Camp in the Fakahatchee, and Alone by the Water,daily painting by Everglades Artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Alone by the Water, 2013, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on board, 2013

Camp in the Fakahatchee

We drove out Janes Scenic Drive to where a number of tram roads branch off, each closed to vehicles by a locked gate.  The trams are raised roads remaining from the logging of giant cypress trees in the 40's. 

The trams are only available to walkers unless you happen to still own a bit of property.  My new friends owned such property and had a key to gate #7, so that we could go further by car.  I transferred from my car to theirs, squeezing into the back with Lelia, a beautiful weimaraner.  

The road was narrow and close with greenery brushing the sides of the truck, but it was dry, and the truck had no trouble navigating another mile deep into the Fakahatchee.  It would be different in the summer months when the heavy rains would turn the road to mud and the mosquitos attempt to eat you alive. 

We stopped the car with just enough room for another vechicle to pass, in an area filled with dense greenery.  We jumped out, unpacked the car, and took our provisions over a footbridge to a small camp sent on cinderblooks raising it above the remaining shallow water.  (to be continued)