Signs of the South

Just a collection of silly signs.

The mosquitos were horrible at Flamingo in the Everglades!

Bicycles are a common form of transportation on Key West.

 Whatever you do...just don't!

He fishes, She sells!

 Did you know its bad luck?

A slice of blue heaven

Don't peek!

 Southernmost purple martins

 In memory...

At the distillery

Florida Keys at Christmas

We took a quick trip down south the week before Christmas.

The weather was perfect, although its hard to get into the Christmas spirit.

 Floridians celebrate the holidays in a different way.

We watched a lighted boat parade.

It combined  a pirate theme with Christmas.

The parade participants got pretty creative with their boat floats.

 I also learned to paddleboard.

Pretty fun, actually!

 We visited a dolphin & sea lion center.

And a turtle hospital.

Saw quite a few iguanas.

And even ate dinner with some feathered friends.

Until we sailed off into the sunset and headed home.

Everglades National Park

National park number 42 is Everglades,
a land of water, sawgrass, exotic flora & fauna.

We stopped several places, including Shark Valley
where we rode a tram out into the marshes of the park.

The tram takes you to an observation tower overlooking the park for miles.

We could see alligators floating lazily in the water.

Along the way we saw many wading birds such as this wood stork.

This is a beautiful anhinga.
The turquoise ring around its eye indicates it is ready for breeding.

 Close up of an egret.

We even saw baby alligators.

 We stopped at pull-offs around the park and saw typical sights.

I even watched from a pier as this anhinga dived underwater after fish.
This park is so diverse and has tons of wildlife.

First Flurry

Yesterday was a record high of 74F.
Today its 34F and flurries!

 

As they say her in Indiana,

"If you don't like the weather, just stick around!"

Jack Frost Was Here

The 

November Sunrise

Raccoon Lake State Recreation Area

After Leaving Shades State Park,

we stopped at nearby Raccoon Lake.

The lake was gorgeous in its fall splendor and being the 2nd of November, 

we mostly had the park to ourselves.

(That's our camper in the parking lot)

What a beautiful spot for a picnic!

We'll be back next year, for sure!

Shades Stae Park

Its the start of November and the weather is mild and the leaves are gorgeous.

Time for a camping trip.

 The weather was unseasonably warm, but we still had a campfire.

 We camped at Shades State Park which has some cool trails.

 Lots of ups & downs.

 Rugged canyons with steep walls & boulders.

And waterfalls.
 We're loving this warn Autumn..

Happy Halloween!

Continuing our annual tradition of dressing up the horses

here's Rocky & Apollo!

 Rocky

Apollo

 Stop looking at my nose!

Puffball Mushrooms

 Giant puffballs are popping up in the woods.

 

If you see a soccer ball sized white round mushroom,

you've found a puffball!

Sandhill Cranes Migration

Not far from Indiana Dunes is the Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Area.

We stopped there on our way home to see if the cranes were back.

  This state property is a stopover for sandhill cranes on their migrations route.

 Luckily, a few had gathered in the fields and we got to see them.

Over the course of the next few months, thousands of cranes will stop on their way south.

Expect lots of company buddy!

Indiana Dunes State Park

We're off with the grandkids to the Indiana Dunes.

Sand dunes reach to the sky.

And runing down after climbing to the top is great fun.

There are hikes, including the 3 dune challange, which scales the 3 tallest dunes.

 The beach along Lake Michigan is serene.

And dogs are allowed!

 What a fun place!