Thursday January 31

I JUST LOVE MY NEW STOVETOP ESPRESSO MAKER!  Much easier than the plastic filter cone and paper.

Woke up to a cold, windy morning.  Put on my parka and went on the 10:00 guided tour of Okeefenokee Swamp.  I was the only tourist; two guides.  Saw an alligator and black vulture (we only have turkey vultures in VT).  And there's never been an alligator attack that the guides know of.  TRUE FACT ALERT:  In the 1890's, a General Jackson bought the swamp from the State of Georgia hoping to drain it and make a killing logging the cypress trees.  As the swamp sits 100 feet above the surrounding country, he figured he could just poke a hole in the edge and all the water would pour out.  Because of some strange hydrology, nothing happened when he dynamited for the first canal.  He went bankrupt.

In the afternoon the sun came out so I kayaked Way Down Upon the Swanee River.  It's called the Suwannee now and runs through the swamp (hence Stephen Foster State Park).  The river widens to about 100 feet and narrows to just a few and I had to zigzag between cypress trees.  No one else on the water.

A camper stopped by curious about the Toaster.  She and her husband live in Portland, OR and plan their RV trip every winter to make their first stop in Al Gadona, Mexico, just across the border from Yuma, AZ to get their dental work done.  Apparently, it costs about a tenth what it does in the US and they are very satisfied with the quality of the work.

Paid $4.50 for an industrially sealed plastic bag containing 6 small pieces of firewood.  Fortunately, I found a large limb and with a borrowed ax was able to produce $9.00 more.  Had a great fire.  But there are no stars tonight and thunder showers are forecast for tomorrow.  So I connected the trailer for a quick getaway in the morning if the weather is lousy.