Part 2 - Nike Missile Site HM-69 Everglades NP

 "It is insane that two men, sitting on the opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization."

-John F. Kennedy, 27 October 1962

At the height of the Cold War, a United States spy plane photographed a Soviet missile site in Cuba on 14 October 1962. President John F Kennedy was informed of these missiles, which had the capability of delivering nuclear warheads to major US cities possibly killing millions. At the time United States was poised only to defend an attack over the North Pole by the Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis revealed south Florida as an "Achilles heel".

In response the US Army Corps of Engineers chose to build an anti-missile site called HM-69 within Everglades National Park 160 miles from the Cuban coast. The area contained 22 buildings including 3 missile barns, a missile assembly building, a guard dog kennel, and barracks. The command centre was one mile away from this site.

Photo Courtesy of NPS

The US Army's 2nd Missile Battalion, 52nd Air defense Artillery had the daunting task of maintaining the 41 foot Nike Hercules missiles in constant readiness. Some missiles were equipped with nuclear warheads ranging up to 40 kilotons which was 3X the power of the Hiroshima bomb.

Photo courtesy of NPS

Sign posted at entrance gate to Nike Missile Site

Today the site remains virtually the same as when it was decommissioned in 1979. Barn C is now a museum with an original Nike Hercules Missile and tons of information on the missiles and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Nike Hercules Missile

Part of the Remaining Dog Kennels

Touring the now HM-69 missile site museum was quite an experience. I was pretty young when the Cuban Missile Crisis started and frankly knew nothing about it until high school. At the time life just carried on. The Beatles released their first single "Love Me Do", the Yankees beat the Giants in the World Series, and Sean Connery starred in the first James Bond movie "Dr No". I'm sure we remember at least one of these events if not all. But do we remember when the world or life as we have come to know it almost came to an end. Something to think about.

A very special thanks to my friend Rick M in Florida who was stationed at HM-69 during these days of uncertainty. Thank you for your service.

Part 1 - Everglades National Park, Florida

Visited: 7 - 12 January 2024

Nights Stayed: 5 nights

Known as "the river of grass", the everglades is home to 450,000 acres of mangroves and the largest continuous seagrass meadow on earth. When people think of the Everglades usually it's birds, alligators, snakes, and water. When I think of the park I think of an abundance of trails to explore, wide open spaces that are endless, and reptiles & animals galore. The park did not disappoint.

Everglades National Park is the third largest park in the continental United States only beaten by Death Valley and Yellowstone. It covers over 1.5 million acres or 2,350 sq miles. The elevation ranges from 0 to 8 feet (2.4 m) above sea level. The Florida Peninsula is thought to have appeared above sea level about 100,000 to 150,000 years ago. 

It is thought that humans first inhabited the area 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. The Tequesta tribe developed the eastern side while the Calusa (whom my dog was named after) inhabited the western side.

The Everglades was established as a National Park  in 1947. UNESCO listed it as an International Biosphere Reserve in 1976. In 1979 it was also listed as a World Heritage Site.

On average one million people visit Everglades NP each year. However, road access is limited to only four areas of the park. They include Shark Valley, Gulf Coast, Royal Palm, and Flamingo. The last is where we spent 5 glorious nights camping. FYI contrary to what many believe, we did not see a python around every corner, as a matter of fact we did not see one at all. 

Below is a map of Everglades National Park outlined in red. The only road leading to Flamingo is in orange and the star is where we camped for 5 nights.

Entrance gate to Everglades National Park

Flamingo Area - Everglades National Park

Flamingo Campground

There are basically two seasons in the everglades, the wet season and the dry season also known as tourist season. Most tourist visit the everglades between November and April of each year. This campground is usually booked solid a year in advance. We had a 30 amp electric site. Water fill-up is at the bath houses along with a dump station. The dry season gives way to the wet time of year. This sees a drop in visitation namely due to hot humid weather, supersized mosquitoes, and a constant threat of severe thunderstorms. Also the campground is closed during these months.

Our site

The first place I checked out was the Guy Bradley Visitors Center which is located near the campground but a 38 miles drive, bike, or walk from the entrance to Everglades National Park. It consists of two buildings joined by an above ground walkway and viewing area. This is a great place to start your adventures, the marina is close by, trails start from here, and several ranger lead programs are held in the visitors center or close by. 

Guy Bradley Visitors Center in Flamingo

For those who choose not to camp, the newly constructed Flamingo Lodge provides nightly accommodations that overlook the bay. The newly opened Flamingo restaurant which is adjacent to the lodge is open for breakfast, lunch, and supper. A bar service is also available.  

Flamingo Lodge

Flamingo Restaurant

The wildlife is amazing in Everglades National Park even though the weather wasn't great while we were there. It's suppose to be the dry season we received rain each day. So much so they closed the Bayside campground. I found this osprey and black vulture duelling it out along bayside.

Another accommodation choice are the elevated glamping eco-tents. Each has a partial view of the bay with either a queen or two single beds.

Glamping Eco-tents

View of Bay 

This coastal prairie is the result of numerous hurricanes storm surges that have swept across Everglades National Park. The water smothers the tree roots with a sediment that kills the mangroves. The damage promotes new plant and animal life where perching birds, snakes, lizards, and field mice thrive.

Coastal Prairie

The marina is the hub for all things water related from house boat rentals to boat tours. A marina store provides a variety of snacks, camping needs, souvenirs, and gasoline for your boat. Its also a great place to see crocodiles...yes not alligators but crocodiles. This is salt water a place alligators prefer not to go. I was lucky enough to see two.

Flamingo Marina

This crocodile is easy to identify due to his deformed jaw

Crocodile sunning himself of the boat ramp

Mammoth Caves National Park, KY

In 2012 we visited Mammoth Caves National Park which is located near Cave City, Kentucky. However, at that time I was unable to explore the subterranean world of endless caves. Fast forward 12 years, we are back and I'm determined to venture into the abyss better know as Mammoth Caves. I have a one day window to explore as much of this underground paradise as I can so I chose the guided cave tour Domes and Dripstones as it focuses on natural formations of the cave namely stalactites and stalagmites. The tour includes the entire Frozen Niagara Tour and a small portion of the Grand Avenue Tour. Susan opted to stay home, as she is not fond of caves, tunnels, or tight spaces. I found this out the hard way.

Duration: 2 hours

Distance: 0.75 miles or 1.2 km walk

Total steps: 640 including 280 steps on initial descent and an optional 96 more

Mammoth Cave National Park is located in southcentral Kentucky and is  home to the longest cave system in the world. The rolling hills covers over 52,000 acres offering up a plethora of activities including hiking, camping, boating, and so much more. Currently, there are over 425 miles of passageways that have been surveyed. It became a national park on 1 July 1941, named a World Heritage Site in 1981, and an International Biosphere Reserve in 1990.

The Domes and Dripstones tour starts with a 10 minute bus ride from the visitors center to the new entrance. Departing from the bus we descend into a rather deep sinkhole to the cave entrance. At the unimpressive entrance the ranger gives a short talk on what is to be expected.

As soon as I entered, I immediately descended into the depths of the cave. The passageways are so narrow you must turn sideways or bend down to get through. The constant 12C or 54F temperature is felt immediately.

Nearing the end of the tour their is a formation called the Frozen Niagara. At this point one can stay up top or take the optional 96 stairs down for a closer look. Of course I went further into the abyss.

The tour ended with a short bus ride back to the visitors center and me wanting a little more. However, I wanted to tour the grounds and see the old entrance to the cave. So I opted to hike the grounds.

Old entrance

Day 29, 30, & 31 - Homeward Bound

Day 29 - Camping Domaine du Lac Louise

Visited - 9 September 2023

Nights Stayed - 1 night

Knowing we had a long drive, we were up early and on the road by 8 am. Leaving Matane is bittersweet since it was our last stop in the Gaspésie Peninsula. It was still pretty foggy when we pulled out but got better as the day progress. As we left highway 132 and got on the A20 near Mont Joli, we have now official completed the Gaspésie Peninsula circle and are homeward bound.

The day was pretty unremarkable. Stopped for doggy and human pee breaks, lunch, and diesel. We reach the campground around 3:30 pm, I took the dogs for a quick walk then relaxed for the rest of the evening. Know pictures since this is just a quick overnight stay. 

Day 30 - Rideau River Provincial Park

Visited - 10 September 2023

Nights Stayed - 1 Night

Not having as long a drive, we left Lac Louise around 9ish. Got diesel just down the road and back on A20 by 9:15. It's great driving on a Sunday since there is little traffic and no transport trucks...or very few.

We pull into the campsite and get set up. I take the dogs for a walk, give them supper, then have supper ourselves. We were planning on staying here for 3 nights but I changed our reservation to only one. We will catch up with family another time. Got to get Brownie home to the vet appt.

I have blogged on Rideau River PP before so not going to do it again. I will say it is a favourite of mine. See previous blog for pics.

Day 31 - Home

11 September 2023

This will be our longest drive of the trip so we are out of the park at 7:30 and on the road. Traffic is good so far but the closer we get to Toronto I'm sure the uglier it will get.

Nothing remarkable about the trip...traffic, road construction, and slow downs which is the normal when driving on highway 401. People have often asked if driving through Toronto towing a 5th wheel scares me. My answer is never...what does scare me are those crazy people who think they are on a race track. 

  

After a month on the road we are home, filled with wonderful memories and excitement of wanting to do it again. People have asked about the cost factor involved towing the 5th wheel. My answer is simple...if you worry about cost then you shouldn't go. Anyway here is the breakdown for the trip. Hope you enjoyed the trip with me through my blog. Feel free to leave a comment if you want. Thank-you

Travel Distance: 4,550 km or 2,827 miles

Number of Campgrounds: 13

Campground Fee Total: $1,829.93

Diesel Cost: $1,887.26

Tolls: $20.80

Parks Canada Discovery Pass: $123.50

Seqec Quebec NP Pass: $172.00

Unexpected Vet Visit: $587.51

Number of Days on the Road: 31

Memories - Priceless  

Day 27 & 28 - Matane, Quebec

We left Grande Vallee around 10 am yesterday and it was a beautiful day but we could see the fog starting to roll in. No sooner were we on the road a grouse ran out in front of the truck...well you know what happened. I almost puked. As we continued along, the hills got less hilly and the roads got more bumpier. We stopped numerous times for the dogs... and us. Shortly after getting on the road after a short rest I saw someone flashing their lights behind me. This can't be good. I was able to pull over at another roadside area only to see my bike hanging off the back being dragged down the road. All I could do is laugh...I'm sure the guy thought I was nuts. Anyway the bike rack broke causing the bike to fall off. We put the bike inside the rig, thanked the gentleman, and continued on our way. What doesn't kill ya makes you stronger...again thankyou Kelly Clarkson. My new motto! Not allot of damage but enough.

We arrived in Matane got checked into our campsite unhooked the truck and went into town for some much needed groceries. We decided to stay 2 nights hoping today would be better...not. It rained all night with thunder and lightning, Brownie screamed  during the night in pain, Susan sat up in the chair half the night with him, and worst of all I messed up the morning coffee. Ugh!

 

The weather is not cooperating these last few days. With more rain on the way we just hunker down and again supply our bodies with some much needed R&R.

The town of Matane is barely visible in the distance. The ferry dock is also down there somewhere.

Leaving tomorrow then two more stops before we get home. Vet appointment scheduled for Wednesday. Lets hope we can get to the bottom of Brownie's pain.

Day 25 & 26 - Grande Vallee Quebec

The last week has been a very stressful time with the injury to Brownie. We thought he was on the right combination of drugs to allow him to be more comfortable. But, he is still waking during the night screaming blue murder. The vet gave us a prescription for Robaxin just in case. Before leaving Gaspe we went back into town to get it filled 5th wheel in tow. Three hours later on a very hot day we were on our way to a new stop. I've had to cancel our time in Parc National du Gaspésie and rearranging other places to stay. Grande Vallee is not a long drive from Gaspe but a very hilly one with dangerous switchbacks. Fog was rolling in and it seemed we stayed just ahead of it.

We arrived to a beautiful campground backed into a site with the St Lawrence as our backdrop. Time to relax and take a breath. After sitting outside for a number of hours we called to see if another day was available. Sure enough it was, we couldn't pass up the beautiful weather.

We had lunch then I went for a walk down by the water. There had to be thousands of ducks on the water. Most of the ducks that I saw were Common Eiders.

The rock formations on the beach was crazy. Falling on them would surely cause some serious damage to ones body. Sharp is not the word for it some were like little razor blades.

All in all we really didn't do much in the sightseeing category but did lots in the R&R department.

Day 22, 23, & 24 - Forillon National Park

Our next stop on this wonderful adventure is Forillon National Park. It is one of Canada's 38 national parks covering 244 square kilometres. It is located at the upper point of the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec. It is close to the biggest city on the peninsula, Gaspe.  Forillon was the first national park in Quebec created in 1970. That came about with allot of controversy...more on that later.

Our site for 3 glorious nights. Brownie our oldest dog is still having some serious pain from his fall. We had to take him to an emergency vet clinic $$$$$ in Gaspe where we got pain meds for him, plus a couple of injections, and an anti-inflammatory. Lets hope it works.

There are 3 visitors centers at Forillon, the south, north, and entrance. The south visitors centre which is close to where we are has a pool, tennis court, restaurant, laundry, store, and so on. Pretty nice.

The first hike I went on is the La Chute Trail. It is a 1 km loop and considered moderate in difficulty. It's basically a dirt path that traverses through the forest but the reward is a beautiful cascading waterfall at the end. The difficulty is the 50 metre drop in elevation. What goes down must go back up. It's also home to a red chairs.

There are very few old historic buildings in Forillon NP left over from the once thriving communities that called this home. The Hyman House & General Store is a 2 storey building where William Hyman lived and sold his merchandise. It was built in 1864. Hyman was instrumental in the development of the cod industry along the Gulf of St Lawrence and a driving forces behind the Gaspe economy.

While most families during the mid 19th century turned to the sea to make a living many families in the Grande-Grave community did a little mountainside farming. The Anse-Blanchette House bears witness to the fisherman-farmer lifestyle.

Now for the controversial part of Forillon National Park. At one time the area was home to 220 families spread out over seven communities. This is long gone today. Why? These families where forced to leave against their will to make room for the national park. It all started in the 1960's when the Canadian Gov't was looking to expand it's national park system into Quebec. The Canadian and Quebec gov't in June 1970 reached an agreement  to expropriate the land in Grande-Grave and several other communities. People were forced to leave their homes, businesses, income, and heritage. Very little compensation was given to these families for their property. Shortly after the expropriation the gov't burned down most of the buildings only leaving 4 houses, some barns and other structures...a very sad time in Canadian history.

The north entrance discovery centre houses a gift shop and information centre. A short distance down the road is the Cap-des-Rosiers lighthouse built in 1958. It is the tallest lighthouse in Canada at 34.1 metre or 112 feet. Cap-des-Rosiers is situated at the mouth of the St. Lawrence where it meets the Gulf of St Lawrence.

My last hike before we have to leave Forillon National Park is to "Land's End". I decided to bike instead of hike...little did I know. Anyway the  L’Anse-aux-Amérindiens bike ride starts in the parking lot and is 6.4 kms long with an elevation gain of 95 metres...yes over 300 feet. It consists of a gravel road that has washed away due to rain.

This is also the start or Point 0 of the International Appalachian Trail (IAT). The 650 km trail connects Forillon NP to Matapedia in Quebec. 

Perched on top of the hill is the Cape Gaspe lighthouse. The original was built in 1873 burning down in 1892. After climbing to the top I was able to admire the third lighthouse which was built in 1950 from concrete. I also got to have my red chair moment while enjoying the view.

Going down is usually easier than going up but in this case my bike is not great on gravel so I was full on back break going down with very little front. It was a challenge. But I do love a challenge. You can see the elevation change. In the distance is the sea and I am parked at sea level.