Everglades NP, Big Cypress Preserve, Chokoloskee Island, FL (Jan. 2009)

In mid-January, we left the Vero Beach / Fort Pierce area on the Atlantic Coast of Florida and drove accross the state to the Gulf Coast. Our route took us south toward Miami, then accross the Everglades on I-75 ("Alligator Alley"), through Everglades City, then finally to Chokoloskee Island. If you can find it on your map, you'll note that it's an area off the west coast of Florida referred to as "ten thousand islands". We traveled there to meet Maria's sister, Anne, and her husband, Mike Payne, who had driven their new RV from Chardon, Ohio for a short escape from "winter in the snow belt". This would be an opportunity to visit with family and make a few short tours of the Everglades.

For those who are interested, the everglades is actually a wide, very shallow "river of grass", flowing slowly toward the mangrove estuariesof the Gulf Of Mexico. It's one to three feet deep near the center, but only six inches deep elsewhere; it flows southward at a speed of about 100 feet per day.

We spent one day riding bicycles along a narrow pathway into the everglades on the Shark Valley trail. This trail also offers a tram ride or walking tour along its 7.5 mile length. The trail follows a narrow waterway along much of its length, offering numerous opportunities to view tropical birds and alligators of all sizes. With the wind at our backs we sailed along, stopping frequently to photograph the wildlife. The return trip into the wind presented the perfect opportunity to "draft" on bicycles. Along the way, Maria & Anne "rescued" a crying 8-year girl who was struggling against the wind by feeding her chocolate (for comfort & energy!). This was a great place to have toured - the wildlife viewing was great! Enjoy some of our photos below.

On another day, we walked along a short boardwalk into Big Cypress Preserve. Again, this was a great opportunity for wildlife viewing, but into a tree-covered wetland area. The park naturalists were very helpfull identifying the tropical birds we saw there, as well as those w'e photographed at Shark Valley the previous day. Our highlights here included Maria's close encounter with a Bald Eagle and mine with a Red Shouldered Hawk.

Our RV park on Chokoloskee Island was by far the nicest we've stayed at so far (and the most expensive @ $67 + tax). The sites were all individually owned (like a condo) so most were landscaped with pride and care. There were three pools,tennis courts, and daily activites in the Club House. This area was very remote and a sport fisherman's paradise; more than 200 of the 230 owners had fishing boats stored on their site or at their dock. It was great to share several sights and a lot of laughter with Anne & Mike. It was also enjoyable to stop along the causeway and watch four Osprey work together to ward off numerous Turkey Vultures from their pole-topped nests. More photos to enjoy below!

Great Smokey Mountains National Park, TN (Nov. 2008)

They call them the "smokey mountains" for a good reason! We arrived at Gatlinburg, TN in a light rain with the temperatures falling through the low forties. The cloud ceiling was down to about 1,500 ft so there was no point in driving to the top of the mountains for their scenic views. Instead, we spent the day hiking one of the many scenic trails to view Laurel Falls (about 1.3 miles & mostly uphill) and driving the Cades Cove tour. Most of the fall colors had passed, and the mist and cloudiness muted those that remained. The city streets had just been decorated for the Christmas season and the lights were enjoyable to view on our drive into town for dinner at night. Downtown Gatlinburg was still surprisingly busy, but nowhere near the "Dollywood" induced crowds of mid-summer.

The temperatures continued falling overnight and we awoke the next day to the high 20's and a light snow falling..........time to move on and find a warmer place to stay! We left that morning heading east on I-40, climbing through the higher elevations and the gap through the Appalacians that would lead us down into Ashville, NC and warmer weather. See the set of photos below.

Mammoth Cave National Park, KY & Surrounding Area (Nov. 2008)

After leaving Chardon, Ohio, we visited our daughter, Jude, and Rustom in Elkhart, Indiana for a week. We were excited to learn that they were expecting their 2nd child (June 2009). John, seven months at the time, continues to be a pleasant, happy youngster and a joy to be around.

From Elkhart we traveled south to Fishers, Indiana and visited our daughter, Rachel, and Ed for a week. Our RV remained parked in their driveway and became a daily place for the grandkids to "explore". While there, Maria filled her time with Dominic, Gianna, and Joseph, while I helped out hanging pictures, putting up shelves, etc. I introduced Gianna to her first rock climbing experience at an indoor climbing gym. She took to it quickly and climbed 18 routes during the 2 hours we were there! We left Fishers,as we did Elkhart, barely ahead of cold weather and impending snow!

We next traveled to Cave City, KY to tour several areas of Mammoth Cave National Park and nearby Diamond Caverns. The two are very different in size and geology. Mammoth Caves is HUGE; more than 365 miles of surveyed passageways with many additional new ones added each year. It's thought that there could be an additional 600 miles of yet undiscovered passageways. We walked two tours that traveled up to 320' below the ground surface ("Historic Entrance" and "New Entrance" tours). Although interesting, the limestone solution formations were few and limited in extent - most of the passageways here lie below a thick layer of sandstone (caprock) that limits groundwater seepage that's required to form stalagtites & stalagmites. In fact, most of the passageways were fairly dry. They were formed by underground rivers that had flowed through fissures in the limestone many years ago. As the surrounding rivers and streams cut through their soluble beds, the water table dropped leaving these passageways high and dry. Diamond Caverns, on the other hand, had many interesting formations and was very damp. Without a sandstone layer above, the rainwater has been free to percolate downward. Note these differences in both locations shown in the photos.

Also while in the area, we drove an hour back northward to visit a National Historic Site recognizing the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. He was born here in Hardin County in 1809. He lived on the "Sinking Spring" farm until the age of 6, when his family moved to another farm north of nearby Hodgenville, KY. The memorial building houses a log home built in the style of the period, but at reduce scale of the original. The logs used in this replica were either those of Lincoln's original home or those of Jefferson Davis; this continues to be debated by historians! There's another set of photos of this location as well.

We left the Cave City area on November 12, 2008 heading toward the Great Smokey Mountains, but had to layover in Knoxville, TN while getting the alternator replaced on the RV. In a way, it was enjoyable to spread out and relax in the comfort of a room at the Residence Inn for a night!

OOOOOPS - It's Already December 10, 2008!!

It's already December 10, we've invited family & freinds to view our blog and I'm just now making only the second posting..........where has our time gone?

Well, in short, we've traveled from Chardon, Ohio, though Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and have been in Charleston, South Carolina for the past 1.5 weeks. During this time we've visited family, enjoyed many sights, and experienced several "RV learning experiences". I call them "learning experiences" so as not to scare others away from any interest in full-time RVing (It's probably a carry-over from my working career!). Maria would probably refer to them as "problems", harrowing experiences" or "miss-adventures" (and say that I'm in denial!). In either case, I'll try to expand on them in subsequent posts ---- they're worth a laugh or two now that they're over with. I'll also post info. about some of our stops up till now and do a better job of making regular posts in the future. To those who're following us, feel free to comment or offer suggestions about your favorite sights along our way.

Maria retired from her hairstyling business in June and I from my civilian position with the US Coast Guard in mid-September.

Our family completed a one week vacation at an oceanfront house in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in early October 2008

After two more weeks of preparation, Maria & I left Chardon, Ohio and Wilder M-H Park on the morning of October 21 to begin our "retirement tour" of the USA. Our moving home for the next year will be our 36' Fleetwood diesel pusher RV. We hope to share our adventures with family members, friends, and others via this blog. Your comments are certainly welcome.