For photos: http://willemcoetzee.blogspot.com/2014/02/fotos-14.html
Flamingo, Oh Flamingo. So, we were on the menu instead!
Flamingo, Oh Flamingo. So, we were on the menu instead!
Right at the
southern tip of the Everglades, this is a remarkable place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everglades
The slow
southward draining of a river from Lake Okeechobee, extending 60 miles wide
over a virtually horizontal plain well in excess of a hundred miles long and for
thousands of years, resulted in a unique eco system.
The
explosive population growth in Florida (https://www.google.com/search?q=florida+population+growth&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=DUfyUvaBFoO_kQfJh4HQCQ&ved=0CCcQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=614)
raised questions about water resources and land management that impact
the Everglades and resulted in conservation measures to restore and secure the
future of the diversity of fauna and flora. This in turn gave rise to the
Everglades National Park http://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/flamcamp.htm
and https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Everglades+National+Park,+Flamingo,+Monroe,+FL&hl=en&sll=40.788014,-77.852571&sspn=0.071094,0.181961&oq=flamingo+everglades&t=h&hnear=Flamingo,+Monroe,+Florida&z=15
Some of the
water that used to drain down the Everglades from Okeechobee (and could take
years to reach the southern bay) is now channeled to the demanding urban
developments on the Florida shores, and challenges to resource management will
not get smaller. In addition, the area is very much hurricane prone and
evidence of the impact on Flamingo is most obvious. Structural damage to
buildings resulted in shrunken facilities and services but the recreational
fishing attractiveness of the area assured that two marinas remain functional
and plans are on the drawing board to rebuild and restore some of its splendor.
But between plans
and final results seem to stand the realities of recreational demands of modern
day tourists and curtailing the appetite of insects – even in winter. We discovered that Flamingo is known as the
Mosquito Capital of the USA! They and the inevitable no-see-ums got a good bite
out of us, with Willem at the top of their menu; due to his O- blood group,
perhaps? ( http://www.ibtimes.com/mosquitoes-do-bite-some-people-more-others-here-are-traits-bloodsuckers-1353645
). Had it not been for that, we could
probably have stayed longer, hiked more and got more fishing done. Especially
with the outstanding weather we enjoyed, although it took at least two days to
recover from exposure between outings! The fact of the matter is that
challenging the insect menace would interfere with the non-human component of
the food chain, which brings one back to the challenge of raising funds for maintaining
this remarkable heritage site. For us, we could leave our lovely camp site and escape
to Miami for a day trip and celebration dinner of Fickie and Stella’s 45th
wedding anniversary. The architecture is amazing, including the extensive Art
Deco, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Deco, representation, so reminiscent of
the area in South Africa where Willem and Stella grew up on the Reef – the
Witwatersrand.
Then we took
off for Koreshan and on the way marveled at the abundant agricultural activities.
Vegetable and fruit production – especially tropical and semi-tropical -- were
astonishing and we received quite an education at a produce stall on the edge
of the Everglades. Clearly, if a limit did not exist on land development,
Southern Florida could satisfy US needs and harm many South American and other
producers! It is interesting how
ecological awareness in Florida results in providing livelihood very far
afield. We once heard that although bananas are the primary consumed fruit in
the US, no commercial production is done inside of the States!
We crossed
Florida via Route 41, which reach the Gulf Coast south of Naples. And from
there to our destination at Estero, south of Fort Meyers, we surely were surprised
by the extremely well developed area which was suggestive of prosperity not yielding
ground to anything we’ve seen on the Atlantic Coast of Florida.
A surprisingly
splendid camp site was awaiting us at Koreshan State Park. Although the site entrance
at first seemed rather narrow, we backed into it rather easily and after
adjusting for leveling and the length of our electric supply cable, the
slide-outs came out nicely with room to spare.
We stabilized the rig, uncoupled the truck and set up camp -- down to
spreading the ground covering and positioning the very heavy picnic table right
on it. However, when we were ready to sit back with cold ones it turned out
that the awning fell short of full extension by about a foot due to a mere few
inches of the trunk of a coconut palm tree! It showed how concentrating on
numerous factors while fitting into a tight spot, could leave one variable
unattended and unprojected. We figured we could live with that and would just retract
the awning if rain became a factor, to prevent water from running toward the
rig. Going through the hookup procedure for 3 inches seemed too much
interference with enjoying sundowners after a busy day!
This State
Park http://www.floridastateparks.org/koreshan/default.cfm is located on a site with historical
significance: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koreshanity. An additional summary is provided
by http://www.religionnewsblog.com/4479/just-who-were-the-koreshans . At first we thought about putting
our boat into the Estero River and heading toward the bay, some miles away, but
were uncertain that it would be suitable for a motorized vessel. We thus
decided to pursue other cultural attractions, such as the Naples Art Museum http://artisnaples.org/baker-museum and the winter retreats of Thomas
Edison and Henry Ford in Fort Meyers http://www.edisonfordwinterestates.org/ . Willem dropped Susan off at the
former and we other three proceeded to Fort Meyers.
The winter
estates were a big surprise to us. The site provides a very comprehensive view
of the early blending of science, engineering and technology in the hands of
evolving industrialists that impacted civilization so drastically since a mere
century ago. But even equally informative is the glimpse into the lives of
these monumental personalities: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford . We were unaware of the close
relationship between these men and also of their botanical research and keen
cultural interests in various arts; even having demonstrated music skills worth
mentioning. The location of the venue on the Caloosahatchee River at the bay is
breath taking and their experimental work on various plants to find cultivars
for rubber production and bamboo varieties for filaments in the lighting
industry, left the tangible evidence to this day in the lovely gardens
surrounding the buildings. Also, Edison’s introducing palms to Fort Meyers left
a mark extending all over Florida. In addition, the museum and
workshop/laboratory are very detailed and one could spend days working through
the wealth of materials on display. These significant dots connect with the
Industrial Revolution and further forward with the dots of Alfred Loomis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Lee_Loomis and those of the era bridging to the expansion
of Government into high science and technology in the USA. This, in turn
launched the research university role in society and its politico-financial
impact, generating dots that draw a picture right up to today’s
generation. The winter estates were
surely a highpoint of our trip to date!
Susan’s
report on the Baker Museum highlighted the Duchamp Family of Artists exhibition
http://artisnaples.org/museum/duchamp-family , the Collection of the Dahesh
Museum of Art: Rediscovering Egypt http://artisnaples.org/museum/rediscovering-egypt
and the sculpture exhibit of works by Hanneke Beaumont http://contessagallery.com/artist/Hanneke_Beaumont/works/list/
.
In addition, Fickie and Stella encountered several artists painting
various scenes within Koreshan Park and seemingly meeting regularly on
Wednesdays for lunch. The work of Al
Marcenkus complemented his pleasant personality: www.almarcenkusart.com .
A day trip
to explore some of the beaches in the area took us via Fort Meyers Beach to
Sanibel Island. Once again, the bridges were impressive; the beaches and
traffic less so and at the end of the day we were happy to have it behind us
but glad that we nevertheless didn’t miss out on those sites. Massive late
afternoon sandwiches we enjoyed at Sanibel, obviated the need for dinner that
evening.
And before
leaving the area we did tour the Koreshan settlement. The overall impression
was of the power of human attraction universally to ideological absolutes and
what it took to pop the Koreshan bubble: Neil Armstrong’s reaching and walking
on the moon, according to one of the last members at the time. By then very few
members remained. But in Edison’s time the Koreshans were well known for the
high value placed on education, the arts and music in particular. To this day
the hall with the Steinway piano used in music concerts attended by the Edison
and Ford families remain in place and in use. Also, the bamboo, palm and other
plants donated by Edison to the Koreshans grace the property. We are not aware
of any opinion expressed by these industrialist giants on the scientific merits
of the group’s belief system, although they certainly had opinions about
religion. Maintaining the settlement is
commendable, though, and visiting it, rather informative.
Our last
evening was punctuated by Alligator Ed’s canoe rounding the river bend as we
were appreciating the serenity of the place. Fickie and Stella had a previous
encounter with this true adventurer who claimed interaction with the likes of
the African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and Catherine Hepburn, and once
captaining the Queen for the then owner, Jim Hendricks, at Key Largo, Florida http://www.africanqueenflkeys.com/! And that evening Ed delivered
documentary evidence about it all for Fickie to keep!
The next
morning we left for Manatee River State Park, south of Tampa.
