November 11

Wanted to let everyone know I should have time to add today’s comments along with completing yesterdays. Will return after checking some college football action.

Well, it is coming down to Ohio State versus Michigan for bragging rights in the Big 10 and CFP. Michigan took care of Penn State today. I digress, is not this blog about National Parks? I exited I-95 at the route 44 exit, to go east to New Smyrna Beach, then a right turn onto A1A. A1A has its “ins and outs”, literally along the east coast of Florida. This spot happens to be one of those oddities. Signs are along the road saying the road ends in X miles, with no way out to the mainland. One can only reverse course. A1A continues into Canaveral NS, now called Atlantic Ave S. But the road does end at Apollo Beach Ramp #5, a few miles past the Apollo Beach VC. I had not visited the Apollo Beach area in previous trips to this park, so this was my target for today. The Turtle Mound hiking trail uses a raised boardwalk so you can look out over Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River. About 0.5-miles past the VC is the turn for the historic area of Eldora. Nothing remains of the small village, which had its beginnings in the late 19th century, except for the Eldora “State House”. There are parking lots placed along the length of the road, with wood boardwalks to get you over the dunes and down to the ocean-side beach. On my way back from the beach I saw a tortoise making his way across the asphalt pavement. He did an about-face to get back into the shrubs when he saw me approach. As we should do with wildlife, all I took from him was a photo memory. Though only a couple of bicyclists and walkers in this area, there were plenty of fishermen. I guess that is what you do if you live by a body of water (hint - I do not fish). I had hoped to see a manatee on the river side of the barrier island, but no luck.

Now for the unfun part of many days in my travels; 5 hours of driving to the next park, and through the metropolitan area of southeast Florida, which stretches from Miami all the way up to Melbourne. I-95 is a 10-lane expressway, with extra lanes for exiting and entering. The iPhone took me around I-595 and US 27 to reach Everglades NP at 1:40 PM, enough time to drive the 15 minutes to the Nike Missile Site. This was the last active Nike Missile unit in the country, being deactivated in 1979. It, along with three other batteries of the 52nd Air Defense Artillery, were placed in South Florida in the late 50’s and early 60’s due to the threat of Russian nukes in Cuba. Volunteer Leon led the 1.5-hours program, starting at the barracks area for the soldiers. The buildings are painted in flamingo pink, but Leon does not know why. My first thought was Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in the hilarious movie Operation Petticoat. If you have never seen this movie, I highly recommend finding it somewhere and enjoy its two hours. Yes, the submarine is colored pink.

Everyone then hopped in their cars for a caravan to the down-range area, where the Nike missiles were prepared and stored. They would have been launched just outside the storage barns, but thankfully our military never got to the point of having to launch the missiles. Leon said there was one day when alert level was DEFCON 2, and the level almost went to 1, but was averted at the last minute. As he said, no one knew what shenanigans Khrushchev and Castro would pull. The base was closed in 1979, the last of all Nike Missile units in the country. The structures and artifacts are original and give a visitor a glimpse of what “old technology” looked like. Us old-timers grew up seeing photos of Nike missiles, watching the Vietnam War body count on the nightly news, and having televisions in our homes which used transistors. Today’s younger crowd thinks these items are from the Jurassic Period. But it was great to see some elementary school folks on the tour. A ranger at the Coe VC said this will be Leon’s last season as a volunteer, leading these tours, which he has been doing since the Nike site opened in the park. He said Leon is a treasure for the park. In seeing and hearing his presentation, mixed with stories, and the rapport he has with the audience, I wholeheartedly agree.

I should be back in the park tomorrow afternoon and Monday morning, hoping to see alligators, birds, and maybe a Burmese Python (which I will then point out to a ranger so it can be exterminated).