If you like nature and wildlife, you should check out the Wikipedia article, “Largest Organisms.” It is incredibly fascinating. Just getting a taste of the megafauna and megaflora of the past gives us a new perspective on life in our world today. (There is a similar Wikipedia article, with pictures at the end, called “Megafauna.”)

Here are some of the biggest and best:

• Today’s wombats are small marsupials about 1 meter long; however, the extinct giant wombat weighed up to 2 tons, a huge creature.
• The largest extinct bear, Ursus maritimus tyrannus, is believed to have been about 6 ft tall at the shoulder when on all fours; this is almost twice as tall as a grizzly in the same posture (3.3 ft on all fours). However, a complete skeleton has not been found. Another extinct bear was also about the same size, the giant short-faced bear.
• The largest animal in the armadillo family is the extinct glyptodon, which weighed about 2 tons. (You wouldn’t want to hit one of those at night!)
• In the “odd-toed ungulate” family, which includes today’s rhino, the largest member was the paraceratherium, which stood an awesome 18 ft tall at the shoulder.
• In the anteater and sloth family, the largest extinct relative was the megatherium, which standing on its hind legs would have been about twice as tall as a modern elephant.
• One of the largest extinct rodents found is the Josephoartigasia monesi, which may have weighed 2,000-3,000 pounds, although estimates vary widely. (That’s one “rodent of unusual size”!) The giant beaver could grow up to 8 ft in length.
• The Steller’s sea cow, which became extinct only recently, in the late 1700s, was more than double the length of its surviving relative, the manatee.
• Ancient crocodiles, such as purussaurus, grew up to 40 ft long (versus 15-17 ft in modern crocs); one species of extinct croc may have been up to 60 ft long. Try measuring that out for perspective!
• In the snake and lizard family, the largest relatives were probably the mosasaurs (water-dwelling lizard-like creatures with flippers), which could be up to 50 ft long. The largest fossil snake found is titanoboa, which may have been up to 42 ft long on average. A lizard called megalania may have been up to 23 ft long, making it the largest land lizard of all time.
• The largest fossil turtle is archelon, with a flipper-to-flipper span of 16 ft, which seems to be about 1.5-2 times as big as the largest modern sea turtles.
• The largest amphibian was the prionosuchus, which at 30 ft long makes all modern salamanders look like dwarfs. The largest extinct frog was the devil frog, at 16 in long.
• There were, of course, many enormous dinosaurs and dinosaur-like creatures, which have no similar species today.
• Some large birds existed in the past: the elephant bird at 10 ft, the dromornis at 10 ft, the giant moa at 12 ft, and the brontornis at 9 ft. But these were all flightless birds. The largest flying bird was a type of condor, the giant teratorn, which had a wingspan of 20-26 ft. The largest flying animal (not a bird) was the pterosaur quetzalcoatlus, which had a wingspan of 35-40 ft.
• There were some big fish in those ancient seas. Estimates of the largest fish, leedsichthys, range from 30 to 50 to as much as 100 ft long. The largest shark found is megalodon, at 50-60 ft long; the largest shark today is the relatively harmless whale shark at 45 ft; the great white, the largest of the “deadly” sharks, is about 20 ft. Dunkleosteus, another larger fish with a vicious looking mouth, could grow to 33 ft long.
• The biggest anthropod (crabs, lobsters, spiders, and such) known was the sea scorpion, which could get up to 8 ft long. Land scorpions could get pretty big too; the extinct pulmonoscorpius grew up to 3 ft long, dwarfing all modern scorpions. The largest millipede found is arthropleura, up to 8 ft long and 18 in wide—which is totally amazing.
• Ancient dragonflies had a wingspan of 2.5 to 3 ft.

It’s worth noting that perhaps the largest creature, in terms of body mass, to live on this planet is still alive—the blue whale.

There is a lot more on the Wikipedia page to astound and amuse.

That got me to thinking about how an iPhone (or iPod touch) could be used for nature activities in general. The iPhone has a clear advantage over the iPod touch in a couple areas:

• The iPhone is a phone, which is handy. (However, AT&T service is not available everywhere. Too bad it doesn’t work with Verizon.) But the iPod touch has wifi, so if you find a hotspot (at the lodge or wherever), you’re not too badly off.
• The iPhone has a built-in compass and GPS, which are very useful in the outdoors.
• The iPhone has a camera. Of course it’s a very limited camera. But combined with the other powers of the iPhone, it does some fancy things. (Note: If you have a cell phone that has a camera and a wifi connection for your iPod touch, you can get tricky: Take a photo on your cell phone, email it to yourself, download it on the iPod touch, and proceed as if the iPod touch took the photo.)
• The iPhone has a built-in mic (although you can buy one as an accessory for the iPod touch).

The following apps or uses require an iPhone:

• You can geotag photos with certain apps (do an iTunes app search for “geotag”).
• Record colors of natural things (myPANTONE).
• Email the photos you’ve taken on the iPhone to people, or upload them online.
• GPS Tracker (free), iMapMyRun (free), TrackMe (free), Trails ($2.99), Trailguru (free): Track your speed, distance, etc. iPhone needed for GPS tracking features.
• Metal Detector Pro (99¢), or other similar app: Could help you locate a buried tent stake.
• TopoPoint ($9.99): Find your location on USGS maps.

However, both the iPhone and iPod touch work equally well with a number of apps useful to the nature lover. The following apps require Internet access:

• With phone or wifi service, you can talk, email friends (or monitor work email, if you get the nagging feeling), send SMS messages, visit any website, etc.
• Google Earth (free): Get the lay of the land, check out other people’s comments and photos of local attractions.
• Ski Report (free), The Snow Report from the North Face (free), REI Snow Report (free): Check ski conditions.
• The Weather Channel (free), Weather Bug (free), etc.: Get weather updates.

These apps do not require Internet access:

• Use the built-in voice record, or app of your choice, to record those breakthrough insights that come in the wilderness solitude, or capture your final words for posterity. (Requires separate mic accessory if you have an iPod touch.)
• Animal Tracks (99¢): Track animals.
• Army Survival ($1.99): This is the big brother of the 99¢ Survival Pocket Ref app. Everything you wanted to know about survival, medicine, shelters, water, plants, animals, tools, environments (desert, tropics, etc.), orienteering, weather, knots. From an official Army survival manual. Includes pictures.
• Brushes ($4.99) or other drawing app: Draw what you see!
• Flashlight: Many uses. If you get one that can do signaling, SOS, different colors, all the better. Great for night games like capture the flag, too! (Use it to signal your buddies or whatever. The apps Banner or Fuzz Lites could be fun too.)
• A Free Level (free), TiltMeter Pro (99¢), etc.: For setting up your campsite.
• Guitar: Play and Share ($3.99), iRecorder (99¢), Ocarina (99¢), Pianist ($3.99), or other musical app: for those fun campfire moments
• iBird Explorer Plus/Pro ($19.99/29.99): Photos/drawings of birds, along with sound samples of their calls, regional maps, etc.
• iTrailMap 3D ($4.99): 3D views of ski locations. View from any angle. There is also a color version that is free, but not 3D.
• Night Stand (99¢), or clock of your choice.
• RiverGuide for Kayakers ($4.99): Name says it all.
• Seismometer (99¢): Measure the shockwaves.
• SkyGazer ($2.99), SkyVoyager ($14.99), Star Walk ($4.99), Starmap ($11.99), or other astronomy app: Learn constellations, get directions.
• Sol: Daylight Clock (99¢): Predict sunrises, sunsets (great for photo shoots).
• TideApp (free): Find out when tide will be in or out. Oakley Surf Report (free) is another, but requires Internet.

Always remember to bring the charging cable. You can get a cheap adapter that will give you a USB port from any power outlet. There are also hand-crank devices and solar devices that will charge via USB.

Be sure your device is protected in some kind of case. You don’t want to trip and fall and land on it, or suddenly get a rude reminder that you put it in your hip pocket while rock climbing.

Electronic devices require a little TLC, but can be very handy when exploring the great outdoors.

Should you send that wild ivy to obedience school, or scold the unpleasant weeds growing in your lawn? It probably won’t do much good. Still, although plants often seem passive and uninvolved, there may be more to their humble lives than we first think.

We all know that plants are living organisms. We learned this early in school. Still, sometimes we think of them in the same camp as rocks, streams, and clouds. We can see them grow over time, and mark their changes with the seasons. But they don’t run, fly, swim, or dig — at least not in the conventional sense. They don’t purr, tweet, croak, or whinny. They’re just silently there — seemingly detached from the behaviors we mentally associate with living.

Yet they are alive, and part of the great ecological web that connects all living things. In my adult life, I’ve somehow had a mysterious affinity for plants. Something about huge, beautiful trees stirs something inside me. I love flowers and other interesting plants. If I forget to water my houseplants, I feel a twinge of guilt. And I hate plastic imitation plants.

Even as a child, certain plants appealed to me. I was fascinated by unusual trees. I liked cacti. And I was especially intrigued by some of the more bizarre plants, the carnivorous ones: the venus flytrap, the sundew, the bladderwort, and others. Part of the intrigue was that some of these plants could move and respond to triggers. It seemed they were a step closer to animals.

It may be that all plants are a step closer to animals than we tend to assume. When you really break it down, to the level of single-celled creatures, there isn’t much difference between microscopic fauna and flora. Neither kind has a brain. One may skitter around a bit more on a glass slide than the other, but once we realize that some plants are fully capable of motion, even that difference evaporates.

Even at a slightly higher level — for example, sea anemones, sea cucumbers, sea squirts (which oddly start out more like an animal and end up more like a plant), barnacles, jellyfish, corals — there isn’t that much difference between animal and plant. In fact, many of these types of creatures are often misidentified as plants by amateurs. Sometimes the scientific criteria separating plants and animals seems a bit arbitrary. We might say a plant doesn’t have a brain or a central nervous system — but some of these creatures don’t have those things either.

While it seems clear that plants lack a brain structure, and thus the qualities of learning and personality that we associate with higher forms of life, some evidence suggests they are not totally “dumb” either. A tree may not frown when you kick it, but research indicates it is not a completely passive victim.

Plants have immune systems that seem to be every bit as biochemically complex as those in vertebrates. Botantists have discovered that a plant can distinguish a nematode (tiny parasitic roundworm) from a virus, actively resist  a penetrating mold, and produce odors to defend itself against a feeding caterpillar. Indeed, the Creator has designed plants with chemical detectors that are precise enough to discern between a beetle and a caterpillar….

Far from being inert entities that merely provide us with food and aesthetic value, plants can actively respond to their environments by adjusting their looks and growth — and even their behavior, from defensive to aggressive. For instance, plants can wage chemical warfare against other plants. In 2003, researchers from Colorado State University found that the roots of the spotted knapweed produce a natural herbicide called catechin that causes nearby plants to self-destruct. When these plants die due to a specific series of biochemical reactions caused by the catechin, the spotted knapweed takes over their territory.

In fact, plants even seem to have a sophisticated social life! One study showed that a wildflower called a sea rocket was less competitive with those of the same species, but more aggressive with others. The authors state, “Our results demonstrate that plants can discriminate kin in competitive interactions and indicate that the root interactions may provide the cue for kin recognition.”

Frank Sherwin: Acts & Facts, November 2008.

Here’s another interesting article:

They can’t quite Twitter, but plants have sophisticated means of communication nonetheless, reports the Telegraph. A new study suggests they use complex chemical signals to discuss both predators and pollinators. In one test, sagebrush shrubs whose neighbors had their leaves clipped, as if by grasshoppers, appeared to grow more resilient, suggesting they’d been warned.

“Plants not only respond to reliable cues in their environments but also produce cues that communicate with other plants and with other organisms,” said the study’s co-author. Another recent study indicated that tomato plants respond to the human voice, vindicating a beleaguered Prince Charles — who was widely mocked for decades after advising that gardeners should talk to their plants.

Jess Kilby: Plants Warn Each Other: Study

I believe these findings should give us a healthy respect for plants. While I might be quite merciless with common weeds, as with pests, even plant life is important. After all:

Life is mysterious and sacred. It is the manifestation of God Himself, the source of all life.

Ellen White, The Ministry of Healing, 397.

I’m not a tree hugger yet, but killing a hundred-year-old (or thousand-year-old) life is not something to be taken lightly in my book. Perhaps a moment of silence before starting the chainsaw would not be inappropriate. Only in the last century or so have humans begun to seriously consider the cost of the widespread destruction of these living things. And perhaps, in the final analysis when all the data is in, the cost will prove to be far more than we supposed.

The next time you see a beautiful plant — and most are beautiful when you begin to understand them — give it a little extra thought. There’s more happening there than meets the eye.

Going on the cruise meant skipping GYC, the first one I’d ever missed. I felt a bit sad about that, but then there’s always 3ABN and AudioVerse, where the GYC highlights are captured in all their multimedia glory. The one part I really missed was seeing my friends — but I got to visit other friends, so am consoled.

Our group included my mom, Eugene and Heidi, and me, along with my mom’s Aunt Faye and Faye’s sister Kate. Our cruise was a week-long trip through the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and Mexico.

Friday–Saturday, Dec. 12–13

I left home on Friday, December 12, headed for my brother’s home in Arkansas. I arrived in time to attend Ouachita Hills Academy’s Christmas concert, featuring singing, a bell choir, strings, a harp trio, woodwinds, and other instruments. It was a great performance. After the concert I had time to talk with quite a few friends and people I hadn’t seen in a long time. On Sabbath I spent the afternoon with my friends, the Nealls.

Sunday, Dec. 14

Our cruise departed from Galveston, Texas, about a 9-hour drive from my brother’s place. With boarding beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, we had to leave very early — at around 4:30 a.m. My mom was driving from Tennessee, and had gotten stuck in slow traffic due to bad weather and a vehicle accident she passed. At 4:00 a.m. she hadn’t arrived at Eugene’s, and we were getting worried. But a few minutes later she stepped through the door, tired, but there and ready to go.

Arkansas borders Texas, and most of our driving was in TX. The northeast part of Texas makes southern Illinois look beautiful! Almost makes me think of that song “Tumbling Tumbleweeds.” As we neared Galveston, there were more trees, more hills, more palms, and finally glimpses of the Gulf of Mexico.

We arrived with ample time to get through security and board. We had three cabins between us, which thankfully were all close to each other.

My cabin:

After dumping our luggage, we found a pizzeria on the upper deck. All the meals on the ship were free, and we enjoyed a custom cheese-free veggie pizza. As we sat there waiting for our meal, I spotted a dolphin jumping around in the harbor. A couple more appeared as we watched.

Our ship departed at 4:00. After exploring the ship and unpacking, we all met again for supper. The evening meal was assigned seating, and served. We were in the late seating, so sat down for supper at 8:15. I don’t think any of us are accustomed to eating that late, but we managed. While standing, waiting to enter the restaurant, the ship really rocked, and everyone was laughing as we all swayed together. We had great waiters, one of whom was mostly vegetarian, which was a great help. He really looked out for us. The food was exceptional, and there was always one main vegetarian dish, and various vegetarian sides. My first supper was Indian food (rice and curry), with a fruit platter.

Eugene and Heidi:

The housekeeping staff often cleaned our rooms during meal times. When I got back to my room I found a towel on my bed shaped like a walrus. The staff made different animals each day. I thought it was cool.

An elephant towel critter:

Monday-Tuesday, Dec. 15-16

Monday and Tuesday we were all day at sea. I checked my email once, but the prices were crazy: 75¢ per minute, and the speed was slow. It look me more than 20 minutes just to download my email headers and a few complete messages. No more email on that trip!

The ship kept up a good clip — 15 knots or more I think. It was quite windy on deck while the ship was moving. While watching the waves, I spotted several flying fish jumping away from the wake.

We checked out the mini golf game on deck.

The wind was strong enough to blow the ball around, which added some challenge. Although we usually met or beat the par on most sections, the one with the mouth was very difficult. I think it took me about 20 tries to get it. Some took to less conventional methods to get the ball in:

Monday night was the first of two elegant nights. Everyone dressed up for supper. It was quite a show, all the ladies in their evening gowns, some of the guys in tuxedos. It was obvious that black is still the “in” color for formal events, for men and women both. Not everyone was so dressed up — including us. But I had brought a couple shirts and ties on a whim, for which I was thankful!

On Tuesday, Eugene, Heidi, and I checked out the jacuzzi. I think there were four on the ship’s deck, and we had one to ourselves. It was nice.

Personally I did not have high hopes for the food on the cruise, but we had another unexpected treat that day: veggie burgers!

Some evening shots from on deck:

The “whale tail” is the ship’s smokestack:

Wednesday, Dec. 17

On Wednesday we arrived at Montego Bay, Jamaica. We went out to the taxi area, looking for a ride to Dunn River Falls. The first drivers we met were asking $60 per person (for a group of six!). Others said they would come down to $55. Not only was that considerably more than we expected, it was also more than we could afford. My brother kept haggling. Eventually we found ourselves surrounded by taxi drivers, talking to each other in another language, trying to convince us of their prices, and sometimes loudly jeering us publicly. Eventually we found a driver who would take us for $25.

The ride to the falls was interesting. Jamaica has mountains and beautiful beaches. There were large, beautiful resorts. But most of the country was gripped with poverty. The people looked poor; the houses, even those made of brick, were weathered and ill-kept. Locals meandered along the roads. Flocks of goats foraged by the highway.

The driving there is kind of crazy. People pass each other at high speed in short passing zones with oncoming traffic. On a two lane road, cars traveling in each direction will pull to each side, and a third car will pass down the middle. But our driver was pretty safe. I think he was mainly worried about getting a ticket, having given us such a cheap rate.

We finally arrived at Dunn River Falls. But we were disappointed to find that we had to fork over another $15 per person to get in. The main thing to do there is climb the falls, which we did. It was longer and more difficult than I expected, but everyone managed. Even Faye and Kate, in their 80s, made it all the way up (with quite a bit of help from our guides). There were parts that looked difficult, but I always found good footing, as the park staff keep the rocks free from algae. The only scary part was at a natural pool between falls, where the guides would push people backwards into the water. The guides insisted that it was “part of the experience.” I reluctantly agreed to try it — and survived!

At the start of the climb, everyone — a group of 30 or so — held hands in a long chain, which did make the going easier. But as we progressed, and people became more confident, we tended to go it alone, or in small groups.

There were five to ten spots like this one, with natural pools in between:

On the way back we stopped at a small beach and swam a bit. The water was very nice. There were no fish to speak of, but we found some simple shells — the only shells I found on the trip.

Sunset over the bay at Jamaica:

On this trip we learned that we would need more pocket money than we had thought. Unfortunately, even though I had read advice on this very thing before departure, I had inadvertently brought only $20 cash with me for the whole trip. On top of that, having never used an ATM in my life (incredible, huh?), I did not know my PIN, so could not get any more cash on the ship. I had to borrow constantly to get by. Fortunately the others in the group got more money through the ATMs, so this wasn’t too much of a problem.

Thursday, Dec. 18

On Thursday, we arrived at George Town, Grand Cayman. It was a much cleaner city than Montego Bay, and we had no hassles there.

Our ship did not dock at this port, apparently because the water is too shallow. It anchored some distance off shore, and a “tender boat” took us to land.

Our cruise ship (and if you look closely, you can see the tender boat beside it):

My mom had prearranged a trip to Stingray City, but because the waves were a little rough, our captain had bailed out. We did find another ship, but they could not visit Stingray City either, because of the waves. Nevertheless, they took us to several good snorkeling locations. On my first swim, my mask was not adjusted properly, and I kept getting salt water in my nose and mouth. I’m not a great swimmer, and I had not taken any floatation support on that swim, so I kind of wore myself out fighting my mask and the waves. I waited out the second swim. On the third swim, I got a late start, since someone had taken the fins I was using, and I had to wait for a pair. But when I finally got in, I saw lots of fish, and got to pet a stingray that one of the crew had caught. (It had no tail, having apparently donated it to a shark, the crew said.)

Evening sunset pictures:

Friday, Dec. 19

On Friday we arrived at Cozumel, Mexico. This was my favorite part of the trip. (On a calmer day, with a better underwater camera, I might have liked Grand Cayman as much or better.)

We took a taxi to Chankanaab Park, which was a lot of fun. My mom got a picture of me with an iguana and macaw. The iguana sat there so motionless, with its eyes closed. I think it was going to sleep!

Although there were lots of people there (four or five cruise ships were docked at one time — unbelievable), we had this one stretch of beach pretty much to ourselves.

We snorkeled there, and saw all kinds of beautiful, colorful fish. I even saw what I think was a very colorful parrot fish, but I saw it after I had used my last picture in my disposable underwater camera.

This homely fish kept swimming around my head:

Lots of sergeant majors:

Colorful coral and fish; check out the fairy basslet in the lower left.

After a swim, we enjoyed some other aspects of the park.

One of the attractions at Cozumel (and other places that we visited) was dolphins. However, most of the activities were pricey, so we did not do any of them. However, it was fun to watch. Here is a video of a woman getting a “foot push” from two dolphins:

The park included a salt water lagoon, with all kinds of colorful fish, including parrot fish.

We also saw several kinds of reptiles there, mostly iguanas.

Ordinarily one might think of reptiles as cold-blooded carnivores. We were surprised to find this iguana enjoying fresh greens:

Still another part of the park features reconstructions of Mayan artifacts and buildings.

Two Carnival ships were docked side by side; ours is on the left.

That evening, back on the ship, I sat on the forward deck. I was the only person there. Blocking out the ship’s lights with my hands, I enjoyed a spectacular view of the clear, starry night.

Saturday, Dec. 20

On Saturday we had a worship on deck; curiously, it was the same place I had been the previous night. Eugene led the worship. We had one stranger listening in, whom Faye and Kate talked to afterwards.

More sunset at sea pics:

We passed several oil rigs:

That evening my final wisdom tooth, in my upper jaw, made a major effort to come in. After a couple Tylenol capsules, the pain subsided enough that I could eat supper. Thankfully it didn’t bother me anymore after that.

Eugene and Heidi with our friendly head waiter from Indonesia:

A towel monkey!

Sunday, Dec. 21

Our ship arrived back at Galveston early on Sunday. We headed straight back to Arkansas, and arrived sometime after 6:00 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 22

On Monday, we had an early Christmas. We were joined by Heidi’s sister Pam and her kids, along with her brother David, and also Matthew Morea. There was a delicious Christmas dinner, and then we exchanged gifts. Immediately after that, I headed home, arriving shortly after 11:00 p.m. I didn’t even bother to unpack; the next day was a work day, and I needed sleep!

SUMMARY

It was a fun trip, and I really had a good time. I highly recommend Grand Cayman and Cozumel to anyone wanting a relaxing, enjoyable vacation.

Most of these pictures are also online at my Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77863&l=7c271&id=809418097

and

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=78000&l=7fda7&id=809418097

I wish I knew the name of it. I thought the shape of it was pretty cool. We don’t have too many exotic flowers in Illinois, so spotting this seemed rather special.

So maybe the Christmas tree lights used to decorate trees during the holidays aren’t so far off after all. They are somewhat cone-shaped. To beetles they may seem perfectly natural!

On the Sunday that ASI finished, my mom and I headed south from Tampa for a vacation in the Florida Keys. We decided to take the southern route, Highway 41.

It was a scenic drive through the Everglades, but because we were in a hurry to reach our motel in Florida City, we didn’t stop along the way. I saw two alligators by the road; one of them was definitely dead, and I wasn’t sure about the other. I later wished I had stopped to take a picture of the possibly live gator, but I had to make a split-second decision, and with cars behind me I decided to just keep driving.

The landscape along Highway 41 was lush and varied. There were stands of long-needled pines, wide open spaces studded with various palms, broad fields of grass and reeds, swamps with Spanish moss, and more. Every so often there was an exit for an Indian settlement, which often seemed to be collections of small cottages, small businesses, thatched-roofed structures, and mobile homes. At around 2:00 we were getting very hungry, so stopped at a local restaurant. But unfortunately it was the loud, greasy-spoon variety, where about the only thing on the menu without meat in it is fries, so we left without ordering anything.

We finally found a good restaurant at the spot where 41 meets 997 South. That was an interesting drive, lined with endless nurseries featuring every kind of plant imaginable, with special emphasis on ornamental palms. It seemed that every other business was a nursery. There were also fruit stands offering avocados, papayas, and mangoes.

At Florida City we came to Highway 1, but not knowing which way to go (the map was unclear), we turned south. This turned out to be the wrong way, but there were few options to turn around, so we decided to drive on out to Key Largo. Along this route we saw the first of many anhingas, a not particularly attractive bird, but it has the intriguing habit of hang-drying its wings. The first one I saw would have been the perfect anhinga picture, but it was on the wrong side of a divided highway, and there was no good way to stop and get a photo of it.

While on Key Largo we visited John Pennekamp State Park, where we saw some white ibises. We also took a boardwalk through a mangrove forest. We saw some lizards there, including a gray one that would thrust out a brilliant red display from its throat. There were also lots of small fiddler crabs rummaging through the mangrove roots. Unfortunately the place was infested with mosquitoes. Even though I applied repellent, the insects managed to find the few small spots that I missed. They showed no mercy.

Boardwalk through the mangroves:

Shortly after this we decided to return and find our apartment, which we did without difficulty. It was a fairly nice room at the Fairway Inn, right off Highway 1 in Florida City. It was nothing special as motel rooms go, but it came with a cooler, mini microwave, and safe box, and the AC and shower worked well. After a thunderstorm passed, I decided to go out and try the pool. It was just after sunset, and I had the pool to myself. But the water was quite cool, and there was lots of small bits of junk floating in it. Besides that, another storm started to roll in. So I didn’t stay out long.

On Monday we left early for our long drive to Key West. Along the way we stopped at a dolphin research center. But the prices for seeing the dolphins, or getting into the water with them, were outrageous. I think my mom was still tempted to fork over the money, but instead we just looked around the gift shop a little, and then headed on our merry way.

Driving through the Keys was an interesting experience. There is just a simple road connecting all the Keys, which are long, thin islands stretching out into the ocean. Between the islands the road is really just a long bridge, with open water as far as the eye can see on both sides. Much of the water was quite shallow, though, so in places you could look out and see underwater features for a long distance. In other places there were marshes or mangrove forests blocking the view of the ocean.

Finally, some hours later, we arrived in Key West. We got veggie sandwiches at a little shop, but although the sandwiches were really good, it was kind of a gross environment with all the fresh seafood “aromas” in the air.

Finally we boarded the catamaran that was to take us on our afternoon adventure. We had two really nice crew, and the other passengers, about eight of them, were also friendly.

My mom with one of our friendly and knowledgable crew members:

It was a beautiful day to be out. A cool breeze was blowing. For some reason the ocean there doesn’t have the strong smell that I often associate with the ocean. There wasn’t really any smell at all. It remained a clear day for us. Around us we could see rain falling here or there. But mostly it remained bright and sunny overhead.

Along the way to our first stop some of the passengers spotted a sea turtle. However, not being fluent in English, they couldn’t communicate what it was until it was past.

Later we ran into a pod of dolphins (the crew knew where to find them). We were told there were probably about 10 dolphins in the pod. One of them was a baby. They came very close to our boat, and I got quite a few pictures.

See the baby dolphin?

They came even closer than this:

After that we went to another place to snorkle. This was my first time snorkeling, but it mostly went well. There were a couple short moments of panic where I breathed in a moutful of salt water, but I didn’t drown. (LOL.) I made a mistake when I took off my mask to clean it, because it was getting really foggy. I had been standing on a submerged piece of junk, but as soon as my mask was off, the current knocked me off the platform, and I couldn’t get back on again. So I decided to put the mask on while floating on my back. But in my efforts to swim back to where I had been standing, my snorkle—which was attached to the mask I was holding in my hand—had fallen out. Despite my best efforts, I was not able to dive down far enough to retrieve it. However, the crew on the boat told me not to worry about it, and they gave me another one.

Although most of the fish were quite plain, we did see a few very colorful ones. I also saw a good-sized lobster. My mom saw a ray. And I also saw a shark. It didn’t come close enough to be clearly identified, but I think it was about 5 to 7 feet long. At first it was just a dark silhouette, which I thought might be a big fish. But I swam a little closer, and then this dark shape turns out to be a shark. It wasn’t too scarey, except I looked around and there was not a single person in sight. Apparently I had swam further out than I thought. But at the same moment the shark swished its tail and disappeared. Then I was torn about whether I should try to find it again and get a photo (I was advancing my camera when it vanished), or just go back to the group. I decided to go back!

Fishies:

Minutes later, we were all told our time was up, and we needed to return to the boat. So ended not only my first snorkeling experience, but also my first time swimming in the ocean!

Later that evening my mom and I ate at an IHOP. Then we watched the sunset at Mallory Square. Personally if I had a chance to watch a sunset there again, I would pick a spot as far away from Mallory as possible. There were too many people, and the view was obstructed by a big, developed island offshore. After the long drive home, it was nice to be in bed!

We also saw this really unusual tree, called a kapok tree:

The next day we slept in. We decided to take the northern route back, which is Interstate 75, also known as Alligator Alley. (However, there is little chance of seeing any gators or other big wildlife there, since the whole stretch of highway is lined by tall chainlink fences on either side, set back quite a distance from the road.) It ran through some pretty Everglades country.

We had hoped to stop at Sanibel Island and do some shelling. But by the time we got there and checked the time, we had to leave immediately.

It was a long and tiring flight home. But it was good to be home again!

While we were out on the Keys, my mom and I had talked about how it would be difficult to evacuate if a hurricane ever passed through. So it was really striking to hear, after we got home, about the hurricane forming near the Keys, and how long it took cars to get off the islands.

Since my mom is trying to sell her place, I spent part of the weekend helping her sort and clean. My mom has enough books to start her own library.

On Friday I met my friend Eve at the Tennessee Aquarium. I had been there before, but a number of new features had been added since then, and I was looking forward to checking them out. Besides that, it is such an awesome place, I’d visit again even if nothing was new.

The lighting throughout the facility is very subdued, so I did not get many good still pictures. However, I discovered I could get acceptable images by using my still camera’s video function. The movies below are not award-winning quality, and they are all very short (the longest is under 20 seconds). But they still offer a glimpse of some of the things I saw and enjoyed.

One of my favorite sea creatures, the sea dragon (a relative of the seahorse):

We also saw some cool jellyfish. This one was absolutely amazing. I could not get my camera to focus on it for some reason, but still you can see its amazing lights, which blink in multiple colors in a mesmerizing pattern (the video doesn’t show the colors very well):

There was a tank with several of these jellies inside, lit very dramatically. It looked like a living lava lamp.

This sea turtle was really cool:

There were tanks where you could touch sting rays. But those were not as cool as these fresh water rays with amazing patterns:

In another place there were adult and juvenile alligators:

The penguin exhibit was really fun. The penguins were absolutely amazing under water. They swim unbelievably fast, like underwater torpedoes. Here’s my friend Eve visiting with a curious, friendly penguin:

We also enjoyed a large walk-through butterfly exhibit. With the natural light, it was much easier to get photographs there:

This one had amazing blue wings, but he kept them folded whenever he was resting:

I had to laugh at this T-shirt, in the style of an iPod poster:

On Sunday I got to visit my friends Alan and Nicole Parker, who just recently moved to Southern Adventist University. It was fun to catch up with them. Nicole’s home reminds me why having three preschool age children is not for the faint of heart. But she does a great job of keeping the little monsters/cherubs in line.

This one was taken June 24:

Our group came together from two directions: The others from a few hours farther south in Arkansas, and I from Illinois. The driving distance for me was a little farther than I expected, just under 400 miles, or about 7 hours. There was no perfect route to take: It was either navigate through a maze of little country roads, or go far out of the way and stick to major highways. I opted for the shorter route, and went up and down hills, around 25 and 35 mph hairpin turns (lots of them!), and through dozens of little towns strung out along the Missouri-Arkansas byways. The spring scenery was beautiful, though, with dogwoods and other trees in bloom, and the variety of roads (I traveled at least 10 different highways) broke up the monotony of hours alone behind the wheel. Such journeys are always opportunities for extensive contemplation for me, since my Jeep’s radio and cassette player have been broken for years. (I seldom used them even when they did work, although these days I would be tempted to play podcasts I’ve downloaded.) They also afford a fine opportunity to work on my fake Eastern European accent: “Eet eez zo beauteeful here, no?” If I get on a roll, I can entertain myself with such monologues for … I don’t know … seven hours?

The weather was perfect: Maybe in the 50s at night, in the 60s or 70s during the day. We had a nice breeze, and mostly clear blue sky. Friday night we all arrived quite late, so there wasn’t much time for anything more than a little chit chat before going to bed. Rob and Christine shared an enclosed porch, I had the living room, and the two girls had the bedroom. It was a nice little bunk house, complete with a small refrigerator, camp oven, and high speed internet (though only Megan had a laptop — a cool MacBook in black).

Sabbath morning we had a yummy waffle breakfast. Then our group of nine — the five of us friends, Will and Eve, and their daughter and her boyfriend — drove out to an old country church, where we had a Sabbath school program. Rob led the study on Ecclesiastes 12, and we had a really good discussion. Later we walked around an old homestead that is now a historical site.

Rob and Christine with their dream home:

Afterwards, we hiked in towards a couple caves. Along the way we passed over a beaver dam, and enjoyed a simple lunch of sandwiches we had prepared earlier.

We explored two caves: Walnut and Waterfall. Not counting walk-in caves, I had been caving only once before. The entrance passages were very low, the kind where you have to get down and crawl through. They were also both very muddy. In Walnut, there was a long, steep, muddy incline down to the bottom. It was tricky to keep your footing and not go sliding into the darkness below. Fortunately there were rocks and other things to hang onto. In Waterfall, we had to slide along on our back or chest to get through the first part. It was very slow going! However, both caves opened up into large caverns inside. Walnut had amazing stalactite and stalagmite formations all around. Waterfall had a beautiful waterfall inside. We saw a few bats, some hanging, others flying around.

For practical reasons I did not take my camera inside. Some others did. Later I may post some photos taken by others from inside these two caves.

Three smiling spelunkers (L to R): Amy, Christine, Megan:

By then it was evening, so we returned to Will and Eve’s home. They treated us to a delicious haystack supper. I tried a juice blend I had never had before: white grape, blueberry, kiwi. It was really good. In the evening we visited a little, but we were all tired and soon went to bed.

The next morning after eating breakfast and packing another lunch, we set out. We took four canoes, with our group of nine split between them (Christine, Amy, and Megan shared one canoe; Rob and I another; and the other two couples each had one).

We canoed the Buffalo River. Although people said it was lower than normal, still it was very navigable. And it was a beautiful river to canoe, with incredible views of bluffs along the river, all the spring colors, and fish swimming below in the clear water (in places we could see down as far as 10 feet).

My worthy companion, Rob:

The three girls (the competition):

A look back:

Some of the bluffs over the river:

The next day we went to the Northgate mall near Chattanooga to take advantage of the some of the Black Friday sales. I picked up some clothes and other items. I got a new modem for my mom’s beleaguered eMachine, since the previous modem was having hardware and/or driver problems that kept causing the whole machine to crash sooner or later after every boot, without exception. On a good day it might run for a number of hours before going down, but sometimes it wouldn’t last even one minute. If you’ve ever had a computer that would crash 30 seconds after booting, 10 times in a row, you can understand the frustration of this predicament. After installing the new U.S.Robotics modem it seemed to work fine. But I then had about a year’s worth of Microsoft patches (including the whole SP2) and virus updates to finish downloading and installing over a dial-up connection. (I wish I had bought her a Mac instead. Did I mention there are no viruses for the Mac?)

On Sabbath we went to church in Dunlap. However, my mom wasn’t feeling well, so we only stayed for Sabbath school. Later we went for a walk at Burgess Falls State Park. Neither of us had been there before, and it was fun to explore.

It wasn’t the best time of year to visit Burgess Falls, though. The fall colors were long gone, and so it was a bit dismal looking. However, I imagine that in the spring, summer, or early fall it is extraordinarily beautiful.

The lower falls:

I was experimenting with the slow shutter speed effect, since it is a popular technique used to photograph waterfalls. I don’t think I’ve quite mastered it, but I did get some nice pictures. In case you are wondering what difference the shutter speed makes, here is an example (the numbers are the shutter speeds used — they are all fractions of a second). As you can see, at 1/80th of a second and faster, the water appears as crisp drops. Many cameras shoot at least this fast by default. At a slower 1/20th of a second (4x slower), the water has a more natural blur. And at 1/10th (8x slower), it has a somewhat dreamy feel to it.

This is the middle falls:

From the observation area near the third falls, you can see this deep-cut canyon (this photo is a composite of two; my camera lens was simply unable to take it all in):

The third falls (lower falls, great falls) as seen from above:

Stair-step falls near the top of the third falls:

The third falls as seen from below:

More slow shutter photography (really happy with how this one turned out!), taken at the base of these falls:

Adding to the difficulty of trying a new technique was the fact that we arrived late in the afternoon, about an hour before dusk. That didn’t give me a lot of light to work with, but it may have helped indirectly. I had trouble with severe over-exposurers, because slow shutter speeds admit more light. I figured the camera would automatically compensate somehow, but it didn’t. Even with a -2 stop manual adjustment, some of the pictures were “burned up” beyond recovery. Still, I think I improved my skills and got some nice shots in the process.

Instead we took a walk around the park, enjoying the fall colors.

Autumn reflections:

Around the shore of the lake:

For some reason I really like thistle flowers. I wouldn’t say they are my favorite, but I think they are cool. I took the following photos. The first is, I’m guessing, a flower pod that is going to seed. I thought the spiny pod looked neat (it seems to be saying, in no uncertain terms, Do not eat me!). The other is just a regular bloom.

For vespers, the church met at this pavilion. We sang songs and listened to a short devotional. Later, after dark, we had a hot dog roast.

We made good time, and had lunch at an Olive Garden in Illinois, just east of St. Louis. I had the portobello ravioli with specially ordered marinara sauce instead of the usual creamy sauce. Yum! By 6:00 I was home. My mom thought she might rest a while at my place, but was eager to get home and couldn’t sleep, so she left very soon and headed on to her home in Tennessee.

I did my best to unpack, but was totally tired and ready for bed. I crashed! Thankfully I had the foresight to have requested Monday off as well, so I had a full day to “recover” from my vacation!