Still Gravity

C hiking in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico - License our images  here .  This is a big list. No many explanations. You've to figure it out - is not that difficult.  Preparations Dress in layers. Wicking layer: the inner one, it should absorb fluids. Polyester blend or Merino wool. Insulation: synthetic fabrics.  Warm overlay: synthetic.  Weather protection (rain and snow).  Put in daypack:  sunscreen sunglasses multitool tape for friction (blisters) neck gaiter extra warm layer storm layers food & water (peanut butter, butter, and cream cheese give more energy).  first-aid kit emergency tarp map & compass beacon emergency locator/phone bear spray Wear reversed socks. Mountain knowledge UV Radiation increases 10-12% per 1,000 feet elevation.  Atmospheric pressure drops at higher elevations.  Oxygen level drops.  Inland mountains are colder. Windward slopes are rainy; leeward, dryer.  Southern slopes are sunny in the northern hemisphere.  Valleys are colder (cold

Marker for the victims of the Okeechobee Hurricane in Port Mayaca - License our images  here . Biking from DuPuis Wildlife Management Area to Lake Okeechobee, we found this historical marker on the south side of the road. It's at the entrance of the cemetery of Port Mayaca.  The massive hurricane of 1928 also was known as San Felipe Segundo. The storm broke the dikes of the biggest lake in Florida causing many deaths - estimates run between one and three thousand. Many were migrant workers and were buried in a mass grave. The flooding reached up to 20 feet deep in some areas. A monster storm. 

Colorful bus school conversions in a Florida campground - License our images  here . How did school buses start? They began in the Indiana of the 19th century. Wagons pulled by horses - check this pic . The motor models didn't arrive until 1914.  What's the most famous skoolie? Probably Furthur , the 1939 bus of Ken Kesey - the author of  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest . The bus was "the hero" of his cross-country psychedelic trip of 1964.  What's the meaning of "furthur"? Nobody knows.  (The second link in this post is affiliate .)

Parasol mushroom in Florida - License our images  here . Not sure if this is the shaggy parasol or the parasol mushroom. There are three species of shaggy parasol in North America. About the second one - the  Macrolepiota procera -,  many say that there are multiple unclassified species here. Mushrooms are confusing stuff. 

New life over the dead - License our images  here .   Close to the sunset, the bearded man with the cowboy hat pulled a thick Bible and read to his wife and daughter. The ladies listened with a solemn look, all seated under the awning of their camping trailer. Nearby, their three horses appeared interested in the lecture.  Three young campers passed by and, looking at them, smiled with arrogant contempt. Their faces glowed with the "superiority" of "cultured" city dwellers. Neither the reader nor the ladies noticed this.  Seeing this from my campsite, two questions popped in my mind:  Which side has better moral values?  Which side will survive the longest in nature?  Would you bet for the "cultured" idiots or for the traditional rural family? We should respect the different paths in life. A one-sided world is a boring proposition. There is space for everybody.

The Okeechobee Trail on the south shores - License our images  here .         Good access point to hike or ride bikes on the southern shores of the huge Florida lake. The park is well cared. There are restrooms, water, and picnic shelters - also a boat ramp. Paul Rardin Park is between the small cities of Pahokee and Belle Glade. The northern part of the trail is also good, but around Port Mayaca is a dirt road. 

C riding on the dirt trail of the eastern shores of the lake - License our images  here .       The Okeechobee Scenic Trail goes around the lake. Some parts are paved, others, like this one near Port Mayaca, are still a primitive dirt road. We didn't see a soul down there. A windy and gorgeous day in the biggest lake of Florida. Looks like the ocean.  ( Here you can see the northern part of the lake.)

Sunset in the Gulf of Mexico - License our images  here . He was old. Probably in his 70s. Camping alone by a corner of the free campground in an old-fashioned van that showed the wrinkles of time.  From a comfy captain chair and with his stroller parked by the door, the elder looked at the passing world. The dance of life was in full motion around him. But he was still. Killing time. Long gone were the days of protagonism. Now, closer to death, he was just a passive witness.  Looking from my campsite, I couldn't avoid thinking about the story behind the old man. A tale of survivorship? A tale of mistakes and bad luck? Only he knows. But each of us, at the end of our lives, will become the old man of a van.

Coyote footprints in Powerline Grade Road - License our images  here .     The pack left the tracks in the sandy road. Probably the same coyotes that has been howling every night of our camping stay at DuPuis Wildlife Management Area. They are many and we know that there are youngsters.  We also saw a beaver crossing the road and a couple of snakes crushed by vehicles. One was a diamondback. A man was camping along this road.  The straight road in the eastern boundary of the WMA. 

Marker of the Florida Trail through the DuPuis Wildlife Management Area - License our images  here . The trails on the northern side of the WMA are well maintained. We only found water a couple of times. Deeper to the south there was more water and mud.  One of the wet sections of the trail.  We also walked a sandy horse trail that follows a fence. A snake was sun basking on a pole. It dropped fast to the ground and crawled fast to the bushes. No time for a photo. We also crossed path with turkeys. They rushed away.   The Loop Trail.  The Loop Trail starts at the picnic area. Four hiking loops with two primitive campsites along the way.  We took a look of the other campground of DuPuis, the Family Campground. The campsites are

The main road through DuPuis WMA, Florida - License our images  here . A long dirt road travels through the DuPuis Wildlife Management Area. It ends at a lake with a small pier. It took us thirteen miles of bike ride from the equestrian campground - round-trip - for the whole tour. Only one vehicle encounter and a helicopter that flew over us following the road. The pier at the end of the road.  The lake is nice. Two cormorants perched on the trees across the pier while a bunch of butterflies wandered over the grasses. In our previous trip there were picnic shelters here. Now the roofs are gone. Probably one of the hurricanes of Florida. Leftovers from a campfire among the big rocks.   The dilapidated building of the Group Camp.  The

Dry camping for some days in DuPuis, Florida - License our images  here .        Second time dry camping here. Free primitive camping always tastes better. Golden sunsets and days of half-moon tinting the forest in a dull steel gray. Flying bats, coyote howls, concerts of crickets. And how to forget the mighty kitchen of C. Winter peace.