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.