Back Again, Debriefing

I arrived back at my Fall City home on April 1st, in time to do taxes and celebrate Easter with the grandkids. 

Grandson Lane showing off his bag of Easter Eggs after the hunt.  4/20/14 

Grandpa (John) and Grandson Luke planting pumpkin seeds
for their Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns.  4/20/14 

With those two events in the past, now is the time to wrap up my Jan-Feb-Mar travel blogs.  I left the Florida Keys on March 16, taking I-10 west until I veered north at Phoenix to spend a bit of time with friends in the Prescott National Forest.  Then I had a short visit with a couple of my other brothers in Orange County before going north on I-5 toward Washington State. 

Last few nights in the Keys were spent on the dock while brother Gary
tried to catch another shark.  3/10/14 



Folks launched lanterns from the dock ... 



The gentle breeze carried them
over the water ... 

until they were just a
small point in the black sky.
3/10/14 



On my westward drive on I-10, I spent a day in southwest Louisiana to
explore the Creole Nature Trail, a loop within the "Louisiana Outback,"
south of Lake Charles to the Gulf of Mexico. 3/19/14 

I find that my travels often have a theme or purpose.  Sometimes I know what those are prior to leaving.  This time I didn't.  This time I discovered them in the midst of my travels.  One discovery was that I want to be a snowbird, spending winters in the dry heat of the desert southwest (vs. the warm humidity of Florida).  And an unexpected purpose was to reconnect with each of my 4 brothers -- Ray in CA in January; Gary in FL in early March; and Glen & Kyle in SoCal in late March -- what a nice treat!

 

I joined some of my friends in the Prescott National Forest
near Cottonwood.  3/23/14 

I was weary from driving; camping in nature feeds my soul.  3/23/14 

A couple of sub-themes popped up too.  One was tornadoes -- advisories, watches, and warnings -- in SW Louisiana, in the Keys, on I-75 in western Florida, and finally on I-5 in northern California (west of Chico).  Twice I saw wall clouds (FL Keys & CA); both times I was in awe; neither time did I see any rotation. 

Another sub-theme is that I re-learned that I can have a first experience only once.  In 2012 I did a slow mosey along the Gulf Coast.  I was amazed at the flora and fauna of the wet lands -- swamps, everglades, bayous -- really taking it all in, really loving it.  I so wanted to re-live that adventure, exploring the Creole Trail in Louisiana and the Loop Road in Big Cypress National Preserve.  Although I enjoyed retracing my steps, I didn't experience that same sense of discovery.  And that's OK as it was still very beautiful and amazing; and I've many other places I can go to for the first time; discovery is fun!

Here are some photos from 2012 of places which I got to re-experience in 2014: 

Ferry on the Creole Nature Trail takes you across the
Calcisieu River.  2/19/12 

Spider webs decorated with morning dew at the
SW Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex Visitor Center
(on the Creole Nature Trail)  2/22/12 

First wild alligator I ever saw on the Pintail Wildlife Drive in the
Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge
(on the Creole Nature Trail) 2/22/12 




Blue Angel's jet on display at the rest stop in Milton, FL.
The home of the Blue Angels is in neighboring Pensacola, FL.  2/29/12 



View from my campsite in the Apalachicola National Forest south of
Tallahassee, FL (tornado watch while there in 2012)  3/1/12 



Ochopee Post Office is the smallest in the US. On US-41 (Tamiami Trail)
that goes through Big Cypress National Preserve and borders
Everglades National Park.   3/7/12 



Alligator warming up in the morning sun, Loop Road,
Big Cypress National Preserve.  3/9/12 

Great White Egret as seen from the Loop Road in
Big Cypress National Preserve.  3/9/12 



Canoeing through the mangrove tunnels,
Big Cypress National Preserve.   3/10/12 

Now, I'm in Washington for the bulk of the Spring, Summer and Fall, hoping to have friends and family visit, do some local camping, and take an RV vacation with hubby. 



Our Bing Cherry Tree was in bloom when I got back to Fall City.  4/14/14 

And April is when I remember my daughter's
birthday.  I feel especially close to her
on my road trips ... she was a traveler
 and a lover of nature too.    4/11/14

Colorful Plants on the Keys

Palms, mangroves, many trees, bushes and grasses are plentiful on the keys.  It's very lush.

A tangle of mangrove roots. These amazing trees come in red, black and
white varieties.   3/7/14 at Crane Point Museum and Nature Center. 

If I were a botanist, I'd study mangroves -- how they
propagate, help to create land, deal with salt water, are
protective nurseries for young sea life, and so much more. 
3/7/14 at Crane Point. 

 But, every once in a while a spot of color will catch my eye. 

While at Bahia Honda State Park, I went into the butterfly garden. 
I spotted the Zebra Long-Wing Butterflies (pictured above) and the
bright orange Gulf Fritillary, too.  3/5/14 

The Butterfly Garden. 
While mostly green, I found a few bits of color. 
3/5/14 at Bahia Honda SP. 

Very tiny orange petals/leaves.  Do you know what it is? 
3/5/14 at Bahia Honda SP. 

Small, but the butterflies like it. 
I think it's called a Bay Bean or Seaside Bean.
3/5/14 Bahia Honda SP. 

Another small flower that attracted the butterflies. 
What is it?  3/5/14 at Bahia Honda SP. 

A little daisy? 
3/5/14 at Bahia Honda. 

At Crane Point we saw this large bush.  The sign 
said it was Sea Lavender.  3/7/14  

The Sea Lavender's little white flowers were 
very fragrant.  3/7/14 

Also at Crane Point we saw this little flower that the 
Zebra Long-Wing Butterflies were enjoying. 
Do you know what it is?  3/7/14 



Seed pods of the Blackbead tree with bright pink arils. 
The black seeds are used to make jewelry, thus its name. 
3/7/14 at Crane Point.



The copper-color bark of the Gumbo Limbo tree.
3/7/14 at Crane Point.

I have a few more days here in the Keys; so, don't be surprised if I update this particular blog with more spots of plant-life color!

Dolphin Research Center

The Dolphin Research Center (DRC) is close to where I'm staying on Grassy Key.   Gary & Mary are members and gifted me with a free pass for the day (thank you!).  I arrived when they opened at 9am on Saturday, and left shortly before closing.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The facility has a large front lagoon with young dolphins and a few of their mothers, 11 total.  One of the trainers referred to it as the "day care" of the facility.  This type of grouping is how dolphins live together in the wild.

I was a bit taken aback by how much all of the dolphins people watched,
as these two are doing with me.  One eye watching me, and the
other watching their friends and family under water.  3/8/14

Here are the same two dolphins.  The trainer had one of them wave at me.
You could tell that they enjoyed my reaction and waves back.  3/8/14

The dolphins all know their names and each responds to a unique symbol (square, circle, triangle, etc.).  In addition, researchers believe that the mother gives each of their babies a unique whistle when born.  They liked to be talked to and become enthusiastic when you clap and cheer for them.  And, to my surprise, some really liked their picture taken as well.

Every 45 minutes is an activity at the facility -- training, playing, interactions with guests, power point presentations with information about DRC's history, research, and the 3 resident sea lions.  A bulletin board posts the activities and their locations (front or back lagoons).

The back lagoons are smaller in size and smaller groups of dolphins will often have the run of a couple of them at the same time.  In one of these lagoons were two mothers and their babies, both born in November.

Mother watching her picture being taken as baby
surfaces behind her.  3/8/14

Mama and baby under water.  3/8/14

Two large male dolphins stay together in the deeper, larger back lagoon.  The largest is 23 years old and weighs in at 650 pounds.  They are both very athletic.

The large muscles just in front of their tail gives
them the amazing abilities to tail walk, high jump, and
the propulsion to speed swim.  3/8/14

One of the big boys jumping on cue for a "trainer for the day" participant,
with the whole Gulf of Mexico behind them.  3/8/14

The DRC has programs that allow for interaction with the dolphins, including swimming with them, training them, or just shaking their "hands."  You can also be a researcher for the day.

Here are the two new mothers interacting with guests.  The trainer places
a paint brush (loaded with paint) in the dolphin's mouth, then the guest
holds the t-shirt (stretched on a board) over the water
 so the dolphin can paint it.  3/8/14

Most of the dolphins at the DRC were born there.  A few were rescued from the wild and determined to be too young or hurt to return to the wild.  One dolphin is badly scared from a bull shark attack. 

The DRC publishes their research findings in scientific journals.  And they recently started a college associate degree program at the facility.  I found the trainers and students very friendly and open to chat about their program, the facility and the animals in their care.   I'm still an educator and researcher at heart; so, I especially enjoyed that aspect of DRC.

In addition to the dolphins, the facility houses three sea lions (unable to be released to the wild) and some large parrots (most given to the facility by their owners).  There was a cute water park for kids, gift shop, food stand, photo booth, and a beautiful shady garden in which to sit and relax.

The DRC: a very memorable experience.