Two days ago we left Key
West. Now we are in Clermont, Florida. You have never heard of Clermont, FL?
Shame on you! It is home to the beautiful Lake Louisa State Park and, this time
of year, to thousands of “Love Bugs”.
We actually encountered some
of these bugs a week ago. Today we encountered them again – hoards of them.
They call them “love bugs” because you see them in pairs locked together in
joyous (I assume) copulation. They slam into the truck windshield in this state
the impact not seeming to stop the activity they are involved in. I noticed,
while cleaning them off the front of the trailer, that the dead ones seem to
attract live ones whom, it seemed, did not care that the object of affection
was but a smear on our trailer.
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| Love Bugs meet RV. |
A local told us these bugs
are seen only when they mate and this happens two times a year, in May and
October. We just were lucky with our timing.
Last night we were in
Homestead. Homestead is 130 miles from
Key West. We got an early start so arrived in Homestead at noon.
After setting up we drove as
far as you can drive into the Everglades National Park.
One of our hopes was to see a
Mangrove Cuckoo. We didn’t. We did see a crocodile and lots of other birds but
we have never seen a Mangrove Cuckoo in the United States. Pity, no? We took a
guided boat tour and had a fine time on it. We were the only native English speakers
aboard other than the crew.
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| Brenda enjoying the swamp boat ride. |
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| Mangrove Swamp. |
Another thing we hoped to do
was to enjoy seeing Lake Okeechobee. This huge lake has fascinated me since I was
a kid. The name is cool! I was dying to see it but you can’t. The Army Corp of
Engineers has build a dirt wall between the lake and the highway. We think the
wall must be there to contain the lake which, I suppose, must wonder about
some.
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| Our view of the lakeshore of Lake Okeechobee. Thank you Army Corps of Engineers. |
The Lake Louise State Park
where we are tonight is very nice. It is known for the scenery. This is Florida
hill country. Yes, there are hills in Florida. Except for the land fills there
aren’t tall hills in Florida. The hills here in the State Park must be about as
tall as they get here in Florida. The highest point in Florida is something lie
384 feet. Maybe the park was established to preserve the hills?
There is no such thing as a Mangrove Cuckoo. Just like there is no real Spotless Crake. They are just listed to torment us. I think the Devil does it.
ReplyDeleteThe front of your rig looks like I did years ago after a run in Key West. The bugs were smaller, but just as thickly plastered.
ReplyDelete