ECO Park in Cape Coral, FL

Today SuzieQ and I went to ECO Park in Cape Coral, FL for a walk. We walked a total of 2.25 miles at the park covering all the boardwalk that is there. The weather was cool, 76 degrees, so the walk was a very pleasant one. When it gets warmer in the summer time this walk can be filled with mosquitoes and other bugs, but today it was quite nice.

The park is located behind the Coralwood Shopping Center on Del Prado Blvd. in Cape Coral. Vetran’s Pkwy. runs right beside the park, and when you first enter the park, there is a duplicate of the Iwo Jima statue with the marines raising the flag. There is also commemorative plaque for the marines that died at Chosin in Korea.

As we walked along the path it went from gravel to boardwalk. Once the boardwalk started, we arrived at the first dock that extends out into the Caloosahatchee River. There is a canopy of  mangroves overhanging most of the boardwalk.

The next thing we came to as we walked along the boardwalk was the 4 Mile Cove. In the cove there are three Canoe Shelters, one on either side, and one out toward the mouth of the Cover where it flows into the Caloosahatchee River. Sometimes we see water birds perching in the mangroves around the Cover, but today the mangroves were barren.

From the 4 Mile Cove we walked north and found the Lost Pond. We really couldn’t see much through the mangroves, just a glimmer of the pond.

From there, the last leg of the walk was back to the parking lot and the truck. It was a nice walk for a Sunday afternoon. There are other walks I prefer in our area, but most of them are farther away and more inconvenient to get to. So we settled for ECO Park on this Sunday afternoon. We still got a nice walk in.

Corkscrew Wildlife Sanctuary

Yesterday, SuzieQ and I decided to take a walk through Corkscrew Wildlife Sanctuary. We are members of “Friends of Corkscrew,” and we can go through for free whenever we wish to. The cost of our membership was $50, and I believe that the regular entrance fee is $10 per adult so we only have to make three trips in a year to make the membership pay for itself. In addition, with our membership comes the privilege of taking any children, grandchildren, or grandparents through the Sanctuary for free along with us.

This is one of our favorite spots in SW Florida. Travel down I-75 until you reach the Immokalee Rd, County Rd. 846 exit. Go east on Immokalee Rd. for about 15 miles and turn left onto Sanctuary Road. Take Sanctuary Road to its end and you will arrive at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary which is owned by the Audubon Society. It is a great place for a walk. The boardwalk is a circle that runs 2.5 miles through the Pine Hammocks and Cypress Swamp and passes ponds and marshy areas where there is plenty of wildlife.

Yesterday for instance, we started out by seeing a painted bunting that was near the beginning of the boardwalk. The sanctuary has a birdfeeder set out that is surrounded by a cage so only small birds can get into it. The cage protects the seed from scavengers such as squirrels, black bears, and larger birds.

As we continued down the walk we ran into a group of Red-Bellied Woodpeckers which were feeding off of red berries growing in the swamp. I believe that these were probably Brazillian Pepper berries as they were too tall and tree-like for Saw Palmetto, and the leaves weren’t shaped right for Holly Berries.

This particular guy was hanging upside down eating the berries. He feasted for as long as we stood and watched and was still eating when we left him.

We also saw a number of White Ibis wading through the swamp searching for lunch. Here is a picture of one of the Ibis that we saw. He was wading through the swamp and feeding on aquatic life in the water. It is amazing how accurate these birds are in catching their prey; they rarely miss.

Another sight which tourists can’t seem to get enough of is the alligators. Yesterday there were a number of pretty good sized alligators sunbathing in the swamp. They get onto a hammock that has a little sun and lay there basking in the warmth. Since they are reptiles, I would assume that they are like snakes in this regard. They are cold-blooded creatures and need the sun to warm themselves. On one hammock there were two ‘gators which were lying together bathing in the sun; one with his head lying on the other’s back. As I already indicated, this 2.5 mile boardwalk is one of my favorite hikes in all of SW Florida. If you want to observe Florida wildlife in its natural setting this is the place to go.

Cabin Fever

From the house to the truck. From the truck to the classroom. From the classroom to the truck. From the truck to the house. For a whole week. By this past Saturday, I was going nuts. I needed to get out, but it was 39 degrees outside, a cold drizzle falling, and quite windy. Obviously a bike ride was out of the question. That is my mainstay for exercise outside, but this day it was not to be.

I decided instead to take a walk. I pulled on wool hiking socks, sweatpants, t-shirt, and a chamois flannel shirt. Then I got out a brand new FroggTogg outfit I bought in August in case I got caught in the rain on my bicycle. I donned the rainsuit, and then pulled on my hiking boots. After putting on my earmuffs and pulling up the hood on my FroggToggs, I headed out for the walk.

I started passing summer mile-markers. At the one mile mark, I thought, “I could turn around now and I would have two miles in.” But no, I had to keep going. I had to cross four bridges that crossed canals. Each time it proved that the cold drizzle was still coming down. Finally I made it to Chiquita Blvd. which is 2.2 miles from my house. I turned around and headed home. There were still water drops in the canals under each bridge.

I made the 4.4 miles at an 18.2 mph pace which is slow for me. However, I figured that was a pretty darn good time with all the clothes I was wearing, especially the FroggToggs. And as I pulled off the walking clothes, I discovered that I was damp underneath, but not from the rain. I had done a pretty good sweat from my exercise.

Oh, yes, I chose not to ride my bike Saturday. The only person I passed on my walk was a bike rider wearing winter bike clothes. I felt like we had much in common. I wished as I saw him that I had winter biking clothes.

Christmas Eve Post

It is Christmas Eve, and the gift that I want to share with you today is one of my very favorite rides of all time. My wife and I have made this ride for the last three consecutive years. Not one that you will run right out and do today, it is the Cade’s Cove Loop in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We go to the Smokies every year with our 5th Wheel Trailer and meet up with my wife’s father and mother, brother-in-law and sister. It is always a wonderful time of fellowship, but when they have left, we take our bikes to Cades Cove and do this ride.

One of the nice things about the Cades Cove ride is that you can go on Wednesday and Saturday morning from dawn to 10:00 A.M. and there are NO automobiles. The Loop is only for bikers and walkers from dawn until 10:00.

The ride, itself, is an 11 mile loop that is moderately strenuous. I would strongly suggest you do some riding before you take this loop to build up your strength and endurance. It is up and down and round and round. Lots of hills and curves, but that is one of the things that make this ride a pleasure. There are two slopes that are so steep that the park rangers encourage you to get off your bike and walk down the hill. Unless there is a park ranger standing right there making me get off, I usually coast down the hill with some restraint with occasional pumping of the brakes to slow my descent. The second one makes a curve to the left at the bottom, so you have to be careful of that.

There are also some great climbs to be made along the way. This past summer, I decided to try to make all of them without getting off to walk, and I almost made it. On the last big hill, I got 3/4 of the way to the top and finally decided that I was going to have to walk the rest of the way. This eleven mile ride will really give you a nice workout.

Now on to the real reason for taking this bike ride. This ride is all about the wildlife you see as you ride the Loop. Starting with a green meadow on the left just as you leave the parking lot, there are always wild turkeys in the grassy field. Sometimes there are also horses grazing there, but they apparently do not scare away the turkeys which are ever-present. They must know that they are safe there.

We always see  deer as we ride through the park. This past year there was a whole herd of deer being led by a buck with a nice rack. We have also seen wild boar, black bears, racoon, red squirrels, chipmunks, among other mammals. We also saw a pileated woodpecker this past year.

One word about the black bears. Generally they are pretty safe, but keep in mind that they can be deadly. NEVER come between a sow and her cubs. And the rule of thumb is, “if your presence changes the wild animal’s behavior, you are TOO CLOSE.” This past year we were riding our bikes through the Loop, and we saw a group of people gathered on the roadway next to a thicket of berries. When we approached, one of the people told us that there was a bear in the thicket eating berries. At first we couldn’t see Blackie, but then he came to the edge of the berry thicket and we got a nice look at him.

Finally one of the women in the group climbed over the barbed-wire fence and approached the bear to get a better shot with her point-and-shoot digital camera. Just about that time a park ranger came along, shooed her out, and made ALL of us leave the area. Thanks, lady, for ruining it for everyone.

In addition to the wildlife, Cades Cove Loop is a tour of a historical Tennessee community from the 19th Century. There are old homes, barns, mills, and churches to be toured. Among my favorites are the old grist mill and the cantilevered barn.

I can’t recommend this trip strongly enough. If you are going to the Smoky Mountain National Park, you have to take the bike ride through the Cade’s Cove Loop. If you don’t take your bikes on vacation with you, there are bike rentals at a store in Cades Cove, so that is no excuse. Enjoy the ride.

Safety First

Maiden voyage on my new Trek 7200 Hybrid bicycle. Rides great. Creeping slowly toward a red light hoping it will change as I near the end of my first ride. Oops! Forgot I had the dealer install toe clips on the pedals. First time I have ever used them! Crash. I’m on the ground with a knee scrape and my head vibrating against the blacktop. Good thing I’m wearing my helmet.

Yes, I’m a “safety first” guy. I never ride without wearing my helmet. Here are a few statistics about why I never leave home without my helmet. According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, 540,000 cyclists visit the emergency room every hear with injuries. Of those, 67,000 have head injuries and 27,000 are severe enough that they have to be hospitalized.

They go on to say that you are 14 times more likely to be killed in a crash if you are NOT wearing a helmet. Isn’t that a sobering statistic? BHSI says that injuries sustained by riders not wearing helmets cost approximately $81 million each year, and that figure is rising with the cost of health insurance. And finally, the “typical” death is a sober male over the age of 16 not wearing a helmet; riding on a major roadway in an urban area on a summer’s evening. So if you are going to ride, buy a helmet and then WEAR it. It doesn’t do you any good if it is sitting on the shelf at home in the garage.

Hello world!

It is nighttime, and I am sitting in front of the Christmas Tree watching the red, green, yellow, and blue lights blink while the string of bubble lights evoke memories from my childhood over 50 years ago.

As I type I am listening to Kenny Rogers  and Dolly Parton sing, “What A Christmas To Remember.” Under the tree are packages, large ones and small; red packages with green bows, and blue packages with gold bows.

I wonder what Santa Claus has brought for me this year? Will there be a Magic Mouse to go with my iMac?  A new book about composition to help me take better pictures? Or perhaps a new pair of gel-padded bicycle gloves. Anticipation consumes me.

I love the holiday season with all its scents and flavors. I take a sip of “A Cup of Christmas Cheer,” a black-tea blend with a hint of peppermint from Adagio Teas, and breathe deeply to absorb as much of the pine-scent in the air as I can.

And finally, I turn my mind to the task at hand. My first blog. What am I going to say? Not the right time to tell about the Cade’s Cove Loop Ride that we’ve taken each summer for the last three years. Nor is it the right time to describe the Shark Valley Loop through the Everglades that we enjoyed last summer.

No, I will just introduce myself and my blog. I am Dan Walborn, and I am 62 years old. My wife, SuzieQ, and I like to ride our bikes to help us stay fit and healthy. We live in SW Florida, so we are able to ride all year long, and we have some pretty interesting nature rides that we love to take. At some point I will share our Cade’s Cove Loop through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and the Shark Valley Loop through the Everglades, along with the Loop through Ding Darling Wildlife Sanctuary on Sanibel Island.

Also, one that we haven’t taken yet, but are looking forward to, is the Rails-to-Trails ride down the Florida Keys starting at Key Largo and riding all the way to Marathon. All of our rides are scenic nature tours that SuzieQ and I love to take. They will include descriptions and photos. I hope that you will come and spend some time with me as we take our trips.