Marco Island/Out and about in SW Florida - Part 2

Our friends Rosie and Betty came to stay with us for 3 days.  Most of the photos were taken while we were out showing them SW Florida.  Besides Marco Island, the photos were taken in: Collier-Seminole State Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Everglades National Park (Shark Valley section), the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Fakahatchee Stand Preserve State Park.
About 2/3's of the way down in the photos are a couple of the Marco Island regulars.  We saw them last time we were here, so I'm sure they are residents.  The guy is in his late 50's, early 60's, and has a different outfit on each time he walks the beach: swim suit and head band.  The two are always color coordinated.  The gal is from another planet.  She is late 30's, early 40's. She struts (similar to a runway model) up and down the beach  just slowly waving and moving her arms up and down.  This year though, she is doing it with weights.  The 2nd photo of her tells all.
And, of course, more flowers and Marco Island sunsets and a moon rise and moon set.

Dinner and margaritas at Nacho Mamas on Marco Island.

The next 4 photos.

A walking dredge. This was used in the 1920's to make US 41 (or locally known as the Tamiami Trail). It goes from Tampa to Miami).

A salt marsh.

A mangrove taken from a boat dock.

Lunch in the Park. We decided to take a walk on one of the trails when we were done. We got about 200' down the path when the mosquitoes began their aerial attack.  Both of us were covered with them.  Caroline said I had 50 - 60 of them on by back alone.  Actually, it was the only time in the 2 weeks that any bugs bothered us.

It does rain hard in paradise.  This is looking east.  You cansee this view rain-free in my last post (2nd to last photo).

Can't see very far. I got soaked the few seconds it took to take this.

The storm is passing.

By noon you would have never known how nasty it was in the morning.  It kicked the water up enough that the kids could actually surf the Gulf.

The next evening, Naples got this thunderstorm (it's about 12 miles north of Marco).

A soft shell turtle making a nest along side a road in the Everglades NP (and next 4 photos). It was about a foot long.

A family of Sandhill Cranes. The male is just over 3' from head to tail and has a wingspan of just over 5'.

A Limpkin.  It is just over 2' from head to tail and has a wingspan of just over3'. Is it a crane, an ibis, aspoonbill ?  From what I have read ,they don't seem to know for sure.

If you look in the water between the lily pads and the tall grass, you will see about 10 baby alligators.

You lookin' at me ??

Frank Mackle Community Park.  A small (maybe 75' wide by 300' long) tribute to one the the 3 brothers who were instrumental in developing Marco Island back in the early 60's.

An Eastern Lubber grasshopper.  This is a youngster.

This is an adult.  The youngster is about 1 1/2" long and the adult about 2".

A Five-lined Skink.  It was about 5" long.

Here's our man !  I just realized that the way I took the photo makes it look like he is wearing a short skirt. Be assured that it is a man's bathing suit.

Another 'outfit.'

Here's my girl !! It drives Caroline crazy when I say that. Yes, we believe there has been a little plastic surgery done on top...

One day we took a walk to the end of the beach... and there she was.  At first we couldn't tell what she had in her hand.  Then, when she raised her arm, we realized it was a crystal about the size of a tennis ball. As shewas raising it, she would look up to the sky as if to say - 'Hear me, oh Sungod....

Don't know what this is.  I found a website that had 134 photos of Florida wildflowers.  Was this one in it - of course not ! It was about a foot tall (I got an e-mail on July 18th from a friend of mine, Anne, who found out what this flower is: Bushy Seaside Oxeye).,

Another airplant.  This one is a Tillandsia, a relative of Spanish Moss.

A close-up. You can just see blue flowers emerging from the tips.

A passion flower.  This was not in the wild, but in abutterfly garden at Rookery Bay. It's about 3" across.

A Southern Elderberry bush.  It grows to about 10' to 12' feet.  This flower is about 5' wide.

Full moon rising.

A moon set.

A cloudless sunset.  Clouds usually make sunsets more interesting, but there is something very peaceful about this one.

The sun has not set yet.  It is just about to sink down below the cloud bank.  The small orange line on the horizon is the reflection from the sun.

Marco Island/Out and about in SW Florida - Part 1

We were at Marco Island for 9 weeks a year and a half ago.  We liked it so much, we came back, but just for 2 weeks.
After getting settled in, we started wandering around SW Florida.  We confined ourselves mainly to what was along US 41, which runs past Marco Island and continues on to Miami. We went about 35 miles (about another 50 miles to Miami).  Our first stop was a wayside park that straddles a canal that usually has alligators.  It did.
Next was Kirby Storter Roadside Park.  It's small, only about 12 acres, but has a nice 2,000' foot boardwalk walk into a cypress swamp/forest.  We found out after the fact that a momma gator had about 12 babies within the park, but it had dried up about 2 weeks ago and she moved on. Only saw gator tracks. Oh well !!
Next stop was the Big Cypress National Preserve.  We heard there were a lot of gators there - and there was: we counted 60.
Our last stop was the Fakahatchee Stand Preserve State Park.  They have a one mile round trip walk, also in a cypress swamp.  Last time, we got up close and personal with a red shouldered hawk, but not this time (see my 10-22-2009 blog - 'We had a Visitor').  We did see 2 alligators wallowing in mud and a venue of black vultures while driving around the park.
And, of course, some Marco Island sunsets and sunrise and some flowers.

We are on the 6th floor in one of the middle units.  Kind of boring looking, but it suits our purpose.

The beach looking north.  The building with the red roof just to the middle left is where we were 1 1/2 years ago (has it been that long already ??!!)

Caught some kite surfers at the end of the day.

Tractor man. At least once a week he smooths out the entire beach, which is just over 2 miles long.  It does look nice after he's done.

Happy hour !!  Facing west does have itsadvantages, such as nice sunsets,  but it can also be quite hot,hence,  the umbrella.

A Marco Island sunset.

Alligators at the wayside park. They were maybe 6' - 7' long.

Gator tracks at Kirby Storter.  The line between the footprints is from its tail.(it is within the Big Cypress National Preserve).(next 4 also taken there).

An air plant.   This particular one is a wild pineand a member of the pineapple family. The long red stem is actually the flower; it is about 10' long.

Cypress trees.  By this time of the year there should be at least a foot of water, but south Florida is currently in a drought.

Another hiding place for gnomes !!

A cypress forest.

There are 15 here.

At least a 10 footer. The other 2 are even bigger.

Straight in parking only !

The one at the top had to go somewhere else for his parking space.

Green heron: about 17" long.

A venue of black vultures (yes, I had to look up what a 'flock' of vultures are called).This was at the State Park.

Wild daisy.

The flower of a button bush.   The bush can get up to 12' tall.  The long rods (stamins) coming out are individual flowers.  The 'ball' is about 1.5" across.

A Marco Island sunrise from the 17th floor.

Another Marco Island sunset.  Since it was lightning, thundering and raining, I knew there would be no good sunset that night (Wed. 11th).  I just happened to look out and saw the sun peeking through.  Yes, the sun wasactually the magenta color you see.