8 February 2017 Fakahatchee

Today was the day I developed a little more respect for the Dodge Journey we were renting. After driving the vehicle through the roads of Fakahatchee Swamp, I still didn't like the vehicle, but the gas guzzler had finally earned my respect. We hoped for a big day of caching here. There were multiple caches which seemed like great adventures. As we made our way in, we quickly realized that hiking the trail would be much easier than navigating the roadway. We eventually made it to K2 and the start of our journey on foot. We started at a rest area for hikers. We weren't going far enough to need a rest, but the station was an interesting sight along the trail

You are never very far from an alligator, and their reflexes are much faster than a human's so these trails are places to absorb the beauty while not forgetting the tremendous power that may be lurking nearby.

The trail includes a few boards to pass over to keep dry. I doubt the are of value for much of the season, but the water was low today.

If you want to feel as though you are one with the swamp, K2 is the trail to choose. One step to either side will often place you in water.

Birds are hard to spot along the trail and even more difficult to capture in an image as they move through the growth. I got lucky with a couple. It helped that they were a little bigger than most birds. ;)

It was an awesome place to hunt a geocache.

After we left K2 we knew our window for caches was one. Everything else would need to wait for another visit. Ali picked a couple-mile hike along Tramway Trail. It was an excellent choice.

The water was a little bit low compared to what other cachers wrote in their logs. Even with low water, you know they are back there.... and they are hungry. :)

The tramway was built to support old citrus groves. Some of the remaining trees still produce fruit along the tramway.

We weren't able to determine from which tree these dropped, but they are large, hard, and make some noise when they fall.

We spotted a few butterflies including white peacocks and zerba longwings. I was finally able to capture a weak image of a ruddy daggerwing which flew along the trail with us for a bit.

We also spotted a few birds.

Sometimes you can barely see their head, but they are there...

On our way out of Fakahatchee we stopped by the water near the offices for a last quick find. We were pleasantly surprised for a few more bird sightings in the area.

Our last stop of the evening was the Big Cyprus Bend Boardwalk. We stopped for a cache, but were happy with all the views.

This was a great view of a strangler fig which has successfully killed a cyprus.

Unknown bird with a very large beak

It was hard to grab a good image of the night heron Ali spotted in the trees, but it was a first for us seeing this bird. I wish we had seen more.