Homestead, FL-Everglades National Forest

We finally made it to south Florida and the Everglades National Park! We entered the park through Homestead, FL and first came to the Coe Visitor Center. We stopped there to check out their exhibits, watch a video and pick up a couple of Junior Ranger packets for the kids to work on during the week.

From the visitor center, it would be another 38 miles before we reached our campground! The Everglades National Park is over 1.5 million acres!

We made it about halfway when we had a blowout :(

It ripped off a fender and damaged the surrounding body. The tread was peeled off of the tire and wrapped around the axle. Greg always checks the tires before we head out and they are only 2 years old!!

Fortunately, it was daylight and Greg was prepared. He had everything we needed. One of the difficulties of the situation was that it was a 2 lane road (one lane in, one lane out) and there was no shoulder and no other level area. We just had to replace the tire where we had come to a stop. Several people stopped to offer help and one nice man found the piece that had flown off and brought it back to us.

We eventually got back on the road and were so thankful that we were able to get it done, that the road was not terribly busy, and it was still daylight (perfect example of why we try to be at our destination long before dark).

On a positive note, Greg was already scheduled to take the next two days off, therefore it allowed him some time to make arrangements for getting new tires, talking to the insurance company and scheduling the repair work on the trailer. What a pain!

So now back to the park...

The tent camping area was so pretty. 

The RV camping area was nice but just wasn't as beautiful. I think it's because it just wasn't as green.

The Flamingo Visitor Center was very close to the campground. Here are some pics from the Guy Bradley trail from the campground to the visitor center:

We rode our bikes to the visitor center daily and went to several of the Ranger talks.  The most interesting talk was on the Burmese Pythons.  Purchased as pets, they were later released into the park by their owners when they were no longer wanted.  These have become a serious problem in the park and they estimate there are tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of them.  Sadly some of the small vertebrae like marsh rabbits, raccoons and rats have disappeared from the park. And because the python mothers protect their eggs at the nest, there are no real predators for them.  At one time, they tried releasing more radio-tagged rabbits back into the habitat but they later found all of the tags inside pythons.  They could then remove the pythons, but that may not be the best trapping method??

The kids enjoyed the exhibits at the visitor's center.  This was Jordan's favorite.

Greg took these awesome pictures of the sunrise from there.

This is also where the kids earned their third Junior Ranger badge.

The park had a lot of activities available including hikes and canoe trips. We went on one hike through the mosquitoes mangroves. We learned about the differences between the black, red and white mangroves.  These in the picture are mostly white but this is an awful picture and certainly does not do the mangroves justice.

At the beginning of the hike, the ranger showed us a crocodile nest near the edge of the road. Jordan is checking out the cracked open eggs.

They also had a marina for all of the boaters. We saw a manatee and there was an osprey nest low enough to see the hatchlings.

BUT despite all of these wonderful things, I have over a million complaints. And each one of them is a MOSQUITO!!! Sadly, it really put a damper on my enjoyment of this park. SOME days it was okay to be outside but others it was bad and you had to douse yourself in DEET and even then you weren't safe. This winter had been wetter than normal and we arrived at the end of the "low mosquito" season.  They told us they don't even charge to tent camp there in the summer because of how miserable it is with the heat and mosquitoes.

A couple of evenings we went out to explore. The first day we went on a walk on the Coastal Prairie Trail. We wore long sleeves and sprayed ourselves heavily. It was a nice walk but then the trail traveled alongside the water. You could not stop moving or you would be carried away. We were nearly running on our way back to the trail head!

Next time, we decided to take a bike ride because as long as we were moving, we would be okay, right? We started out on the Rowdy Bend Trail. Seemed nice enough. The trail started out wide enough to drive a car down, but a couple of minutes into it, it narrowed to about the width of two feet side by side. We could have turned around, I suppose, but I hoped that maybe it would widen again. We pushed on as the roots bounced us wildly and the plants slapped our legs as we rode through. The kids loved the bouncing and roared with laughter.

But as we got more tired, the joy started to fade. There was no stopping to rest because the mosquitoes were blood thirsty! I did stop briefly to spray everyone but then I had to push on. It was a little over 2.5 miles of difficult terrain before we emerged on the boardwalk leading out over the water. Phew! We made it! A little break to catch our breaths and escape the swarms.

We decided that going back that way was really out of the question. Shortly after leaving the boardwalk the trail forked and we veered onto the Snake Bight Trail. It was very wide and headed straight out to the road. It was another 1.8 miles, but fairly easy riding. Then, once we made it out to the road we raced back to the truck, which turned out to be about another 2.7 miles! Jacob was awesome! He kept up the whole way and did not want a break even when we offered him one. Jordan was in the seat on my bike (giving me an extra 35 or so pounds) complaining about how tired she was from doing nothing or something like that. I wish I had a picture of these areas but we just could not stop moving to shoot any!! Maybe I should have had Jordan take video!!

My one last complaint.... The lack of water hookups for the RVs and no hot water at the nearby showers made it just a little more unpleasant. Since we had to put on mosquito repellent everyday, we definitely had to shower at night. So in the dark, we had to load everyone up in the truck and go find another shower in the tent areas that had hot water. AND they just really did not seem clean. I think if we had more convenient access to showers (warm showers) it would have drastically improved the experience.

In any case, I am glad that we went. It really is a beautiful place, that sadly I appreciate more now that I am gone. Greg wants to go back in January of next year, thinking that the mosquitoes won't be as bad. I am not totally sold on it yet. :)

Despite MY frustrations, the kids enjoyed it.  They played so much together.  Jordan decided she was comfortable to ride her bike without any help and together she and Jacob rode around and around collecting weeds, or "wheat" as they would call it, which they would take to their "shredder" (the spare tire mount) and turn into bread.  ;)

They met another Junior Ranger boy from Houston and three children from Sweden.  It was fun to watch my kids and the Swedish kids play together.  It did not matter that they could not even speak the same language!

We ended up leaving a day early so that we could stop in Homestead and get new tires. We decided that the best thing would be to replace all of the tires with a reputable and quality brand. It was all done in a couple of hours and then we headed to the Ft. Lauderdale area. We found a camping spot at Easterlin County Park. The park looked nice but we didn't hang around to check it out much. Instead, we went to the beach!

The beach was fun and we enjoyed watching all of the cruise ships head out to sea.  The water was warm.  Greg and Jacob spotted and chased a flounder around.

The next morning, we headed out to Orlando for our final stop in Florida.

Wauchula, FL-Peace River Thousand Trails Week 2

Like I said last week, Peace River was growing on us and by the end of the week we were a little sad to be leaving. We ended up having a very good time.

Since we were camping right next to the Peace River, we decided to take a canoe trip. Greg loves to go canoeing and kayaking. I love it for about 10 minutes. I definitely prefer a boat with a motor :)

It was a good time though. We all fit it one canoe. Canoe Outpost drove us up the river a few miles and then we made the two hour journey back. Along the way, we spotted 8 alligators. We were NOT brave enough though to go fossil hunting in the waters! I am so amazed at how comfortable people were to just get out of their canoe and dig in the riverbed. This is the SAME water where the alligators swim!

We did get out at a couple of areas but not after a quick look around for gators and I knew I could see anything in the ½ inch of water we were wading in!

Later we visited Pioneer Park which is just across the road from the campground. They have a little museum there called the Cracker Trail Museum and surrounding the museum are some old Pioneer buildings.  It is named the Cracker Trail because of the sound the whips made when the cowboys drove the cattle across the state.

There was a cute log cabin from 1879, a smokehouse, an outhouse and a post office. The kids enjoyed seeing all of this since we were still reading Little House in the Big Woods and they could point out things we had read about in the book. Jordan is convinced that they took Laura and Mary's things to display there :)

The park also had this old Baldwin Locomotive engine on display and

a special pit for “fossil digging”. This is how we do it instead of searching through alligator inhabited rivers! (Yes, the fossils were planted there. One of the mining plants donates them to the museum when they find them).

My favorite area of Pioneer Park was the wildlife refuge in the back. It was not a huge place but was so pretty and had enough to make it interesting. We saw alligators (of course), otters, deer, a large tortoise, ostrich, a bear, raccoons, bobcats and a cougar. The kids and I were able to visit the museum and the wildlife area for $9 total. What a deal!

Later, all four of us took a drive about 30 minutes to Highlands Hammock State Park. The park was built by the CCC and is one of the oldest in Florida.

It was evening time but we were able to hike a couple of the short trails. The trails were very nice and some of them included a boardwalk through swampy areas.  With all of hiking and biking trails, playgrounds and the CCC museum, it would be a very nice park to camp in.

We also did more of the usual resort campground activities this week:

arts and crafts,

shuffleboard and lots of playing with friends (David, Grant and Lucy and Savannah).

Our last outing was to Solomon's Castle. The castle was built by Howard Solomon, who is now in his late 70s, out of old metal newspaper printing plates. In fact, all of his sculptures are made out of discarded materials. 

The second knight needed to go grab some lunch so Jordan gladly took his place to stand guard!

Here are a few of Mr. Solomon's pieces...

his self portrait made from wood scraps,

my favorite, a bird made from garden tools,

an elephant from oil drums,

a giraffe made entirely of clothes hangers

and this motorcycle titled “Evil Kornevil”.

Apparently Mr. Solomon has a very “punny” sense of humor. They have modeled their tour after this character trait. It was EXTREMELY “punny” and not very funny. I had that same nauseated feeling that I got on the swamp tour in New Orleans! It left us a little disappointed since we paid $28 and felt like the whole experience would have been better if we had NOT had a tour guide and could stand and marvel at each piece a little longer. In any case, we are glad we went because of its uniqueness.

Here are a couple more buildings that he created in addition to his castle:

the “Boat in the Moat” which is a very WONDERFUL smelling restaurant (we did not eat there so I am not sure about the food) and

the “Alashmo”.

Towards the end of our stay at Peace River, we were attending a comedy performance in the meeting hall. Well, it was supposed to be comical, but I could understand where Jacob was coming from when, 20 minutes into the performance, he asked me “Why isn't the funny stuff starting?” I just had to laugh because, well, that was the funniest thing I had heard (at least in the past 20 minutes).

Greg stepped out to take Jordan to the bathroom and on his way back, he heard a call for help. An elderly woman, who was camping just diagonal from us, was walking through the parking lot, when she tripped and fell. He ran back to grab the park manager and me. As all head lacerations do, she was bleeding copiously and had about a golf ball sized knot forming. Fortunately, it was nothing too serious.

The kids were so wonderful. They stayed nearby in one spot so that we could give that poor, sweet woman the attention that she needed. I was so proud of them and they continue to express compassion for her. After delivering her to her campsite, the kids made her “Get Well” cards that we gave to her when we went to check up on her. We went to go see her again the next day, which helped the kids to see that she was going to be fine.

So, while I started out not loving the place, my feelings changed quite a bit.  After talking with some of the other campers, we found some interesting places to check out not too far away. We had a fun time and look forward to our return next winter.  But for now, we are off to the EVERGLADES!

Wauchula, FL-Peace River Thousand Trails Week 1

This was our first week to stay at a Thousand Trails park since we became members (we stayed at one in Texas to check it out). My feelings are mixed. It is a nice campground. There are many trees, so it doesn't just look like a parking lot, and there is plenty to do here. We have played...

miniature golf,

Foosball and board games. They also have shuffleboard, pickle ball, horseshoes, and molkky (whatever that is).

We have gone swimming in the HEATED pool and ridden our bikes through the park.

One of the guests brought this fun labyrinth that the kids loved to run through.

There are a number of social activities including ice cream get togethers, community bonfires and

the “Kids Cool Club” where the kids have played games (like pass the grapefruit and bean bag toss),

painted,

and had a banana eating contest. (No, he did not win.  You can just tell he was not in devour mode).

They also have some short nature trails and the park is next to the Peace River, where you can see a couple of quite large alligators sunning themselves.

So you may be wondering “What else could you possibly need?!” Well this particular park is located in Wauchula, Florida. The population is just under 5000, which is not tiny, but there just isn't much to do here or near enough to here. At least, I haven't found anything YET.  For me, one of the draws for this adventure was to get out and see natural beauty, historical sites, etc. So in that respect, I am a little disappointed.

On the other hand, the break from running and doing is kind of nice. There is really so much to do at the campground to entertain the kids that I have not had to be creative at all!. We have been here a week already and have not taken advantage of it all yet. So I should just relax and focus on the positives. Right? The park is really growing on us with each day! :)

At the end of the week, we went to Myakka River State Park about an hour's drive from the campground. It was a great park and I think we would have really enjoyed camping there but when we started making all of our reservations, all of the state parks were full. It is a CCC park teeming with a variety of wildlife and many outdoor activities.

There were soooo many Alligators! They were not very active but they were very BIG!

Another cool thing about this park was a suspension bridge, built by volunteers, through the tree canopy. You climbed up a few flights of stairs and then crossed through the trees. The bridge was 80 or 85 feet long.

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At the end of the bridge, was another tower of stairs. You could go down or continue to climb to the top at 76 feet and look out over the park. What a fun addition to the park!

We had a picnic lunch out by the lake and watched the alligators. The park offers tram and boat tours as well as bicycle rentals. There is also a cafe and a gift shop. Instead, we took a ranger guided walk. These are often quite interesting. For instance, I learned that alligators completely devour what they eat; bones, teeth and all! They leave nothing behind. I must say I have never really thought about it before but it also explains why their scat is white (It's not like I knew that either). But enough about that...

The kids were pretty tired and fell asleep on the way home. Yay for the peaceful drive!! But we still had time for swimming and bike riding when we got back.

We will stay here one more week. The kids are enjoying it and Jacob said this is the “best place ever!” I love to hear that! We have met a few more fulltime families and are enjoying the stories of their journeys and the kids are enjoying playing together.

Until next week...