Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation

Next stop was in the northern area of the Everglades. We were struck by the rural nature of the central region of Florida south of Orlando. Miles and miles of open spaces and lakes - even in a period of serious drought. The good news from last hurricane season for Florida is that they were relatively unscathed. The bad news was that the state had well below the quantity of rain needed to replenish the lake areas and the Everglades.


We stayed at a campground between Ft. Myers and the Okeechobee Lake. It was so quiet and peaceful - very welcome respite from our adventures at Disney World and Cape Canaveral. This location gave us the opportunity to camp on the Caloosahatchee river near where it flows out of the huge Lake Okeechobee and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The river, lake and a canal dug east out of the lake create a navigable waterway across south Florida from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. We saw a number of fairly large pleasure boats making their way across the state.


From our campground, we made an easy day trip south into the everglades and visited the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation. Quite the educational adventure, we split our time an Indian run Everglades Eco-Tour and the AH-TAH-THI-KI Museum. The BILLIE Swamp Safari was a replica Seminole village that included animal shows and exhibits as well as a swamp buggy eco-tour that took you into a huge everglades wildlife preserve allowing you to view native and exotic wildlife and vegetation close-up. The tour guide provided lots of information and made the experience interesting and educational. We spent the late afternoon going through the museum. This focused on the history and experience of the Seminole Indians in Florida and was very well done. Much of the information was new for all of us and a great amount covered the time in history that Cory is covering now thereby enhancing his history studies.



Among the many blessings we are experiencing on this journey, we also had a mishap as we were leaving the Cape Canaveral campground. We were amongst beautiful tall trees - but they were very close...too close! Craig had the foresight to have me watch the trees as he pulled the camper out. I did - but failed to warn him in time as the rear slide awning scraped a tree. I called out on the walkie-talkie to him, but it was too late. We not only had scraped the tree, but it was stuck on the awning. Thankfully, two gentlemen came over and provided well seasoned guidance for Craig to back up and get out successfully.


The insurance is going to cover the damage as well as our lodging during repairs. We had planned to visit the Ft. Myers area next and the insurance recommended repair shop was in nearby Port Charlotte. So, here we are in a beautifully located Best Western (which allows pets!) with a view of Charlotte Harbor at the base of the Peace River (see photo) while our camper gets a new awning, body repair, refrigerator vent and rubber roof. We're thankful that the camper wasn't incapacitated and humbled regarding our need to take better precautions. Craig was kind to me in the midst of the chaos - demonstrating his compassion for me more than aggravation and frustration with the damage. He's a good man!







On to Fort Myers/Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte. This is a lovely area and definitely worth a stop. One unexpected perk is that the Blue Angel pilots are staying in this hotel. The Florida Air Show is being held in this area on the weekend and the boys were excited to see the pilots at breakfast this morning! We toured the Edison/Ford Winter Estates yesterday afternoon. Thomas Edison built a beautiful home and surrounding buildings on the bank of the Caloosahatchee River and came here with his new bride in 1886. The grounds are beautiful and the buildings well-preserved. Mrs. Edison 'sold' the property to the City of Fort Myers for $1 in 1947 and the estate is open for visitors year round. Many of the furnishings remain along with exhibits about Edison's ongoing work and experiments. Mr. Edison encouraged Henry Ford to purchase the neighboring property in 1915 and the two maintained a fantastic friendship and business relationship for years afterward. It was amazing to walk the grounds and imagine these innovative giants chatting casually in the beautiful setting!





Today we will work on school assignments and visit the nearby shopping area, Fisherman's Village. We're also watching the Blue Angels practice over our heads and the harbor - spectacular!



Tomorrow we hope that the camper is fixed and ready to go. We plan to head north and inland to an area near Manatee Springs for a few days.