Glen came by the boat this morning and asked us if we would like to take a dinghy ride through the Everglades. Of course we would! So while Glen went to the Ranger Station to pick up a chart of the area and pay for a one day pass for a campsite so we could stop and picnic along the way, we all packed sandwiches, snacks and drinks. When he got back we loaded up two dinghy's (not a comfy ride for all 6 of us to be in one dinghy....been there done that already) and headed out. It was a gorgeous cloudy day, and a slight breeze across the Chokoloskee River made it even better. When the sun was out it was brutal, so we were thankful for the clouds. After crossing the sound (as we call it in Va and NC) the river got narrower, and since it was low tide we came across several places with a depth of 1 foot or less, shallow even for a dinghy. At one point we ran aground and Chip had to get out of the boat and push -us off the shoal. We traveled for a few more miles, all the while keeping a sharp eye out for gators............I was determined to see a gator! Beth was positioned on the bow of their dinghy with her binoculars looking for anything moving on the shore while Jeri and I were looking through binoculars of our own.
Terry & Beth were a little ways ahead of us when we noticed he stopped moving. He had run aground...hard. He and Beth both stuck a leg out of the boat and while he pushed she used the pole of an umbrella to help wedge them off the shoal. Finally reaching our "campsite" we beached the dinghy's and unloaded the food. Campsite? Well it was more like a small clearing in the mangroves and weeds with two rickety picnic tables, a port-a-potty, and a concrete remnant of what could have been a house of some kind. Someone had written in the concrete, but all we could make out was the date, 1890. While we ate our lunch we looked around and found a huge Snake Plant (also called Mother in laws Tongue) that was at least 20 feet in diameter, so we dug up a couple bulbs for the girls to take home. I spotted an unusual plant growing out of the side of a tree. I recognized it but could not recall the name. I do remember that all you need to do is let this plant root to a piece of wood and it will survive nicely. Makes a nice piece of decor for a beach house. So Chip climbed up the tree part way while Glen lassoed the plant and together they got it down for Jeri, who found a great piece of driftwood to put it on.
After lunch we cleaned up our mess, climbed back in the boats and headed up the river to see more of the everglades (still looking for gators). After a while of not seeing any gators we turned around and headed back to the dock, it was getting late in the afternoon and we needed to get to the hardware store to get some live shrimp so we can fish tonight for Snook.
As we came around the bend to the dock I snapped a great shot of our Flotilla all lined up at the dock!
1 comment:
We've certainly enjoyed reading your blogs. All the stories of beautiful days and star filled nights has us drooling for our own cruise. So happy for you both! Big hugs and lots of love. Hope to see you in St. Lucie.
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