Day 1- March 25, 2013
So the epic travel begins. First stop, Big Cypress National
Park. It's setting up for another gorgeous Florida sunset as I turn on to the
20 mile dusty gravel road towards the primitive style (few, if any amenities)
campground ominously named "Bear Island". Racing to get there before
the sun goes down I wonder if Mage (The Magic Bus) has ever been off-roading
before? I'm hoping she's mostly seen highway miles, but she handled herself
well and seemed to enjoy it, as did I, arriving covered in a thin coat of fine
white dust.
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| Better than a cross Panther! |
I'd would have rather not jostled her around so much at high
speed, but I figured since I would be camping among bears, panthers and gators
it would be a good idea to have some
light so as to have a chance to look
around before settling into the campsite.
Although there is a seemingly abandoned net canopy set up
near by it appears that I have the whole area to myself with the stars
twinkling in the clear night sky and the near full moon shining bright and on
the rise. In the background are the
crickets and cicadas providing the soundtrack for the evening. It's a lovely
sonnet, all except the blood sucking mosquitoes which I'd prefer to be much
farther down in the mix. I frantically wave my conductors wand, but they drone
on completely disrespecting the rest of the symphony. I guess there is a more
senior Maestro conducting tonight's score to whom I must defer.
The sun has set and with a slight chill in the air I don a
sweatshirt and put socks on under my flip flops. I know it's not fashionable,
but I also know the days of minimal footwear are soon to come to an end as I
progress northward and I'm going to milk going shoeless for as long as
possible. Besides, I'm alone. Although if my eyes were as big as an Owl's, I
might see one snickering at me.
I decide to test out the new Coleman stove and cook up a few
quesadillas. The combination of not being micro-waved and cooking them in the
great outdoors makes them most savory. My hunger satiated I pull out the camera
for a few snaps at the moon. Afterwards I can think of nothing more enjoyable
than to sit and listen to the Earth spin
while imagining I can communicate with billion of bellowing insects and try to
warn them that if they aren't careful those birds of the famous Florida Bird
Watching Trails will be their end.
I believe I will sleep well tonight.....very well.
Day 2
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| Oh Dear! |
Sleep well I did. However, the second evening was another
story all together. I wish I could share something as exotic as a wild panther
pacing around the van all evening, but the truth is much more mundane. I
thought the Earth's Poles might have shifted as I lay there freezing my tuckus
off. With everything but my face covered in fleece and my blanket pulled over
my head I cursed that cold Arctic air mass that snuck down into Southern
Florida last night and dropped the temperature down to 39 degrees. I also
cursed the ceiling vent I installed two days ago to pull out the warm air. It
doesn't have a damper so what precious little heat I had was escaping
throughout the night. A tupperware lid and some duck tape is my quick fix for
the later problem. The former I can't do much about, but the forecast isn't as
harsh for this coming evening so hopefully there will be less cussing.
During the day I hiked a trail. Actually using the word
"hiked" seems way too dramatic. Like all of Florida the park is flat
and due to that fact I would have to say that Big Cypress Park is probably one
of the least scenic national parks in the country. That is unless you're lucky
enough to spot the elusive Florida Panther and not get mauled. Unfortunately, I
was not. Also, despite what you might think given the park's name, it seems
that big Cypress trees are also pretty elusive here. Go figure.
Carrying on with the theme of misnomers, despite this campground's
name, "Bear Island", I have not seen any bears or for that matter, even
water! Of course, you'd have to be really lucky to spot a Bear or Panther
anywhere, but if you make your way to the watery sections of this park you will
have no trouble spotting Gators. Just don't feed them or you'll wind up in the
slammer, possibly minus a limb.
Many would consider this area a "Bird Lovers
Paradise". I'm not knowledgeable on aviaries, but I have seen lots of
Osprey, Red Shouldered Hawks, Anhingas, Egrets, Summer Tanagers, Black
Vultures, Tern, Blue Heron and even a few Wild Turkeys pecking around. The latter
were the scariest. Not because of their vicious ferocity, razor sharp claws and
man eating beaks, but because turkeys are in season and they do allow hunting
in the park! I survived those turkeys though and I soldier on......
Now if
you'll excuse me I need to get under my blanket of stars, start a campfire and
cook me some vittles.
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| Sunset over Big Cypress |
If you're interested in learning more about the park, here
is a link.
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