Still in the Sunshine State

Day 15 – Monday 1/18/10
Went canoeing in the Everglades/10,000 Islands area and through a Mangrove tunnel today.  It was quite a paddle – Kerby and I in one canoe and Scott and Joelle in the other.  It was a perfect day for it except for the winds which were gusting up to about 30 knots, making it a little tough out in the open areas, especially when coupled with an incoming tide which we fought on the return paddle, it was quite exciting.  I have to admit I’ve never paddled in choppy waters like that prior today.  Luckily for me, Kerby was in the front so I couldn’t  see the panicked expression that I’m certain was plastered all over his face!  Paddling into the mangrove tunnels was cool. We didn’t see anything too exciting (other than more dead fish from the freeze) but it was beautiful and very peaceful.  Unfortunately neither Scott nor I took our cameras so the only images are the ones in our minds.

Day 16 – Tuesday 1/19/10
Traveling today – left Chokoloskee Island and headed for Homasassa  Springs. I really felt sad as we were leaving.  I felt so cozy with the little community there even after only a few days.

We took the slow route up US 19 most of the way so we could see the little towns along the way.  It made for a long day and we didn’t really see anything that wowed us.  The woman from the German couple we encountered in Chokoloskee had shared with me how disappointed they were, during their U.S. travels, that so many of the towns all looked alike – same stores, same restaurants, etc.  I have to admit that she’s right.  As we drive along we see the Walmarts, the Pizza Huts, the McDonalds, the Home Depots, the Cracker Barrels in every town.  I know from my own travels in Europe that their countryside is not as monotonous.  It makes me sad that we’ve moved away from the individualized markets that add such diversity to the landscape to the cookie-cutter cities in which we now live.

However, on a happier note, we did stop along a “beach” of sorts near Dunedin for a short walk and found a dead sea urchin (okay- that’s not really “happy” but we thought it was cool to find one) and a rather large dead iguana (not really a happy thing either but cool just the same).

My husband "the buckethead."  This was in an old museum - Smallwood Store -- in Chokoloskee.-
Mr. Smallwood was an intersting guy who worked with the local Indians.  His "store" served as the local trading post -- some junk but also a lot of cool old stuff. . .  And a wax figure of Mr. Smallwood.

A manatee snout

Day 17 – 1/20/10 – First full day in Chassahowitzka River Campground in Citrus County, FL.  Kerby is thrilled that we finally have a fire pit.  Until now we haven't been able to make campfires which was very disappointed for my little pyromaniac. We visited the nearby Homasassa Springs Nature Park today. There's  a wildlife walk where you encounter many indigenous species like bobcats, panthers, key deer, and black bears.  The bird area was the most amazing though.  I could have stayed there all day watching the flamingos, egrets, pelicans, herons, roseate spoonbills and cranes.  I thought about how much my mom would have loved it – seeing all those birds in one place.  We were able to get a good look at the manatees there as well.  The park is on the Homasassa River where there are 7 springs feeding over 2 million gallons of warm water into the river each hour.  The water temperature is an even 72 degrees year round so the manatees come here to stay warm during the winter months.  Apparently they can’t survive water temps any lower than about 67 degrees.  We were able to watch them from an underwater observatory as well as from an above ground deck observation area.  Almost as amazing as the manatees, the number of fish that are attracted to the spring-warmed water was quite impressive.  Huge schools of tropical fish swam gracefully among the manatees, giving us a great view of many fish we’d never seen before – sheepshead, black drum, jacks, and snooks (one of the favorites here).

Day  18 -- 1/21/10 – The area we’re in seems to be a bit depressed – lots of marinas and boat-tour businesses -- people trying to survive off the water – lots of run-down looking places and quite a few confederate flags hanging in various and sundry places (quite unsettling).  It’s quite beautiful here however, in its own way – lots of vegetation and wildlife and of course you can’t swing a cat without hitting water.  We had a nice size black bear last night getting into one of the dumpsters in the campground.  We didn’t get to see him but we heard him grunting at one point and assumed that’s what we were hearing.  It was confirmed by one of the other campers who actually caught him in the act.  I even found bear scat in the woods very close to our campsite!  And we finally caught a peak of the “pesky” armadillos that are so common around here.  When we’re sitting by the campfire at night, we can hear them rustling the leaves all around us and caught one in a beam of light from our flashlight a couple of times.  Funny looking little things!


We went swimming with the manatees this morning – definitely the highlight of our trip thus far.  We used a really cool outfit called River Safaris.  A woman named Alicia owns it with her husband and they have a wonderful place.  Several of the captains are also artists, as are the owners and they display or sell lots of really unique gifts in the front of the shop.  I was tempted by many of them but was reminded frequently by my on-looking hubby that sacrifice was necessary if we were going to afford the swim. 

We were told that Citrus County (also where the Crystal River is located), is the only county in the nation where swimming with the manatees is legal.  Since they are endangered and for their protection, there are lots of restrictions when swimming with them – you can only touch them with one open hand.  You can only move to within a body’s length of them and then let them come the rest of the way to you.  If they move away, you are not allowed to follow them (considered harassment).  You can’t bother them if they are resting on the bottom of the river (Also considered harassment).  They come up for air about every 5-7 minutes when they are active but only every 15-20 minutes if they are resting.  There are actually “manatee police” in kayaks that keep watch to be sure no one is harassing them and they also have sanctuaries marked off with buoys where the swimmers are not allowed.  Sadly enough the manatees are recognizable by their scarring.  Most of them have been hit at least once by boat propellers – their biggest threat.  When swimming with them we could easily see and touch their scars – so sad!

Anyway, we had an amazing experience with them while snorkeling.  There was a mother and baby that seemed especially interested in us.  The baby seemed fond of having us rub his belly.  It was surreal floating there with them so close – they’re so huge yet so gentle and sweet (and luckily for us, very curious).  Each of us had a face-to-face encounter (literally) and it was something I’m sure we’ll never forget.