What Doesn't Belong?

Happy Birthday Bry

Bryan does this make up for us not being there on your Birthday?

PS Apparently there was a glich when the video was uploaded. It may stop before it's done. Just move the slide over a little and it should continue. Sorry for the technical difficulties.

Danger! Watch Out For Alligators And Crack Heads

These photos show another reason why I was scared to get out of the car on the deserted trail. It's kind of hard to see in the top photo, but that is a mobile home completely surrounded by an 8 foot chain link fence with barb wire all around the top. Two houses down from that was the fence telling the "crack heads" to stay away or they would call 911. These houses were less than a 1/2 mile away from the entrance to the park trail. I figured I'd either get eaten by a panther or killed by an addict looking for cash. If we go back, I'm definitely taking my gun. We could go in there and never be heard from again. If you were going to hide a dead body, that would be the place to do it. That settles it! I'm not going back.

Animal Adventure

This was the biggest grasshopper that I have ever seen. It was about 4-5" long and it's body was as big around as a cigar. Joe saw it from the car as we were driving down a trail. We found a new place to explore today. It's a gravel road that goes through the heart of the Everglades. Very pretty and a little scary. There are paths to walk on too, but I really didn't want to get out of the car. Bears and Panthers have been spotted along those trails. The funny thing is that I had to come all the way to Florida to get a good picture of a young buck. It was strange seeing the deer in the same area as the alligators. Check out my photo gallery to see some of the pictures from our adventure.

Exercise In The Everlgades

I didn't see my exercise buddies for a few days when Lorrie was here. I went back yesterday for the first time in 4 days. I figured they would be so happy to see me! Not so much. I'm not even sure they knew I was missing. Damn, I thought we were bonding. Oh well. I got some exercise other ways while Lorrie was here. We Kayaked and rode bikes. Our kayak trip was not so much fun. It was very windy, plus we were going into the wind and against the tide. 1 1/2 - 2' waves. We had to keep paddling or we would blow away. We made it across the bay where I decided I would attach myself to a mangrove so I could stay in one place. The waves and the wind kept banging me against the mangroves. There's Lorrie and Joe trying to fish as the wind blows them into each other. I decided I'm going back before I capsize. It took forever to get back. There were times when we paddled that we didn't even go anywhere. We let Lorrie use Joe's kayak with the nice paddle. Joe and I used rentals with shitty paddles. That's why she got back so much sooner than we did. If that would have been the kayak race, I would have lost big time. The bike ride wasn't much better. It was still windy. I led the way going into Everglade City. I thought I was going at a pretty good pace. On the way back, Lorrie led the way. We stayed together for about a block and then she kept getting farther and farther ahead of me. Finally when she was out of sight I gave up. The wind has been really bad this year. I guess it's a trade off since it is warm. All the locals are saying that this is the coldest and windiest winter in a long time. Oh well you can't have everything.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Brad B. in Colorado. What's UP? Miss you Bunches. I hope you have a great birthday. Love and Kisses from your Indiana family.

The road to nowhere. Every main road in Chokoloskee ends in a dead end. That is because it is surrounded by water on all sides. Hence the reason it is called Chokoloskee "Island". I thought I would give you a little Chokoloskee history. The Island is only about 150 acres total. To put it in perspective, it's not much bigger than our farm. The Seminole Indians were the first inhabitants of this area and they named the island "Chokoloskee" pronounced "Chuck a lus kee", meaning old house. Apparently no one knows what the significance of the name is. The island is basically a shell mound. The Indians built up the area with shells so the land would rise above the water and they could safely live there in all kinds of weather. The water around Chokoloskee is no more than 5 feet deep at it's deepest. You could probably walk across the bay for a few miles and the water wouldn't be over your head. You may however, get stuck in the mucky bottom. Lorrie wants to take a mud bath on the beach and use the slimey snot balls that wash up on the beach to condition her hair. I'm not sure that I'm up for that.