Adventures in the Everglades

Well, we have officially checked National Park #6 off our list with our visit to Everglades National Park!

It was a great time of year for a trip to warm-weather Florida, and we enjoyed every bit of it! The start of March is the end of the dry season in the Everglades. The weather was perfect, and the bugs were minimal. Here is an overview of what we did at the park. Check out my other post for our experiences back country.

Shark Valley

Put this area on your must-do list for when you go to the Everglades! Shark Valley is a 15-mile loop of paved road that you can experience in two different ways: a guided tram tour, or by bike. Rentals are available at the visitor's center at Shark Valley. We were planning to take the tram tour, but the next available tram wasn't for a few hours, so we decided to go ahead and bike. Despite the strong wind that seemed to move us backward the first half of the loop, I'm very glad we biked. I was able to stop and take pictures as I wanted, and we could set our own pace. We saw dozens of alligators along the trail (there is literally one every 20-30 feet as you start), as well as lots of unique birds. I kept saying that everyone can be a wildlife photographer in the Everglades, and my photos are proof!

Anhinga Trail

This trail is short, and not far from the main visitor's center. In fact, this trail and the Ernest Coe Visitor's Center should be the first two things you do when you get to the park! It's a great introduction to the Everglades, and a great place to see alligators, as well as some crazy birds like Anhingas and Cormorants. Plan to spend an hour or so on this trail despite its short length - there is a lot to see, and you'll want to enjoy it! The Gumbo Limbo trail nearby was a much faster walk, but we had fun looking for lizards! We also came back to the Anhinga trail at night! There is a specific ranger-guided tour at night, or just walk it on your own! Watch for gator eyes, which reflect like a cat's.

 How man gators will you see? Here's just a sampling!

Mahogany Hammock and Pa-Hay-Okee Overlook

Both of these short trails are between the visitor center area and the Flamingo area, and both are worth a look, though they won't take you much time.

Off-Trail Exploring

At the Everglades, you can hike just about anywhere, as long as you're willing to get a little wet! Hiking off-trail is allowed everywhere except areas protected for nesting, etc. We explored off-trail in two ways. First, we explored a Cypress Dome on our own. This was an area recommended in one of our books about the Everglades, and we really enjoyed it. It was muddy and messy, but we had so much fun finding our way across the soft ground without sinking in, and discovering the alligator hole in the middle of the dome! The Cypress Dome we explored was 1 mile past the Pa-Hay-Okee sign. We just parked on the side of the road and walked on in. It was amazing how far you feel from the world despite being so close to the road.

In the middle of the cypress dome is a gator hole. It's different to find alligators off trail than in the main areas - a little scary! But this was such an amazing experience as we just walked silently through the trees finding all sorts of things.

The other way we experienced off-trail hiking was on a ranger-guided hike that is either called:
       1) a slog slough
       2) a wet walk
       3) an adventure walk
       4) gator feeding
This was awesome, and is highly recommended! Depending on the conditions, etc, the rangers basically just choose the best place they can think of to take you! Our walk was truly an adventure, as our ranger, Kirk, was trying out a new area he had never explored. It was fun to meet other adventure-y folks, and to learn about the park from Kirk. Partway through our walk, we found an alligator foot, followed by a few other bones, and then the rest of him! Only .2% of people who visit the park take this guided off-trail hike. Choose to be one of them!

Long Pine Key Campground

We spent all of our front-country camping time in Long Pine Key campground. We really enjoyed this area, close to the main entrance. There is a whole network of nature trails near the campground, and an amphitheater with ranger programs on M, W, and F evenings. There are no showers at this campground, but the bathrooms are nice and the campsites are great! There are more trees and less bugs at Long Pine Key. Flamingo is a nice campground as well, and we went there to take showers once, but it is very open.

We loved our trip to the Everglades - Definitely a great winter trip! Watch for another post coming soon about our backcountry canoeing experience!

Adventures in Wild Edibles: Puffballs for Dinner

Brian and I have been interested in edible plants and other wild edibles for awhile, but haven't really dug into the topic a whole lot. We bought the book "Edibles Wild Plants" by Lee Allen Peterson while on our National Parks Trip this May, and have been wanting to try some things ever since, but it's a little overwhelming. For one, you better be sure you're right when eating something you picked in the wild! It's not something you can guess at! It's also difficult to find what you learn about and/or learn about what you find (if that makes any sense). Identifying a plant is one thing, now you have to check the book and see if it's edible. On the other hand, you learn about an edible plant in your book, but where can you find it locally?

Well, yesterday became our first true adventure in wild edibles. I had seen what I believed to be a puffball mushroom at Kilen Woods State Park a week or two ago. Then, when we were there a few days ago, we found berries that I believed to be wild grapes at the same park. So we did our research on both of these wild edibles, then went back yesterday with the specific goal of identifying the grapes (more on this in another post) and finding a puffball.

What is a puffball mushroom, you ask? If you've ever thought to yourself "Woah! That's a huge mushroom!" or maybe "Is that a dinosaur egg?!?" while out on a walk somewhere, you've probably seen a puffball mushroom. When they're brown and more dried out, they are fun to kick or squish because they release spores everywhere! Before they get to that point, they look like this:

Through my research, I learned that as long as your puffball is large (this one is about the size of a cantaloupe), there really isn't anything else you can confuse it with (as far as poisonous mushrooms). Just to be sure, when you cut it open, it should be all white, and consistent in texture throughout (no gills, etc). The one above is actually past ready to eat - it was yellowish brown inside. This is not the one we brought home, but the picture is pretty sweet because it totally makes it look like a dinosaur egg, don't you think?

So the next part of wild edibles that is challenging... how do you prepare it? I found some good descriptions online, but nothing with pictures! So, here we go!

First, cut your puffball mushroom in half. This isn't completely necessary, but I figured it's good to be safe and make sure it is consistent all the way through. You're probably going to cut it up anyway, and this will make it easier to handle. I warn you: the texture of these things is crazy! It squeaks as you cut it, like styrofoam, but it's softer and kinda crumbly. Very strange!

Next, take off the outer layer of the mushroom. It's thin, but it's tough. You can definitely tell a difference in texture. Some say it's just tough to eat, others say it can upset your stomach. No reason to take a chance. This is also how you clean the mushroom, since it is like a sponge in water. By cutting off the outside, you take off all the dirt. I cut mine off with a paring knife, but I saw that some people said you can peel it off. Cutting it seemed just as easy to me! 

Now, you have two clean halves of your mushroom, ready to go for whatever recipe you'd like to use! We tried ours two different ways - I'll show you both below!

We started with large slices for the first recipe. Many people just cut large "steaks" out of a puffball and fry it up with butter. We decided to start by trying it breaded... because everything is delicious breaded and fried, right?! I cut large slices, dipped them in flour, then egg, then seasoned breadcrumbs (use whatever breading recipe you'd like). Then I fried them up in a mixture of olive oil and butter - yum!

And then it was time for the moment of truth - try them! You can see how much these cooked down. They get very soft, almost like a melted marshmallow. The flavor is a little earthy and reminded me of eggs (I read multiple times that they go well with eggs - I see why!). They were pretty good, but I wouldn't go out of my way for them like this.

On to the next recipe! First, I chopped up all the remaining mushroom. That's a lot of mushroom....

You can see why some people call this mushroom the tofu of the woods. Notice how big these chunks are... they shrunk down a lot, so don't make them any smaller! Now, we knew we wouldn't finish all of these in one meal, so I set aside enough for the rest of our dinner and then sauteed the rest in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. One thing I was not prepared for was the way these soak up the oil - they are like sponges in water, so why not in oil?! Add it sparingly, but a little at a time to coat as much as possible without saturating them.

After these started to get soft, I set them aside to cool, then put them in ziplock bags for the freezer. From what I read, it's good to cook them before freezing. I will update later on how these are out of the freezer!

Our final preparation was to include our mushrooms in a stir fry! I chopped up some zucchini, peppers, and onions, sauteed them for awhile, then added the cubed puffball I had set aside. When they were looking close to done (just use your best judgement), I added in a stir fry sauce (which I found here). This. Was. Delicious.

We served this skillet of awesome over some cous cous, but you could also do it over rice or just eat it as is! The puffball got very soft, and it soaked up the sauce so it was flavored all the way through. Really, it just blended in with everything, but not in a way that you forget it's there. It really added to the dish!

So, here's to puffballs! Would you ever try this wild mushroom? Have you tried other wild edibles? I'd love to hear about your adventures in the comments!

A New Addition!

No, it's not a baby... it's a puppy! Meet Isabella!

Isabella is 6 months old and adopted from the Calhoun County Shelter in Iowa. They believe she is an Australian Cattle Dog/Terrier mix, but who really knows! All we know is she is adorable, and as sweet as can be! Her mom was around 40 lbs, but Isabella may end up staying around 20. Only time will tell. She is already house trained, and crate trained. She does well with "sit" "come" "leave it" and "lay down." She is a very smart girl!

So far, Isabella loves sticks and grass, and loves to be outside! She isn't a fan of playing fetch but loves to chase her rope toy and go on walks. We have yet to hear her bark, and she is very friendly with other dogs. She curious about the cats and wants to play with them... they, on the other hand, are not too sure about her. It will take some time, but it is already going better than we thought it might. Yes, hissing happens, but the cats like to keep an eye on her, so they don't go too far. They actually come up and sniff her when she's sleeping! Here are some more pictures of our sweet girl!

Fun Finds

Now that I've finally finished my posts about our National Parks trip this May, I am very excited to share some posts about our new house!

Moving from a trailer to a 3-bedroom house is a big change. We have so much more storage space, but a lot of empty space to fill, too! It's been a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! We didn't want to go out and buy matchy furniture for all of our rooms, so it has been a process of searching for and finding those one-of-a-kind pieces and making them our own! Our focus has been the main areas upstairs - living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom. Here are some of the fun things we've added to our new home!

This table is actually a new purchase from Slumberland, along with a coffee table and another end table from a different collection. I thought this table was particularly unique, though, and a look that could be created from a bargain find if you wanted. We love the splash of color it brings, without being too over-the-top.

Family treasures! This is my grandparent's hutch, and it fits perfectly in our new home - it is like it was made for this corner! We are considering a blue/gray stain at some point, for the time being, we are enjoying the natural wood look of it. It has such character!

Another piece from a family member, this dresser was a hand-me-down from my cousin, who bought it at a garage sale. We sanded and spray painted this one, and then I added the decorative tree! So much fun, and it really brings personality to the room!

After purchasing most of our living room furniture new, I wasn't sure what I could get for a TV stand that would match, but not be too "match-y." I saw this trunk at a consignment store and immediately knew it was right! It looks great with the darker wood of the coffee table, etc, but brings a totally different feel to the room. What to do with the DVD player is another issue, but we'll figure that out. Any ideas??

This is a Coca-Cola crate, now hung as my spice rack! I am getting glass jars with metal lids, so that they look a little nicer being "on display," but I think this is so fun! Our kitchen is one area that we've really struggled with storage space, so this keeps all of my often-used spices within arms' reach and - more importantly - out of a cupboard!

Another piece of furniture we were struggling with was what to use as a bed-stand. Just like with the trunk, when I saw this crate at an antique store, I knew it was the way to go! I clear-coated it, but left the label-remnants for a more rustic look.

These awesome hampers are finds from TJMaxx, which I love for organizational items! I was amazed at the prices I found looking at hampers online - how much does one really need to pay for a hamper?! So, I was super excited when I found these! I bought a similar one for the bathroom, as well, since that's another area that dirty laundry often ends up.

So far, nothing on the walls - that's my next step! Here we go!

Mammoth Cave National Park

And now on to our final stop! Mammoth Cave was the last stop on our National Parks trip this May! After spending about a week at Great Smoky Mountains, and a couple days at Congaree, we were on to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Here's what we did, and our tips for a successful trip!

1) We stayed at the Mammoth Cave Campground, and because we reserved a spot, we practically had an entire loop to ourselves the first night! The campground and bathrooms are very nice, but do note that they do not include showers! You can buy shower tokens at the general store or at the hotel. The showers are not the nicest, but they sure felt good as only the second shower of our trip. Another note was that we found our site to be very hard for staking down our tent - you may find a site with grass space for a tent easier if you plan on tent camping. There are also cottages available for lodging, which we didn't realize! Might be a fun way to experience this park!

2) If you have the time, don't skimp on the above-ground features of this park! We didn't have a lot of time, as we only spent one full day at the park, but I was amazed at the amount of trails, picnic areas, and lookouts there were available at this cave-based park.

3) You can always email a park ranger before your trip for tips. This is how we decided which tours to do. I wanted to be sure our tours didn't overlap areas of the cave, and we wanted the most "adventure-y" tour possible, since the "Wild Cave Tour" wasn't available when we were going to be there. I have also emailed other parks with questions, and they have always been super helpful!

4) The visitors center is something I often overlook at parks, but this one is not to be missed. Maybe it was just the A/C, but we spent a lot of time at this particular visitor center. I loved the interactive exhibits, maps of the cave, and videos about continued exploration. 

5) The Domes and Dripstones Tour is your basic cave tour. It takes place on established paths, staircases, etc, all with electric lighting along the way. It was a great overview of the history of the cave, and features some of the best cave formations in this mostly dry cave. If you only have time to do one tour, this is probably your best bet! We were with a group of kids on a field trip (the tour size for this one is huge!), which was a little crazy, but it was really fun to hear their questions and see them take it all in!

6) The more adventure-y pick for our second tour was the Violet City Lantern Tour. This tour takes place completely by lantern-light. The tour guides each had a flashlight for pointing out specific things we may have missed otherwise, but the majority of our time was spent seeing the cave by the light of about 10 lanterns (it was a group of 30 or so). The majority of this tour focused on the history of the cave, from Native Americans thousands of years ago, to the first explorers of the cave in the 1800s. Our tour guides were great, and the tour was a really unique experience!

Mammoth Cave, and our trip as a whole, was an adventure we won't soon forget! We checked off national parks 3--5 on this trip, and can't wait to start planning what's next! If you have experiences to share or recommended parks, please let us know! We would love to hear your experiences!

Congaree National Park

The second stop on our  awesome national parks road trip this May was Congaree National Park in South Carolina. It is one of the newest national parks, having formerly been named a "National Swamp" despite the fact that it's not a swamp, but a floodplain forest. This little-known park was a great stop, but definitely a park for a shorter trip. We spent 1 and a half days there, and while you could certainly spend more time, we felt we got a pretty good feel for the park in that amount of time. Here's what we did, and what we learned about this park!

1) One of the first things we saw upon arriving: 

We apparently picked a pretty good time to come, as the skeeter meter was only at "mild." Note: "mild" is all relative. It was still pretty buggy!

2) The most popular part of the park is the elevated boardwalk trail, and it's definitely a must-do. It gives you a great tour of what the park is all about, and the brochure (with numbered stops) can teach you all about cypress knees and the ecosystem of a floodplain - if you're as wonderfully curious as I am! Part of the boardwalk was closed, but that just meant you couldn't walk it as a loop. Here are some of the views from the boardwalk:

3) Camping at Congaree was actually very nice, once we figured out what we were doing! I felt the information available didn't explain the system real well, but we were smart enough to figure things out. :-) When you pull into the camping area, there is a large sign with information and campsite registration forms, as well as a small outhouse building. These are the only bathrooms for the camping area, and there is no water in this area. We went to the visitor center to fill up water jugs - we never found anything that mentioned where to get water. The campsites are walk-in only, but aren't far from the parking lot (We carried our large tent and plenty of gear.) There is no wood for sale at the park, but you can find plenty on the ground for a good fire, and all sites have a fire ring and picnic table. In the busiest of times, I imagine you might feel a little close to your neighbor at some sites, but we had a large area to ourselves this time of year. If you have any questions about camping at Congaree, please leave them in the comments and we will do our best to answer - there isn't a lot of information out there!

4) On day two at Congaree, we went canoeing! This is a great way to see the park from another perspective, and it was a neat experience! We rented our canoe from Adventure Carolina, and checked water level, etc, at the visitor center before heading out. We decided to canoe Cedar Creek, where the water has almost no current. We could canoe upstream and back down and didn't have to worry about shuttles, etc. Adventure Carolina also does tours with their guides, so if you're not an experienced canoer, that would be another great option! Despite water levels being okay, we were told this area had a lot of downed trees, etc. They weren't kidding! Half our time was spent doing this:

And every time we went near a tree, there was at least one more spider in our canoe. It became a game of what we could get through without portaging (getting out of our canoe and carrying it), and avoiding spiders at all costs! Right when we decided to turn around, we saw a tree branch absolutely COVERED in spiders! The trip back was a little less fun after that, but we still enjoyed our day. 

5) We did hike some short trails off of the boardwalk, including the Weston Lake Loop. We saw a lot of wildlife, especially near the lake, and these other trails do not seem to be heavily traveled. Take advantage of these awesome trails! 

6) If you go into town (Columbia, SC), be sure to check out Maurice's BBQ. You can't miss it! This was recommended by a local, and was definitely worth writing home about!

All in all, we really enjoyed our trip to Congaree! It can definitely be a shorter stop, but it is not to be overlooked! We saw so much wildlife here, and enjoyed the unique features of the floodplain forest. There's not a lot of info out there about Congaree, so let us know if we can help in your trip planning in any way! Off to the next park!

Great Smoky Mountains: Cosby/Big Creek Areas

After a great few days backcountry, we headed east within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Cosby Campground became our home base for the remainder of our stay. It was a great campground, as were all of the campgrounds within the park. Bathrooms are clean, there are dishwashing stations outside each bathroom building, and water spigots throughout. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, as well. I will recommend not reserving a site at this particular campground, however, as the sites for reservation are right next to the entrance road. It worked fine, but it wouldn't have been our preference. Here are some of the things we did in this area:

1) Hike at Big Creek

Big Creek is down a VERY narrow and VERY windy (like wine-dy not win-dy) road from Cosby. It was a beautiful area, though! We hiked (more like walked, really, as it's quite flat), a little more than 2 miles before turning around. We ate lunch on the trail and enjoyed the views of Big Creek. This would be a great place to bring kids, or for people who may not want a more difficult hike. We were hiking right alongside a group of about 4 or 5 young families for awhile, and it was wonderful to see the kids out enjoying the park!

2) Cosby in the Park

Take a look at the NPS website for events that may be going on during your visit to the parks, or ask at the Visitor Center once you're there. Cosby in the Park happened to be during our stay, and right in our campground! There was live music, as well as different booths to check out. One of the stations was old-time toys and games, where we tried out a pair of stilts and learned to make a whistle out of a maple twig. They had crafts for kids, and food, and while we certainly didn't need to spend the whole day there, it was a great way to spend a couple hours!

3) Gabes Mountain Trail to Hen Wallow Falls

This is another easier day hike, and was a popular trail (we saw quite a few people while we were out). It leaves straight from the Cosby Campground, and is about 2.2 miles to the falls. We were taking easier trails due to my knees being a tad angry from our backcountry adventure, but even these shorter, easier trails took us to some amazing sights. Hen Wallow Falls was beautiful - definitely worthy of a stop and plenty of pictures. We ate lunch on a big rock below the falls before heading back to the campground.

4) Cosby Knob Shelter (Low Gap Trail and Appalachian Trail)

Brian hiked this route in the afternoon one day, while I sat and read in the sunshine! It's 7.4 miles round-trip, leaving from the campground, and it's not an easy walking path. He said it was a great hike, and would be recommended for a more difficult hike from the campground! It was kind of neat to be able to say he hiked all the way back up to the Appalachian Trail in a different area of the park.

5) Showers

Okay, showering is not typically a notable experience, but given the fact that there are no showers in the park, and this was our first real shower of the trip, it is worth mentioning! Online, I had read that most of the towns surrounding the park have showers available, and that if you asked a ranger, they would be able to tell you what might be available. When I asked a ranger, however, he basically said he didn't have a clue. SO, if you're staying in the Cosby area, we showered at Cosby Ranch, a campground right outside the park. Showers were $5, and while the bathrooms weren't those of a 5-star hotel (or even a 5-star campground), they were hot, and clean enough. Plus I had the whole bathroom to myself, which was kinda nice! My main recommendation is that campgrounds are a good bet for showers, but you will have to pay!

6) Gatlinburg

We did spend one evening in Gatlinburg. It was a lot of fun, but one evening was enough for us, as we would rather be in the park than in the touristy city. You can wander the main street and just walk in and out of shops, as well as trying Moonshine (a must-do, really), and lots of restaurant choices! I've heard great things about the aquarium, if you are spending a full day. Overall, it was a little strange to me that this touristy place was right outside a national park. I just hope that people are truly enjoying the park when they come to visit the area, and not just spending their time in Gatlinburg!

7) Cosby Nature Trail

This was our last stop before leaving the park. We tried to do a short walk on driving days, either before leaving or once we arrived. It helped a lot, and is definitely recommended! This short hike from the campground was a really neat trail, with information about the area and some historical features as well.

We didn't even get to the Western or Southern parts of the park in the time we had! We will definitely be back another time to enjoy other areas! What are your favorite hikes in the Smokies? Favorite campgrounds? Let me know in the comments!