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.
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1 comment:
Hi, finally read your blog. Very nice. The pictures were beautiful. I didn't see where you said that you called and talked to your bestest brother!!!! Have a great time.
Buzz
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