02 Spring

Thursday, April 19, 2012
Bahia Honda, Florida, United States

After returning from Istanbul, I had my first trip to Bahia Honda, the jewel of the Florida Keys . We tent camped on the gulf side and enjoyed great sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico. While on our way to the “No Name Pub” on Big Pine Key, I got to see my first Key (Lime) Deer – they are cute and small. On our last night, we weathered a huge spectacular thunderstorm and got soaked in the ageing North Face tent (another broken pole plus leaky fly) – my birthday is arriving soon for a three-man replacement.

Lots of going away parties as the Everglades National Park is handed over to the mosquitoes and pythons during the rainy season. Also visited Cindy's grand-daughter in Tampa before heading north.

On the trip back we stopped on a mountain in North Carolina on the edge of the Smoky National Park; the “cabin” views Cold Mountain but both the fully loaded truck and Cindy's Subaru did not appreciate the really steep roadways and driveway to get there. But a great day and a half of trudging in the woods admiring wildflowers and flowering Dogwoods plus visiting the farm in the Smoky National Park near Cherokee .

The rest of the trip was fighting wind that drained the gas tank before arriving back in Toronto. Renewal of passports is the top priority before heading for Wisconsin to help Cindy build a cottage shell and attending kids weddings... I'll report on those later...

Links:
http://www.floridastateparks.org/bahiahonda/ 
http://teens4oceans.org/cam-bahia-honda.htm

SPOT:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=24.66184,-81.27228&ll=24.66184,-81.27228&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1


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