Everglades: A Birder's Paradise

The Everglades are a bird-watcher's paradise. However, changes in the Everglades since the 1930s have drastically reduced some bird populations, particularly wading birds. As a result of these changes, a number of bird species are threatened. We did not photograph any endangered birds.

The anhinga (Picture 1) was prevalent throughout the Glades. They were hatching and young were beginning to test their wings. Their nests, however, were barely visible in clumps of brush.

The great blue heron (Picture 2) is quite common also. It seems to "pose" for pictures quite naturally.

The purple gallinule (Picture 3), while not endangered, is rarely seen.

The black vulture (Picture 4) was very common and seemed unfazed by human presence. The park rangers credit these birds with being the "clean up crew" and value their presence. The line "it's a dirty job but someone's got to do it" might explain their function in disposing of carrion.

Crocodiles and Alligators

Alligators (first three pictures) and crocodiles (last picture) are two of the most ancient reptiles on the planet. Alligators generally prefer fresh water and crocodiles prefer salt water. The crocodile has an efficient, four-chamber heart. Alligators have three-chambered hearts. Alligators are no longer on the endangered list; crocodiles are. Florida established alligator farms to raise alligators for meat and skins. That move saved the alligator.

Both crocs and alligators are carnivores and opportunistic feeders. They are both cannibalistic. They can go for a week or more without feeding. They are cold-blooded and maintain suitable body temperature by being in or out of the water or buried in mud. Crocs are the more aggressive predator of the two.

Crocs are grayish or green; alligators are black. Both can get quite large--12 feet or more--and both can live into their fifties. One can judge the length of either by estimating distance from the eye to the nose ridge. That distance in inches will tell you total length in feet. Both have extremely powerful jaws. The muscles which close the jaws provide bone-crushing strength. However, one can prevent an alligator from opening its mouth by holding it closed with one's hands. A croc's lower teeth are visible while an alligator's are not visible when the mouth is closed.

The Florida Everglades

The first thing most people think of when they think of the Everglades is alligators. They are definitely here, after a period of near extinction, they are back and thriving. But the Everglades is a wildly diverse ecosystem. There is an incredible variety of plants and animals and a whole series of identifiable ecological niches across 1.6 million acres of glade.

The National Park Service describes the Everglades ecosystem thus: "Water, tropical climate, elevations, and fire are the essential ingredients that make the Everglades unique in North America. Water is the rejuvenating life blood. The climate--frost free, humid and warm--nurtures a mix of both temperate and tropical inhabitants. Slight changes in inches of elevation diversify

what seems to be a monoton- ously flat landscape. Fire, that much maligned element, can restore health and protect diversity."

There are really only two seasons in the Everglades: wet and dry. This, the dry season, will end in May. The wet season runs from June to November. Water levels in the 'Glades can vary as much as four feet (Picture 2). The prime tourist season is during the dry season. You can actually walk through many areas of the sawgrass now and wild life is concentrated in those places that still have standing water. Fresh water flows from Lake Okeechobee in the north through a tabletop-flat sea of sawgrass to the estuaries on the southern Florida coast. The water may only move a hundred feet a day--a very slow-flowing river. There it mixes with seawater to form brackish, shallow bays and waterways. One can determine the degree of brackishness by the species of mangrove growing at any point. An inch of elevation difference may make create an environment for a different species of mangrove! Picture 3 shows mangrove roots (both aerial and prop).

Relatively little of the Everglades is accessible by road. If you want to really see the 'Glades, you will need to take a pontoon, an airboat, a canoe, or hike.

Caution would seem to the order of the day if you are moving about the 'Glades. Among the forty-some species of snakes in the Everglades, four are poisonous: diamondback and pygmy rattlesnakes, water moccasins, and coral snakes. Then there are the Burmese python, the Florida panther, alligators, and crocodiles.

In addition the plant life can be deadly. For example, the manchineal tree (picture 3) has beautiful shiny green leaves and apple-like fruit. Two bites of the fruit or rainwater running off the leaves, however, can be fatal.

The Florida Keys

The Florida Keys, the southern- most point in the United States, is a sun- worshipper's and fisherman's heaven! It 123 miles from Homestead, FL, to Key West, the tip of the Keys. (Note: a "key" is an island.) There are no alternate routes--only the one road. We drove our truck but left our camper in Homestead.

Getting to the Keys means driving over miles of causeways, some of them up to seven miles long. The weather was gorgeous--as was the scenery! The pictures pretty much tell the story.

We were advised to drive to the Keys on a weekday, because traffic is impossible on weekends. As it was, we found it difficult to drive our big truck because streets were crowded and narrow. There were many bicyclists, pedi-cabs, and pedestrians in addition to the usual traffic. We had a fabulous seafood lunch near the yacht pictured, walked on the sand beaches and onto several piers.

We saw no commercial ships as we drove to and from Key West, only pleasure boats. Resorts were everywhere. We marveled at the number of RV parks--most jammed full to the point that awnings could hardly be raised.

Sugar Cane Harvest in Southern Florida

They really know how to raise "cane" in Florida--sugar cane, that is! It's a major crop in this part of Florida. As we drove from Clewiston to Homestead, we passed cane fields for miles.

There are two processing plants near Clewiston where we camped. Unfortu- nately, we happened to camp downwind from one of them! Anyone who lived near one of the sugar processing plants in North Dakota would have recognized the odor.

Sugar cane is grown in four states: Hawaii, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. The U. S. produces 27 million tons annually. By comparison, world leader in sugar cane production, Brazil, produces 650 million tons each year. Sugar cane is grown in 110 countries. One planting of sugar cane can produce two to ten harvests with decreasing yields.

Cane is harvested during the dry season. The harvesting machine is shown in Picture 2. It cuts the cane into pieces and drops it in the trailer. Leaves and other light material is left in the field. Cane generally matures in 12 months, but the range is from 6 months to 24 months. Pictures 1 and 2 show a mature field; picture 4 shows a young stand. Where cane is harvested by hand (machete), the field is first burned to get rid of leaves and poisonous snakes. As you can see from the pictures, Florida cane is not harvested by hand.

A fibrous byproduct of cane processing, called bagasse, is burned by the plant to generate power. It is said to be environmentally friendly because it produces essentially only CO2.

The Daytona 500 Race

The Daytona 500, the first race in the NASCAR race season, was a great place to have our first experience with big time stock car races! With a starting field of 43, there was no shortage of action. This year's Daytona set records for most lead changes and most laps under caution. It also produced the youngest winner, Travor Bayne, who celebrated his 20th birthday the day before the race. He was pushed across the line by Bobby LaBonte, a veteran of NASCAR racing.

Daytona has a 2.5 mile track with some steeply banked turns (31 degrees). This is equivalent to a ski slope. It allows speeds of 200 mph through the turn. A new phenomenon emerged during tryouts for this year's Daytona. It's referred to as "hooking up." Successful race drivers have always used "drafting" to gain an advantage. Hooking up goes one step further: instead of just closely following another car, the second car actually pushes the first car. In simple physics, basically what happens is that you have one car with two engines. Hook-ups went on throughout this year's race although the pairings changed as the field was reduced by more than half by the end of the race. In Picture 2 you can see the banked turns and the pairs.

Race attendance, including RVers in the infield and pit crews, was estimated at just under 300,000 people. A unscientific estimate is that several million cans of beer were consumed at the race!

Getting 300,000 people into the stands is a logistical challenge to say the least! Race fans were transported from their assigned parking lots by a fleet of several hundred school buses. An estimated 30,000 cars were parked in our lot. One needs to remember where one parked since everyone in the lot was picked up and dropped off (after dark) at the same point.

From the Party Life to the Afterlife...New Orleans

Burial in New Orleans is usually above ground given the high water table. Since New Orleans is an old city, there are a number of very large cemeteries filled with burial vaults. Burial vaults are a status symbol. A large elaborate burial vault is your statement of status if you were wealthy and could afford one. The less well-to-do may rent a vault for five or ten years. These vaults, like the row pictured are nine feet deep. Your remains go into the vault at the front and remain there to the end of your lease. Then your remains are pushed to the back

and another "renter" takes up the front.

You will notice the community vault for the Sisters of Mt. Carmel. There are also extended family vaults.

Note in the third picture, the woman putting flowers in a vase at the front of the St. Leon the Great Mausoleum.

Not every family maintains the rental vaults as can be seen in the fourth picture (a row of vaults with apartment buildings in the background). Typically these less expensive burial options are around the exterior wall of the cemetery.

Mardi Gras -- the Business End

Mardi Gras is a billion dollar annual operation for New Orleans. Mardi Gras is a season which begins January 6 and culminates on Fat Tuesday. There are dozens of parades. Clubs called crewes sponsor floats and have their own parades. Large clubs have multiple parades--and as many as 26 floats! Six to ten of these floats are theme floats for the club and do not change. Up to 20 others are decorated annually to fit the Mardi Gras theme for that year. A float can cost the crewe anywhere from $50,000 to as much as $800,000!

Floats are

built on a basic float frame, which is mounted on a heavy-duty four-wheel trailer. All floats are pulled by tractors in the parades. One firm specializing in building the massive floats has 17 ware- houses around the city for refitting and storing the floats. You get an idea of the size of floats from the picture of the two of us standing beside the Trojan Horse.

Most of the characters like the large head in the first picture are created from styrofoam. Many of these characters are used over and over again. They are simply modified by float-building craftsmen to fit the current plan. The day after Mardi Gras work begins on next year's floats. King Kong (see picture) was built for a float but was too tall so is now his own float.

New Orleans and Katrina

Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. The devastation in many places is still evident. The site of our campground was covered by 12 feet of water. While parts of the city are recovering quite well, others are not. The mayor recently observed that there are 61,000 properties within the city that need to be demolished. His view is that current budget limitations, the city could manage 10,000 demolitions a year. Do the math, it will require another six years just to remove the rubble. Given the usual complica- tions to these kinds of efforts, six years seems optimistic.

The first picture is of the home and recording studio of Fats Domino in the lower ninth ward. He was rescued from the roof of this house. He has moved to another home in NO. The next house is one of many new homes being funded by Brad Pitt. These homes are "green." Most are said to be net energy producers. Brad Pitt has spent millions of his own money on this project. The homes are sold at little or no interest expense to residents.

Most of New Orleans is below sea level. The city is surrounded by a levee. Water is pumped more or less continuously into drainage canals and drained into Lake Pontchartrain. The levee breeches, which lead to the flooding have been repaired. The pumping stations are awesome. One gets a feeling for the volume of water management just driving by one the stations.

Mardi Gras Parade in Slidell, LA

Mardi Gras is not only a New Orleans pheno- menon. We learned from fellow campers about a Sunday parade in Slidell (pop. 27,000) about 25 miles northeast of NO. Mardi Gras is a season. It starts January 6 and culminates on Fat Tuesday. Sunday's parade was a typical, small town event. It was actually the second Mardi Gras parade in Slidell this year. There will be several more including three night parades.

Slidell has grown rapidly in recent years as a commuter residence for New Orleans. Locals will tell you that Slidell is family friendly. As you can see from the pictures, families were tailgating on the parade route. The parade started at three; tailgating started about 11:30.

The parade included the usual kind of entries--floats from which riders tossed beads and other Mardi Gras goodies, carriages for local dignitaries and royalty, local youth groups and school bands, and a Marine marching band.

New Orleans, Louisiana

This is our first visit to legendary New Orleans and its even more legendary French Quarter. It has to rank as one of the premier tourist attractions in the U.S. Every effort has been made to retain its historical authenticity. The French Quarter's premier event--Mardi Gras--is fast approaching.

The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France is the oldest Catholic cathedral in America. It has been in continuous use since its building in 1721-1727. Its just off Jackson Square (named for Andrew Jackson) and is flanked by two museums.

We spent an enjoyable interlude at the New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park listening to a jam session. A quote from Louis Armstrong "What we play is life" hangs on the wall.

A New Orleans tradition is a visit to Cafe du Monde for beignetes. The lines were about two blocks long, but the beignetes were worth waiting for!

Carriages of various sizes line up around Jackson Square for a guided ride around the French Quarter. We walked for miles around the French Quarter--it's very pedestrian friendly.

Another unique sidewalk attraction is the human statue. This particular "statue" is one example. How would you like to be his make-up person?

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is the capitol city of Louisiana and has been for 120 years. However, since statehood in 1812, 13 distinct buildings in five different cities have served as the state's capitol.

During the Civil War, Louisiana was a confederate state. Union armies invaded Louisiana and the old Capitol building was burned out. The picture is a model of the old Capitol before the Civil War. The masonry walls remained after the fire, and the Capitol was rebuilt within its original walls.

The current

Capitol building was built in 1932 for a mere $5 million. It is the tallest Capitol building in the 50 states--450 feet high with 34 floors. The new Capitol is surrounded by 27 acres of gardens. Huey Long, longtime Louisiana politician, was assassinated in the building in 1935 and is buried on the grounds, facing the Capitol. Long is credited with spearheading the drive for the new building.

The U.S.S. Kidd, a naval destroyer, was retired to its current location on the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge. The long bridge in the background is one of a number of bridges crossing the river.

Houston Museum of Natural Science

A highlight of our visit to Houston was the Museum of Natural Science. Downtown Houston has a museum district with a wide variety of museums. The Natural Science Museum houses a variety of exhibits, including a live butterfly environment and an I-MAX theatre. Our favorite part of the museum was the display of prehistoric skeletons. Picture-taking was difficult because of interior lighting conditions.

The first picture shows two large dinosaurs, including a Tyrannosaurus Rex, with its very large head and jaws. This particular dinosaur remain was found in Montana. North Dakota and other midwestern states were mentioned in several exhibits because of our fossil dinosaur remains.

The second picture shows the very large head with two big horns, of a Triceratops discovered in South Dakota.

The larger of the two eggs in the third picture are those of the extinct elephant bird, the largest bird that ever lived and the largest egg of any animal. An ostrich egg is provided for comparison. We decided that you probably wouldn't have the kids pick up these eggs!

The final picture shows a giant clam, discovered in the Phillipine Islands in 1934. The pearl it contained, called weighs 14 pounds and is 9 inches long. Nice Valentine gift, eh?

Note: This museum has an enormous precious jewel collection. Because of muted lighting is was impossible to capture much of the collection.