Downday Again, with Mosquitoes

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Flamingo, Everglades National Park, Florida

We took a much needed downday yesterday. Slept in, walked the dogs, cooked a bacon and egg breakfast - brunch actually, took a nap, read some more about Everglades ecology, and grilled brats for dinner, drank a bit of wine, went to bed, read some more, then lights out. It was a real challenging day, but allows us to replenish our energy and get ready for more sightseeing.

We did get another game of cards in as the Joan/Michael tournament continues. We play a game called 3-13, which we learned from our friends Janet and Lee Siedliecki. It has a lot of luck in it with just enough skill to make you think you might not be getting older. This tournament, I'm winning (but Joan hates it when I gloat, so I'll say she is!)

We also took a trip in to the Flamingo Visitor Center to get our orientation on this end of the park. As you might expect, it is painted pink and sits right on the edge of the water. It has a small collection of exhibits, including some art work by the park rangers that is interesting. But mostly we learned by talking to two of the volunteers who are working this park.

Turns out that, even though mosquitoes are always a problem here in Flamingo, this year they are especially bad and none of the park scientists have the faintest idea why. They are actually discouraging people from taking some of the trails because they are so bad and are selling 'mosquito net hats' that cover your entire head with a thin mesh. Many tourists have come running out of some areas literally covered with hundreds of them all over their exposed parts. Regardless of the heat, they recommend long pants, socks and sneakers, and long-sleeved shirts at a minimum with frequent applications of bug spray. And this year is not the year to be out at dusk or dawn - those views have been canceled by nature.

But we have a list of a few hikes where things might not be too bad and we are going to head out this morning and tackle a couple of them. Hikes aren't all that long in this park, I suppose mostly because, at least down here, there is too much water - you can't go very far before you run into a canal, a marsh, or a swamp of some kind. But we will see what the mosquitoes allow us to see later today.

There were a couple of opportunities available to us yesterday as we walked around the visitor center and marina. Patiently, we stood on the docks around the marina and, sure enough, a couple of manatees eventually surfaced. The water is pretty muddy so you can't see things real clearly, and they don't stay at the surface longer than it takes to catch a long breath, but we saw a couple of them bubble to the top, extend their snout up about an inch, take a deep breath and then slowly go back under. These are big animals - reaching up to 3000 pounds, although averaging around 1200 or so. They aren't particularly dangerous, although I wouldn't want to be in a small boat and catch one by surprise.

We also caught a glimpse of an American crocodile. Now this one can be dangerous, although the one we saw was off to the side of a canal, under vegetation, doing absolutely nothing. Crocodiles are bigger than alligators and are greenish, instead of black. Their snout is more pointed and apparently their jaws work a bit differently. Unlike alligators, which can be found in fresh water, crocodiles are limited to salt and brackish waters and so are found around this part of the Everglades (the Florida Bay and estuaries).

And despite the fact that the canoe trip would begin the same water as that crocodile, Joan is talking to a guy about a two hour rental. As I walked up to them talking, she said 'that's him' and he responded with a 'well yeah that's a big guy'. He said he's had 330 pounders in his canoes before, but never a guy as tall as me. He said that I didn't need a canoe - I could just walk down the canal and carry Joan on my shoulders. But he seems to think we could manage the boat, so Joan will probably talk me into this latest escapade.

After dinner, one of the ladies we had talked to brought her dog (a shit zu (sp)) over for a visit with our corgis. So while the dogs played in the grass, we talked about what it is like being a park volunteer. She said she'd bring information over for us later this week. I'm not sure, though, that I'd want to work here in mosquitoeville.

Found some limited cell phone service up at the visitor center, so will try to upload yesterday's and today's posts. Don't know about pictures, though. They might have to wait until we get back to some kind of civilization.

Learned lots of cool things about 'tree islands' yesterday in my Everglades ecology book. Some of them, called 'pop-ups' are actually floating in the water and drift when the marsh is water logged all the while supporting an interlocked structure of trees and shrubs. This is a very complicated part of the world. (17.1.26)

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Photos

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Flamingo Visitor Center

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Joan looking out on the bay

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There's a crocodile back there. A big one.

Comments

[Melissa]

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I am laughing so hard! It's spelled shih tzu. Hope you're watching the bad weather. I think it's going north of you but be careful!