Time TravelIt was April 1692, and Pat and I were walking through the Town Square in the Village of Salem. A man stood on a bench and announced the news of the day. He was interrupted by an officer of the court who explained that there was a warrant out for Bridget Jones because she has been accused of performing witchcraft. He described what she was wearing and soon she was spotted in the crowd. She was taken into custody. Declaring her innocence, she resisted this attempt to apprehend her. I was asked to grab her arm and help control her. I held her tight and escorted her to the courthouse.
Pat and I were asked to be part of the jury for a hearing to see if she should be held for a witchcraft trial. Several of her neighbors came in and provided details on her unusual behavior and her sudden appearances in their house. As jurors, we were able to ask the defendant and the witnesses questions. When the hearing was over, the jury was polled and the jury found that Bridget Jones should be held for trial.
Later we found out that the trial was held and Bridget Jones was found guilty of witchcraft. She became the first person in the US hanged for witchcraft. We both feel safer now that that this witch is off the streets. We hope this counts as our jury duty-it was a wicked good time!
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Monkey BusinessLast month I told you about the alligators and manatees in Florida; now would you believe me if I told you there were wild monkeys there also. Actually most people in Florida and even some people who should know such things (like naturalists and park rangers) are unaware of this fact
Although I’ve been to Central Florida at least a dozen times, I had never visited Silver Springs. Maybe you have never been there either, but I am sure you have seen it. All of the “Sea Hunt” TV shows were filmed there, the first six Tarzan movies, and several scenes from James Bond movies were also filmed there. Also the “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and other jungle/ underwater movies were shot at the Springs. So one day we went there and toured the grounds. We also took three different glass bottom boat rides along different sections of the Sliver River. We floated over the large sink where Silver Spring emerges from the ground.
We learned a lot about the history of the place. It has been a commercial resort 23 years before Walt Disney was born. In the 1930’s Colonel Tooey, a concessionaire who operated the Jungle Cruise boat ride, deposited a boat load of Rhesus Monkeys on a island at the resort. The next day he brought a boat load of tourist to the resort to see his latest attraction. As luck would have it, there was one thing he did not know about these moneys - they were excellent swimmers! When the tourists arrived at the island, the island was deserted. Over the 80+ years since then, the monkeys have appeared over much of east central Florida, but are still mostly in the area where they got off the boat (just like a lot of New Yorkers). We did not see any monkeys that day, although one of our guides said he has seen them on a previous trip that day. Now I really wanted to see them. The next alternative was to canoe up the Silver River and hope that we see them.
We had never canoed the Silver River before because we thought access to the springs was blocked by the resort. We learned this was not the case, so we set out on our quest for the elusive wild monkeys of Sliver Springs. The Silver River, of course, starts at Silver Spring. This is a first magnitude spring, discharging 500 million gallons a day of 71 degree water year-round. This is one of the largest springs in a state full of springs. It took 3 hours of steady paddling to travel the five miles to the springs. On the way up we saw 22 gators, lots of beautiful tropical birds and hundreds of turtles; but not a single monkey! We floated over the spring and saw underwater props from an old James Bond movie. We started our easy paddle back down river. After about two miles we saw a few canoes near shore. They had found a group of about 16 monkeys. A mile downstream, we found another group of 8 monkeys. It made our day! Now the Silver River is our favorite canoe run – in a state of wonderful canoeing spots.
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Trouble in ParadiseWe returned home from our Alaska/Canada trip on Nov. 4 in time to celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary. After a week of getting together with friends and family we flew to the island of Bonaire in the southern Caribbean, east of Aruba. Bonaire is a world renowned diving destination with coral reefs surrounding the island. Eldon and Lois invited us to stay with them in their cottage at Captain Don’s Habitat. This was our third visit to the island. My first order of business was to check on the start up progress of a Biological Nutrient Removal Plant designed by former co-worker Yanjin Liu. I tested some wastewater samples and made a list of process/piping changes. After that, the week was relaxing - we did some snorkeling and enjoyed meals at some old favorite restaurants and found a new one.
Eldon took us on an island tour with a visit to an abandoned lighthouse. After a harrowing climb up a questionable staircase, we had a great view of the island and coast. One activity that we wanted to do there was land sailing. Basically you drive a wind powered cart around a track. We tried to set this up but the wind did not cooperate, so I guess it will have to wait until the next visit.
Still seeking something different to do, I suggested we try night snorkeling. Night diving was popular, so why not try night snorkeling? I rented waterproof flashlights from the dive shop and we were ready to go. Pat, Eldon and I got in the water from the resort’s dock about 9:30 PM on Friday. I was not sure how I would like this, but once in the water, I relaxed and enjoyed seeing sea snakes, several 5 foot long tarpon and lots of tropical fish. After about 20 minutes in the water, I felt a burning sensation on my neck. I turned to see what was there and I saw a jellyfish swimming away. Having been stung by sea nettles in the Chesapeake Bay, I knew that the initial pain would soon go away. I decided not to raise an alarm, but to continue snorkeling. Instead of dissipating, the pain increased. I called Pat over to see if I had tentacles stuck to my neck. She could not see anything there. Eldon asked what the problem was and decided we should all go back to the dock. Fortunately the dock was not far away because I was having trouble swimming due to the pain which had traveled down my left leg. I got my flippers off and staggered up to the bar area and sat down. Pat went to get meat tenderizer from the restaurant. The pain was intense and I was cold and wet. I had uncontrollable shaking and sweating.
The resort manager, Jack Chalk, recognized the symptoms right away and called for an ambulance. He said I had been stung twice by a sea wasp, a.k.a. a box jellyfish. Pat returned with vinegar which was applied to my neck. I was wrapped in towels to keep warm. I remember Jack yelling the words "Where's my damn ambulance" into his phone mike when it seemed the EMS should have been there already. Once they got there, Lois, who is a nurse, was on top of the situation the whole time, making sure that things got done right.
The EMS team finally came and took my vitals. My BP was very low, so they gave me an IV with an antihistamine and a steroid. I was loaded into the ambulance and taken to the nearby ER.
The doctors observed me for a while and then gave me a second dose of medication. The doctors at the ER were familiar with this type of injury. They treat 5-10 similar cases a month. They said the venom from the sea wasp has 15 pathways into the body, and a sting by a Portuguese Man of War was like a bee sting in comparison. After an hour or two I started to feel less severe pain. My neck continued to be very sensitive - any type of contact to the injured area would send acute pain through my body. After two hours in the ER, I was released.
That night, I lay in bed profusely sweating for hours. By morning the sweating had stopped, but my neck continued to be very sensitive to any contact. It would be about 48 hours before I could touch my neck without pain or get a good night’s sleep. Although no one has died from Sea Wasp stings in the Caribbean, over 70 have died off the coast of Australia. I guess their box jellyfish are bigger and more toxic. I’ll let you know. We are heading to Australia and the Great Barrier Reef this spring! I will not be going night snorkeling (unless I feel the need for a great (or not so great!) follow-up story).
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I bear-ly survived.JPG)
It was early in the morning, and I was wide awake, so I got up and got dressed without waking Pat up. I decided to go out and look for wildlife, since it was supposed to be a good place and time to do that. I grabbed my binoculars and camera and headed down to the lake hopping to see moose. The sun was not up yet, but the sky overhead was blue and the horizon was three shades of pink. There was much activity at the lake. A beaver was swimming by with a piece of debarked tree limb, heading for his dam. A loon was diving for breakfast while its little one waited on the surface. The first time you hear the call of a loon, you wouldn’t think it was coming from a bird, unless that bird was being strangled. It’s a sound you don’t soon forget. The call lets you know you are in the North Country and welcomes you to the wilderness. The baby loon had not yet developed the distinctive black and white marking of an adult loon; it was mostly gray with a white underbelly. Pass the loons; a pair of Trumpeter Swans was gliding along in the distance. Their whiteness contrasted nicely with the surrounding earth tones. I lifted my binoculars and scanned the shoreline for moose. This was the right time and place to find them. They like to brose on the marsh vegetation near the edge of the lake. I waited patiently for the Moose to appear, but without success. Finally I decided I would take a trail through the woods up to a better vantage point.
The trail was overgrown and it made for difficult hiking. Many parts were muddy, but that was the best part, because you could see the tracks of many animals that had passed by here recently. The most obvious were the moose, wolf and elk prints. There were many others that I would have to refer to my tracking guide to distinguish. I did see a print that got me excited, a large bear paw. I didn’t need a guide book to interpret this 14 inch print. I was hoping that a print would be all that I would see of this bear. This made me a little nervous, because I knew I shouldn’t be hiking alone in bear country.
They say solo hikers should sing or wear silver bear bells on their shoes. There are two theories about using bear bells. The first is that the bear will hear you coming and leave the area before you even knew it was there. The second theory is that it’s the bear’s dinner bell. I guess I subscribe to the second theory. I figured if I didn’t find any more evidence of a bear I would be OK. Unfortunately, further up the trail I found a fresh pile of you know what. Now at this point I was wondering if this was left by a black bear or a grizzly. According to the locals, the way you can tell the difference is to check the scat pile. If it contains parts of little sliver bells, it is a grizzly. I put on my CSI hat was ready to investigate further, when I hear it approach. There, not more that a few feet away was the deadliest creature known to man (excluding man, of course). I knew what my options were, but making the right decision could make all the difference. My first instinct was to get out of there, but I knew I could not out run it on this trail. Climbing a tree was not an option since they were all evergreen. I could roll over and play dead, but that idea didn’t appeal to me. I decided to fight.
I did have a size advantage; I was up against a female. Females are smaller but much more aggressive. I took the first swing at her, but she dodged my swing. She was surprisingly quick. My left also missed the mark and she darted behind me. I quickly turned around to face her, but then I hear a noise that told me that her reinforcements were coming. As I glanced over my shoulder to see what was coming behind me, she saw her opportunity and came in for a bite at my jugular. My reflexes kicked in and my right hand moved at lighting speed and swashed that damn mosquito before it could get away. I flicked it to the ground. Now I was ready for the rest of her family!
I hope you didn’t think I was taking about Grizzly Bears. Very few people die from Grizzly encounters. Some mosquitoes however carry malaria and can transmit 9 other diseases. Millions have died as a result of mosquito bites.
Before I go in the woods now, I carry protection against such killers. See attached photo.
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Our time in Destin was spent hiking, touring, birding and biking. After a few rainy days in a timeshare, we were back to camping. Blackwater State Park provided a good location for canoeing some small streams. The stream levels were several feet above normal, which kept the outfitters from putting anyone on the river. This made it perfect for us. First we did Juniper Creek. We carried our bikes and canoe on a trailer behind the RV. On the shuttle my bike fell from the bike rack. It was dragged for several miles, before some roadside hunters flagged us down. The rear wheel of the bike was still attached to the rack, but the rest of the bike was left hanging. The worse damage was to the rear wheel which got twisted out of shape. As a result, Pat ran the bike shuttle by herself. The next day we ran Coldwater Creek. It was also running high and fast. There were several blockages on the river which would have made it very dangerous for novice paddlers.