My binoculars broke. We were chilling on a shady bench along Florida Bay I cleaned a lens with my shirt tail (like I do 10 times a day) and the outer lens pushed down into the barrel of the binoculars. Looks like there is no way to fix them. I will have to make do one-eyed ‘til we settle in somewhere long enough to get a replacement.
We start with the open marsh-land drive on Tamiami Trail out of Big Cypress and end with a beautiful stretch on the park road through Everglades National Park. Between, we make our way along the long stretch of Miami’s west side and endless farm and nursery land. The high point of that stretch, Robert Is Here, a produce stand gone tourist trap. Our objective, milkshakes. I go for key lime and Kent for a tropical fruit version the gal at the counter says is their best shake, Canistel. I prefer the key lime. We leave with a watermelon, some fresh salsa, a cucumber and field ripe tomatoes. Everglades Adventures cancelled our houseboat excursion, two nights on Whitefish Bay, because of some sort of mechanical problem. It would have been fun to be out there at night emersed in the sounds of the backcountry. It is not gonna happen this time though so now I need to do some more day planning. Quick stops at both visitor centers yield recommendations on activities and ranger program schedules. Site 25 is home for the next few days
Carol and I are up early the next morning to take the first Shark Valley tram ride. It is a chance to see the whole 16 miles of the trail and to hear what their naturalist trip narrators 
have to say about the terrain and the wildlife. We spot a nice selection of wading birds, a purple gallinule, and Carol gets to see her first gators and even a croc. We check out a couple visitor centers as we headed back home. It is a great outing.
Day 2 Kent and I head for the loop drive off 41 to get in some trail walking and wildlife watching along the slough. Our first stop is Gator Tail trail, a swamp slog during wet season, but we are well into dry season and hope to make it into the cypress at least part way. The coolest find, 
a barred owl patiently posing just off the trail. Cypress trees are just greening up with tiny soft needles all along the branches. Wildflowers dot the trailside and marsh. We start on spongy soft soil. It transitions to gooey mud squished all around a labyrinth of pot holed limestone (they call them solution holes). A few inches of elevation change and we find ourselves weaving through a maze of cypress knees. It is all treacherous underfoot but cool to see. At one mile in we encounter the ultimate obstacle, standing water about knee deep. Time to retrace our steps and say so long to this swamp. A records check says we got turned around in that same place back in 2017.
We continue along the 
loop drive and encounter the local flagman…must be just in time for shift change.
There is water standing along both shoulders and at a slow roll we spot lots of slough regulars: herons, egrets, anhinga, cormorants, and gators. We walk the tree snail trail and spot 25+ residents. 
Check out some pics. It is after 1 o’clock and just passed 90 degrees. We head home for some shade time and to clean up. Carol and I go on an airboat ride this afternoon.
The need for speed
It is not very ecologically friendly but we are going to splurge on an
airboat ride through the mangrove tunnels. We idle a bit sight-seeing and looking for wildlife but the real focus is highspeed turns through the tunnels. It is great fun! We traveled with Josh, captain for Everglades City Airboats. Dinner is at The Island Café in everglades City: Crab Cakes, a shrimp basket, and scallop dinner. We top it off with some great, tart key lime pie. Delicious.
Mangrove tunnels in the kayaks
Kent and I are on the water by 7:15AM to head out on the Turner River Canoe Trail. We have been warned at the visitor center about lots of gators (they won’t bother you) and heavy use this time of year. Neither problem materializes as we launch then set off through the tall grass marsh. Slow current and light tail wind help us weave our way through the quiet marsh. A few gator heads and a smattering of wading birds keep us company as we make our way toward the mangrove tunnels. The low rumble of amorous gators floats our way. 
We come to the wall of trees and spot the tunnel opening. Just as we turn in, we hear a great clattering and splashing then catch sight of a photographer gathering tripod and equipment to clear the tunnel path. He’s been out taking pictures to catch the morning light through the mangroves. We maneuver by and continue on zigging and zagging a winding route under the mangrove canopy. We certainly won’t be sneaking up on anything! Kent has a brilliant idea, take the paddles apart so we can use a 5-foot oar instead of a 10 feet paddle. Much better in this tight space. We combine the shorter paddle and some hand over hand directly in the mangroves and successfully emerge from the far end of the tunnel. Frustrating sometimes but a fun paddle. We make a turn in open water then dive into tunnel number 2. It is a mess, heavily overgrown and lots debris just under the surface. We make it through but it is not really fun. Can’t wait to meet the tour groups as we try to make our way back through on the return trip! We are in open water again sliding along between the grasslands (a recent burn) and mangroves again. It is quiet and lovely. 
A flock of rosette spoonbills swoops by. There are red shoulder hawks and lots of ibis. Kayak hips are complaining a bit. Time to turn around. We are a bit better at the mangrove maneuvering and all goes smoothly as we meet only a few outbound boaters. Overall, it’s a great trip. Glad we did it.
One more outing – Corkscrew Preserve
It is an Audubon preserve with a long boardwalk that loops through first pond cypress then huge bald cypress. It is very windy interfering with birding other than the waders but they make a pretty good showing. Our best finds, a yellow-crowned night heron 
adult and juvenal. A group of racoons make an appearance. Anhinga, egrets and lots of herons are hanging out.
We close out the day with another dinner out. 
This time we try Joanie’s Blue Crab Café on 41 right in the park. Carol’s neighbor highly recommended it so how could we not? Check out this pic. Quite the place. Throw in a tornado watch and rain blowing sideways to add some more local flavor. I go all in and
order a Swamp Combo – gator, shrimp, grouper and frog legs – all fried or course and delicious. Carol gets a beautiful bowl of she-crab chowder. It is not just what she expected but tasty. Kent enjoys his grouper basket. More key lime pie and we are stuffed. I have a big box of leftovers!
Last day – biking Shark Valley
It is 47F as we get up. There is a steady breeze out of the north making it feel like 40. We hoped for a cool day for this trip but wow, this is a bit more than expected. Still, Kent and I are going. Saddle up and here we go. A tailwind is nice as we roll along the slough with little effort. Best looks; a puffy red shouldered hawk, a handful of purple gallinules, wood storks, and quite a few green herons. We make a quick stop at the tower for the long 
view then start the long hard pedal into the wind back to the start. Yep, its pretty hard work and yep that was a pretty long ride (15.4 miles) for out of practice. You would think we would remember that from last time. We’d do it again…..after a few days.
The Burmese Python is headline news all over the Everglades area. They are losing, maybe even have lost, the battle to eradicate or even contain them. The absence of wildlife is evident even to the casual visitor. What a gigantic blunder and tragic man-made mess.
We are in a string of 90+ degree days. South might not be a great decision but we are set for some Everglades time so here we go, straight south to Monument Lake campground in Big Cypress Preserve. We make our first high cost fuel stop. $4.99/gallon for diesel. We bad-mouth the 15-20 mph headwind that we face nearly the whole trip but travel is uneventful and we settle in to our site fronting the lake (all sites here front the lake). Carol arrives nearly the same time to find that her site could not possibly be further from us. She is directly across the lake. We will get in some extra mileage to hang out. Hosts and signs warn of gators in the lake. We see them within minutes of arriving.
Now that we are settled in, we are all enjoying that wind out of the south as it keeps the heat tolerable and is blowing the mosquitoes to somewhere in Georgia!
Ok, it’s been 4 months. Time to bid farewell to our winter home. We gather up and load up to head to Lake Wales. We are set to check out a few new places and a couple familiar stops.
It is strawberry season, actually even Strawberry Festival week in Plant City. Carol joins us as we head for Parkesdale Market for their famous strawberry shortcake. I go for the whole deal, shortbread, ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream. It is delicious just as I recall. Getting there is messy though. Our trusty Garmin, Beatrice, sends us right through the thick of festival traffic. What a mess! It was worth it (so I say. Kent did all the driving).
We fit in a bit of family time. Kent’s Uncle Bill is in nearby Winter Haven. It has been 4 or 5 years and it is great to catch up with him. Bill turned 80 years young March 5 and he is looking great.
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park protects a large tract of Florida dry prairie. We start with a leisurely tour, a narrated swamp buggy ride. Our guide is the preserve manager, he leads their fire crew that plans, sets and manages controlled burns so we get sort of a pyro’s view of the place but leave with an interesting overall view of the terrain and how dry prairie, wetlands, marsh, swamp and sloughs inter-relate. Not a bird guy or a wildlife guy he is a plant guy. We check out some often-overlooked carnivorous plants and wildflowers that thrive in the cool damp earth at the base of acres of wiregrass.
We take a short prairie hike to get a closer view then call it a day. It is in the 90s and as one might expect, shade is hard to come by on the prairie. The park is a dark sky location for star gazing but we just drove in for the day so we will have to save that activity for another time.
Back at camp we have
been admiring the graceful swallow-tail kites as they swoop and glide overhead. Today we get a reminder that they are skillful predators. Grackles heckle a kite as it swoops and approaches a towering live oak. The kite out maneuvers the pursuers and lights atop, seemingly ending the conflict. Nope. Moments later there is a loud ruckus as it appears the kite is falling down through the branches then is swoops high into the sky and away. Our parting view, what looks to be a baby bird held tightly in the kite’s talons. After the fact we spot the targeted nest, and a dove moves in making loud protest. Guess that’s whose home was raided. Nature can be brutal.
Some float fishing, some trolling and one more run out to Salt Springs to check on the manatees.
Kent caught a pretty,
spotted catfish (pretty is definitely not an adjective 
I would typically use to describe catfish) and a beautifully colored pan fish (probably a redear). Me, nothing! It was great lake time though and we did find one manatee chill’n in the spring basin.
We are seeing subtle signs of Florida spring. Splashes of bright kelly green brighten the muted grey-green shorelines of winter. Wildflowers erupt along trails. One has to look pretty hard to find them but there are seasons in Florida! Temperatures are now unseasonably warm and feel very summer like, we are getting to 90 in the afternoons under brilliant sun. Plenty warm for us so we are off the lake or trails shortly after lunch most days and relaxing in the shade. We are heading south from here. Maybe not the best plan.
First one adult crane then a second appear along the trailside at Welaka State Forest. We often see these graceful birds in pairs feeding in grassy fields but it is fun to watch them so nearby. 
It gets better. A tiny brown fuzzball wobbles out of the grass to join the foraging adults. Are there more? Yep. A second fuzzball appears. They are adorable. I guess they look sort of crane-like! We watch a bit then head on to see what else might be out here.
Just this very relaxed snake coiled
right along the footpath.
A bit of a hike then a quiet dinner at home. It is a great day!
Trail time is a stroll along Blue Pond trail in Dunn Creek State Park. It is a peaceful walk with plenty of woodpeckers to watch.
It is time for a wildlife drive through wetlands. We spot many of the usual suspects; lots of great blue herons, anhinga, coots and moorhens plus a nice sampling of raptors and ducks and even a few warblers. An eagle poses regally and a typically illusive limpkin strolls up the roadside. We are along a lakeshore in central Florida so of course there are alligators.
This lake and its shoreline wetlands are part of a long-running experiment to restore a lake literally poisoned by agricultural pesticide and fertilizer pollution. For over 20 years now water has been cycled out of the lake into the wetlands and back to allow vegetation to filter heavy phosphorus pollution from the water. Water quality has improved from “toxic to nearly all wildlife” to “suitable for most bird species”. Progress to be sure, but lots more work to do. What a mess. Here is hoping we have learned to avoid polluting like this rather than betting that nature can clean it back up.