Naples, Florida - Last 2 Weeks of February, 2014

Bird spotting on our daily walks.  We don't have a clue
what some of them are, but it doesn't mean we can't love 'em.

Everywhere we have travelled on the planet, the Mourning Dove
is there

Aha!  Caught ya!  Remember the sign in our RV resort in the last blog?
We find this fellow right outside the gate and I'll bet he can read the
signs......he's not swimming!  

Note how close he is to the traffic

Another day, another Margarita.  This time at Doc Ford's Restaurant.
Great food, views and "fair" Margies

Fishing boats - their job is done for the day

Flocks of pelicans anywhere a fisherperson is working

Spring has arrived in Naples, and all the trees
are bursting with leaves.  The Cypress trees that
looked so glum are now popping out in green

And the hibiscus is blooming

We arrive at the Big Cypress Gallery, for our guided walk in the Everglades
Swamp

Wonderfully creative sculptures surround the gallery

The artist who created this scuplture, captures Clyde Butcher, the photographer/owner
of the gallery.  He's very famous and his black and white photography
is astounding and very, very expensive.  He deserves every penny,
slopping about in the Everglades for over 20 years to get his magnificent
shots.  Check him out on google.

We haven't even started our walk yet and looky here!  

To us our eyes, they seem to be scrambling to get at us!

This is our guide "C" (yup, that's her name),
pointing out how a strangler fig is killing a cypress tree

Beautiful flowers on the property

Into the swamp we go

Still smiling

The water was clean and clear

At times, we were up to our waists in water.  I had to put
my camera in a ziplock bag at that point, to make certain
I didn't drop it.

Wild orchids are everywhere, including the ghost orchid (couldn't grab
a shot of that one) which is very rare

Bob was our  Rear Guard through most of the 3 hours walk.  C asked him at one point
to lead the group.  Of course, Bob being Bob,  brought
gales of laughter when he said "All right everyone, we're
going off trail for a bit!".  He was in his glory...one man
with 7 women.

It probably wasn't the best question to ask at the time,
but I mustered enough nerve to do so.  I asked if Clyde
and his wife had ever had a nasty experience or close encounter
in all the years they'd been walking in the swamp.  C told us
that they have never had one even close encounter.  Clyde did
get surprised and bitten by a Cottonmouth snake one day, as he was getting
into his car in his driveway.  Thankfully it was a mature snake which only
gives a warning bite with a bit of venom, and he was able to drive the 50 miles
to a hospital.  Had it been a juvenile, which doesn't yet know how to gauge
it's venom, he would have had the full monty and been dead.  Good to know!
Now how would we know the difference in a mature versus juvenile?  Thankfully,
we didn't meet any and hope we never do!

I didn't see it at first, even when C pointed it out to me!
A 6 foot snake curled up in a tree hollow right beside us.
I tried not to think about whether or not I would have spotted it swimming.

Bob doing his scary python imitation.  Another
thing we tried not to think about, knowing that there
are guestimates of over 100,000 of them out there.
C told us that they do not believe the Burmese python
has reached this area yet, because there is
still an abundance of small animals and deer.  Once they
disappear, it is pretty certain the python has arrived.
She said that it is believed the python is very intelligent
and that is why they are so difficult to catch.

This paraphyton keeps the water in it's pristine condition.
C told us that we would never be walking in the swamp
if the water was cloudy.  I suppose that's a good thing?

We walk through a large Cypress grove.  The trees
appear to be dead but aren't.  It's spring and they are just
beginning to bud.

One of the last remaining markers the Seminole Indians
twisted as trail markers in ancient times

I can't recall what this is.  Actually just took the pic because I
loved her silver ring.

This little flower is a particular favourite of mine.  It has beautiful
fern-like leaves under the water and it moves through the water,
chowing down on mosquito larvae.  Anyone who knows me,
knows how mosquitoes and I get along.  I was so happy to meet
this pretty flower! 

A lovely yellow flower wrapping itself around a tree

See how close that mama gator is?  C told us that gators are shy
and won't come after you unless you get into their space.  This mama
had babies close by, so we crept past her then peeked at her babies.

Used my telephoto lense to get a shot of this cute little guy

Can you spot the baby that hasn't changed colour yet?  It blended in
with the leaf litter so well it was hard to spot

Elkhorn fern

Mama gator nest.  She hatched 50 babies and only has 7 left.
They have a 1 in 10 chance of living due to predators

This cottage, which can be rented, overlooks the water
where the gator and her brood live.  Apparently it
is a peaceful and wonderful place to stay for a few days.

An amazing lunch at the Havana Club restaurant near Everglades City.
Alicia and Sue, fellow swamp walkers, joined us there.  A fun time
but I forgot to get their photo!   Lunch in the gardens among the
fern and flowers was a great way to end the day.  The food
was unbelievable!

Everglades City City Hall

Entrance to Lely Acres....a place where some of the 1% live

Kind of shabby actually.  Who needs the gates and the multi-million $ homes?

We'll take our rustic little park

Watching Glen trimming the palms.  Terrific staff here...the
best we've met while RV'ing

Toronto friends Thelma and Art have had a place down here since 1991 and
they invited us to join them on a tour of their favourite wildlife spotting locations
in the Everglades.  This one was a beauty!  All kinds of wildlife!

Thelma and Art

The excited tourists

At the lookout, we encountered a flock of new artists enjoying
what appeared to be their first lesson

Vultures on the path ahead of us.  Hmmmmm - what could it mean?

Guess we're still too lively...they took off

Ever tried to take a photo of a manatee?  Believe it or not,
this is a mother with her baby.  They don't surface long enough to
grab a good shot, so I'll just remember what they looked like.
Very cute!

Ok...so you've seen enough heron pics right?

This guy actually showed off for me.  Brill!!!

A great lunch at Joanie's and plenty of nude photo's of buff men
and women inside.  It was an interesting place with entertainment
(he was dressed) and good food.  We picked our beer from large
coolers that were located right in front of the singer.  Double duty..
entertainer and security.

One of the fun photo's inside

Delicious fruit just outside the front door.
It was a wonderful day!

This beautiful fellow made an appearance just outside
our resort

And another one on the same day!  

So this is our favourite lunch spot when we do our weekly grocery
shopping.  They have daily specials for $7, (we've had the delicious burgers and on another day, fabulous pizza) including craft beer or wine and that
plastic cup (one each) filled with the most delicious mixed nuts I've
tasted.  Would you believe that this bar is located inside Whole Foods?
We have a couple of stores in Toronto, however I've never seen a
lunch/dinner bar before.  Will have to check out the newest store
at Yonge/Sheppard when we get home, to see if they have one.
The BEST groceries and a bar?  It's our kind of place.  The young wine,
chocolate and cheese specialist Tony, knows us now and has
made fantastic recommendations.  He told us that almost all the staff is
uni educated and his wife, who is manager of the baked goods area, trained
as a chef.  Very cool to know!  They love Whole Foods and their jobs..it's evident
in any of the staff we have met.

Bet you think we spend our days in bars.  Close!

And why wouldn't we, with these views?

Happy, happy times!  Another great Margarita....second best so far.

Wherever you see fishermen/women, you find pelicans

I called this guy "Chins".  Love these crazy birds.  Fisherpeople on
the other hand....don't!

The beach was packed with sun seekers from the north!

This little cutie was loving it!

Big Jesus people down here.  This was on the back of someone's truck.
We didn't stay.

Beautiful ceilings on the city park shelters

This one's for you Pete!  

Our lovely neighbour Ken.  He and his wife Lou are
from Indiana.  They LOVE Canada and Canadians and talk
almost non-stop about how wonderful Canada and the people are...
almost (but not quite) too much.  The other night, Ken came out
of his big rig to chat and waited for us to notice his hat.
Such a sweet man!

Ken and Lou