Chatham09

Spending Thanksgiving on Watsons Place, 2009

It was one of those trips when everything of importance worked for us; the tides, the winds, the
temperature, the campsites and the route. Our itinerary for this trip was:

Nov 26 (Thanksgiving Day): Chokoloskee Island to the Watson Place
Nov 27: A day of exploring at the mouth of the Chatham River, another night on Watson
Nov 28: Watson Place to Rabbit Key

Vivian and I were accompanied by our friend and experienced wilderness paddler Michaleen (Mike).
Fortunately, Mike was kind enough to make the trip to the ranger’s station in Everglades City the day
before to get our permits. She did this amongst a line of 30 plus individuals with same intention. Our
original plan was to head out to Mormon Key, the next day go up to Sweetwater Chickee (where I have
yet to spend the night) and then get off the Wilderness Waterway and take a different route to Sunday
Bay. But alas, the weather dictates our plans as always. The forecast called for a cold front to hit
sometime on Thursday. Leading up to the cold front was a nasty storm system that dumped inches of
water on south Florida two days before Thanksgiving. The day before we left it rained nonstop into early
Thursday morning. We expected northerly winds for the entire trip and as high as 20 knots on Friday.
We didn’t know when the front would hit us on Thursday, but we were prepared for anything.

We avoided a stay on Mormon Key that has a shoreline that would get a direct hit from the northwest
winds expected on Thursday. Getting on and off that beach would not be easy, especially in a canoe.
So Mormon was out. We decided to avoid Sweetwater Chickee as well with its direct exposure to the
cold winds. The route to Watson look good and if there were going to be any winds, they would work to
our advantage as we crossed the string of large backcountry bays in a southwesterly direction. A second
day on Watson would give us time to explore and that was so appealing. I expected to see some
significant bird activity where the Huston and Chatham Rivers run into the gulf. Here, there are several
large and small islands and one could easily hide from the winds. By Saturday, we expected less wind
out of the northeast and the paddle to Rabbit would be mostly protected as we stay close to the coves
that make this one of the best fishing areas (between Chatham Bend and Rabbit Key pass) in the 10,000
Islands.

And so it was to our advantage that we had the good sense to plan a trip according to the weather
forecast. And here is how it played out. We arrived at Outdoor Resorts marina at about 7 am. An
interesting site was seen on our drive from Miami. As we passed through Ochopee (a few miles east of
highway 29) on the Tamiami Trail, I noticed several black, small things on the road. With more attention
on them, I noticed they had claws and at one point I thought they looked very much like scorpions. I had
never seen scorpions in the Everglades, but I they do exist in south Florida (I later checked my
Everglades Handbook (author Thomas Lodge, 2nd ed.) to learn that a brown scorpion that is about 5 in
long exists here. They live on ground under logs and rocks and leaves. Even more amazing about this
spectacle were the hundreds of neck-to-neck wading birds in the watery grasses on the south side of the
road. Something was going on. After speaking with a couple locals, it seems people at Everglades City
and Chokoloskee Island have spotted scorpions on several uncomfortable occasions (the south Florida
version of scorpion are not lethal like the desert scorpion of Arizona). Perhaps with the hard rain, the
creatures were driven out of hiding.

(A week following this trip, we headed back to Chokoloskee Island one morning to find the same critters
scattered on the Tamiami Trail in the same area as before. This time, there were fewer of them and the
birds were few. I pulled over and got out to check them out. They were not scorpions, they were
crawfish).

Beautiful storm clouds were appearing out of the west as we loaded our boats and prepared to launch.
Today, we would take the Turner River route and head over to Hurdles Creek, Mud Bay, Cross Bays and
into Sunday Bay. This would give us a tide advantage and cut off about 1 mile compared to the Lopez
River route. As I crossed Chokoloskee Bay toward Turner River, I turned the canoe around a few times
to watch the storm clouds as they appeared to come closer. I love paddling up this grand river as it winds
back and forth lazily through the mangroves. Along this river you might see several Calusa mounds that
extend over 30 acres. The area has been an archeological site for several decades and is referred to as
the Turner River Complex. If you look closely along the east side of the river where it makes its first turn,
you’ll notice the ground is several feet high.

Our trip began at a brisk 70 degrees but it didn’t take long to reach 80 something. The water levels were
so high that our usual rest stop on Mud Bay was covered in at least 2 feet of water. We continued a
leisurely paddle in very calm conditions. Soon, we reached Sunday Bay which looked like a very large
skating rink. Rarely is it so calm that this bay does not have ripples or some form of waves in it. Today it
was like glass and even better, there seemed to be no one out here but us three. The quiet was
magnificent and at last I felt totally relaxed and at peace. The past 2 months have been consumed with
work and much stress. Finding time to plan and prepare for this trip was difficult. But, after paddling in
beautiful conditions for a couple hours and then being completely surrounded by water that reflected the
pervasive sky, I finally found my joy. I photographed the surreal scene of the uninterrupted reflections
that surrounded my boat. This was a very good sign and I took it to mean that we would have another
great camping season ahead of us.

Soon, we were at mile marker 120 where sits a spit of an oyster bar that we always stop on for a break.
Not today. For the first time I’ve seen it, the bar was completely covered in water and where we usually
get out and sit, we instead floated over in about 2 feet of water. I was so glad to be in a canoe! I can
have my rest stop right from the boat, so not being able to get out was not so bad. After a brief stop, we
moved on to the next set of bays.

By now, there was a dark line of storm clouds over the north sky, it was following us. The clouds formed
layers of varied shades of gray and black. As we crossed Oyster Bay, the back wind increased and the
waters became choppy. I took frequent breaks to turn my boat around and capture the oncoming storm.
It was gaining on us and by the time we got into Huston Bay, it was upon us. The clouds brought a
steady, yet light rain for about 15 minutes. I had my deck cover which has a spray skirt that kept my legs
dry the entire time. The temperature had dropped and the winds that picked up to a stiff 10-15 knots.
With my nylon shirt mostly covered with a PFD, the rain was a pleasant coolness.

By the time we reached Chatham River, the rain had stopped and some blue sky was peeking out over
the north sky. This was a sign that the cold front would be coming next. Arriving at the Chatham River
was a nice finishing touch to our paddling day as the outgoing tide carried us to the nearby campsite.
Usually, I am hitting the river at incoming and at times, it can feel like you are paddling through wet
cement. That final ½ mile can feel like 20 miles. But not today, we would breeze into the Watson Place
after having been on the water for only 4 hours. We had a tailwind and we lucked out with the rain and
temperatures.

The dark clouds continued for some time and although it looked like more rain, we were able to set up
camp without the bother of wetness. We had the entire site to ourselves. It was noticeably overgrown in
large areas where it is usually cleared. I quickly noticed that amongst the wildflowers were several types
of butterflies; a few Great Southern Whites, hundreds of Mangrove Buckeyes, and I spotted one Queen.
The bees were also buzzing around in great number. And then we noticed something strange looking on
one of the pieces of rusted farm equipment leftover from Watson’s homestead. The old equipment was
surrounded by tall grasses but once you got close enough to it, it became clear that we were looking at a
very, very large honey bee comb. Wow! There were thousands of bees on the honey comb that from the
outside was about 1 ½ ft by 1 ½ ft in area. Who knows how thick it was, but there had to be a quart of
honey in clear view. Fortunately, honey bees are not aggressive and they went about there business
flitting around the flowers and fighting the butterflies for the nectar. With butterflies and bees in
abundance, Watson Place had become an interesting place for photography.

By late afternoon, the sky was clearing and the temperature was dropping. The winds were pretty much
still with a few transient mild gusts. As a result, the no-see-ums were there to welcome us to the
Everglades. A few black vultures hung around, coming in on occasion to get some water out of the rusty
cistern and perching above in a tree to look down upon the humans that might leave something good to
eat. After dinner and a bit of brandy, we were in our tent enjoying the evening sounds of the Everglades.
A couple barred owls could be heard punctuating the mostly silent night. We expected to be up early the
next day to be on the water by 7 am.

On Friday, we spent about 4 hours on the water near the mouth of the Chatham River. The northwest
winds increased significantly to about 15 knots. The temperature was a chilly 57 degrees as we paddled
down the Chatham River with the beautiful warm morning light hitting the east side of the river. Snowy
egrets, ibises, great blue herons, little blue herons and tricolor herons could be seen speckling the
mangroves. These birds are very wary and will not let me approach them much. The least wary of them
were the juvy ibises that I frequently came upon in large groups of 10-15. I spotted one roseate spoonbill
and a frequent osprey flying around. We also spotted a few manatee; those evil manatee that will tip my
boat over if I am not careful!

After chasing birds around the shoreline between Chatham and Huston Rivers, I found myself in a large
open body of water that was receiving a direct hit from the north winds. The waves were 1 ft or higher
and I was caught in a precarious crosswind with my camera and telephoto lens in my lap. I headed
directly to the shoreline that would provide me some protection. Forget the birds, it was time to put away
the camera and get the life jacket on. I finally paddled out of the exposed area and soon found Vivian
fishing on the lee side of an island. She had been catching trout all morning, but since they are not in
season, we would not be having fish for dinner tonight.

That evening, we watched a spectacular sunset as they mostly are when the evening air is chilly from a
cold front and the sky is painted whimsically with wispy clouds. The setting sun cannot be seen from
Watson, but from the dock, one can look over the Chatham River and catch the brilliant light show in the
southwest sky. Soon after, it felt great to be snuggled inside a warm tent and down sleeping bag. The
night became quite chilly reaching a temperature of 45 degrees. The wetness from the condensation
was significant and so the next morning, we packed our wet tent and got ourselves on the beautiful
Chatham River for our gulfside paddle to Rabbit Key by 8:30 am. We had an incoming tide but the strong
northeast wind would cancel it out. The winds and tides combine in ways that can make paddling the
Everglades both interesting and challenging. Today, we would not feel the incoming tide; rather the
winds at knots greater than 10 can overcome the power of the current quite well. It wasn’t until we
reached the mouth of the Huston River when we felt the full impact of those winds where we rode the surf
briskly through an opening into the protection of several gulf isles that scatter about before reaching
Chatham Bend.

I began that morning’s paddle with a long sleeve tshirt covered with a long sleeve nylon shirt, covered
with my rain jacket, the PFD and thick cotton gloves covering my hands. By the time we reached
Chatham Bend, the sun was intense and I was hot. Before reaching Duck Rock Cove, I had removed
everything but the nylon shirt. The transition from the backcountry into the openness of the gulf is always
a pleasant transition during a paddle trip. I particularly love the paddle between Chatham Bend and
Rabbit Key. Today, the water levels were high enough that we could skirt right up to the shoreline of the
deep coves. We even went into one of the creeks from the Huston Coves to do a little exploring. We
passed the inside of the island that sits in the middle of Duck Rock Cove and basically took our time. By
following the shoreline more tightly, we probably added an additional mile to our paddle.

The area is beautiful, ripe with birds. Brown pelicans were in number and often I could see several white
ibises and egrets perched in the mangroves. As we approached the Duck Rock Cove, I spotted a large
group of white pelicans on the tiny sand bar that was once Duck Rock Key. The sun made it difficult to
see them from a distance, but they are so large that even from a ½ mile away, they are distinct figures
sitting above the water line. After coming out of Duck Rock Cove, we continued paddling close to the
shoreline. Vivian continued fishing as this is one of the most popular areas for it. She heard strange
sounds coming from the thick mangroves; like several birds. I came closer to hear it and could make out
the basic bird sounds; grunts, clucks, squacks, honks, etc. It was an amazing cluster of sounds out here
in the gulf and then I spotted them. There was a small tidal pool where dozens of snowy egrets, white
ibises and a few great white egrets were congregating for a marine buffet. This was truly an interesting
sight. We watched them for awhile and I pondered getting closer for some shots. Obviously, they had
come on to an abundance of food. These animals work hard and I didn’t want to make their lives any
more difficult. Besides, the lighting was not good and the only good shots I would get would require the
flash.

We arrived at our final destination around 2:30 pm. Today, we took our time and explored a bit. The
entire trip lasted 6 hours. Rabbit Key is one of my favorite campsites. The long sand bar that runs out of
the northeast side is almost always covered with shorebirds, including oystercatchers. There were a
couple oystercatchers that had flew by on our way into the campsite. I only noticed them because of their
loud high pitched squeeks. The birds were not on the spit when we arrived; instead a flatsboat was
anchored next to a couple lawn chairs. A couple was out for the day and decided to have a picnic on
Rabbit Key.

Our last night was mostly bug free. The temperature stayed warmer, but cool enough to make our third
night in the tent a pleasant one. The next morning, we were off and paddling before 9 am. It was an
easy paddle back to Chokoloskee Island with the incoming tides. We were mostly protected from the
easterly winds. Once in Chokoloskee Bay, I was happy to see the white pelicans on their oyster bar near
Chokoloskee Pass. It was early, so I decided to take a detour and photograph them. There were
probably about 25 of them, give or take. Three flew in while I sat photographing and I was able to
capture a couple whities in flight. What a fantastic way to finish a paddling trip!

This was another one of those perfect trips. Although our original plans were thwarted, we always end
up doing something new, seeing beautiful things and experiencing the best of the Everglades. Now, we
began to focus on our 9-day paddle around Whitewater Bay, coming up in December. We plan to camp
at Canepatch a couple of nights and can only hope that the python spotted there a few days ago will be
gone.

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To see a slide show of the photos from this trip, click here to view a slideshow of the trip.