False advertising. That’s what I call it. I walked all day and didn’t see a single poisonous snake!
But back to business. I pushed hard and walked 20 miles today. That puts me 11+ miles ahead of plan. That gives me a cushion and will allow Dianne and me to take it a little easier. We’re staying two more nights here in Marathon, and then Dianne will move us south again.
Today’s walk had me worried from the start. It rained like crazy here last night and the forecast for today was more rain. The day started cool and breezy with a sky full of heavy clouds. Armed with a few plastic grocery bags to protect my camera/bag in case of rain, I started out at mile 71 with a song in my heart.
I was only a couple miles down the road when I came across this truly odd opening. It was cut right into the trees and there weren’t any signs or parking or other indication what it was.
So I crossed the road and checked it out. It’s a nature trail cut into the native growth, complete with signage once you actually got close enough to see.
I had to see this, so into the tunnel I went. It was quite nice except for all the spider webs I ran into face first. I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive when I reached the first clearing, looked up, and spotted a LOT of vultures circling overhead.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the trail and all the little plaques with explanations about the various trees and plants. Eventually the trail led me to the water and then back out to the road. In all, it was a nice detour and it is exactly the sort of thing I’d never have seen from a car.
Next up, a 2 mile long bridge. This bridge wasn’t so bad because it had a pedestrian bridge that ran beside it the whole way.
The weather was quite breezy, which probably explained why there were only a few fishermen. I did come upon these guys towards the other end though, and they seemed to be having a good time. They had enough poles to man a trawler!
And in a crazy stroke of good fortune, one of the them caught a fish just as I was walking by. Nice looking mackerel!
I crossed three bridges today with the walkway alongside. From this view it appears they used the old railroad bridge and simply laid the pedestrian walkway on top. Works great!
As has been the case the last couple days, when I’m close to water, I’m close to pelicans. I must say, if “The Birds” had been made with pelicans, it would have been scarier.
They must really enjoy these windy days. I saw them glide for what seemed like forever without ever flapping their wings.
Somewhere in there it did rain a couple times, but it wasn’t bad and I was fortunate to always be close to a shelter to wait it out. I never even got wet. And that’s how today went. Here’s a teaser for Wednesday. We have an appointment to go for a ride in this plane. Stand by for pictures from above!
Tomorrow I am walking the 7 Mile Bridge, and not much else. I don’t expect that to be fun and there won’t be many pictures, but I’ll be back with whatever I’ve got. Stay tuned.
