Look Here–Look There–Why I Should Not Hike Alone

“Look at those birds over there”, she says.  “Where?”  “Log??”  “What color??? White!”

“Oh, there…”  [look close, they are in the first picture too]

“Over there…got to get that turtle for you sister Sandy.”  “Where?”  “Grass??”  “Sure it is a turtle???”

“Oh, there…yep, she will like that picture.”

Yep, Marcia was able to make the path today.  The GoGo did very well, got stuck once but it was an easy fix.  Starting at Parking Lot 3, it was not very long before we got to the bridge.  She reminded me that I needed to smell the air, to take it a little slower, and take time to look around.  We decided to leave the dogs in the motorhome…the temps were in the mid-70’s and we just left the vent fan on and a few windows open.  They did fine…but they would have enjoyed being along….but it was best that they stayed, and it ended up being a good decision.

Same bridge as yesterday, from the different side.  Yes, there is a couple on the bridge.

It took a bit of time, and I walked right by it, but we did find “the tree”.  This is from the ground looking up…and the limbs and leaves above right are from this tree.  It is like it something from one of those “living dead” creepy movies.

And she wanted me to get a picture of this Spanish Moss covered tree.  She always tell me how the Spanish Moss is really a slow killer to the trees it lands on.  Yep, this one looks pretty dead to me.

While we were admiring the “Tree from the Living Dead”,  a very nice couple from Wisconsin walked by and in our conversation they told us about an alligator on the other side of the river down pass the next boardwalk.  “You can’t see its head because of how it is positioned,” they said.

Well, that’s the advantage of going instead of coming…since we knew it was there, we could keep looking back at it until the full view opened up.

At the bend in the river I wanted to get a panoramic view of the bend.  Just then, while I had the camera down and off, Marcia says, “Look at this Heron flying along the river…”  By the time I got the camera on and in position I did get one shot….but not the quality that I wanted.  Lucky for you, it landed further down the river, and YES, Marcia saw it first, and I got these pictures below.

Again….  “Look on that log”   “What log?”  “What kind of bird??”  “What side of the river???”

“Oh, that log…..”   We walk on up the river towards the “Big Rapids”.

As we sit there at an area where one can sit on a bench and enjoy the river, the Heron moves over near us….

What’s that you say Mr. Heron?   Yep, you are right….I’m darn lucky to have Marcia along, just think what I would have missed….

Oh, and she even saw the first flowers of the early Florida Spring too….   So we left from parking lot #3, and we came out at parking lot #2.  I have about a 4/10ths of a mile walk to the car parked in the next lot.  After yesterday’s hike, and now todays hike, my mind got to thinking.  Now I know you all wish I had a picture of this…but you are just going to have to use your own imagination.   As we got out onto the bike path, I asked her to turn her seat 180 degrees so that she faced the wrong way.  I adjusted the steering column a bit, and stood up leaning on the back of her seat and that little GoGo became the Little Train that Could.  Now you know why it turned out to be a good idea that we did not bring the dogs.  The GoGo carried us well over half way to the car…but when Marcia said, “There is a big Class A headed down the road…” I decided to stop and walk the rest of the way.  Besides, the ride was a pleasant break.  And no, the GoGo did not break….had it, I would probably be writing this from the HHR where I am sure I would have to sleep the night away…..