March 10th

Tuesday, March 10^th

 

Last night, when we were discussing our plans for today with Kurt and Ruthie, they suggested that we go geocaching. So, before we left this morning, we took the time to set some way points on our GPS applications.

 

 

 

We made a stop at a couple of stores so that Ruthie could buy some geocaching shoes.  It was interesting to note a sign on the mall entrance that prohibits carrying handguns.

 

 

There was a carousel operating inside the mall, but no one wanted to ride it with me.

 

 

One of the caches we found today was placed in a banyan tree. Cordell retrieved it with only a minimal climb

 

 

At another site, a group of ibises came to us as soon as we slowed our car. By the time we got out, they practically surrounded us. And when we walked to the cache site, they kept following us.

 

 

Another cache site took us into an undeveloped area at a shopping center. Ruthie elected to wait on paved ground while the rest of us looked.

 

 

 

 

Since I was not familiar with the area, I took my hiking stick and kept banging it on the ground to alert all critters that I was in their neighborhood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to The City of Naples Preserve which is a 9 ½ acre site comprised of a scrub community, a pine flatwoods community, flora, fauna, a butterfly garden, a picnic area, a nature center and three geocaches.

 

 

Cacti grow very well in this soil and climate.

 

 

The preserve provides guests with a nice chart to help identify the various epiphytes growing in the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2008, ten gopher tortoises were legally relocated to this property from a local construction site. These tortoises are considered a keystone species because their burrows provide a necessary habitat for reptiles, mammals, birds, insects, arachnids and amphibians to stay healthy and to survive.

 

 

We observed one gopher tortoise digging away in the sand.

 

 

 

Another tortoise seemed to have his own “house” number.

 

 

Kurt and Ruthie found a geocache on the boardwalk that we had visited last year.

 

 

Probably our must fun cache today required a bit of a climb up a tree near the visitors center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kurt was the one who retrieved it. We dubbed him our “geohero”. I am sure our sons will be  happy to know that Cordell did not go up that tree!

 

 

 

 

We had already decided that we were going out to eat tonight. Kurt and Ruthie were anxious to go to Skip One for a shrimp dinner. All of us agree that we can never, ever find such good tasting shrimp any place else.

 

 

 

 

None of us wanted to give up this beautiful day, so we played a round of mini golf before coming back to the condo.