We’re off to explore the everglades today! We’ll be tent camping at the southern most point, so I don’t know as there will be internet access. The laptop & all batteries are charged, so perhaps it will give us a chance to get some images ready to post online. I’ve been working on editing and I’ve got some good ones. Haven’t seen any moose yet though… it’s hard to break old habits. I still find myself looking for them! And don’t worry, it’s too cold for the snakes to be out!
Although it is a beautiful place, I still would not trade my Maine woods or coast for this. Cindi & I both agree that we would miss the seasons & variety of trees, along with so much more that New England has to offer. Tonight will be our last night on Sanibel Island. We were planning to go through the bird refuge again today, but my buddy John either misinformed me, or has been messing with my head again. He told me the refuge was closed on Mondays. Come to find out, it’s closed on Fridays. All we had to do was read the literature, but who has time for that! No worries, we made good use of our day here anyway. We literally have been out photographing & exploring from sunrise to sunset. This morning we were picking shells & photographing pelicans as the sun came up near the lighthouse. It was brisk, but beautiful. Tonight was sunset in Captiva, another island that is beyond Sanibel & attached by a bridge. Tomorrow morning we will be up early to pack up camp and head back into the refuge to photograph birds one more time before leaving the island. It will be interesting to see what else crosses our path before on our last day. Tomorrow they’re saying showers in the afternoon, but we should be on the road by then.
We’re running into some very nice people who are also traveling or spending their winters down here. Lots of travel stories being passed around. It’s been tough making time to get to the computer to download & edit images. By the time we get back from our sunset shooting, make dinner on the camp stove & get the dishes cleaned up, we’re beat! I’m still going to try… be patient with me.
Did I mention that yesterday we saw our first alligator? I tried to get Cindi to stand next to it & make it “open wide” but she just wouldn’t fall for it. Perhaps the next one. Now, that will be a photo to share! Other than the occasional egret or bird running across the road in front of us, that’s about it for excitement. I’ll keep you posted as best as I can. We’re off to some refuges in Southwestern Florida over the next few days and the Everglades. Should be fun! Cindi & I celebrated one week together yesterday & NOT killing each other. For anyone who knows me well or has traveled with me, you know what an accomplishment that is! She’s making a great traveling companion. I’m not a beach person or a birder, but am having a blast on this trip!
Sorry folks, I spent most of last night trying to back up images on an external hard drive so I could clear my memory cards. There was no internet where I was setup, so I’ll try to catch you up. We’ve moved on from our tent by the “ditch” as Gail called it. She & Terry were kind enough to let us pitch my tent in their yard. What a great place it was! We could see out the front door of the tent and just watch the birds & wildlife. This morning for 15 minutes or so, we just sat there… There must have been 10 herons coming, going & flying by… a wood stork, a great egret and two bunnies hopped within a few feet of our tent door. We left only for a few minutes and were told we just missed an armadillo! It was a wonderful place to stay and it was nice to see Gail & Terry again.
Cindi & I decided to hit the road today and continue south. We arrived at Sanibel, FL this afternoon. It’s a 12 mile long island surrounded by sand beaches. It’s 3 miles wide at it’s wides part. There’s an additional island, Captiva, off the tip of Sanibel. As we were driving here, the temp read 82 degrees. Dark clouds rolled in as we crossed the long bridge to the island. Thankfully, we were able to find a campsite on the Sanibel for the next few nights. With Cindi’s help, I was able to get the tent up just as the thunder was starting. Thankfully, we finished just as the rain hit. The wind has been incredible, I wish I knew what the wind speeds are. The tarp we put up over out picnic table had its reinforced corners ripped out! The temp last time I checked was 57 degrees! It’s still much warmer than Maine, but not quite what one would expect for Florida. Cindi is brave and attempting to ignore the whipping winds, creaking trees and other noises as she is becoming a more experienced tent camper. I made her spaghetti tonight on my camp stove. Not much of a reward I’m afraid.
This afternoon we visited Ding Darling Wildlife Sanctuary. With only our first trip through, I’ve already gotten some of the bird images my customer had requested. Tomorrow is supposed to be cool, but sunny (60’s). I’m hoping to get some pictures attached to the blog soon. It’s been hard finding either the time, or the internet connection on the road. Some of my blogs have been from my phone (you will know which ones by the poor punctuation). We’ll have internet here at this site, so I’m hoping to catch up. Kyle, I got some great heron shots that you’re just going to LOVE!!!
As for the pythons, I’m not worried and there is no reason for anyone else to worry either. We are only sticking to main routes and will most likely camp outside the park. My tent seals up very nicely! Besides, the odds of running into a python down there are so minute, I don’t expect a problem at all. Since we are out of our element, we are treating every snake as if it’s poisonous and being very cautious of our surroundings. We’re not doing any back country bushwacking, boating or exploring.
Besides, if anything were to happen to me, there would be fights over who would get my camera equipment and my critters! I know there is already a line that has formed.
Road kill, wild boar! Hope I don’t run into one of them.
It’s our first full day here and it’s been worth it! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous and in the 70s. Today our guides Gail & Terry took us to an amazing beach along the Gulf of Mexico. It’s was miles of beautiful sand, birds & shells everywhere! We saw tons of great blue herons, great egrets, skimmers, plovers, sand pipers and I photographed a nesting great horned owl! We proceeded on to a rookery where we photographed nesting egrets & herons. Boy, those young blue herons sure are homely! We haven’t seen a gator yet, and I survived my first night tent camping along the moat. There was a blue heron just 6 feet outside my tent this morning! Tomorrow we head to Boca Grande, check out Gail’s gallery and play with pelicans. Fun! Fun! Fun! And… Cindi will bravely be trying tent camping tonight. Perhaps there will be some entertainment there? I will try to work on some photos between today & tomorrow so I can attach a few & share it with you guys.
For those of you (Phil & Hermit) who have been disappointed because I got a room for one night while traveling… You will be glad to know that while my travel companion is sleeping protected in the back (cap) of my truck, I am happily snug in my tent along the edge of a still river listening to the rain falling on my tent & cool bird & frog sounds that Ive never heard before. They saw a baby alligator here earlier, but assure me that the adults are in the next pond over. Im actually camped in the yard of my friends Gail camper. Im sure my screams will awaken them! Just kidding Mom & Dad. Im perfectly safe! Tomorrow, we start exploring.
Well, we just quit driving and found a room in S. Carolina. We had a nice visit in Hershey, PA with my friend Diane and her pup Obi. We didn’t hit the road until after noon time, but still covered allot of ground. The original plan was to travel along the Blue Ridge Parkway and get some winter landscapes. I don’t know how long ago their last storm was, but any remaining snow is rather old and the trees are bare. Numerous sections of the Parkway are closed due to ice and snow. We decided our time would be better spent heading to Florida and making the most of our time there. We covered W. Virginia, Virginia, N. Carolina & S. Carolina today. Not too shabby. Cindi was a huge help driving. Not a very exciting update I’m afraid, but tomorrow, we will be in Florida and things should pick up!
Well, we’re on our way.. sort of. Still in Maine, but the Toyota has been to the doctor and received a good bill of health. Let’s hope its true! Yesterday blurred into today, since I didn’t get any sleep last night. Too much to pull together, attempt to organize and catch up on before I left. Had the truck loaded by 4:30 this morning and worked my way south in a dusting of snow to the Toyota dealership.
Tonight Cindi and I were treated to delicious Chinese food, a toasty wood stove and the sparkling companionship of Kathy & Jim Bridge in Brunswick. We completely unloaded the back of the truck in the wind & dark, in an attempt to organize & gain a bit more space. With all of the camping gear and layers of clothing, we may have to eat alot of the food just to make room in case we need to sleep in the back of the truck! Cindi doesn’t know it yet, but I call dibs on the chocolate & her delicious cookies.
Tomorrow we make a quick stop to deliver some work in Connecticut then off to Hershey, PA we go! We’re hoping for an uneventful day of travel, so we can rest up for all of the excitement & wildlife that Florida will have to offer. I know, it’s not a very exciting entry, but hey, this is my life! I’m sure there will be plenty of colorful stories to come. In an eager attempt to start viewing birds early, we had a quick dash of hope, thinking we had spotted a snowy owl along interstate 95. Much to our embarassment, it was just a white plastic bag brought to life by the wind. Guess we’ll have to keep looking….
Ever since I moved to Maine almost 5 years ago, I’ve been surrounded by a wonderful variety of photographic subjects, both wildlife and landscape. Acadia National Park, moose, puffins, bald eagles, Baxter State Park, boats, working harbors, seascapes and so much more. It’s been too long since my last good road trip.
My friend Gail Cleveland owns Smart Studio in beautiful Northeast Harbor, Maine. She’s a very talented painter and has been selling some of my photographs there for a few years now. Last year, she and her husband Terry purchased her mother’s studio in Boca Grande, Florida (Smart Studio -FL). This is their first winter down there running the new studio. Thankfully, Gail has also provided a very positive kick in the butt, by gently demanding that I visit Florida and capture some local images from the area for her clientele down there. I’ve never been to Florida. I prefer the mountains and heading north and/or west. Perhaps its all the episodes of CSI MIAMI that I’ve seen with man eating alligators & crocodiles, air boats speeding through the Everglades and floating body parts everywhere… Ironically, the Everglades is our first Florida destination! I say “our” destination, because my very brave photographer friend, Cindi Ressler will be accompanying me.
We will be traveling “Lori Davis” style. That means driving thousands of miles, eating our meals out of a cooler, cooking on a camp stove, tent camping (which poor Cindi has not yet experienced) and photographing as we go! It’s quite exciting, when you think about it. There’s nothing like a good road trip. Cindi & I both have started BLOGS and hope to keep those of you who may be interested, informed of our progress and experiences. There’s always good stories from a road trip, whether you mean there to be or not! We also hope to post images along the way. I doubt if either of us will have the time to add trip images to the website from the road, so the BLOG will probably be the only way to keep up with new work until we return.
The Toyota is in the shop later this week and as long as they fix all those nasty recalls, we’ll be on the road by the weekend. We’re hoping to hit many birding locations, parks & preserves along the way as well as visiting a few friends gracious enough to offer a bed. I’ll keep you posted as best as I can.