Jim came up with both some blueberry pie and hard boiled eggs this morning. Although we did stock up quite bit for being down here, these supplements are sure nice.
This time we set off all the way back to the entrance of the park, where they have the Ernest Coe Visitor Centre. Here we found more extensive displays about the "River of Grass" and the competing uses of water in South Florida, plus good descriptions and displays about the wild life. The book shop contains dozens of things we would buy if not for the weight, including books on the history of the region, and good stuff for the kids. Here we also found One Minute to Midnight", by Michael Dobbs. This is a current and definitive history of the Cuban missile crisis, recommended by Scott yesterday.
One of the most instructive of the displays showed the extent to which the Everglades have shrunk since 1870, and the now restricted flow of water out of Lake Okeechobee. When we get some better internet, you should find the illustration for this just below:
An illustration of the much reduced Everglades water flow since 1870. The remaining blue bits are the Shark and Taylor Sloughs. We will visit the Shark Valley later, cycling 15 km down into it from the Tamiami Trail.
We experienced quite differing levels of service at this Visitor Centre. On the one hand, we commented to the girl at the book/gift shop about the lack of price tags on very many things. This was met with absolutely supreme indifference. Clearly her high school teaches nothing of consumer rights or consumer theory. On the other hand, Dodie has gotten quite a severe sunburn on her lips. The shop has nothing to offer for this. But Brian, our ranger from yesterday - now on duty behind the desk - came up with his personal stick of SPF 15 lip balm. How's that for helpful!
We shifted now back south a bit, to the Royal Palms centre where we had been yesterday. We had missed out on the short "Gumbo Limbo" trail there yesterday, Once there, we again found no possible mobile data connection. This has plagued us the last few days, something you no doubt have noticed! It caused another type of problem too, since I inadvertedly erased yesterday's report, and of course never had uploaded it. So I sat at Royal Palms and wrote it again, not that I have been able to upload the new version either! We then walked the Gumbo Limbo trail, a pleasant stroll through the raised "hammock", and featuring the "gumbo limbo" trees, of course. What we saw should appear just below, sometime!
This display dealt with all the competing interests in water around the Everglades. The point of view of the homeowner, vacationer, fisherman, farmer, conservationist, and ranger are all presented.
