Escaping the Party
Last night was like attending the all-night version of tailgate partying. The music pumped and the beer bottles clanked into the wee hours. We made our escape right after breakfast. We were heading to Fisheating Creek WMA today with a stop for groceries. We stopped at the local Publix Market at the south end of Sebring. It had been a while since we shopped and we running low on essentials such as potato chips and ice cream. Actually, it was sandwich fixings, vegetables, fruits, juice, seltzer, paper towels, etc. The chips and ice cream were just extras. The larders are now quite full, but we'll make one more stop before the Everglades in a couple of days. There's a Whole Foods on the way. Publix is a pretty good chain of supermarkets and seems to be the big one here in Florida. We particularly like the fact that the carry Boars Head deli products (and they always offer a sample when they are slicing your selection). We have sandwiches for lunch more than the average when we are on the road.
As we were packing the groceries into Speedy we were greeted by a lone cattle egret walking through the parking lot toward the store. Either he was a little lost or had been told Publix was a place to find good beef.
Anecdote two: Yesterday, Ellen driving along and saw a billboard proclaiming "Eat More Beef" with cattle grazing right under it. She hoped they couldn't read it. She has been reading Simon Winchester's Professor and the Madman. It is about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. Evidently, the professor in the book, compiler of the dictionary, attempted to teach his cows Latin. My thought was even if the cows could read Latin, the billboard was in English.
As we were packing the groceries into Speedy we were greeted by a lone cattle egret walking through the parking lot toward the store. Either he was a little lost or had been told Publix was a place to find good beef.
Anecdote two: Yesterday, Ellen driving along and saw a billboard proclaiming "Eat More Beef" with cattle grazing right under it. She hoped they couldn't read it. She has been reading Simon Winchester's Professor and the Madman. It is about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. Evidently, the professor in the book, compiler of the dictionary, attempted to teach his cows Latin. My thought was even if the cows could read Latin, the billboard was in English.
The Map
View Lake Placid to Fisheating Creek WMA in a larger map
The Ride
Today's ride was of the same format as yesterday. Ellen dropped me off at the intersection of Old State Route 8, just south of Lake Placid. I setup the bike, took some snacks and she drove off into the sun, down US 27 to Fisheating Creek. I rode southwest on Old State Route 8—downwind today. It is a much better road than yesterday's "Old" road. It started out in orange grove country, soon changed to cattle grazing land and a very large conservation area, the Archbold Biological Station.
While passing the orange groves, I noticed several stacks of beehives at the ends of the groves. They looked pretty active, with lots of bees coming and going. Given the number of oranges that grow on each tree, many bees are kept busy pollinating the groves
It was in this area, that I ran into a couple of groups of vultures. There were a bunch on the ground next to the road, but before I could get close, a passing pickup truck caused them to scatter. I didn't see any carrion as I passed the spot where they had been, but they were all roosting in a nearby tree. These were Black Vultures.
A little further down, I passed a group of vultures feeding on something at the end of a grove. It wasn't oranges, but the carcass of a large bird. I stopped to take a photo, but they moved off. I didn't get any closer to look at the remains.
I had enough trouble identifying the live birds. All along the edge of the Archbold Station, I kept seeing small hawks or falcons sitting on the electric wires. Inevitably, they would fly off just as I stopped. I managed a couple of shots though. There were plenty of other birds, all unidentifed, flying back and forth all along the route—plenty of big mammals, too.
This was definitely cattle country and there were lots grazing. They must have an earlier breeding season here as there were many calves among the herds. They weren't the only animals. There was also a flock of sheep, also with very young lambs with lots of twins in the flock I saw. There were also occasional donkeys and horses, including a fair number miniature ones.
Old State Route 8 ran for about 15 miles ending in the town of Venus (no musing on Venus today). From there it was a short stretch of county road east until I turned onto a real back road, Detjens Dairy Road. It was paved but narrow enough that there was no center line--an absolutely no traffic. It passed through fields with beef cattle, but it looked like whatever dairy operation existed had long passed, given the number of abandoned buildings.
There was one stretch of eight abandoned concrete block ranch houses along the road all lined up in row, with all the windows and doors gone, frames and all. The interiors were gone and the roofs failing. But right in the middle of the abandoned homes was one that was still inhabited, all fixed up, brightly painted with a miniature horse in the yard.
Near the end of the road, I came upon my last herd of cattle. This herd was accompanied by a flock of cattle egrets. Maybe this is where our parking lot egret was headed.
From there my route came out onto US 27, at this point it is a flat four-lane divided highway. I still had nearly seven miles left to ride to Fisheating Creek. Fortunately, there was a decent paved shoulder of bike lane width and it was downwind. The traffic wasn't particularly heavy compared to what we'd seen on this road further north. So I just cranked out those last miles as quickly as possible.
Tomorrow will probably be the last day of riding before we get to the Everglades. I hope to ride a portion of the LOST (Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail), which circumnavigates the lake atop the dike that surrounds it. Much of the trail and dike are under construction, so it won't be straightforward.
While passing the orange groves, I noticed several stacks of beehives at the ends of the groves. They looked pretty active, with lots of bees coming and going. Given the number of oranges that grow on each tree, many bees are kept busy pollinating the groves
It was in this area, that I ran into a couple of groups of vultures. There were a bunch on the ground next to the road, but before I could get close, a passing pickup truck caused them to scatter. I didn't see any carrion as I passed the spot where they had been, but they were all roosting in a nearby tree. These were Black Vultures.
A little further down, I passed a group of vultures feeding on something at the end of a grove. It wasn't oranges, but the carcass of a large bird. I stopped to take a photo, but they moved off. I didn't get any closer to look at the remains.
I had enough trouble identifying the live birds. All along the edge of the Archbold Station, I kept seeing small hawks or falcons sitting on the electric wires. Inevitably, they would fly off just as I stopped. I managed a couple of shots though. There were plenty of other birds, all unidentifed, flying back and forth all along the route—plenty of big mammals, too.
This was definitely cattle country and there were lots grazing. They must have an earlier breeding season here as there were many calves among the herds. They weren't the only animals. There was also a flock of sheep, also with very young lambs with lots of twins in the flock I saw. There were also occasional donkeys and horses, including a fair number miniature ones.
Old State Route 8 ran for about 15 miles ending in the town of Venus (no musing on Venus today). From there it was a short stretch of county road east until I turned onto a real back road, Detjens Dairy Road. It was paved but narrow enough that there was no center line--an absolutely no traffic. It passed through fields with beef cattle, but it looked like whatever dairy operation existed had long passed, given the number of abandoned buildings.
There was one stretch of eight abandoned concrete block ranch houses along the road all lined up in row, with all the windows and doors gone, frames and all. The interiors were gone and the roofs failing. But right in the middle of the abandoned homes was one that was still inhabited, all fixed up, brightly painted with a miniature horse in the yard.
Near the end of the road, I came upon my last herd of cattle. This herd was accompanied by a flock of cattle egrets. Maybe this is where our parking lot egret was headed.
From there my route came out onto US 27, at this point it is a flat four-lane divided highway. I still had nearly seven miles left to ride to Fisheating Creek. Fortunately, there was a decent paved shoulder of bike lane width and it was downwind. The traffic wasn't particularly heavy compared to what we'd seen on this road further north. So I just cranked out those last miles as quickly as possible.
Tomorrow will probably be the last day of riding before we get to the Everglades. I hope to ride a portion of the LOST (Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail), which circumnavigates the lake atop the dike that surrounds it. Much of the trail and dike are under construction, so it won't be straightforward.
Fisheating Creek WMA
Fisheating Creek Wildlife Managment Area is administered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It is an 18,000 acre parcel that runs for about 25 miles along both sides of the creek from the Glades/Highlands County line to Lake Okeechobee. WMAs are primarily strictly-controlled hunting areas. There are 18 hunting periods throughout the year, mostly Spring and Fall, for various types of hunting and various quarry. At Fisheating Creek WMA they issue from 10 to 20 permits for each period. This means that for a given hunt, say the first week of Spring Turkey season, only 15 hunters and a guest are allowed to hunt on the reserve for the entire period.
The campground here is a little different as it is run by a concessionaire, Fisheating Creek Outpost. It is the major entrance to the WMA on its west side and they control the entry. Hunters can enter with their permit, but recreational users have to pay a daily fee. The campground, itself, is fairly large with about 50 full-hookup RV sites and about 80 tent sites. The RV sites are in an open field, with some shade and are fairly close, but nowhere near as tight as last night. The tent sites are more spread out with some of them along the creek and up at a nearby lake. We took a site up at the end of the RV area, next to the tent area and no one is near us.
They take identification and entry permits quite seriously, not only is the campground gated, but each camper had to wear a wristband like you might get at some festivals. It is a little strange.
The campground here is a little different as it is run by a concessionaire, Fisheating Creek Outpost. It is the major entrance to the WMA on its west side and they control the entry. Hunters can enter with their permit, but recreational users have to pay a daily fee. The campground, itself, is fairly large with about 50 full-hookup RV sites and about 80 tent sites. The RV sites are in an open field, with some shade and are fairly close, but nowhere near as tight as last night. The tent sites are more spread out with some of them along the creek and up at a nearby lake. We took a site up at the end of the RV area, next to the tent area and no one is near us.
They take identification and entry permits quite seriously, not only is the campground gated, but each camper had to wear a wristband like you might get at some festivals. It is a little strange.
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