This approach worked fine 99% of the time. I became very talented at it, having to practice it multiple times per day. Thank God this was off-tourist season and boat traffic was, supposedly, at a low! I can't imagine what it would have been like had I attempted this trip during the winter months when all the tourists and the "snowbirds" (U.S. citizens who live up north and come south during the winter months) arrive in Florida.
I should not complain about most of the boat encounters. The continuous work out: get up, wave, shout, sit down, get up, wave, shout, sit down, definitely contributed to the improvement of my physical fitness as well as saved my aching butt from getting sores.
It was getting to be that time again when I needed to start looking for a suitable spot to camp - something that was not an easy chore. Even in the less populated areas, such as the farmlands, finding a suitable spot is not all that easy. In some areas the banks are 15 to 20 ft. high and without trails or cuts on which the dogs could climb. Other parts are too rocky. Due to its weight when totally loaded, I could not bring the canoe on land. The frequent boat wakes would have caused considerable damage, slamming it against the rocky shore.
From sunset to sunrise, it is alligator feeding time. So around 1 pm every day, I would start what would from then on become a daily litany: "Dear God, please have mercy and compassion on us. Help us to find a place to camp. We do not want to spend the night sitting on a canoe, getting rained on, being eaten by mosquitoes and surrounded by hungry gators".
Each time I said this prayer throughout the entire trip a "thought" would come into my head: All is well. All is as it should be. You will find a place to set up camp.
During the summer, the sun sets at around 8 pm. By that time, if I still had not found a place to camp, I would get scared. I would say to whomever or whatever was sending me these thoughts: "Yeah right! This is what I get for listening to you. It's almost dark. I still have not found a place to camp. Is this what you brought me on this trip for?"
This was one of those times: right before being engulfed into the darkness, I glimpsed a tiny beach, hidden under the hanging branches of a tree. I swiftly paddled towards it, anxiously scanning the area for alligators. After landing, we rapidly walked up the trail and found a clearing amongst palmetto palms, oaks, willows and Brazilian pepper trees.
I set up the tent, built a fire, cooked dinner and thanked God.
Next day, we explored the area. The small beach turned out to be a watering hole - favorite hangout for hungry gators. I found numerous, large animal tracks and droppings along the shore and up the trail. Lacking tracking knowledge, I didn't know if they belonged to cattle, deer or both.
The place was a little paradise. I decided to stay another day and give the girls a break from the cramped space in the canoe
