Day 5, Nov. 4 2012, From Homestead FL to Marathon (in the Keys) FL)

Yes it was a full day. From driving in the Everglades  with its peace, quiet and lots of bird life and then visiting the Keys where there is one road and lots of human activity but much less bird life (At least when we first arrived)

We are in the 1/2 way point of the entire length of the Keys, which are divided up into five major “quasi governmental “ areas. Namely Key Largo, Tavernier, Islamorada, Marathon (where we are), Big Pine (where the tiny Key deer are), and Key West . And today is the day that Cathy gets to swim with the Dolphins!

But, I am getting ahead of the great day we had yesterday (Sunday) , that was filled with good birding, some swamp creatures (alligators), excellent view of the Gulf of Mexico, and a chance to eat lunch on the Gulf watching Ospreys fly in and out of their nest on top of the visitor center, and talking to friendly crows who, obviously wanted a handout. 

An Air Show at the Naval Air Reserve Station was held there , so we exited Homestead early enough to avoid the traffic. It is one of the many annual events to attract tourists.

Driving through Everglade National Park (ENP) the long stretches of true ‘everglade’ topography is easily seen. The grasses stretch for miles and miles as the Okeechobee aquifer moves the water slowly from the big lake to the Gulf as it has for eons. As the maps indicate, (see)  the development and encroachment of man has changed this dramatically and now the Everglades must compete for that water  and fortunately , man must  change the landscape to capture some of that water and place it back in the path of the water flowing to the south. (That is the natural drainage.)

On both sides of the road into ENP, the land with the grasses is deceiving as it lies in a shallow bit of water for this  was a good year for rain so the water is there. The wildlife depends on that fresh water as well as the plants. This is an area of two seasons...a rainy one (summer)   and a dry one (winter). The balance is important.

Cathy was excited about seeing the birds and Ruth was very patient with her to get her to be able to use a set of binoculars .  (Eyesight is a not 20/20) The many Great Ibis’ along the road she was soon able to spot and identify. This was true later with a number of the 33 bird species that we saw that day. While eating lunch we noticed two large birds circling overhead , high above the Osprey. They were...yes ,white heads and tails...two mature American Bald Eagles. That really made her day (and ours , too.)

COMPUTER IS VERY SLOW THIS AM SO WILL DOWNLOAD PICTURES LATER. AT LEAST POSTS WILL GO.

One of the sad notes of being in ENP was seen when we looked for a very fine wildlife pond that we had visited some 10 years ago. It had a viewing platform, a long board walk, many birds of the reeds and marshes (Gallinue, and other rails and rarer marsh birds.). We thought we knew where it was and did not see it there. A visit to the Ranger station gave us the answer. JIm: “ Where is the wonderful pond that we remember visiting  when we were here before”? Ranger: “When were you here before?”. Jim: “Ten years ago” .  Ranger; “ That explains it!, The Hurricane  went through here seven years ago and took out most of the infrastructure in the park including that pond, and its viewing platform and walkway. We have not rebuilt it since.”. So we returned to the pond that was there now, all grown up with brush and grasses and a rough grass strew path to the edge of the pond. but still a large area of water. There were some species of birds as we saw , Roseate Spoonbills, a Stork, and some White Faced Ibis, but it had changed and the many ‘birds of the reeds ‘ were not there, nor were the reeds. Nature changes things in a hurry sometimes.

Before a stop at the gift store on the way out we had one more stop to make at what is called ‘Anhinga Trail’. It is a guaranteed place to see Anhinga’s (see pics). A quiet idyllic place with ponds and great nesting and resting sites for the Anhingas to roost in the trees overhanging the water.  The Anhingas were diving and swimming right below us in the water. Cathy ended that part of the day with a few souvenirs before we headed down US 1 towards Marathon and the Keys. (Pics) A great area of truck farm land is on the way out of the Park. 

That drive was heavy traffic with no place to turn around until the small towns were encountered.  (Key Largo was the first.) Water on both sides intrigued Cathy and I think we drilled her enough on  “one side was the Gulf and the other side the Atlantic Ocean.” (By Monday afternoon she had them sorted out). See tomorrow's entry.

Did you know that there are hundreds of Islands in the Keys?

Going over the many “cuts” between Islands seemed endless but we finally arrived at the Sombrero Hotel at 5:00 PM just before they closed for the night at the front desk. Wha? They were fourth floor rooms but with the elevator it was doable.  A ‘handicapped parking’ site helped us get very close to the elevator. We settled in with the bags and headed out to get a bite to eat at a local “I-Hop” and enjoyed the sunset from our vantage point on the balcony of the Hotel. The view overlooks a long canal filled with many kinds of pleasure boats. (see pics).

It was a terrific day, but we are all happy to be able to stay in one place for three nights. Tomorrow the epitome the trip...THE DOLPHIN ENCOUNTERS”