Wednesday Night Riders: FLORIDA--THE EVERGLADES TO ZAHN'S

We also have been experiencing some cold, windy days here in Florida as I have seen you guys have too according to the weather channel. At a Gold Wing chapter meeting in Ft. Walton, I told the group that "the guys in Iowa think I'm nuts when I ride around in 45 degree weather there. I can't wait to tell them I went down to Florida to ride in 34 degree weather!" I'll try to catch you up on some more aspects of our journey so far.

After leaving Ft. Lauderdale we headed across the state to Ft. Myers and the Everglades. On the way to Ft. Myers we stopped at the Shark Valley visitors area for a tram tour of that part of the Everglades. The tour was conducted by a very knowledgeable ranger who kept us very well informed of the animal and plant life there. We did see several alligators and all kinds of birds. I always thought that the Everglades was just one big swamp, when actually it's a river of grass that flows from Lake Okeechobee into the Gulf of Mexico. Usually in the winter the water level is very low because that's the dry season, but this December they got over 10 inches of rain (more than any wet season month), and the Everglades is full of water for now.
In Ft. Myers we spent an entire day on an Ecotour of the Everglades. We took a van with a guide all along the edges of the glades south of Ft. Myers. We were then given a skiff boat ride on a lake in the glades where we were treated to dolphins jumping beside us, some alligators, and all kinds of birds. Then after a lunch that included gator bites (They didn't taste like chicken to me!), we boarded an air boat that took us through some of the swampy areas where we got up close and personal with some more alligators and bird life. Julie counted 25 different species of birds while I was counting all my fingers and toes! It was quite a tour and we learned a lot about the Everglades and what a fragile eco system it is. Right now besides the threat of drought, the Burmese python seems to be a real threat to the wildlife there. Except for cold weather, there doesn't seem to be any natural enemy of the snake. It can grow to over 20 ft. long and is capable of capturing deer! They opened a hunting season on the python, and over 1000 hunters only came back with 80 snakes!
After our tours in Ft. Myers, we headed north to Venice to pay a visit to Cathy & Bob Zahn's winter estate. When we arrived there, we were also greeted by David & Suzanne Hahn, who were staying with the Zahn's until their cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale was ready to sail. While at the Zahn's, Cathy treated us to a delicious fajita lunch, and Bob took us and David to the beach in Venice to hunt shark's teeth Apparently the beach there is one of the few places on the ocean where sharks' teeth wash up on shore. It takes a good eye to find them as Julie discovered. While we were there, she only found one, but some kind folks did give her some of theirs. Actually Cathy has accumulated quite an impressive collection of them. After our visit to the Zahn's, we motored on north toward New Orleans.

STAY TUNED FOR A REPORT ON OUR VISIT TO THE "BIG EASY".

Here's some photos and hopefully a video of part three of our winter journey.