A group of the senior missionaries went on a p-day excursion to Shark Valley Everglade National Park which is the 3rd largest National Park in the lower 48 states. It was a very interesting and informative trip with a lot of wonderful missionaries. We went on a two hour tram ride with an excellent driver and tour guide. They knew almost every inch of the land we went though and where to find many of the alligators and birds.

    

      

Along the way we made a stop in a bog area where there seemed to be a bog so he could show us periphyton, a basic building of the everglades. He said he was going out into the boggy looking area and bring some back. He asked if anyone wanted to go along. I thought he was kidding but asked if he meant it and he said yes. So I took off my shoes and socks and rolled up my pants and went with him. He did let me have his staff to help me not slip. 

The first part was hard because there were lots of small rocks that were not nice to my bare feet. However once we got into the boggy area it felt good between my toes. The spongy periphyton did not smell bad and it was interesting to look at all the small things that were mixed up in it. To think that this was a major part of the ecosystem of the huge  everglade system.

“Periphyton is the basic building block of marl, a calcitic mud. In areas with hydroperiods of longer than nine months, peat builds up over hundreds or thousands of years due to many generations of decaying plant matter. Peat and marl are considered nutrient-poor soils that foster the growth of specialized vegetation depending on the length of the regional hydroperiod.” Later I asked him how many times tourists took him up on his offer to go out with him and he said not very often.

     

The first two pictures are Ahingas – the male – dark black with green on beak – is in the middle and the female – light brown – on the right. The birds spread their wings to regulate their body heat. The wood stork on the right is quite large and striking with its white body and gray head.

   

After the tour we bought some books on birds of Southern Florida and then all of us had lunch under the trees while sitting on logs. It was kind of like roughing it but it was also fun. The lady sitting in the chair in the last picture was sitting quietly reading when we invaded her space. When elder Steimle gave her a pass along card with the temple on it, we found out that she had been to Salt Lake one time and as she drove into the city from the airport she got a speeding ticket that cost her $190 – she doubted if she would go back again.

After lunch we loaded up the van and headed back to the office. However not before a stop along the way to solve a problem. Before we left the mission office this morning Elder Beagley got a call from a companionship saying that they had left their gas card in a car that Elder Evans exchanged with them last weekend. When I heard that they were in the Hollywood zone, I suggested that we since we would not be too far from them when we were coming home we meet them and let them have my gas card which I do not use very often. So sister Beagley called them as we were leaving the park and set up a meeting at one of the chapels. Everything went well and the elders now have a gas card so they can keep working.

I tried to sleep on the way home and did manage to get a few winks but not as much as I would have liked. I made up for it after we got back to the apartment as did Mary. It was a good p-day outing and it was nice to be with some of the other couples and to share an adventure. I would certainly suggest that anyone visiting Southern Florida go see this National Park and take the tour. It was well worth the money.

We went in about 8:00 and it was drizzling as we left the apartment. When we hit Broward and Pine Island it was pouring. Four blocks later at the office it was raining but not hard. About an hour later it poured down and I managed to take a picture. When we got back from lunch I took another picture from the same spot and it shows a blue sky and bone dry parking lot.

    

In the morning Mary worked with Sister Steimle in learning what she does as mission secretary. I did the same with Elder Steimle. The major problem of the morning was that a new elder came in yesterday and when he was placed out in Belle Glade he started a musical chair that changed a total of three companionships. So we had to first find out what the changes were and then to integrate those changes into Establishing Zion. 

 

12 March 2012 – MondayWhen I woke at a little after 7:00 there was no light coming in the windows. This was a combination of daylight savings time and the fact that it is very overcast. It looks like it is going to rain all day but I imagine it will blow through and we will have some sunshine later.

 

The Zone Leaders elders Beard and Conger shares information with elder Plowman. Sister Holder is paying close attention to what is being discussed.

The rest of the week I continued to learn about Elder Steimle’s calling. I am becoming more comfortable about how to find things on his computer. I also kept tweaking my excel lists. I wish I was more proficient about how to use Excel and how to type but I get things done even if it takes more time than it should.