Christmas in France- Les Herbiers

Les Herbiers is a small city in the countryside of France. The surrounding area is rolling hills and rivers.The city is small and there isn't much to do in the city. Despite being small there are some very nice restaurants and bars. One of the most intriguing bars was La Cervoiserie, which serves a huge variety of craft beers from all around the world. This isn't your typical bar though because it is actually more of a store that also serves. Unfortunately this also means it closes earlier than other bars.

Although there isn't any huge cathedral or castle in Les Herbiers there is a church and small castle.

Church in Les Herbiers, France

At the top of Mont des Alouettes overlooking the city there are two windmills and a chapel at the entrance to a trail complex. These old windmills were used as signals during the war. I took a hiking trail that went around the hill with scenic views of the edge habitat of the park and the surrounding hills and farm land.

Windmill at Mont Des Alouettes

The views are mostly forest and open pasture but this did give me the chance to see one of my favorite birds. Blue tits are small colourful birds. In this forest they mainly stayed in coniferous forest. They move quickly and with the many branches I couldn't get a decent photo.

The countryside of France has many hawks, falcons, egrets and lapwings to see in the trees and fields. 

Lapwing

Outside of the city there are many areas that have hiking trails. The abby near Les Herbiers has a grid of trails associated with the logging activities in an old forest. Bird feeders set up outside of the abby actually attract blue tits and other birds from the area. This forest looks very nice for finding an owl in but I didn't hear any that afternoon and I couldn't stay later into the evening.

Great Tit

Blue Tit and Great Tit at the abby in les Herbiers

Abby in Les Herbiers

La Grotte de Boistissandeau has a small outside chapel and some trails going through the woods. The day we went for a hike there was frost on all of the trees and vegetation from the humidity in the area. Although wildlife was pretty quiet in the area that day there were some Nuthatches and Marsh Tits. Marsh Tits look very similar in appearance and size to Black-capped Chickadees in Canada.

Grotte de Boistissandeau, near Les Herbiers

Holly leaves with frosted edges

 South of Les Herbiers, near L'Orbrie there is a Sentier de la Balingue. This trail is also associated with logging activities. It runs along two river areas. There are large old growth trees in one area with an empty understory from logging activities that have opened up the area. Along the river edges it is rockier and the views of the river are quite open in the winter.

Sentier de la Balingue

Here was my first time seeing a Hoopoe. A bird I had never even heard of but is sort of like a woodpecker with a large crest. Robins are really common birds in Vendee and they are quite adorable. They don't scare easily so it made them quite photogenic.

Robin

Robin

The last trail I did in Les Herbiers was a short loop around Lac de la Tricherie. The lake was quite small and it didn't take long to walk around. The surrounding area is countryside and the trail is well maintained and easy to walk.

Great-crested Grebe

Coot

One thing that helped a lot finding these local trails was being lent a book by a friend. The book about trails in Vendee is quite good for locating trails in the province but some of the trails are better marked than others and the colours of the trail markings don't always match what is in the book. The other downside is that often the trails are actually complexes of multiple routes but only one is shown in the book.

Christmas in France- Nantes

For this Christmas holidays I visited France. My trip started in Nantes for a few days were I saw the gorgeous old architecture all around the city and many of the tourist spots including Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne and Cathedrale Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul.

The Chateau is free to walk around and its history is quite spectacular. The main street seen from the walkway actually was previously a river that was filled in and rerouted so they could build a road.

Chateau des ducs de Bretagne, Nantes

Chateau des ducs de Bretagne, Nantes

 Around the moat of the chateau there were a few birds hanging around. I am sure these are quite commonly seen all over France but it was such a good look at them I couldn't resist.  I was able to see many ducks and geese, which are probably not wild species as well as a White Wagtail and Moorhen.

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

Duck

 Cathedrals in France are no doubt all spectacular and when I first visited France when I was young the size and amount of detail that went into these buildings amazed me. On this visit I must say it still does.

Cathedrale Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul, Nantes, France

Cathedrale Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul, Nantes, France

The entrance had intricate stone carvings of religious scenes, text, floral designs and more. It would take years to actually get a good look at everything in these stones. Much of the work is far to high to even reach.

Cathedrale Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul, Nantes, France

Ile de Nantes is another place described to me as a must see while in the city so I headed there one afternoon. The area is currently in transition. What used to be a large industrial area is being turned into an artsy area with studios, bars, tourist attractions, galleries and some residential areas.  One of the larger attractions is the Machina gallery with mechanical animals and creations that actually can move. You can even get a tour on a massive mechanical elephant.

There is still a industrial flare to Ile de Nantes and a lot of interesting photo opportunities.

Orlando, Florida

Leaving the wilderness behind, we headed to the city of Orlando to visit my friend Miles for a few days. It was great to catch up with some old University friends including Miles and Megan who both moved down to Florida (lucky people that get to live in warm places). We went out for dinner at the Disney shopping area. This is basically a big mall with a variety of regular stores and includes many Disney themed stores. There is pretty much a store for every attraction! My favorite was the Lego store where you can build yourself as a Lego. Megan and I both pretty much looked the same (she couldn't find blonde hair).

Miles, Megan and I as Lego

During my stay I also got to go on a few hikes. Despite the lovely warm weather I wasn't lucky enough to find any snakes but there were many frogs around and I finally found a gopher tortoise. These adorable, long lived animals are an important keystone species in Florida. Their burrows are used by hundreds of different species but they are at risk due to human impacts.

Gopher Tortoise

Sadly leaving Orlando is the end of my trip. Beka and Brooke are continuing on without me and hopefully Quicksilver will stay in good shape for them to complete the trip and make it back home.

Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area, Ocala National Forest

After another nice morning swim in the salt springs we went to Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area for a short hike and swim. The Yearling Trail across the road is free but a much longer loop. The short one way trail at Silver Glen is only 2.4 miles total. It does cost $5 per person to use the area for the day but the hike, picnic area and spring are all very nice.

George Lake Trail, Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area

  The highlight for me was a green anole that was nice enough to pose for a while on a tree trunk. 

Cuban Green Anole

 Lake George isn't good for swimming at Silver Glen Spring and the shoreline is swampy. Probably would be great for seeing alligators but unfortunately we didn't see any. There were a lot of grebes and herons along the shoreline that you could see from some of the viewpoints.

The spring is also something you'd imagine out of a movie. Crystal clear waters that make the sand look like its one foot under but you can't touch the bottom. The current here was stronger than at Salt Spring and although it was sandy around the crevice (instead of rocky), you could feel the current pushing against you. That being said it is still very easy to swim. Unlike the Salt Spring Silver Glen Spring had a natural shoreline that was blocked off from the public to prevent erosion. It made the area that much nicer and natural.

Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area

Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area

Salt Springs Campground, Ocala National Forest

Ocala National Forest at Salt Springs Campground was empty compared to the booked up campground in Anastasia State Park. They don't allow reservations and it is strictly a first come first serve basis. The park staff is really friendly and helpful and if they know you will be getting there a bit late they are willing to stay open for you.

Bear Swamp Trail, Salt Spring Campground in Ocala National Forest

The bear swamp trail is a nice short loop through some swamp and sandy forest. It is a beautiful area and looks like great habitat for all kinda of wildlife but we didn't see anything other than birds. There are a lot of black vultures in the sky with crows, woodpeckers and bluebirds in the trees. The recent high winds had blown town a few trees and cracked some parts of the boardwalk. Luckily none of the massive cypress trees had fallen or the boardwalk would have been very smushed and impassible.

Orange trees grow really well here and Beka and I went foraging for oranges in a big tree that was very... fruitful. The oranges were the best oranges I have ever had.

Fresh picked Florida oranges

The spring wasn't what I expected since the shoreline is built up. I understand that this is probably because large numbers of visitors were having a negative effect and eroding the shorelines. The water is crystal clear and you can walk out to where the water is coming out of cracks in the rocks. Massive fish are swimming around and some are even leaping out of the water.

Salt Springs in Ocala National Forest

In the winter manatees come up the rivers to the various springs in central Florida to get into warmer waters. Blue Springs State Park is one of the better known areas where you can see 100s of manatees at once in the river and spring. Unfortunately this is again a very busy area and required booking in advance. Luckily we did encounter some manatees at Salt Spring Campground. A few of them even came right up to us while we were swimming!

Manatee, Ocala National Forest in Florida

The experience with the manatees was surreal and definitely worth visiting this park. I wish I had brought my snorkeling equipment because I would love to be able to see them better and just opening my eyes underwater (yes you can do this because the water is fresh) isn't really the best view.

During our time in the water we did see a manatee that had been hit by a boat and was dead on the shoreline. The river is supposed to be idle boating only so that the boats go very slowly and the manatees have time to get out of the way and there are signs telling people to watch out for them. They also have specific ways to avoid stressing out the manatees, ie. don't chase them, don't try to ride them, let them come to you and don't surround them. Make sure they always have a way to get away if they want to and if they want to then let them get away. Luckily they are quite friendly and curious creatures so if you are patient and quiet they will likely come right up to you!

St Augustine and Anastasia State Park

We arrived in St Augustine after dark. The city looked magnificent in all of the Christmas lights. In the city park the trees had lights drooping down from the branches. There were pavilions with artists selling their prints and originals. I met a fantastic painter named Charles Dickinson (www.charlesdickinson.net) who does very detailed oil paintings of the scenery in Florida and sells his work in St. Augustine during the Christmas season. He is apparently there whenever the Christmas lights are up.

Local painter in St. Augustine

St Augustine is one of the nicest cities I have ever visited. The city was established in 1565 and is one of the oldest colonies in the United States. The architecture shows this. Everything looks very historic and detailed. The roads are very very thin and getting our van down some of the streets was....iffy.

St. Augustine decorated in Christmas lights

We stopped for a fantastic burger (and abut a gallon of sweet tea for me) after walking through town a bit and then we  headed to Anastasia State Park. The other state parks across the US were run on honesty policy and you grabbed a packet, wrote your plate number and the site number then put your money in and just went to an open site. Apparently in Florida it is not really first come first serve but rather reservation only. So we were locked out of the park! Luckily a ranger showed up and let us in and got us a site.

I didn't find anything other than raccoons on a short night walk but we did hear some barred owls calling in the distance. There seem to be a lot of barred owls in Florida this time of year. We hear them almost every night since arriving here.

In the morning I walked the marsh trail that runs along the inner bay of the park. I was very much hoping for a boardwalk or some nice lookouts over the marsh but it was just a trail with cut grass along the shoreline. There were some good views of marsh birds (mostly herons,egrets and cormorants) but the biggest surprise was seeing two dolphins catching their breakfast fish.

I was absolutely frozen after my morning walk because I had underestimated how cold the wind would be coming off the ocean. The sun was out but it was still only about 8 degrees and the wind was BLOWING! I jumped back into bed for about an hour just to be able to stop shivering.

When I was finally all warm after drinking some tea in bed, I bundled up and hiked the nature trail that went through some gorgeous old sand dunes that have grown into mixed wood forests with oaks, magnolias and pines.

Nature trail through old sand dunes in Anastasia State Park, Florida

It was a day of a lot of hiking because after that I hiked the dunes and beach!  This habitat is gorgeous and although I didn't see any live reptiles I did find some evidence of reptiles in the area. There were many burrows and even a decent sized snake skin. Unfortunately with the wind it was quite shredded and I can't tell what it was.

Walkway to the beach, Anastasia State Park in Florida.

Sane dunes at Anastasia State Park, Florida

Sunset along the beach brought all of the shorebirds to land and I saw flocks of 100s at various places all along the beach. There were many sandpipers, ruddy turnstones and plovers. It was very sad to have to leave this area. We all wanted to spend more time there but unfortunately the park was booked up for the entire weekend.

Sunset through a gap in the dunes, Anastasia State Park

Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park

After leaving Osceola we stopped at Olustee Battlefield State Park for a short walk around the battlefield. This hike takes you through a nice old forest with interpretive signs about the battle. There are a lot of fence lizards on the fallen trees and logs around the park.

Fence Lizard

Brown anoles (invasive species) are more common around the building. The staff at the park are very knowledgeable and incredibly friendly.  They helped me look for more reptiles and birds then sent us on our way with some recommendations for auto repairs and some canned food. 

Overall the park was fantastic spot for reptiles (although not the greatest season for it currently) and woodpeckers.  One of my favorites was a turtle that was seen by Jim (one of the park staff) from a distance as just a moving glisten on the grass. 

Florida Chicken Turtle

Osceola National Forest, Florida

We finally made it to Florida and stopped at the welcome station to take celebratory photos.

Florida Welcome Center

After that we made our way to Osceola National Forest. We almost made it before dark but Beka didn’t know the symbol of the exits on the map so we took the 10 past Osceola and had to drive about half an hour out of the way before heading into the campground. The sunset through the rows of planted pine trees was beautiful and the drive out of the way was still very pretty. Oseola National Forest is a gorgeous park. Beka and I went for a short night hike and got quite turned around because we couldn’t find any trails and just walked down the dirt back road. There were a few frogs and geckos out at night.

Green Tree Frog

Eastern Spadefoot Toad

Waking up in the morning was refreshing and relaxing. Ocean Pond Campground has fantastic views of both sunrise and sunset.

Ocean Pond Campground, Osceola National Forest in Florida

 The lake looks like a gorgeous spot for some canoeing or kayaking. Unfortunately there isn’t much near the campground in terms of hiking trails. The campground does have a trail that links up to the Florida Scenic Trail.  This trial doesn’t loop so you need to walk down the trail and back the same way. The trail is nice and takes you through some older planted pine forests with a low palm understory.  The most I saw during the day were a few lizards. The morning we were leaving the park a Woodcock was foraging for food in our campsite and doing the typical Egyptian dance. I didn’t get great video of it but this person showed a fantastic rendition of it >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQxOa7chHew

Ocean Pond Campground, Osceola National Forest in Florida

Ocean Pond Campground, Osceola National Forest in Florida

More and More of Georgia

Since visiting Georgia, Quicksilver has been taken into the mechanics six times.... For three days we were stranded in Byron/ Warner Robins, Georgia. We have been so close to the Florida border but just can't make it there. Initially mechanics thought it was a fuel problem and we had our fuel filter and fuel pump replaced. Our battery fried on one of the drives. Now we have a brand new catalytic converter and voltage regulator. Most recently, our radiator started leaking (suspiciously this started in the shop after they did a pressure test on it).

There really isn't much to do in these two small towns that we have experienced but we did manage to catch the Christmas parade in Warner Robins. The country flare definitely reminded us a bit of home.There were also a few sock fights in the van.

The best sock fight throws stick to the peoples heads

We also had the chance to busk for some money to pay for the repairs. I may not get Christmas music out of my head in this lifetime but we did pretty well and got a decent chuck to put towards our repair bills. Likely we will keep doing this down in Florida if we ever make it there. As well as Christmas music lot of original ad lib songs were created >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAe-wxtive4&feature=youtu.be

We're definitely hoping all of the issues are fixed this time around and that she is again in good shape to get us down south. We actually only have about an HOUR drive to the Florida border and the van should be ready from the mechanics shop any time now!

Georgia

On our way to Florida from Nashville we planned to stay with our friends from the Smoky Mountains National Park. We started having van trouble along the way but she kept chugging along (literally it was like Quicksilver had hiccups) and we were very late (3 hours). The ride towards Atlanta goes right through the mountains and is very scenic but at some points the hills were a bit much for our lovely lady in silver.

Despite our tardiness, even more southern hospitality awaited us. We had a full, wonderful home cooked meal and were able to shower, do laundry and sleep in a real bed for the first time in 12 days. The next day we took Quickie in to the local mechanic and got  the four things that have been breaking down on her 'fixed'.

We passed the time by shooting off some guns in the backyard. It was Brookes first time shooting a gun and at the first shot Beka screamed. Despite being new at it, Beka and Brooke were both great shots.

Target practice in Georgia with some revolvers

I also was able to find a bunch of critters in the back woods including some marble salamanders, newts, lizards and frogs. I wasn't able to find the kingsnake that lives in the shed.

Marble Salamander, Georgia

When we tried to make our way to Florida we made it about 20 minutes down the road before we realized we missed them too much and turned around... Actually we broke down and started stalling but managed to chug a lug our way back.

Fixing up the van

 Todd helped us replace a part on the van that could be causing the trouble and we took out Todd and Elizabeth for dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. The Mexican food was amazing at El Durango and it was incredibly affordable for the portions you get.