zena Thomas.  She had on an old straw cowboy hat tennis shoes.  She had just been out moving her cattle from one pasture to another.  Her property borders the main road into the park on the west.  She said she had stapled turkey feathers to a couple of posts she wants her grandson to replace.  She thought the city folk would get a kick out of seeing them too. Judy had a long conversation with her.  She has lived on that land 79 years! 

After trying with the Wagner electric gun and then spilling a pint of paint we settled on using the air spray gun to paint the pipes.  Because of the drying time and the instructions on the paint can, we had to clean up the air gun for lunch – another fun chore.  By 2 we had finished the painting and applied the new reflector tape and headed home!

The burn went off and Jen (one of the rangers) earned her certification as a “Burn Boss” so now she can supervise prescribed burns.  They are way behind on needed burns so are hoping to get many more in before summer.

We will next start on trail and intersection markers but that is for the next chapter.