Coral Castle, Gator Park and Mardi Gras.

Our Location today is Miami, Florida.

We only drove 120 miles from the Glades RV Resort to the Miami Everglades RV Resort but by the time we had set up camp in the heat we had no trouble sleeping last night. The surprising thing was that we were still out of bed wide awake right after 7:00. Yes we had plans but nothing that required us to be awake that early. 

With breakfast and our morning chores finished we were driving out of the resort by 8:30 this morning. After less than two miles up the road we had to take a detour causing Scout the GPS to start into a series of recalculations before actually getting us to our destination. The really weird thing was that it made us drive around a block actually driving by our stop before getting us into the parking lot. The fact that the Highway Department had recently reworked the roads thus changing the entrance to their driveway to the side-street was the cause of that problem. 

Our first stop was to the Coral Castle on South Dixie Highway in Homestead Florida. This is a testament of what a person’s love for another can cause one to accomplish in their lives. This castle was built by Edward Leedskalnin a five foot tall 100 pound immigrant from Latvia who after being diagnosed with Tuberculosis moved to the State of Florida as a way of healing because of the warm weather. 

Kathy sitting on a stone lounging chair that felt comfortable.

Polaris Telescope. The North Star appeared in the Cross Hairs every night. 

Edward started building his castle cutting the stone from nearby quarries until he had created a two story house on one corner by himself. His tools were mostly made from parts of old Model T Ford’s that he used to cut the stones that weighed hundreds and sometime thousands of pounds. The mystery is that he did all this and nobody saw how he moved these massive stones by himself. He was a very ingenuous person who engineered and built this unbelievable work of art all made from stone. 

Florida Table.

Things of interest that he created were pivoting gates that even though they weigh thousands of pounds can be moved with the push of a finger. Chairs, tables, fountains, an extremely accurate Sun Dial, sculpted planets and a Polaris Telescope all made from stone and made for a person that was only five foot tall. One table he created to scale was the shape of the state of Florida even inserting a basin where Lake Okeechobee would have been. This is truly something that has to be seen to believe. 

Kathy with a life sized cutout of Edward Leedskalnin

Very accurate Sun Dial

We left shortly after 11:00 but I had a burnt signal light that needed to be changed before going anywhere else. So out came the tool box right in the parking lot and ten minutes later we were on our way to the second stop of the day. Since it was fast approaching lunch we simply grab a couple of sandwiches to go at a Truck Stop. 

I needed to repair a non working signal light in the parking lot.

It was nearly 12:30 when we arrived at Gator Park Airboat Tours out on U.S. 41 in the heart of the Florida Everglades. The airboat tour was approximately 45 minutes long but it wasn’t all just riding around. Our guide explained the makeup of the Everglades as far as the average water depth, the types of reptiles and birds that would be found there and what would be the natural enemies to each. While stopped in one location he explained the danger of simple Sawgrass. Running your hand across it one way it was smooth but if you ran you hand in the opposite way it would cut you open like a well sharpened saw. We saw quite a lot of birds, turtles, alligators and fish in the clear waters. The guide also explained that since there is a current of a mile per seventy-two hours the Everglades are actually considered a river system. 

Back on dry land the show continued with two more guides explaining more about alligators, scorpions, toads and Macaws and there importance to the ecological benefits of the Everglades and Rainforests around the world. This turned into an eye opening experience almost like being back in school. 

Tonight I grilled pizza on the Weber and strangely it turned out perfect. I never even burnt them this time. We were going to walk over to see the Mardi Gras celebration that was taking place on the clubhouse patio but when we got close enough to see everyone in costume we came back to the trailer. 

Kathy and some new friends.

Tomorrow who knows what will happen. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

You’re embroiled in a custody battle over an El Camino.