A quick research trip: for book #4!
My work on Treasure off the Coast is finished. There are just a few more steps to go before it’s announcement and publication!!!!
But, I’m not finished writing yet. In fact, I’m already deep into the fourth book in the Junior Rangers Investigative Club Novels series. (in hindsight, this was a long series name for most social media character and word limits, oh well.)
Anyway, with a new book on the horizon, that means I have new parks to explore, and a whole lot of new historical and scientific research to do! Yes, this time I said parks, because the 4rth JRIC book will take place across the entirety of Southern Florida, through the swamps, marshes, and pinelands which make up the Everglades, and Big Cypress.
That’s right! Treasure in the Swamp will be a sweeping mysterious adventure featuring, not one, but two national parks. And while this early announcement will be, mostly, buried in the stacks of my weekly blogs, I can’t help but share some of my early excitement, which was only stoked by a recent trip along a very important route known as the Tamiami Trail!.
This might just be an excuse to take it easier on a blog this week. Last week’s became a much larger research project than I expected for an introductory article into several Kentucky Folklore. (you should check it out! It includes 2 cryptids and one crazy story!)
But really, I was just excited to explore and see for myself some of the places and wildlife which will play major roles in the upcoming book. Including:
The 10 Thousand Islands, Chokoloskee, and the Smallwood Store
Spread across the southwest coast of southern Florida are countless s small islands. Maybe as many as 10 thousand. (But probably not since we can now count them with satellite imagery.) Many of these islands were once homes to, and are now monuments to the early indigenous peoples who lived in the region, as the islands are scattered with shell mounds, and remnants of other structures built by the Calusa and their neighbors. More recently, the islands became part of the home of the Seminole pushed south by U.S. southern expansion. (this topic is way more complex than that, and worth much more of a writeup, so forgive the brief summary.) Finally, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, U.S. settlers and farmers began to expand into the region, lured by the fertile soil, fishing grounds, and access to the gulf coast for east of trade.
One of the settlements which has held on into the modern era is Chokoloskee, a small island nestled amongst the the (less than) ten thousand others. And while it is easier to reach today, (there’s a road,) many people living on the island are descendants of families who have lived in the area for generations.
That includes the current owners and operators of the Smallwood Store. Founded in 1906 by Ted Smallwood, the general store supplied people in the 10 Thousand Islands Region with trade. It’s had quite the history, and after a brief closure in the 1980’s it is re-opened as a museum to the times and the region. It is operated by the granddaughter of Ted Smallwood. And the day I stopped by, one of the other women running shop mentioned that she was also a relative of one of the Smallwood Store’s more notorious clients.
All in all, it is a very interesting place to stop by. Especially as I have been immersed in researching the history of the Everglades, for a while now, and the décor, display’s, and general atmosphere of the store definitely makes it feel like I am stepping back into the pre-National Park, Everglades past. I will definitely be headed back there, not the least because I need a more in depth exploration of the 10k island region, but also because it was a delight to talk to people well versed in the area history.
After that I stopped along The Tamiami Trail
The modern, scenic, route which takes drivers across southern Florida, (as opposed to the faster interstate route,) follows the original route of the railway through the region. The canals, the road, the roadside stops, the side roads and trails, are all monuments to the immense challenge and centuries of work to first explore, then try to conquer and drain, and finally now to restore, the Everglades. There was a time when men struggled to navigate these lands. A time when they were a refuge to indigenous people who fought hard to remain on them, and a time when men toiled to build rail lines, cut down massive cypress trees, and hunt the birds in the region for their feathers.
Since the mid-1800’s there was talk of draining the swamp to make the lands ‘more productive.’ And there were attempts at it, which impacted and changed Florida forever, but ultimately failed and finally were stopped. Only more recently, as people have come to appreciate the natural value of the Cypress Swamps, the grassy marshes, and the other environments of the Everglades, has there been a course reversal, and more work done to restore the Everglades, as much as possible, to the way they were before.
The Tamiami Trail is a living record of all of it. When it was paved, it quickly became a focal thoroughfare for people living in the region. Some of the early shops and tourist offerings are still around, as shops, airboat tours, cultural areas, and wildlife experiences. There are also multiple stops managed by the park service, including two visitor centers in Big Cypress, the pull-off to my favorite part of the Everglades: Shark Valley, and lots of side roads, campsites and trails.
I didn’t have time for all of that on my last trip, but I did stop at both visitor centers, only to learn that I was too late for the Manatees!!!! In Winter, when it’s cold, in the early morning, Manatees gather in the canal outside the Nathaniel P. Reed visitor center. Of course, I only arrived after it had warmed up, and the manatees had headed out. A ranger and a volunteer here also showed me a cool video of an alligator in Shark Valley who had managed to overpower a massive python. (Pythons are invasive in the region, and sometimes win against alligators, so, yay!)
At the Oasis visitor center, I stalked an anhinga for a while, hoping to get a video of their hunting behavior… I accidentally took a picture instead, and as I switched back to video, I watched the bird toss the speared fish up into the air (off his lower beak) catch and swallow it, and then stare at me, smugly as though he was teasing me about the show I had been unable to capture. (got a cool picture of the speared fish though.) Volunteers here shared a video of a black bear witnessed by one of the rangers as it crossed a backroad that morning.
From there I continued along the road, recognizing multiple places, and place names which will be integral to the book I am writing, but more about all of that later.
Mostly, I just wanted to share a bit about this trip, and make an early announcement while I am working on book number four.
Everyone I stopped to talk to was incredibly nice, and I have so much new information to work with!!! The locations I visited loan themselves well to the future book. I saw more birds along the Tamiami Trail than I expected, and due to my recent research, I now have a much greater appreciation for the conservation efforts put into place which protected them. (The roseate spoonbills I saw flying overhead, the flocks of snowy egrets, and the wood storks perched on cypress trees might not exist without the work done to protect the Everglades.) And, I have a lot of new ideas for adventures for myself, for the Junior Rangers, and potentially for anyone interested in exploring Southern Florida.
More about all of that later!
For now…
The winds are blowing colder, the days grow shorter but not for much longer, and the holiday season and new year are just around the corner. There are a few announcements on their way, and a few things I’m not yet ready to announces. The blogs for the next month be interesting, so. Stay Tuned!