Tuesday, April 22 - We packed up and left Collier-Seminole at 10:36 AM. It was 77 degrees and sunny. There was so much dew in the night that the underside of our tarp was wet. This slowed us down some while we dried things out. Our hawk friend came by and flew overhead making his screaching noise as though he was bidding us good bye. We decided to drive up hwy 41 (Tamiami Trail) because Oscar Scherer is close to it just south of Sarasota. The going was so tedious with many, many lights and shopping areas that we gave up that idea and went over to I-75. We had no idea that it would be built up that much the whole way. We arrived at Oscar Scherer about 1:31 PM after driving 121.8 miles. We got set up and went a couple miles north to a little Greek restaurant for dinner. It was very nice. We came back and took a walk around the campground and met a nice couple named Bonita and Henry from Tarpon Springs. They too have a pop-up camper and enjoy real camping. We exchanged some camping stories about places we've been.
Web Site of Oscar Scherer SP: http://www.floridastateparks.org/oscarscherer/default.cfm
Wednesday, April 23 - This morning we got up not too early and took our coffee walk down the trail that runs by the creek (South Creek). The scenery was wonderful. We also wanted to see how far it would be to wheel the kayaks to the launch. Not too bad. After pancake breakfast we put the kayaks on their new wheels and walked them about 20 minutes down the road to the picnic area where there is a launch. We went out about a mile and a half and fished in Blackburn Bay. John caught a nice snook, but released it because he has no way to measure a fish over 20 inches long. (See picture by clicking below.) After dinner we walked the loops. The campground seems to be about 1/3 full.
Thursday, April 24- This was a Wal-Mart day which is only a couple of miles north on Hwy 41, so we decided that on the way we would check out a couple of places to launch the kayaks. At the next light north, we turned on Blackburn Pt. Road and went about a mile to where there is a draw-bridge over a channel. There were nice parks on each side that had places to launch. These are busy areas for bigger boats, but it looked like there were places we could go to get away from them. We then did our Wally shopping, came back to camp, had lunch and went on about a 2 mile hike on the Yellow trail. The trail was soft sand and hard going in spots. It was pretty, though, and passed by "Big Lake". We rested there on an observation platform and enjoyed a small alligator that was swimming across. The weather has been outstanding. It got up to about 87 today, but very low humidity. Nights have been cool making sleeping great. No rain! Few bugs!
Friday, April 25 - This morning we talked for quite a while and exchanged e-mails, etc. with Henry and Benita who were heading out today. We also sat and waited for a couple to leave site 86 so we could check it out more closely. We made a reservation for that site for next December. After a late breakfast, we walked the kayaks down to the launch again and fished for a few hours. We did not go out as far as we did the last time and fished the channels . No luck. We headed back and fished on the way still without success. We were nearly back to the launch when John finally landed another nice snook. It was a few inches smaller than the one he caught on Wednesday, but still gave a nice fight. They are such great fish, but catching one in the slot (between 28 and 32 inches) is not easy. We had an easy dinner and a relaxing evening. Just before bedtime, Joan spotted an enormous spider. It was very fast, but John was able to evict it from the camper. He did feel a slight prick and noticed two fang marks on his thumb, but no ill effects so far. John looked him up online and found he was a huntsman spider. You can see him at: http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/urban/spiders/giant_crab_spider.htm The article confirms that John will not suffer greatly from the bite as they are not poisonous. In this article: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/spiders3.html about a third of the way down the page under "male and female huntsman spiders" they say we should not have killed it because they eat cockroaches. Oh well. I think we both slept better knowing it was gone.
Saturday, April 26 - Today was a down day for us. We got up and went over to the nature center for a coffee. Folks are very nice there and very helpful. We enjoyed the exhibits. We then came back to the campsite and had a nice scrambled egg breakfast. It was nice to sit around the campsite and read and look up catepillars and spiders on the web. We took a couple of leisurely walks around the campground and to a campfire that the rangers here put on. The weather continues to be nearly perfect.
Sunday, April 27 - This morning we went to church at Grace UMC in Venice. The contemporary service was at 9AM and very well attended with about 300 people there. They had a lead guitarist, bass guitarist, conga drummer, and two vocalists. The music blend was very nice and the selection of music was good also. They started the service with the video clip of Steve Garvey showing how he would introduce Christ. It sturred a lot of excitement (view below). The message was also very good and was based on the book of Ezekiel and the dry bones. The pastor emphasized that God does not always prevent tragedy in our lives, but always promises to restore. After church, we went out to eat at Mel's Diner. The food was excellent and the service very good also. We took a short walk around the campground, which was much less crowded than yesterday and fished in Osprey lake in the evening. John had a couple of small bass on but they didn't stay hooked. We received a reply from Daniel at "whatsthatbug.com" and the caterpillar we took the picture of is an echo moth caterpillar. You can see it at: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/caterpillar_11.html nearly all the way to the bottom of the page.
Look at this one for a picture of the adult: http://bugguide.net/node/view/44676
Monday, April 28 - Today the forcast included showers, so we decided to take the kayaks out early to fish. We wheeled them down again to the picnic area and put in. In a few minutes we were greated by a bald eagle that soared fairly close overhead. We decided not to go very far down river due to the weather reports, and the fishing was very slow. John managed one trout to the boat. It is more humid today, so we moved around less. We did manage to take a walk down to the lake and there was a nice breeze there. It is 8:47 PM and it still hasn't rained, but it sure feels like it is going to any minute.
Tuesday, April 29 - We went to bed last night fully expecting it to rain in the night. There was a cold front moving through, but all it did was lower the humidity some. This was a welcome relief from the heat of the last couple of days. Still, it is not as hot as it will get in a few weeks. We did our coffee walk on the South River Trail and stopped at the office at the front gate and picked up some information on Volksmarching in the area. Joan had done a lot of this while stationed in Germany and was interested in what was offered here. After a pancake and sausage breakfast, we got on the bikes and headed for the Legacy Trail that is part of Florida's "Rails-to-Trails" program. the trail runs through Oscar Scherer SP. This railroad was the one that originally brought the Ringling Brothers Circus to Sarasota as their winter home. We went about 3 miles and then went onto the Stoneybrook Nature Trail. This is also paved and goes through a wetland. In all we biked about 7 or 8 miles today. After supper we enjoyed sitting by the lake for a while.
Wednesday, April 30 - After our coffee walk and breakfast, we wheeled the kayaks again down to the canoe launch and headed out to open water. The bald eagle greated us once again on our way out. We got out there fairly quickly and headed over beyond some islands and let the wind blow us toward Casey Key. John was the first to score with a couple of ladyfish. Then Joan got a nice redfish that was just an inch shy of keeper size. It put up a nice fight, but she prevailed. In just a few minutes John caught its identical twin. After a while more fishing the duet landed on an open area on an island and had lunch. John then realized that he did not have Joan's fishing license on him so we decided to head in. It was about 3:30 by the time we got back to camp. The weather today was perfect, with much lower humidity and a nice breeze. We are going to do some laundry early in the morning, then head out again. The flats where we fished were very nice with very minimal damage from boats.
Thursday, May 1 - Today marks the beginning of our second month. The time is going quickly. This morning was laundry morning and we got it done quickly, had breakfast, then wheeled the kayaks back down to the picnic area for another outing. We headed to about the same place that we caught the redfish yesterday, and it didn't take too long for John to hook up with a nice one that was 21" long and weighed just shy of 5 pounds. It has been a long time since we have had fresh fish, so this one went into the bag. Joan soon landed a nice 17" spotted sea trout, but since we already had dinner in the bag, this one went back in the water. John then landed another redfish that was about the same size as the ones yesterday. We made our way back in and prepared our fish dinner. John fileted it and cooked it on the RVQ in open foil with olive oil after breading it in Italian breadcrumbs. He also added some lemon pepper seasoning. It was delicious. Joan says redfish is her favorite, while John prefers trout or bass.
Friday, May 2 - We had some errands to run in the morning so we headed a little north towards Sarasota to stop at WalMart to get a propane refill and a few odds and ends and at Staples to get Joan a planner like she got from one in New Hampshire last year. However, that must be something that is done only at certain Staples and this one didn't have it. She was able to find a suitable replacement at WalMart. We then dropped off our supplies, had breakfast, and headed off again to find the place where the Lipazzan Stallions perform. We didn't take any pictures of our own, but you can see them at: http://www.hlipizzans.com/ This is the end of their dress rehersals before hitting the road and the performances are free, except for a free-will offering. They are located very near Myakka City, which is little more than an intersection. On the way there we passed through Myakka State Park, which looked very nice and a place we need to camp some time. It is huge, but out in the middle of nowhere. The performance of the stalllions was excellent and educational as well. The performance was outside and all the shadey places were taken by the time we got there, but still fairly comfortable. On the way home we saw a sign for an Italian buffet at the Old Myakka Church, so we decided to give it a try. The food was outstanding and even good enough that the Saratoga County Paramedic crew showed up for dinner. The people were very friendly and welcoming. In the evening some neighbors (Meat and Mary Ann and Brenda and Neal) joined us at our campsite for a nice time of chatting. We had a great time with them.
Saturday, May 3 - We had a quiet day around camp today. We had coffee down at the nature center again and took a couple of walks. In the evening we watched a video that John had recorded earlier from the educational channel on Appalachia. It was excellent. There are two more segments.
Sunday, May 4 - This morning we went to the contemporary service at Christ United Methodist Church in Venice. Memorial Hall was nearly full with many young people, but mostly folks about our age. The music was much louder than any contemporary service we've been to and should attract a younger crowd. We talked to several people who were very warm and friendly. A lady named Linda sat with us. This was the first time she had been to this service, but she has attended the other service for awhile. We both really liked the pastor and appreciated his message on "Abiding in the Vine." Of course, Jesus said that he is the true vine. After the service we went into downtown Venice looking for a restaurant, but didn't find one to our liking. We walked towards the beach and looked around. We talked to a lady who was walking and she told us of several restaurants she has tried. We decided to try Captain Eddy's in Nocomis. It was very good. We both had the fisherman's platter, broiled. We then drove to a boat launch on an inlet off of Robert's Bay. It is very busy with people launching and landing their boats. We sat on a shady picnic table all afternoon and into the evening and were joined by our neighbors Meat and Mary Ann for awhile as well. If you have never spent time at a boat ramp, we highly recommend it. It is great entertainment. You never know what will happen next.
Monday, May 5 - Today was a start to get things ready to leave day. We cleaned the kayaks and put them back up on the truck, John put away the RVQ, and Joan did some inside cleaning. We enjoyed talking with Meat and Mary Ann during the afternoon and spent the evening with Brenda and Neal and had a real nice time at their campsite. They live in Lakeland, not too far from us.
View Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/OscarSchererStateParkOspreyFLAril22May62008
2008 Trip - Collier-Seminole State Park, Everglades FL (April 8-22)
Tuesday, April 8 - We packed up leisurely and left Ortona South at 10:33 under partly cloudy skies and 77 degrees. We arrived at Collier-Seminole http://www.floridastateparks.org/collier-seminole/default.cfm at 12:30 after driving 87.4 miles. The reservation system here is down so we will have to check in every day for the next week. At first we picked site 115 and got it assigned, but before we set up we checked Reserve America on the internet and saw that they showed it unavailable for some time in the next two weeks which would mean that we would have to move. We saw that site 117 showed available for 14 days so we went back and had the ranger switch us. We'll see if that helps. We got set up, had spaghetti for dinner, and took a bike ride around the park to check things out. Our campsite is only about a quarter mile to the canoe/kayak trail that is part of the Florida Everglades Trail. You can check it out at http://www.evergladestrail.com/. We will probably try that out tomorrow. We also biked to a nearby gas station that had some Ben and Gerry's ice cream that we brought home and split. Yum! We were able to set up the tarp this time because we are more protected by trees from the wind. The ranger also warned us about mosquitoes in the evening. What would camping in the Everglades be without them. Actually the deer flys have been worse. We'll get some pictures posted tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 9 - It was a beautiful nights sleeping. John heard barred owls in the night. We took our coffee walk down to the dock and met a young man named Bob who fly fishes from his kayak. We talked a long time about spots we and he have been. He was here with his girlfriend, but she had to go back to work. We came back and had breakfast and soon had a new neighbor pull in with a 30 y/o GMC motor home. Jeff has done a nice job restoring it. We couldn't put it off any longer so we did a couple loads of wash and hung it out on a clothesline in our campsite. That's sort of tacky, but oh well, dryers are too pricey. We walked again back down to the pier, mostly to just sit and enjoy the scenery, but also brought our fishing rods. Good scenery - no fish.
Thursday, April 10 - Another peaceful night. We both heard the barred owls tonight. We woke up not too early and took our coffee down to the office to register for another day, then walked the loops. We had breakfast and got the kayaks ready to take them on the Black River Trail that starts about 1/2 mile from our campsite. We loaded both kayaks, one on top of the other, on the wheels and walked them to the launch. It is a beautiful trail between red mangroves that meanders out to the gulf. Because of the heat, we only went a couple of miles and fished our way back. Nothing! We only saw one 10 foot alligator that was sunning itself in the bay by the pier. He was much too busy to bother us, however. We talked to both of our new friends Bob and Jeff today. Bob took off to launch his kayak directly on the Gulf and he managed one small snook. Jeff showed us his GMC motor home and some of the mods he has made including installing many l.e.d. lights instead of regular light bulbs. Now John is thinking of making some similar changes.
Friday, April 11 - We woke up again not very early and did the morning routine taking our coffee down to the office to check in and pay for another day. We'll be glad when their computer system is back online so we don't have to make the daily trip. So far, thankfully, we have not had to move sites. We had breakfast then headed for Everglades City, Everglades National Park, and Chokoloskee. We first checked out the information office at the NP and saw that they had a place to launch the kayaks. We went on down to Chokoloskee and went down to another area that had a launch. This one would cost $10 to park, which would probably be worth it. The area was beautiful and right out on the flats. On the way back to the NP, we stopped for lunch at Millers World Famous Oyster House Restaurant. Joan had fried grouper and John had broiled pompano. Both were outstanding. We then went back to the NP and launched for awhile. Even though it was quite warm, there was a nice breeze on the gulf that kept us comfortable. John did all the catching today, but the catches were not of the edible kind. A couple of saltwater catfish and a few ladyfish were all that cooperated today. Anyway it was fun and the scenery was beautiful. We saw a dolphin that came within about 50 feet of the kayaks. We ended our outing by stopping for ice cream at a nice little shop.
Saturday, April 12 - Today was a down day. We started off with the same routine of renuing for the day at the office, then returned for bacon and egg breakfast. It already felt warmer by breakfast and turned out to be the warmest day so far. It got up to 91 officially, but might have been warmer inland where we are. We both have been getting bit up with deer flies, but Joan is reacting more to them with big red blotches on her legs!!! Nothing seems to do any good to keep them away. We have Avon repellant that works well for no-see-ums, but doesn't faze the deer flies. There are mosquitoes as well, but the repellants do a good job of keeping them away. We biked down to the docks and just sat in the shade there. There was a nice sea breeze and was very pleasant. The breeze is mostly being blocked by trees at the campground. I guess you can't have everything. We were in the open at Ortona and nearly got blown away. Here we could use a little more breeze.
Sunday, April 13 - After updating our site and taking a coffee walk down to the dock, we headed over to Naples to spend the day with Joan's cousin David and his wife Marty. They have a very nice place in a gated community that offers a golf course, boat mooring, and shuttle boat to a very nice private beach. We got a tour of their house then of the community. It is an extremely well maintained and beautiful area. Next we all got in their boat and made our way through the canals, into the Gulf, then to Marco Island for lunch. We ate at a very nice restaurant overlooking the water. The weather was perfect and the food excellent. For desert, we walked to a local shop that mixes its own ice cream specialties. Yum! We returned a different way staying in channels so we could stop at the private beach. John and David talked while Joan and Marty collected shells. We then got back in the line of boat traffic heading back to Naples and returned to their house. After watching the grass grow for a couple of hours on the Augusta, Ga. golf course where they were holding the Master's Tournament, we had a marvelous pork chop dinner. What a great day! Thanks again Dave and Marty!!!
Monday, April 14 - The morning routine was the same as yesterday's, then we had to make a WalMart trip for groceries and a few other necessities. We also stopped at Saltwater Sports kayak dealer and bought new transporting wheels for our kayaks. These will neatly fit in the sealed compartments in our kayaks and will allow us to easily walk them to wherever we need to launch. We also picked up cushion grips for our paddles. It is really cooling off here with tonight's low expected to be in the low 50s.
Tuesday, April 15 - Today was quite cool so we took the opportunity to go on a couple of hikes. The first one was a fairly short (about 1 mile) in Collier-Seminole S.P. that goes through a Royal Palm Hammock. It was very nice. Next we went down the road to Fakahatchee Strand SP. This was a longer trail and much more popular. We saw a Bald Eagle on a nest, a Pileated Woodpecker, several aligators, and a wonderful variety of native plants, including a strangler fig. (see pictures) We met a nice couple who are retired school teachers from New Jersey. We had a nice talk and enjoyed a campfire with them.
Wednesday, April 16 - It got quite cool in the night, but we slept very comfortably. We ran into our friends at their campsite and while we were talking a red-shouldered hawk flew only a couple of feet over our heads and landed in a nearby branch. He moved from brance to branch like he was posing for us, so we all took advantageof the situation by taking as many pictures as possible. To top it off he finally landed on the top of a flag post and perched there just long enough for us to take onemore shot. Later in the day we did some exploring at Marco Island and Isle of Capri. We fished a little with zip results.
Thursday, April 17 - After our normal morning routine, we headed to Chokoloskee to launch the kayaks and fish. We put in on the property of a local museum. We first headed into the wind to let it blow us back so we could drift fish, but the tide was going the opposite way and kept pushing us farther out. We decided to head to one of the 10,000 islands in the area and fish around it. John caught 4 fish, one ladyfish, two catfish, and a black drum. Not exactly what we were after. Oh well. It was a beautiful day. In the evening we sat around a fire and fed mosquitoes. They were worse tonight than they have been since we got here. Finally we gave up and headed inside.
Friday, April 18 - We had a leisurely coffee walk and breakfast, then headed over to launch near Marco Island. We pulled off the road just before the bridge that goes to the island. Just before we launched we talked to a couple who are with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. We watched them release over a dozen pelicans back into the water that they had rescued from various injuries, mostly from encounters with fishermen. You can view their website at: http://www.conservancy.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=244&srcid=347
Again John was the only one to catch fish, but again the only fish were ladyfish and catfish. One catfish gave John quite a fight as he weighed in at about 10 pounds. While we were fishing a dolphin came right between our kayaks and only about 5 feet from us. He was awesome to watch. Joan was able to get a picture of his dorsal fin and the wake he made chasing fish. It is warming up again with highs in the 80s.
Saturday, April 19 - A man we spoke to at the area we launched yesterday told us about a spot that few people know about where we could launch and be right out in the flats. The area is part of the Southwest Florida Conservancy and is at Shell Point off of 951. The road was very rough and long. and when we got to the launch it was obvious that the secret was out. However, we decided to launch anyway and because there is so much water, the crowded conditions did not present a problem. Joan caught a couple of small trout, a ladyfish, and many catfish. John caught a small snook, a small trout, a lady, and a few cats. It is very nice there and a place we would return to, but only during the week when will not be so crowded.
Sunday, April 20 - We enjoyed a very nice service at Wesley United Methodist Church on Marco Island this morning. It was a contemporary service with very good music that led the congregation into a very meaningful worship time. The message was also very good. The sanctuary was among the nicest we have attended. After church we tried to find the restaurant that Dave and Marty took us to last Sunday, but were unable to. We ran across another that looked nice called "The Snook Inn", so we decided to give it a try. The food was very good and the view of the water in the outside "chickee" made for a very enjoyable lunch. We came back to the campsite and enjoyed the afternoon outside after dousing well with deet.
Monday, April 21 - Today was cleanup, laundry, and get things ready to move day. It was a beautiful, but quite warm day. The gnats and flys are getting worse here. Hopefully Oscar Scherer SP will have fewer bugs. Don't come here without a good supply of deet.
View Pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/CollierSeminoleStatePark
Wednesday, April 9 - It was a beautiful nights sleeping. John heard barred owls in the night. We took our coffee walk down to the dock and met a young man named Bob who fly fishes from his kayak. We talked a long time about spots we and he have been. He was here with his girlfriend, but she had to go back to work. We came back and had breakfast and soon had a new neighbor pull in with a 30 y/o GMC motor home. Jeff has done a nice job restoring it. We couldn't put it off any longer so we did a couple loads of wash and hung it out on a clothesline in our campsite. That's sort of tacky, but oh well, dryers are too pricey. We walked again back down to the pier, mostly to just sit and enjoy the scenery, but also brought our fishing rods. Good scenery - no fish.
Thursday, April 10 - Another peaceful night. We both heard the barred owls tonight. We woke up not too early and took our coffee down to the office to register for another day, then walked the loops. We had breakfast and got the kayaks ready to take them on the Black River Trail that starts about 1/2 mile from our campsite. We loaded both kayaks, one on top of the other, on the wheels and walked them to the launch. It is a beautiful trail between red mangroves that meanders out to the gulf. Because of the heat, we only went a couple of miles and fished our way back. Nothing! We only saw one 10 foot alligator that was sunning itself in the bay by the pier. He was much too busy to bother us, however. We talked to both of our new friends Bob and Jeff today. Bob took off to launch his kayak directly on the Gulf and he managed one small snook. Jeff showed us his GMC motor home and some of the mods he has made including installing many l.e.d. lights instead of regular light bulbs. Now John is thinking of making some similar changes.
Friday, April 11 - We woke up again not very early and did the morning routine taking our coffee down to the office to check in and pay for another day. We'll be glad when their computer system is back online so we don't have to make the daily trip. So far, thankfully, we have not had to move sites. We had breakfast then headed for Everglades City, Everglades National Park, and Chokoloskee. We first checked out the information office at the NP and saw that they had a place to launch the kayaks. We went on down to Chokoloskee and went down to another area that had a launch. This one would cost $10 to park, which would probably be worth it. The area was beautiful and right out on the flats. On the way back to the NP, we stopped for lunch at Millers World Famous Oyster House Restaurant. Joan had fried grouper and John had broiled pompano. Both were outstanding. We then went back to the NP and launched for awhile. Even though it was quite warm, there was a nice breeze on the gulf that kept us comfortable. John did all the catching today, but the catches were not of the edible kind. A couple of saltwater catfish and a few ladyfish were all that cooperated today. Anyway it was fun and the scenery was beautiful. We saw a dolphin that came within about 50 feet of the kayaks. We ended our outing by stopping for ice cream at a nice little shop.
Saturday, April 12 - Today was a down day. We started off with the same routine of renuing for the day at the office, then returned for bacon and egg breakfast. It already felt warmer by breakfast and turned out to be the warmest day so far. It got up to 91 officially, but might have been warmer inland where we are. We both have been getting bit up with deer flies, but Joan is reacting more to them with big red blotches on her legs!!! Nothing seems to do any good to keep them away. We have Avon repellant that works well for no-see-ums, but doesn't faze the deer flies. There are mosquitoes as well, but the repellants do a good job of keeping them away. We biked down to the docks and just sat in the shade there. There was a nice sea breeze and was very pleasant. The breeze is mostly being blocked by trees at the campground. I guess you can't have everything. We were in the open at Ortona and nearly got blown away. Here we could use a little more breeze.
Sunday, April 13 - After updating our site and taking a coffee walk down to the dock, we headed over to Naples to spend the day with Joan's cousin David and his wife Marty. They have a very nice place in a gated community that offers a golf course, boat mooring, and shuttle boat to a very nice private beach. We got a tour of their house then of the community. It is an extremely well maintained and beautiful area. Next we all got in their boat and made our way through the canals, into the Gulf, then to Marco Island for lunch. We ate at a very nice restaurant overlooking the water. The weather was perfect and the food excellent. For desert, we walked to a local shop that mixes its own ice cream specialties. Yum! We returned a different way staying in channels so we could stop at the private beach. John and David talked while Joan and Marty collected shells. We then got back in the line of boat traffic heading back to Naples and returned to their house. After watching the grass grow for a couple of hours on the Augusta, Ga. golf course where they were holding the Master's Tournament, we had a marvelous pork chop dinner. What a great day! Thanks again Dave and Marty!!!
Monday, April 14 - The morning routine was the same as yesterday's, then we had to make a WalMart trip for groceries and a few other necessities. We also stopped at Saltwater Sports kayak dealer and bought new transporting wheels for our kayaks. These will neatly fit in the sealed compartments in our kayaks and will allow us to easily walk them to wherever we need to launch. We also picked up cushion grips for our paddles. It is really cooling off here with tonight's low expected to be in the low 50s.
Tuesday, April 15 - Today was quite cool so we took the opportunity to go on a couple of hikes. The first one was a fairly short (about 1 mile) in Collier-Seminole S.P. that goes through a Royal Palm Hammock. It was very nice. Next we went down the road to Fakahatchee Strand SP. This was a longer trail and much more popular. We saw a Bald Eagle on a nest, a Pileated Woodpecker, several aligators, and a wonderful variety of native plants, including a strangler fig. (see pictures) We met a nice couple who are retired school teachers from New Jersey. We had a nice talk and enjoyed a campfire with them.
Wednesday, April 16 - It got quite cool in the night, but we slept very comfortably. We ran into our friends at their campsite and while we were talking a red-shouldered hawk flew only a couple of feet over our heads and landed in a nearby branch. He moved from brance to branch like he was posing for us, so we all took advantageof the situation by taking as many pictures as possible. To top it off he finally landed on the top of a flag post and perched there just long enough for us to take onemore shot. Later in the day we did some exploring at Marco Island and Isle of Capri. We fished a little with zip results.
Thursday, April 17 - After our normal morning routine, we headed to Chokoloskee to launch the kayaks and fish. We put in on the property of a local museum. We first headed into the wind to let it blow us back so we could drift fish, but the tide was going the opposite way and kept pushing us farther out. We decided to head to one of the 10,000 islands in the area and fish around it. John caught 4 fish, one ladyfish, two catfish, and a black drum. Not exactly what we were after. Oh well. It was a beautiful day. In the evening we sat around a fire and fed mosquitoes. They were worse tonight than they have been since we got here. Finally we gave up and headed inside.
Friday, April 18 - We had a leisurely coffee walk and breakfast, then headed over to launch near Marco Island. We pulled off the road just before the bridge that goes to the island. Just before we launched we talked to a couple who are with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. We watched them release over a dozen pelicans back into the water that they had rescued from various injuries, mostly from encounters with fishermen. You can view their website at: http://www.conservancy.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=244&srcid=347
Again John was the only one to catch fish, but again the only fish were ladyfish and catfish. One catfish gave John quite a fight as he weighed in at about 10 pounds. While we were fishing a dolphin came right between our kayaks and only about 5 feet from us. He was awesome to watch. Joan was able to get a picture of his dorsal fin and the wake he made chasing fish. It is warming up again with highs in the 80s.
Saturday, April 19 - A man we spoke to at the area we launched yesterday told us about a spot that few people know about where we could launch and be right out in the flats. The area is part of the Southwest Florida Conservancy and is at Shell Point off of 951. The road was very rough and long. and when we got to the launch it was obvious that the secret was out. However, we decided to launch anyway and because there is so much water, the crowded conditions did not present a problem. Joan caught a couple of small trout, a ladyfish, and many catfish. John caught a small snook, a small trout, a lady, and a few cats. It is very nice there and a place we would return to, but only during the week when will not be so crowded.
Sunday, April 20 - We enjoyed a very nice service at Wesley United Methodist Church on Marco Island this morning. It was a contemporary service with very good music that led the congregation into a very meaningful worship time. The message was also very good. The sanctuary was among the nicest we have attended. After church we tried to find the restaurant that Dave and Marty took us to last Sunday, but were unable to. We ran across another that looked nice called "The Snook Inn", so we decided to give it a try. The food was very good and the view of the water in the outside "chickee" made for a very enjoyable lunch. We came back to the campsite and enjoyed the afternoon outside after dousing well with deet.
Monday, April 21 - Today was cleanup, laundry, and get things ready to move day. It was a beautiful, but quite warm day. The gnats and flys are getting worse here. Hopefully Oscar Scherer SP will have fewer bugs. Don't come here without a good supply of deet.
View Pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/CollierSeminoleStatePark
2008 Trip - Ortona South, La Belle, FL (April 1-7)
Tuesday, April 1 - We left ZH at 8:24 am and arrived at the camground at 12:30. We got stopped by a very slow freight train and the traffic was pretty heavy in Bartow, Avon Park and Sebring. We set up and walked along the canal. This COE facility is by a dam and lock that allows passage from the Atlantic Ocean through Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico. We saw a small gator and many wading birds. We had thunderstorms roll through in the afternoon and it rained all evening. We enjoyed a movie that John had recorded earlier and went to bed early.
Wednesday, April 2 - We woke up to a clear morning except for the fog. As soon as the fog cleared it got pretty warm. We took a coffee walk and watched a boat go through the locks, then had pancakes for breakfast. We talked to folks in the campground from Maine and Sun City Center here in Florida and John found out why the Verizon card wasn't working by calling support. We had another storm come through this afternoon, but so far, not to severe. We fished for a couple of hours in the evening until dark, but caught nothing. People we have talked to have not had any better luck. One man said that the fishing used to be excellent here, but since the low water problems at Okeechobee it has been very poor.
Thursday, April 3 - We got up, made coffee and went on an extended coffee walk across the dam and lock to the other side of the river. we walked down to the boat launch and day-use area and talked to the caretaker. He confirmed that the fishing has not been good for a couple of years. We returned to camp and had breakfast. We mostly hung around camp and read most of the day. After spagetti dinner we rode our bikes down the entry road that is about 1 1/2 miles long to the highway. We said hi to the cows along the way. When we got back, John took his flyrod down to try one more time, but the results were the same. We are planning on taking the kayaks out in the morning and check out some creek channels down a ways. We got a little sunburn today even though we tried to stay out of the sun.
Friday, April 4 - After a very comfortable nights sleep, we woke up and took our customary coffee walk and met some very nice, interesting people. Bob and Carol Lee are locals who live in Cape Coral. They are newly retired, but staying very active. Bob had some very interesting information about internet access and home security. We stayed pretty close to camp today because of showers that came through at intermittant intervals with some lightning. We figured this would not be a good day to take the kayaks out. The weather forcasts are for afternoon showers tomorrow, so we might try to get out in the morning. Afternoons also have been too hot to go out. We have been seeing a more typical summer pattern with the weather. April is usually the driest month of the year in Florida.
Saturday, April 5 - We had every intention of getting up early and taking the kayaks out before the weather had a chance to alter our plans. However, we slept in a little too long and by 9AM it had already gotten very windy. We had up to 30MPH gusts off and on all day. It was very warm and the breeze was not entirely unwelcome. We took our normal coffee walk and went over again to the day-use area and talked again to Bob, the host over there. In the afternoon we took a fairly long bike ride on the country roads on the other side of the river. There is a nice sidewalk that goes all the way to Hwy 78. The wind died down as soon as the sun began to set making for a delightful evening. We sat in our campsite and watched the beautiful clouds in the east while enjoying a bowl of fruit.
Sunday, April 6 - What a night. We watched the weather and they said that there would not be any extreme weather so we left the awning up. At midnight and again at 5 am we thought the wind would blow us away. Thankfully, everything held fast and we made it through the night without any damage. By about 7 am it got very nice and we were able to get a little sleep. We got up about 8:30 rolled up the awning and headed for breakfast then church. We had a pretty nice breakfast in La Belle and went to Community Harvest Worship Center also in La Belle. It was a very lively service and the people there were very welcoming and friendly. The message from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel was quite stirring and challenging. Afterwards we stopped and picked up groceries for the week and took them back to camp. Next we headed to Lake Okeechobee to check it out. We were able to see the canals that lead to it but never actually saw the lake. We got some pretty serious storms while we were there, so we had to stop and wait them out. On the way home we stopped at a Super WalMart and picked up some things we needed around camp.
Monday, April 7 - What a night! We got over 2” of rain and again considerable wind. Things settled down about midnight and we were able to sleep soundly until morning. Thankfully, there were no damage or leaks. We woke to a beautiful morning, so we got our coffee and took a walk. We didn’t get very far before we ran into Ron who we met and have talked to here before. We came back to camp and refilled our coffee and headed out again and stopped and talked to Ellie, the campground host for quite a while. She told us of the trials and tribulations of campground hosting and about their experience establishing and running their own campground in Virginia. She also told us that she was a nurse and her husband worked for many years as a speech writer during the Kennedy through the first Bush administrations. We had a great time visiting this morning. We spent some time getting things ready to leave tomorrow so we don’t have to rush in the morning. This is the first day here that we didn’t get any rain. It was pretty warm, but not unbearable. This stay has been one of the most relaxing we have experienced. It has been a good idea to slow down the pace and enjoy each experience, and especially the people we’ve met. John took the fly rod down to the river for awhile this afternoon, but not so much as a bite. It was mostly for practice anyway. We really enjoyed our little pizzas done on the RVQ for supper.
Click below to view pictures - Be sure to comment if you like.
http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/OrtonaSouthCorpsOfEngineersCampground
Wednesday, April 2 - We woke up to a clear morning except for the fog. As soon as the fog cleared it got pretty warm. We took a coffee walk and watched a boat go through the locks, then had pancakes for breakfast. We talked to folks in the campground from Maine and Sun City Center here in Florida and John found out why the Verizon card wasn't working by calling support. We had another storm come through this afternoon, but so far, not to severe. We fished for a couple of hours in the evening until dark, but caught nothing. People we have talked to have not had any better luck. One man said that the fishing used to be excellent here, but since the low water problems at Okeechobee it has been very poor.
Thursday, April 3 - We got up, made coffee and went on an extended coffee walk across the dam and lock to the other side of the river. we walked down to the boat launch and day-use area and talked to the caretaker. He confirmed that the fishing has not been good for a couple of years. We returned to camp and had breakfast. We mostly hung around camp and read most of the day. After spagetti dinner we rode our bikes down the entry road that is about 1 1/2 miles long to the highway. We said hi to the cows along the way. When we got back, John took his flyrod down to try one more time, but the results were the same. We are planning on taking the kayaks out in the morning and check out some creek channels down a ways. We got a little sunburn today even though we tried to stay out of the sun.
Friday, April 4 - After a very comfortable nights sleep, we woke up and took our customary coffee walk and met some very nice, interesting people. Bob and Carol Lee are locals who live in Cape Coral. They are newly retired, but staying very active. Bob had some very interesting information about internet access and home security. We stayed pretty close to camp today because of showers that came through at intermittant intervals with some lightning. We figured this would not be a good day to take the kayaks out. The weather forcasts are for afternoon showers tomorrow, so we might try to get out in the morning. Afternoons also have been too hot to go out. We have been seeing a more typical summer pattern with the weather. April is usually the driest month of the year in Florida.
Saturday, April 5 - We had every intention of getting up early and taking the kayaks out before the weather had a chance to alter our plans. However, we slept in a little too long and by 9AM it had already gotten very windy. We had up to 30MPH gusts off and on all day. It was very warm and the breeze was not entirely unwelcome. We took our normal coffee walk and went over again to the day-use area and talked again to Bob, the host over there. In the afternoon we took a fairly long bike ride on the country roads on the other side of the river. There is a nice sidewalk that goes all the way to Hwy 78. The wind died down as soon as the sun began to set making for a delightful evening. We sat in our campsite and watched the beautiful clouds in the east while enjoying a bowl of fruit.
Sunday, April 6 - What a night. We watched the weather and they said that there would not be any extreme weather so we left the awning up. At midnight and again at 5 am we thought the wind would blow us away. Thankfully, everything held fast and we made it through the night without any damage. By about 7 am it got very nice and we were able to get a little sleep. We got up about 8:30 rolled up the awning and headed for breakfast then church. We had a pretty nice breakfast in La Belle and went to Community Harvest Worship Center also in La Belle. It was a very lively service and the people there were very welcoming and friendly. The message from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel was quite stirring and challenging. Afterwards we stopped and picked up groceries for the week and took them back to camp. Next we headed to Lake Okeechobee to check it out. We were able to see the canals that lead to it but never actually saw the lake. We got some pretty serious storms while we were there, so we had to stop and wait them out. On the way home we stopped at a Super WalMart and picked up some things we needed around camp.
Monday, April 7 - What a night! We got over 2” of rain and again considerable wind. Things settled down about midnight and we were able to sleep soundly until morning. Thankfully, there were no damage or leaks. We woke to a beautiful morning, so we got our coffee and took a walk. We didn’t get very far before we ran into Ron who we met and have talked to here before. We came back to camp and refilled our coffee and headed out again and stopped and talked to Ellie, the campground host for quite a while. She told us of the trials and tribulations of campground hosting and about their experience establishing and running their own campground in Virginia. She also told us that she was a nurse and her husband worked for many years as a speech writer during the Kennedy through the first Bush administrations. We had a great time visiting this morning. We spent some time getting things ready to leave tomorrow so we don’t have to rush in the morning. This is the first day here that we didn’t get any rain. It was pretty warm, but not unbearable. This stay has been one of the most relaxing we have experienced. It has been a good idea to slow down the pace and enjoy each experience, and especially the people we’ve met. John took the fly rod down to the river for awhile this afternoon, but not so much as a bite. It was mostly for practice anyway. We really enjoyed our little pizzas done on the RVQ for supper.
Click below to view pictures - Be sure to comment if you like.
http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/OrtonaSouthCorpsOfEngineersCampground
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