USA

Florida northwards by the West Coast

At the beginning of week I found my reference marks by looking for a McDonalds to pirate Internet connection to read my mailbox and to publish the weekly page of my website. Then it was a stop at Walmart to go shopping. As of 10 a.m. heat became high. Hwy# 997 then #41 led me northwards of Everglades National Park and southwards of Big Cypress National Preserve. In the move I played truant by traversing the SR 94, gravel road, called Loop Road. Having joined Hwy #41 I stopped at Big Cypress Visitor Center which exhibits a splendid stuffed panther. The adjacent channel was very full of fish to nourish the local predator a nonchalant alligator. Florida does not authorize the wilderness camping I stationed at Midway Dump Station. In end of the afternoon superb red birds gave me a concert.

SR 94, gravel road

American panther

Another 'gator

Still a small driving day in the wet furnace of Florida. Before leaving the bivouac I sought the origin of the bug appeared in the front page of my website during its publication. Curiously it was not visible in the Bill's software! After resolution of the tree of the causes I identified my mistake and I corrected the CSS style sheet as well as the  Html code page. During my work a raptor observed me with its sharp-edged glance. At the entrance of Naples a McDo offered an Internet connection to publish my corrections and to display the discounted result which was worthy of my espectations.

Day or night raptor?

On the way I made a detour to visit the deadened village in low season of Everglades City. After a snack left from my bag on a Shopping Center carpark, I warned a store of sale and repair of bicycles. I stopped there to make repaired my bicycle bought in Thailand after the theft at Hanoi of that which I had acquired before leaving for the trip around the world. It was a question of rectifying the buckled front wheel, to change tires and tubes, brake shoes and broken pedals. The unit was carried out in about forty minutes. This day of maintenance finished around 16:30 in the greenery at Koreshan State Park..

Everglades City

Fort Myers

The stage of the Wednesday, June 6 was devoted to Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, the first the brilliant inventor and agent of more than thousand patents, the second the creator of famous Ford T. Henry Ford began his career with Th. Edison before designing his quadricycle in 1895. Both established their winter residences in Fort Myers, Florida. I walked filled with wonder in the museum dedicated to the principal inventions by Edison. Admittedly his genius is different from that of Einstein, the first dealt with the applied research the second with the fundamental research. But what would we have become without them? The second part of the day was less happy, it was a flood of rain until St Petersburg via Sarasota. I found a point of fall in Robert's RV Resort in the middle of the above-named city.

Thomas Edison

Waiting for another invention, 1921

An electric car

General Electric Co.

Thomas Edison's house	Henry Ford's house

St Petersburg, Salvador Dali Museum

On Thursday 7th between two waves of rain I visited in the morning, the Salvador Dali Museum of St Petersburg exhibiting the collection of A. Reynolds Morse and his wife Eleanor. The architecture of the building is already a masterwork.

The museum	View from the Bay Vista

Helical Staircase

Salvador Dali	"Limo"

This collection is the most important out of Spain. Works cover all the periods of the artist from 1920 to 1950. Alas No Photo, in the afternoon, I stopped at McDo to look on Internet for pictures of exposed works, I found some of them very interesting. Before the storm at the end of the afternoon I found a bivouac at Anclote Gulf Park with the authorization of the caretaker.

Daddy Longlegs	Moma

La Noia

The persistence of memory	The desintegration of persistence of memory

Towards Tallahassee

The end of the week was dedicated to the visit of the capital of Florida, Tallahasee, where I headed in two days. In the morning at Anclote I walked to surprise fauna at daybreak. My search was abundant in birds and rabbits, certainly accustomed to tourists. On the pontoon fishermen tried to catch big fishes, alas not very inclined to bite at the hook. However it was necessary that I leave. Hwy #19 is without much interest. I looked vainly for a parking at the edge of Suwannee River without success. I determined to bivouac at Manatee Springs State Park. Of course it rained in the day and the evening at the bivouac was rainy too.

Tallahassee, Old Capitol

On Saturday, June 8th I visited two sights of the capital of Florida, Old Capitol and the Mission San Luis. The first was built in 1845 the year of the incorporation of Florida to the Union after the war carried out against Spain by the General Andrews Jackson who was then the first governor of the new state. During his political career it was honoured and haï. The rooms of the restored building present the history of Florida and the great events like the fight for the civic rights of this state, cuban immigration without forgetting the disconcerting business of the counting of the paper ballots of the election of Georges W. Bush whose brother was governor of the state. His election was acquired with one voice of majority. Al Gore, his challenger, inclined himself with plume.

Governor's Suite

Mission San Luis

The Mission San Luis was in 17th and 18th century the Spanish mission more west from St Augustine. The wars carried out so much by British than by Americans were right of the peaceful occupation of “La Florida” by Spain. The site was the object of archaeological excavations. Reconstitutions were set up and of animations organized to point out the history of Florida and native Americans.

On Sunday, June 10th I left Tallahassee under a driving rain. I had thrown my reserved on Ochlockonee River Park. I was able there to lunch under the sun, exactly. The campground is shaded and very peaceful at the edge of the river for a Sunday rest.

Ochlockonee River