Paddling Lake Miccosukee

One morning this summer, the forecast was for some cooler air. We took that as a sign that we should take out the aluminum canoe and get it wet. We agreed on trying out Lake Miccosukee, as we had never had a boat in there before. There are times when the lake dries up until it is disconnected puddles, but we have had enough rain to fill it up. The air was so still.

 Water lilies clog the lake in most places. It made paddling challenging at times. We had to look for weak links to push our way through.

This little green heron was enjoying the morning air. These birds are said to drop crusts of bread, worms, twigs, feathers and other objects onto the water as lures to entice fish to come to them.

An osprey was nesting high above the lake.

We also saw a rail, but I was not fast enough with my camera.

 It was a pleasant morning-- that quickly became broiling. We decided that the reason no one else was on the lake was because there aren't any fish in it. We certainly did not see anything but minnows and B was not able to get a single nibble on his line. Still we were glad we had taken the time to enjoy the cooler morning.

Chainsaw Fail

Between Tallahassee and Georgia on the road to Metcalf, there is evidence of some chainsaw work that didn't quite work out. As you can see, the tree had grown around a utility wire. This is a large chunk of wood suspended probably a dozen or more feet above the ground.

Even if it is shady, it's probably not a good parking spot!

An Old Softy

This large, Florida softshell turtle was by the road to the lighthouse.

They look so prehistoric to me.

Red Knot

While there is a shorebird called a red knot, that is not the kind of animal we saw in the road near our garden. This dead red rat snake was twisted into a stiff knot.

What beautiful patterns they have!

We have seen noticeably fewer snakes this summer. We saw none on our trip West, which was actually kind of disappointing.

A Pond Visitor

This adorable baby box turtle appeared to be stuck in our little pond. While box turtles can swim, they are mostly landlubbers. B removed him and released him in woods across the cul-de-sac.

It's a Wrap!

The evening after we made our little day trip to Mirror Lake, we began to prepare to wrap up our vacation and head home to humidity. We found a campground host who would like to have our tent for his son to sleep in when he visited. We had planned all along not to bring it back. It had not worn well, despite its brand and price. Holes are not such an issue in the desert as in the southeast where we camp. I found a single mom car-camping with her two young children. I offered her a tub full of items, including the tub. Much of it we had picked up a Dollar Tree, for a dollar each. She was thrilled. It was not until the next day when I learned that oh, yeah, she was Mormon and I had given her coffee. She said she knew who to share it with.

We were able to make everything fit into the one suitcase and bags we were carrying.  We decided to take another scenic drive to get back to Salt Lake City. It is called the Alpine Loop and was about as narrow and steep and winding as we have driven. Hence, there are no pictures. There were no pull-outs and I am sure it was beautiful, but it was not as enjoyable as Mirror Lake because of the concentration required for driving it. It took us through Robert Redford's Sundance Resort of 5,000 acres on Mount Timpanogos. (Jeremiah Johnson was filmed there.)

Near the end of this wild road was park and this sign showed that bighorn sheep were around. We were able to pull over and use the binoculars,  but we saw none.

Back in Salt Lake City, we popped into Ikea and then had a fabulous lunch at a local icon called The Red Iguana. We turned in our rental car with 2600 miles logged in the two weeks. We got a shuttle to our hotel and had a decent night before our flight home in the morning. 

The owner of the hoodie below was our seat mate. She teaches ESE and plays roller derby. The name on the left is her derby name.

Mailbox Monday: Green Gator

My sister sent me this one with the following comment: 

"I assume he was green with envy, for the FSU football team."