Fakahatchee Strand Preserve

Looking to make a visit to the everglades we decided to drive over to the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve.  It's abour an hour drive from here on the Tamiami Trail. We traveled south to Naples and then east on Highway 41 about 10.5 miles to a signed boardwalk parking area. We pulled into the gravel lot beside a small pond.

From the lot we took a trail leading to the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk. The short (0.15 miles) trail had a donation station where visitors  can make a financial donation to the Friends of the Fakahatchee.Beyond the trail lies the boardwalk built through a dense swamp forest.. The 2,200 foot boardwalk is located in the middle of a remnant virgin cypress forest that was spared from logging in the 1940’s and 1950’s. The walk was mostly shaded even in the middle of winter as it meandered in dappled light through large, centuries old, bald cypress.

The boardwalk is being continually repaired so visitors should be prepared for some loose boards and some possible workers maintaining it.  We  also noticed a few mosquitos but they weren’t too bad for the hike. We slowly ambled along the boardwalk which ended at an observation platform. Along the way we saw some stragler figs extracting their slow torture.

We took in the sights and sounds of the wooded swamp. There were several interpretive signs along the boardwalk providing information about the various plants and animals we might encounter.  We kept our eyes peeled trying to find some birds or alligators. There is also a large Eagle's nest visible from the boardwalk but we did not see any eagles in or near it. Although we didn’t see much on this trip we have seen quite a lot on this boardwalk in the past.  At the observation platform we saw a few Ibis and a Snowy Egret trying its luck at catching some of the Mosquito Fish in the water below the platform.

We returned by retracing our steps back along the boardwalk until back at the pond near the parking lot. We walked around the pond where we spotted one fairly large alligator and as we walked around the pond we saw some baby alligators. There were about 10 in all and they were all over the pond once we got our “gater eyes” adjusted to spot them. They sure were cute little guys but we didn’t dawdle too long as we knew momma was nearby and probably wouldn’t appreciate us getting too close to the youngsters.

After leaving the hike we drove a little further northeast until we found the Janes Scenic Drive (JSD). Fortunately in the past the State of Florida took over these lands where remnants of the logging era can still be seen by all the tram roads such as the JSD. The JSD winds its way through the Fakahatchee Strand. For those wanting a real Florida experience ranger guided swamp walks are offered taking adventurers through the swamp –Though we didn't do it I'm sure they prepare to get very wet and muddy!           

The JSD winds along for about 12 miles until it connects with the back entrance to Picayune State Forest. It is a pretty narrow dirt road with plenty of pot holes some of which require careful maneuvering to keep from bottoming out. As we drove through the heart of the swamp forest we spotted lots of birds and a few alligators but were hoping to get lucky and see a black bear or the elusive black panthers. Both of the species are occasionally seen on the JSD.

Along the drive we saw lots of royal palms, cabbage palms, ash trees, and the poisonous pond apple. Large stands of pickerelweed and alligator flag could be seen in the more open water areas of the swamp. Bromeliads are seen all along the drive and adorn many of the leafless trees. One of our most common bromeliads is the Cardinal Air Plant or wild pine (Tillandsia fasciculata). This bromeliad has dark green-gray leaves and is common on cypress or oak trees. Occasionally we saw some displaying their bright red florescence.

As we meandered through this pristine forest in the swamp we passed by lots of ferns and spotted many varieties of butterflies. We even heard a great horned owl “hooting” in the dark depths of the wooded swamp. We found a picnic table to stop at next to a pond teeming with jumping fish to enjoy our picnic lunch. Ospreys soared overhead awaiting the perfect time to drop from the sky speed hitting the water with a splash in the hope of retrieving something good to eat.

After lunch and continuing our drive we reached the end of the road where we found ourselves unable to exit due to some deep water blocking our way. So we simply headed back along the narrow and very bumpy road. On the return trip we spotted a doe and her new born fawn. We stopped and watched the doe clean her new baby and then we slowly drove on by letting them slowly escape into the thick underbrush. After 11 miles of bumping along we were glad to be back on blacktop and headed home. Today offered up another nice day trip during our winter stay  here in Florida…

Our 2015 Year in Review…

Well since it is after the first of the year I guess a loud Happy New Year is in order! We had a great year (well except for the impact the stock market had on our savings – sigh).This past year was loaded with adventures as well as interactions with old and new friends. We started the year in San Diego, California and ended it in Bonita Springs, Florida.

In between we traveled through 14 states as well as a small excursion into our nation's capitol, Washington D.C. After spending the first four days of 2016 in California we spent the next 63 in Arizona. In Arizona we got to attend Superbowl Festivities and made our first stay in Quartzite! Once winter passed we spend some time in New Mexico visiting friends before heading on into Texas, our former home state.

We spent one fewer day in Texas than we did in Arizona making them two of three states we stayed at least two months in. The latter is the state we are in now, Florida. We like to linger in Texas in the springtime as the wildflowers are abundant and colorful at that time of year. It is also special to us since Texas is where our grandkids are and they are indeed a must see each and every time we venture back through Texas.

After getting our fill of Texas Bar B Que and good old Tex-Mex food we entered into another of our favorite culinary states, Louisiana. We spent just shy of a month in Louisiana and most of that time was spent at Betty’s RV Park – one of our most favorite parks to stay. After enjoying good friends, great food and fantastic Cajun music we moved further east passing through Mississippi and Alabama.

As sometimes happens we altered our travel plans due to weather up north and moved on into Tennessee where we stayed at friends from Betty’s RV Park in Central Tennessee. Their hospitality was wonderful and we visited several of the distillers in Tennessee and later in Kentucky. Focusing on Tennessee and Kentucky over the next four weeks we enjoyed touring many of the small and larger friendly towns in those states. 

From there we moved on into Virginia to spend some time visiting some of the historical sites of early America. However, friends of ours asked us to house sit their home in the Shenandoah Valley so we spent nearly four weeks there where we really enjoyed just sitting in that very special and scenic valley. In Virginia we reconnected with two old friends from Texas, Bland, first ,and then Larry.  We became fast friends with Larry's new wife and had an awesoe time with them in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.One of the reasons we love this lifestyle is the ability to see friends along the way ....

When in North Carolina we always stay for a month to visit our daughter and our favorite North Carolina haunts. After our month was up the weather once again pushed us south instead of north so we started our slow meander down to Florida. We stopped at many of our favorite eastern spots such as Jekyll Island, Savannah and Flagler Beach. We also spent some time visiting Sharon’s cousin and his wife in Vero Beach Florida. Our travel year ended back at Bonita Beach Florida – our favorite south Florida winter destination. While wintering here I wrote my first Ebook - Budgeting for Full Time RV’er It was fun to write and I have happily received very favorable feedback from those who have purchased it.

We covered 5,358 miles and stayed in fourteen states at 54 different places. The 5,358 miles is by far the least we have traveled but that was mostly dictated by weather – mostly rainy areas. Although we didn’t visit any new states in our RV we did spend some wonderful time in Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia which are states we had previously only just passed through.

So here we are in 2016 and now need to start making our plans for the New Year. Where should we go? What will we do? How long will we stay? Who will we see? The beauty of all these questions is that they are currently unknown and awaiting discovery this upcoming year on the Road of Retirement…