Brown Pelicans

We've enjoyed watching the Brown Pelicans that often fly into the mangroves across the little canal in front of where Auntie Violet is parked. They do have webbed feet, but seem to have no problem perching in the trees.

The Brown Pelicans (I know, I know, they are more gray than brown!) are a very large bird, although not as large as their cousins, the American White Pelicans.

 They can weigh up to eight pounds and have a wing span of over six feet --

They look incredibly elegant once in the water, though they are quite clumsy-looking as they land.

 I think this one thought he was on patrol, keeping an eye on the motorhomes along the canal --

We spent most of the morning with Bill and Leslie, just enjoying a last visit before they started on the six hour plus drive back to Orlando. It clouded up early this afternoon and we had a brief rain shower. It was just enough to wet the sidewalk before the sun came back out.

Finally, THE KEYS!

It seems like we've been heading in this direction for a l-o-n-g time and now, we are finally in the Florida Keys! We're a long, long way from Washington State.

We basically drove down Highway 1, which goes all the way from Homestead to Key West, the end of the island chain that makes up the Keys. The mainland portion of the highway skirts Everglades National Park and is very swampy --

As you get further down the Keys, the highway is a two-lane road with a blue concrete barrier down the center line. (I have a feeling that there used to be head-on crashes from impatient drivers...) The Atlantic Ocean was on our left and the Gulf of Mexico was on the right -- as we crossed the many bridges we could see them both at the same time.

The battery on my camera went dead, so I didn't get any more pictures until we got to Sugarloaf Key where the KOA is located. Believe it or not, these are residents of the RV Resort --

 I think we spotted three roosters and the one lone hen strutting in and out among the RVs --

It was getting towards dusk when we went for a walk around the park. This Brown Pelican flew into the mangroves to roost --

I almost missed getting a shot of this one, beginning to show breeding colors on the head.

This is the swimming area at the park --

And here's one more Brown Pelican (the American White Pelican is not on this coast) sitting on the bridge --

A Trip to the Gulf

This afternoon we drove down Highway 231 towards the Panama City beaches. We had picked up a brochure at the Florida Welcome Center that told about the nature trails at St. Andrews State Park, so we went to check it out. The area is full of palmetto thickets and a mixture of pine and deciduous trees --

We drove into the park and down to the jetty where we spotted these two Brown Pelicans resting on the rocks --

This Great Blue Heron was standing in the shallows, patiently waiting for a fish --

A Great Egret flew in to the edge of the rocks --

Then waded in closer to shore. It was not the least bit concerned about me standing there --

There was a very nice new boardwalk that went out to Alligator Lake. It was chilly and we saw no alligators, but watched several herons and egrets fly in to roost for the night on the opposite side.
 

This incredibly white sand is said to be quartz washed in from the Appalachian Mountains?

We saw this Northern Mockingbird and several of his family watching all of the park activity --

As we were driving back to Pine Lake RV Park, we watched the clouds turn all shades of pink in front of the almost full rising moon --

It was a nice afternoon, but we want to come back and spend more time exploring this beautiful park.