4/1 John McArthur State Beach

Trying to catch up with posts, but it takes me a long time to download photos from my camera, go through them and select ones that tell my story, but are not blurry or redundant.  The following photos are from a quick visit I made to this state park, located on the Atlantic, about 8 miles north of West Palm Beach and 10 miles south of Jupiter, Florida.  I like it because there is a lot of good parking for my motorhome, and there is a very nice boardwalk that goes over a lagoon and ends up on the beach.  Also, most days of the week, there is a shuttle that will take you on the part of the boardwalk that goes over the lagoon.  

Can't complain about this parking lot, other than it being the farthest from the visitor center and boardwalk. 

 

This is the shuttle pickup point near the visitor center.  

This is a very long boardwalk, so it is nice to catch a ride to the opposite side!!

 

 

The shuttle turns around here to head back to the visitor center.

But, the boardwalk continues on for couple hundred feet to the beach.  

I found a nice bench at the top of the boardwalk, overlooking the beach, so I sat down and spent a comfortable hour in the breeze.  Note that the red flag means swimmers need to stay out the water because of a riptide that day. 

This is a flock of pelicans that flew overhead.  I did not have time for the auto-focus to actually focus on the birds, so was amazed that this photo turned out as well as it did. 

Heading back to catch shuttle to parking area.

The Nature Center and Visitor Center.  You can rent a kayak or canoe here and borrow life jackets if you want to go out on the lagoon. 

I felt a little windblown on this sunny and windy day.  Even with my glasses darkening, my eyes felt really dry, so I need to bring some eye drops next time.

3/28 Back at St. Lucie Lock & Dam

I'm back at St. Lucie Lock & Dam for a couple of weeks.  It's never boring here because there are always different and interesting boats going through the locks.  

First, some of the boats going through the locks. 

This tugboat has gone through several times, mostly pushing barges full of equipment.

 

This boat spent the night in the river because it missed the lock's closing time.  I thought it was cute!  

There were also several boats tied up in the campground boat area.  Each has electric and water service. 

This building is rented out for family events, but the boats who are parked here for several days, also use it as a group meeting area.  There is a fire pit and grill here also. 

This time I got one of the three sites overlooking the river.  Nice view!  My rig is in the middle.

 

 

There are also three tent camping sites.  

 

No one home in this gopher tortoise den right now.  

 

Someone is home in this burrow.  There were at least 10 burrows in this small campground!  

 

Adult gopher tortoises have a shell about 12-14" long and 6-8" wide.  They are a lot taller than river turtles, and almost never need to drink water.  They will spend all their lives in woodsy areas with easy to dig in sand for their burrows.  They are federally protected because a lot of other animals use their old burrows for homes.  They live about 75 to 90 years.  

 

You can easily recognize a gopher tortoise home by the pile of sand in front of it.  This guy was suspicious of having his picture taken. 

 

This guy was on his way in a hurry.   It is surprising how fast they can move. 

Notice that he or she is eating something orange.  I came back later and took this photo of thee palm fruits of some kind. 

Notice in the photo above that some are brown and others are orange and ripe.  She seemed to be enjoying this one that was ripe. 

A close-up of the fruits under the tree. 

 

And this is the palm tree they had come from.  

I had noticed an old road or hiking path at the far end of the campground that followed the river, so on one slightly cooler day, I decided to walk down it.  Following are some photos of that walk, which turned out to be 2/3 of a mile each way--a lot longer than I had expected! 

Can you see the transparent wings on this guy?

At the end was a boat docking area for a nearby subdivision. 

The walking did not bother me that day, but after a long drive the next day, I could barely walk because of my sore muscles. 

 

3/20 Another Trip to the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

The Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is such a beautiful place, I could not resist another visit here this winter, especially since it will probably be at least two years before I can return.   

No matter when you visit, there is always something new to see.  Last time I was here in December, there had been a lot of rain, so there was more water in the swamp.  There were not as many wading birds this time, but the ferns and other swamp plants looked terrific, plus the bald cypress had started to grow their summer leaves, so it was worth seeing it again.

After seeing my photos, I hope you don't let anyone tell you that a swamp is ugly or boring!

Everybody stops at this sign at the beginning of the 2.5 mile boardwalk because it is fun to see what birds and animals other visitors have recently seen.

Note the no longer "bald" cypress!  This area contains some of the huge virgin cypress that were protected from loggers way back when. 

 

 

If you come here, plan on spending at least 3-4 hours walking the boardwalk, including stopping to listen for birds and to look for small things.  

 

 

As you walk, it is important to look down for the small things, like flowers or tiny plants.  

 

 

Since there was rain yesterday, the resurrection ferns are no longer dry and dead-looking but have "resurrected."   They live on the branches of trees, and each frond is only about 6" long.

 

 

I used to have an aunt who did not believe me that the green stuff she saw in ditches and wet areas was not "pond scum."  In reality, as the next could of photos will show you, the green stuff is thousands of tiny plants called "duckweed."  Ducks love to eat these plants, hence their name.

 

 

 

 

These tiny duckweed plants just float in the water.  They have roots, but do not root into soil.

 

Did you know the "flags" we plant in our gardens also grow well in very wet places, and even sometimes in standing water in ponds.

 

 

 

Lots of lizards in this swamp. 

 

 

I don't know what these tiny plants growing on this log are, but they are an example of why you need to stop and look when you visit this place.  

 

 

 

"The woods are lovely and dark and deep."  And these swamp "woods" have a lot more variety of plants growing in them than a northern woods.

 

 

This is a small resurrection fern growing on a different fern. 

A couple of the old, really huge bald cypress trees! 

 

 

This lizard is looking for a girlfriend.  

 

 

This small, but well-branched tree, contains an entire village of air plants growing on its branches!!

 

 

 This is a hunched-down great blue heron just resting on a tree branch. 

 

 

An anhinga drying his wings. 

 

 

A red-bellied woodpecker.  

 

 

The last part of the boardwalk goes through this very wet grassy area.  On the left are bald cypress, and on the right are pine trees, growing on ground that is maybe a foot or two higher.

 I'll miss this lovely place until next trip to Florida.