11/25 WP Franklin Lock and Dam Campground

I almost forgot to post the few photos I took of this campground.  I normally take more, but this time my fear of additional no-see-um bites prevented me from going outside much.  That and the fact that I was really behind on grading papers for my online class meant I spent a lot of time indoors working. 

Anyway, this is the Corps of Engineers lock and dam campground closest to Ft. Myers.  (Farthest east is St. Lucie, and in between this campground and Lake Okochoobee is Ortona South, where I will be in a week or so.  The negative to this campground is that you cannot walk across the dam, meaning that you cannot see the lock from this side of the river. You have to drive about 15 miles to the day use site on the other side to do that.  The good news is that this is a pretty part of the river. 

Anyway, I don't think the photos require much explanation. The first one shows my campsite. Nice!

Cruisers can camp also!  They have electric hookups if they want them.

 

The locks are way over on the other side.

 

11/23 Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has been one of my favorite places to visit in Florida since I first came here in 1981.  It is northeast of Naples and really not convenient to anything, which is what makes it special. 

The Corkscrew contains the largest old growth Bald Cypress forest in North America and a 2.5 mile boardwalk, along with a very nice visitor center and gift shop.

I was lucky on my first visit in 1981 to see thousands of wood storks nesting here, but unfortunately their numbers are now very low, and they do not nest here anymore in such numbers.

Many birds in Florida became almost hunted to extinction to provide feathers for ladies hats.  This area was once a prime plume hunting location.

The red-shouldered hawk was sitting just a few feet away from me and posing nicely.

The boardwalk goes through a variety of mini-environments, some a bit drier than others.  The rule is whisper and walk softly.

Large Boston fern.

Rabbit's foot fern.

Swamp fern.

Strap fern.

An air plant of some sort.  They do not hurt the tree.

Swamps are not ugly, scary places.  This one is full of ferns, cypress and other trees, and even orchids, as well as wading and other birds of all kinds. 

Today was a terrific day to come here because there was almost no one else around. Check out this video I took:  https://youtu.be/AWBPr8Yej7s

The boardwalk looks like it is falling apart, but it is made of a special South American wood that does not rot.  Mostly you see a lot of lichen growing on it.

This is a good photo of resurrection fern. You see it all over Florida on almost every horizontal surface. It looks dead, but a brief rain will cause it to turn green and look alive in just a few minutes.

This anhinga was preening his feathers.

Interesting lichen on this tree.

There were a lot more flowers in bloom last time I was here, but here is one.  Will have to look it up.

Not many acorns in the swamp, so squirrels each lichen and seeds.

 This was the size of a dinner plate.  Will have to look it up.

Some swamp lettuce and duckweed,

Another anhinga.  This one was hanging his wings out to dry!

And this one had a fish in his mouth.  After whacking it against the tree, he finally swallowed it.

A lot of anhingas were fishing today. This one was just taking a break.

This was a very pretty little blue heron fishing for minnows.  And he found several.

The only alligator I saw, but a really big fat one!

11/21 Bugs!

I have not posted for a few days and there are actually two reasons: 1) I have been swamped with end-of-semester work for my online class, and 2) I have been staying inside almost entirely for the past week due to bugs, or rather having some sort of insect eating me alive.  I have pretty much been afraid to go outside, except for absolute necessities.

I got a few mosquito bites in the Florida Keys about three weeks ago.  I know they were mosquitos because I saw them biting me.  I ended up with maybe 10 bites that got large and red, but were calming down by the time I got to St. Lucie Lock and Dam.  No problems there at all.  Then, I checked into Sebastian Inlet State Park.  I should have known this was a bad place because something started biting me on the legs as I was inside the ranger station checking in!  Could not see whatever it was, so I assume they were the infamous "no-see-ums" which are tiny gnat or flies or something.  They are very small and indeed hard to see--about the size of the hyphens in no-see-ums.  They look a little like a tiny fruit fly, except fruit flies do not bite and cause large, red welts on somebody like me who is sensitive to them.  I still have some scars from a similar situation I had a couple of years ago in Mississippi.

Not having learned from my check-in experience, the next afternoon, I walked over to dump my trash and circled the campground.  By that evening, I started noticing even more red welts, probably up to a couple of dozen of them by then.  The problem is that I spent most of my life not even reacting to insect bites, but the last few years I have developed a serious allergy, meaning the spots get to be about the size of a dime.  Not only do they itch like crazy, but they also sting.  I have made two trips out to drugstores and picked up a handful of creams and several packets of Benadryl tablets, but nothing has made much of a difference.  I seriously have considered leaving Florida even though I have reservations through mid-March.

I am now at WP Franklin Lock and Dam Campground near Ft Myers, and added to my misery with a 30 minute walk around the campground a couple of days ago.  They are now attacking my feet around the straps of my sandals and on my arms and neck.   Had several almost-sleepless nights. The frustrating thing is that all these other people are walking around in shorts and t-shirts and not getting bit!  What is my problem???

Today, however, I went to an urgent care clinic and got a prednisone dosepak, which even by late this evening had started working!  Yea!  I also picked up some unscented soap and tomorrow am going to look for some unscented hand cream and bath powder, as they say sometimes they are attracted to scents. Plus, we have had two nights in a row where the temps have dropped to 45 degrees, which is supposed to slow them down. Rain and nights where lows were in the 70s were very good for bugs.

I really like the animals and birds in Florida, but I am missing the desert southwest where you can leave windows and doors open all day and not worry about things flying in.  I also really like the cold nights out there for sleeping, but supposedly Florida is going to get cooler in December.

I have spared you the photographs of my bitten-up legs!

11/16 Sebastian Inlet State Park

I've been here at Sebastian Inlet for three days and am leaving tomorrow, but I have barely gone outside.  The reason?  My legs and arms are full of big red welts from some kind of bug biting me.  I am guessing the infamous no-see-ums, but since I haven't seen them, I can't be sure.  All I did on Tuesday was make several trips to the washer and dryer to do my laundry, a distance of about 300 feet.  I did take a walk to the entrance to take out the trash and get a refund of the last day's camping fee since I am leaving on Friday morning and have an overlap with that campground. 

Sebastian Inlet is on one of the barrier islands along the Atlantic Ocean where a large part of the Indian River is connected.  It's a pretty basic campground, but its big draw is that the campground is along the excellent fishing along the inlet.  Here is my campsite--not fancy as you can see.

 
But here is my fantastic view out of my front window. Lots of boats and an occasional dolphin swimming past.

Now this is an interesting fish cleaning station.  I am assuming the fence is to keep the birds out, not keep the fishermen in.  Sea birds are smart enough to know that where there are people fishing, there are likely going to be scraps.  They probably don't get many fish, but obviously it is worth taking a chance.  On the left is a woodstork.

And a great white egret waiting with the wood storks.

A handful of Florida brown pelicans.

You can see the bridge over the inlet in the distance. There are also fishing piers along both sides under the bridge.  Note the people fishing along the river.

This photo was taken a few miles north, down the highway.  A friend who has a Roadtrek motorhome and I picked up a pizza and brought it back to eat.  Roadtrek is a Class B motorhome, meaning it is a souped-up conversion van but with all the comforts of home.

 On my way out tomorrow, I will park by the visitors center and walk out on one of the Sebastian Inlet piers to take more photos.