Yesterday I came home in the evening to find this small black bird sleeping on my doorstep. (The blue in the photo is my door.) It didn’t fly away, even after I drove up to the house, walked to the porch, went around the house to the back door, got my housemate Hernando and a camera, came back around, and took a photo. (And no, it wasn’t dead!) I’ve never found a bird sleeping on my porch before, so it was cool. We had just had a strong storm pass through, and I think it was looking for a safe place to rest.

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.

Last Thursday I looked out my kitchen window in the morning and saw what I first thought was a turkey vulture because of its size (big!) and dark coloration. However, after observing it for a while, and noting its behavior and seeing its plumage from the back side, I realized it was a wild turkey. Evidently one of its legs was hurt, and it was limping and hopping around on the other leg. I just watched it for a while, and when I went outside to get in my car it hopped off into the woods.

This was taken from indoors through the kitchen window:

It was the first time I’d seen a wild turkey at my home since moving here. Later my roommate said he saw a flock of turkeys in our yard. I’m hoping they will hang around for a while.

PS: In case you’re wondering where the title of this blog post hails from, let me point you to the timeless American classic, “Turkey in the Straw.”

We saw a number of animals, including various birds and ducks, two kinds of heron, lots of deer (including some cute little fawns), and this praying mantis:

One stretch of highway was an unusual blood-red color. It doesn’t show perfectly in the photo below (I took it while driving), but you get the general idea.

It was a very interesting road in other respects, too. It had a very long and somewhat steep incline, and we drove a long time before reaching the top. It went in and out of open range, so I had to keep an eye open for cattle. (We did see some, but not on the road, thankfully.) On the other side, it descended through many layers of rock labeled according to geologic time tables (so many billion years old, etc.); there seemed to be an unusually wide gamut of rock layers exposed.

In western Wyoming we came to Devil’s Tower, another natural site that I’ve always wanted to see. I wish we could have seen it in the early morning or at sunset, but our driving schedule did not permit that. It was very impressive, and I was awed at the sheer size of it.

The most easily recognized profile (colorized a bit in Photoshop):

A closer view from a path near the base; the photo suffers from some perspective distortion:

Scenery within the Devil’s Tower park:

According to information inside the visitor’s center at Devil’s Tower, no one is really sure how the tower formed. But apparently as the rock cooled, it fractured into tall columns, each with a somewhat crystalline shape (mostly hexagonal, but some have 5 or 7 sides). Over time pieces of these columns have collapsed, and you can see fragments of all sizes strewn around the base of the tower and out into the surrounding woods for some distance.

Below is a close-up of Devil’s Tower. You can see that some columns are missing their tops, others their bases. Can you spot the people in the photo at left? Even standing there in person, I had no idea of the scale of the formation until I saw the climbers and took these photos. The red rectangle is the approximate area shown in the second photo; the two big red circles are magnifications of the smaller red circles.

The rock behind me appears to be part of one of the columns that has fallen (the crystalline shape is not as clear from the ground):

We also enjoyed visiting a large colony of prairie dogs there.

In the evening we came to the Black Hills in South Dakota. We might have been tempted to stop, but we were tired, and the Black Hills are one of the places I remember well from childhood vacations, so I was not so eager to see it again. I did want to visit the Badlands, but by the time we reached them, it was already dark, so we just drove on.

We took the northern route home, so we first drove up through Yellowstone. We ate lunch at Old Faithful at a grill, which had some very good vegetarian items on the menu. As we drove the loop around Yellowstone Lake we came across a beautiful elk with an amazing set of antlers, and later several decent herds of bison. (Unfortunately we could not photograph the elk. The road was congested with a long line of cars from both directions, all stopping for this one animal. The park rangers were taking people by the arm and threatening to handcuff people who were getting too close. So I decided to just drive on.) The scenery through the eastern Yellowstone entrance, along the Shoshone River, was absolutely amazing, so beautiful and majestic. A sign indicated that it was grizzly country, but we did not see any bears.

Scenes from Yellowstone:

We spent the night at a hotel in Powell, Wyoming. On the way there we saw some really beautiful clouds and an incredible sunset (the colors and streaks are natural, nothing added):

We went on another wildlife hunt, this time heading towards the Snake River pullout. My mom wanted to check on canoeing, kayaking, and rafting costs, but it turned out that the reservations office was located elsewhere. (It was an interesting road going down to the river: 19% grade!)

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Jackson Lake Lodge again so my mom could rest. Eugene, Heidi, and I went for a short walk about back, which was nice.

Later, towards evening, we returned to Signal Mountain, where we saw the same mother moose and calf, as well as a red fox, and a very beautiful sunset over the Tetons.

Eugene and Heidi decided that with all the driving ahead of them, they should head out that evening while they were feeling energetic.

On the way there I happened to see a moose feeding in a pond. It was quite exciting, since moose were one of the big animals we were really hoping to see. We took a few pictures, and then continued on up to the overlook. Unfortunately the view we found was a bit disappointing. But on the way back we were elated to find that the mother moose had been joined by her calf. So we spent more time photographing them.

The Snake River, with the Tetons behind:

The mother moose and calf:

Later, after breakfast, we went on another wildlife safari to a place called Oxbow Bend, but did not find anything noteworthy. I did get some nice wildflower pictures on that excursion, however.

For lunch we had campfire-roasted vegetables, seasoned with a recipe that Heidi had learned from her friend Amy at Ouachita Hills. It was very good. Later we hiked along a trail at North Jenny Lake, where we saw a marmot and a bald eagle.

Eugene turning the vegetables on the fire:

Some of the scenery at North Jenny Lake:

Various wildflowers:

Back at camp, mom told us she had seen a gray wolf, something she had never seen in the wild before. I was a bit envious of her! That night as I was going to sleep, I thought I heard a menacing growl outside my tent. I became very still, and listened carefully. I was relieved to discover it was just one of our party snoring loudly!

The Tetons as seen from the viewing area behind Jackson Lake Lodge:

Our first objective was to locate Eugene and Heidi. We drove to the Jackson Lake Lodge where my mom tried to call them on a pay phone. On the way out, I tried my cell phone again. I had a voice mail! I pressed the button to start the message, and heard, “Hi, this is Eugene…,” and at that moment my phone completely died! There was nothing to do but return to our camp.

We decided to set up camp after breakfast. Just a few minutes into our meal, Eugene and Heidi drove up. They had gotten our voice mails, and had seen the note we had left for them at the camp entrance. We ate together, and then found hot showers nearby—a bit pricey but worth it. Thus refreshed, our day’s adventure began.

Our campsite (Eugene, Heidi, and Mom slept in the orange tent; I slept in the green one):

A deer that frequented our camping area:

The bear-proof box where we stored our food:

We took a boat across Jenny Lake to a trailhead on the other side, and hiked along a beautiful mountain stream up to Inspiration Point. We had a great time playing with the very friendly (and well-fed, but not by us) chipmunks. We also saw a deer close by. It was a great hike, and at the end we were content to call it a day. We did some more grocery shopping in Jackson. I tried to find a pump for my air mattress (another “left behind” object), but without success. That night, after pitching our tents, I spent a good half-hour or so inflating my mattress the old-fashioned way. Although the daytime temperatures were very warm, sometimes hot, the air cooled dramatically during the night, and I got a bit chilled—but not too much

Heidi, Eugene, and Mom on the dock before taking a boat across Jenny Lake:

From the trail leading up to Inspiration Point—there were so many scenic spots along this trail, I soon stopped taking photos. I could have filled up my camera’s card with just those!

At Inspiration Point: Heidi and Eugene:

Another friendly chipmunk (I really like the colors in this photo):

A beautiful sunset back at our campsite:

We arrived at the park at 9:30 a.m. We were quite pleased with our travel time.

Some of the scenery in Colorado as we neared Rocky Mountain National Park:

Mom did most of the driving in the park. We looked around the visitor center a bit, then headed to a talk about big horn sheep. We hoped to actually see some sheep, but there were none around at the time. The talk itself was a little boring, and when we got to the part where the ranger wanted everyone in the group to join in a song, we decided to leave.

Mom taking a rest near a waterfall:

We continued on a route towards the Alpine Visitors Center. Along the way we passed several beautiful waterfalls. At the first one, a friendly little chipmunk came and posed for me.

We enjoyed hiking around the falls, and took quite a few pictures. Later, at the Alpine Visitors Center, we saw our first big animals—elk. We saw them in small groups—one, two, or three together—and in larger groups of 30 or more. I’m sure we saw more than 100 altogether. Unfortunately they were too distant to get good pictures. (Wildlife photography rule to live by: If you want great photos, expect to bring at minimum a 300mm lens and a tripod. You might get lucky without these items, but you’ll do much better with them.)

Views from near the Alpine Visitors Center:

We left the park in the afternoon. My mom was tired, and we were both anxious to get to our next destination. Unfortunately, not far down the road we had a blow-out. But we were blessed to be quickly assisted by a husband and wife, who we learned were devout Christians and extremely helpful and generous. The man and I unloaded the trunk to get to the spare, and he did virtually all of the work putting it on. We were very close to Ft. Collins, so they offered to follow us over and stay with us as long as necessary. We treated them to something to drink while we looked for a hotel (we all ordered orange juice or lemonade!). Since they had the bad tire in their car, they followed us over to the hotel. I tried to give them something for their time and effort, but they refused. So we wished them God’s blessing, and parted ways.

We got to our hotel room around 5:00, and both my mom and I were so tired that we laid down on our beds without changing clothes, and almost immediately fell asleep. We slept almost 12 hours—I guess we had really been pushing ourselves!