Wednesday February 22nd 2023

There was a strong breeze out of the east this morning. It continued most of the day generally improving the weather conditions. The wind prevented the fog from settling in this morning and kept the temperature under control during the day. The actual temperature peaked around 90 degrees, but the breeze kept the comfort level in the manageable area.

An alligator showed up in the campground pond today. That is not unusual. I expected to see one during my stay. The story the campground host told was unexpected. Apparently, the gator was spotted by a camper walking in from the canal on the other side of US 41 during the night. I know they are nocturnal roamers and the mating season is approaching, but I sure wouldn’t want to meet up with one in the middle of the night. This afternoon the gator was on the bank at the far end of the pond.

I got my daily dose of gators and birds with another stop at the Oasis Visitors Center down the road. Today the gators became very active when a tractor trailer truck pulled up along the road beside the canal. The slow moving truck caused all of the alligators on that side of the canal to get in the water and swim away. Either the truck blocked the sun or caused enough of a rumble in the ground to disturb the gators. It took a good fifteen minutes before the alligators gradually started to return to their favorite sunning spots.

The birds didn’t seem to mind the disturbance of the truck or the swimming alligators. The Great Blue Heron and Great Egret continued to stare at the water looking for a wayward fish and the Cormorants continued to dive and swim to get their lunch. There was a lot of activity in the canal.

At the campground the regular daily turnover of sites continued. The site behind me has been occupied the last two nights by a guy camping in a minivan from Pennsylvania. He has a bed in the back of the van and a big box fan setup to blow air into and around the van. Other than that it looks like a tent camper without the tent until you look closer. The occupant is mobility challenged. He uses a wheeled walker to get around and I think I saw a wheel chair as well. He uses the van to drive to the bathrooms and is probably sightseeing during the day.

This is my last day at the Big Cypress National Preserve Midway Campground. Tomorrow I move back west to the outskirts of Naples. It is going to be another day trying to find a way to kill time on a short travel distance day. Checkout here is before checkout at my destination. Finding a place to stop along the way with a big motorhome is a challenge. Hopefully my destination doesn’t enforce the 3PM check in time.