Well, hello ya’ll. We know its been a long time since we've written a new chapter in our travels, but life has been busy! We are 4 months into our workamping stint down here in Florida. It was a really long trip from Utah to here!

We got to Denver from Utah just in time to have a family pumpkin carving party and go to Halloween parties at Kalyn and Allie’s school. Kalyn is in 6^th grade this year and Allie started kindergarten. Can you believe it?! Time just flies by. We hung out in Golden for a week or so and did a major remodel on the entertainment system in the coach, replacing the 24” heavy analog TV with a new HD 32” flat screen. Jim did a beautiful job redesigning the cabinet and making the door so as a reward he got a PS3 gaming system! He has never played a video game until now…at age 64, go figure!  His 1^st game wasn’t a war game but Uncharted 3 kind of an Indiana Jones meets James Bond.  Plus he got Madden 13 for X-mas... LOL.  Our 1^st Blu Ray purchase was Avatar (amazing special effects).

We stopped at Judy’s (Jim’s sister in Dallas, TX.) on the way to Florida and had a great visit with them. They have 2 new puppies, miniature Golden Doodles!  Little balls of energy and way  too cute. We ate at an incredible burger place down there, "Mixed Up Burgers". Best new restaurant of 2012, check out their amazing menu www.mixedupburgers.com.

We  were amazed by the billboards along the way. Besides the ones you would expect from being in the Bible  Belt you saw ones like these:

·         “Out of Control Teenage Boot Camp” –“Parental involvement required” ….REALLY?

·         “Many Highway Deaths Are Caused By Hitting Trees”

·         “A Year Of Cigarettes Could Buy You A New Boat”

·         “Redneck Trailer Sales”

I kid you not! These were right up there on the highway!  Then there’s this one outside of Baton Rouge:

·         “ Baton Rouge—Murder Rate Higher Than Chicago”, why would you put that on a billboard?!

We took 3 days to drive from Dallas. We passed the biggest Bass Pro Shop I have ever seen, with a huge lake. We stopped the 1^st night in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana and ate at “Crazy ‘Bout Crawfish Cajun Café”. Do not ever judge a book (or restaurant) by its cover….WOW….great food especially if you like crawfish, (Bubba Gump eat your heart out). Then we drove the Atchafalaya Basin Causeway, an 18 mile long bridge across the largest swamp in the US. It was beautiful. (Link to Atchafalaya Basin info) We kept seeing signs for the Audubon Golf Trail, thinking it was bird watching while you play golf, but it turns out it is a group of 12 golf courses that were named for John Audubon, and are members  of  the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary for Golf Courses, a program dedicated to protecting the environment and preserving the natural heritage of the game of golf.

We finally got here to Fish Eating Creek which is located in the southern part of the state just west of Lake Okeechobee. It’s pretty rural (15 miles from gas and groceries) but a very cool place none the less! We saw an armadillo (the locals call it possum on the ½ shell) our 1^st night here and the squirrels drive Lucy nuts. She has to be on a leash all the time and doesn't understand why….she thinks she’s being punished but is finally getting used to it! She loves it when we ride our bikes with her on the leash….only took 1 crash for her and Jim to figure out how to do it.

Patty and Allen run the campground (Link to Fisheating Creek Campground), through a concessionaire’s agreement with the Florida Wildlife Commission. They also own Gatorama, (Link to Gatorama) one of the few remaining “original” Florida roadside attractions. Fish Eating Creek  is a wildlife management area and part of Big Cypress Swamp. (Link to Big Cypress Swamp info). We are really blessed to have lived and worked here thru the winter but we’d never be able to survive the summers (humidity and bugs)! The fishing is great and the paddling (canoes and kayaks) is incredible. A typical day paddling includes lots of nature and if bird watching is your passion then this is your heaven. Barr’s Owls (yes they hoot) are regularly seen along with raptors like the Red Tailed Hawk and Osprey. Cranes, Blue Heron, and Kite’s abound along with a colorful array of smaller fare. Weekends are typically busy and even more so on the long holiday weekends.  We regularly sell out every space and will have 700+ people here! 

We've found a nice church in La Belle, Florida (15 miles west) but have to drive to Ft Myers (Gulf Coast) to deposit our checks. We go there once a month or so and take Lucy to the dog beach. She won’t chase a ball but she herds all the other dogs that are chasing them! It is hysterical to watch her.  (Ft Myers Dog Beach info and pix) All the dogs get along and have a great time.  

I flew to Denver for Christmas and had a great time but missed Jim and Lucy and Yaqui something terrible. I won’t do that again! From now on we spend Christmas together.

Okay so we’re now into April and our time here is coming to a close. One of the many things we enjoy about our “gypsy life style” is having time to experience the local culture firsthand.  We were blessed in this regard with meeting a great couple the 1^st day we arrived. Tracy and his wife Emmy have lived most of their lives in this area. They fish, hunt and live off the land as much as possible.  Tracy and Jim became good friends and he’s taught Jim a lot about fishing and hunting in the swamp. There’s a large variety of fresh water game fish available both in the creek and neighboring lakes like bass, crappie, all sorts of pan fish and catfish along with soft shell turtles, gar and bullfrogs. It’s not unusual to see deer, turkey, wild hogs and of course lots of alligators during a day which are available to hunt in season. We've developed a taste for fried turtle, alligator and fish tacos are scrumptious when made with fresh caught blue gill. Oh, and don’t forget the swamp cabbage which is a cabbage like vegetable harvested from what else but “cabbage palms”. (Heart of Palm)

No time spent down here would be complete without actually being in on a gator encounter.  This generally involves “nuisance” gators (as in gators with little fear of people) often because people have thrown food to them, kind of like “Don’t Feed the Bears”.  Rather than bore you with the details involved in capturing a wild 7’ alligator check out the.  Move over Gator Boys, Grandpa and Grandma Gator have arrived.

Here are links to pictures from this amazing place:

Our 1st paddle on the creek
Reflections on the creek
Gators
Turtles
Birds on the creek
Fisheating creek campsites
Tracy and Jim
Gatorama

We plan on heading north this coming week stopping on the way to dive with the Manatee in Crystal River, Florida.  We’ll be spending the summer at a KOA on the Arkansas River in Cotopaxi, CO. We hope to see Fitz, Jack, John and anyone else with a love of fly fishing and know there’s always room at our campfire for the rest of you.

In closing we want to extend a special “thanks” to the crew at L&R Automotive in Arvada, CO. Without you we would not be able to travel with the peace of mind that comes from having a mechanic you can trust.  Also Patty, Allen, Sheri , and all our co-workers at the creek. Through your efforts a very beautiful place is made even more special.

Until next time we leave you with the words to a melody that speaks to this unique  place:

“Where the black water rolls and the saw grass sways, the eagles fly and the otter’s play, so blow, blow Seminole wind, blow across the land of the Seminole, the alligator and the gar”. Songwriter  John D. Anderson.  

Peace be with you……Jim and Becky