POTR #21 Alligators And Sandhill Cranes

PEACE ON THE ROAD
Alligators And Sand Hill Cranes
March 6, 2006

No matter where we go it seems that we see something that is special. I suppose that is due a lot to my own outlook on life and a willingness to see the everyday as unusual. We came across Florida on I-75, which is known both as Everglades Parkway and Alligator Alley. I much prefer the designation of Alligator Alley, especially after seeing all the alligators along the way. On the north side of the road, nearly all the way there is a water channel. The channel is wide, I would guess at least thirty feet. I have no doubts that three boats could pass at any point with room to spare. While we could not get a good view of the near bank I would guess that it was very similar to the far bank. Along the far bank there was a veritable plethora of gators of all the big sizes. There was space along the bank for them to crawl out and bask in the sun, and I think all of them must have taken advantage of it. We would see them lying on the bank like logs that had been thrown there during a storm. There were places that there were a half dozen or more in a group, and many more groups of two or three, and of course the single ones.

A GROUP OF ALLIGATORS NEAR THE ROADSIDE

At 55 to 60 miles an hour I doubt that we could see any alligator that is smaller than perhaps four foot in length. At 55 mph we are traveling two times the length of our Vectra every second. So I am sure that there were a great number of small ones that we did not see. In fact I would bet that for every alligator we saw there were ten that we did not see. After all I had to watch the road part of the time or I might have been swimming in the channel trying to out-swim them.

When I was in Princeton, Kansas going to High School I made jokes about blinking your eyes as you went through town and missing it. But you could have your eyes open in Felda and miss it. The fact is I am not sure that I ever saw the town. I saw the post office, down the road a filling station (closed temporarily), across the highway a small business of some sort and down a side road there are a couple of houses. We stayed in a campground there that in many respects we liked better than anywhere we have stayed yet. Since we were at the end of the camping area we had lots of room, a good view, shade trees, pretty flowers, quiet neighbors, and one of the most unique things we have had anywhere. We had a pair of Sandhill Cranes that would fly in and land near our Vectra. They would feed across the open field by us and walk around the camp feeding. Near evening they would fly out right across the view out our windows. There was a couple of squirrel feeding stations in the camp. One day I saw a squirrel pulling kernels or corn off an ear. It would eat the heart out of the kernel, and drop the rest on the ground. As soon as the discarded kernel hit the ground one of the cranes would snap up the offering. One of the residents that fed the small birds and squirrels told us that the cranes had in the past become aggressive to the point of chasing cars pecking at the windows. When that happened they quit feeding the animals and the problem ceased. We did set out a pan of peanuts and corn for the squirrels and birds, actually hoping to attract the cranes closer to us. It was the day before we left that the cranes came to our offering and ate out of the pan.

THE PAIR OF SANDHILL CRANES BY OUR VECTRA

One of the fun things about traveling is the people that we meet. I was by one of the clubhouses the other day and some of the camper/fishermen were talking about their fishing results of the day before. The first fisherman told a story about catching a huge fish with a very light pole and light line. The second had to tell a story to match the first and he said, “I was casting out in the deep section of the lake and snagged something. What I pulled it in it was a kerosene lantern.” The first fisherman said, “So what! People are always losing things out of their boat.” The second fisherman said, “Yes, but this lantern was still burning brightly.” The third fisherman snorted and said, “Nobody will ever believe that you pulled a lit lantern out of the water.” The second fisherman says, “If he takes fifty pounds off that fish he caught, I’ll blow out the flame.”

In the town of Ochopee (Oh-chop-ee) is the smallest post office in the United States. The original post office, which was established in 1932, was in a general store that caught fire and burnt down in 1953. The tool shed that was behind the store was pulled closer to the road to serve as a makeshift post office. The building is only 7’3” by 8’4” and sets beside the Tamiami Trail. While it is a full functioning post office, it does have limited hours, being only open a couple hours in the morning and in the afternoon. It is quite a pleasant surprise to see this tiny building actually serving as post office. Ochopee is in the Big Cypress National Preserve and very close to Everglades National Park. This is the land of palms, alligators, Seminoles, and beautiful swamps. I have heard about fire ants for years and there a LOT of them down too. I found out that they are actually quite small and twice I found out what it feels like to get bit by one. A Parks Ranger told me that they emit a pheromone and a lot of times dozens will bite at the same time. I hope that never happens to me. One at a time is one too many. The first bite I got took several weeks to heal and in the process became infected. I was told that infection is very common.

THE SMALLEST POST OFFICE IN THE UNITED STATES

We have now moved on to another area. We will be in the Moore Haven and Wauchula area for over a month between a couple campgrounds. We may take things a little slower for a while here. Not far north of here it is too cold to check out for a couple of months yet, but I will continue to seek something unusual in the area to photograph and tell you about. A lot of people are already moving north, some are going to areas that are still very much in winter. This month the majority of the Canadians will probably be leaving to go north to their homes. We are going to stay in Florida till it gets warmer. Our advantage is that we have our home with us. We hope that this finds you all healthy and enjoying life.

Till Later This Is Doug Of
PEACE ON THE ROAD