The August Nat Geo

Well we are all moved in as of last night, today we started our Fall semester and I already have homework. So it's safe to say our summer is officially over. But the real reason I am writing today is because Blake was in the National Geographic the mouth! 

How cool is that?

As a kid Blake (and everyone right?) would look through all the amazing pictures in the Nat Geo. Who would have thought one day he would take up a whole page of his own. Anyway it is safe to say we have 10 copies at our house.

Blake and the Florida Python Challenge 2013

From Jan. 12^th – Feb. 10^th  Devin and Blake were involved in the Florida Python Challenge. This competition was put on by the FWC to raise awareness and to capture as many invasive Burmese Pythons as possible.  Blake has been catching wild snakes all his life, and lately has been focused on the Burmese Pythons (remember road cruising?). We were excited to be living down here for the challenge. There were two prizes up for grabs, the first for the hunter who caught the most pythons and second for the hunter who caught the longest. After the month long competition of hunting out in the Everglades Blake and his hunting partner Devin brought home 1^st place for longest python caught and 2^nd for most pythons caught. I know a lot of people would think Blake is crazy for walking out in the Everglades and catching these constrictors with his bare hands, and many people will think I am crazy for letting him do it. But it has been a fun hobby while living down here in south Florida. We have always loved going out into nature, and both find animals beautiful and fascinating. 

 Here is some of the Media coverage they received.

Here is a really good video of Blake on Channel 6  Orlando Channel 6 Orlando News video clip

Buzzfeed.com

New York Times newspaper

Channel 6 South Florida video clip

BYU Newspaper

Oxford american Magazine

FIU Paper

Blake even made the Religion News Quote of the day.

And some of our favorite pictures from the Challenge.

Road Cruising

Remember when we went crocodile hunting? Well after the sunset we were ready to road cruise. What is road cruisin'? It's really simple, just drive the roads (we go at night because that is when the pavement is hotter then the grass) and look for reptiles or amphibians sitting on or crossing the road. This can also be called herping, herp being a term for reptiles and amphibians. One reason Blake was excited about moving to Miami was because of the everglades python "invasion". We hoped that by driving down in Everglades National Park at night we would see a python. This trip we had no luck with the pythons but we found a lot of other cool snakes. Count for the night: 3 cotton mouths, 2 eastern green water snakes, brown water snake, red rat snake, a frog and scorpion. I'm glad Blake has Devin, who is just as into these kinds of things, and I have Krysta who can sit in the back seat with me and make fun of our husbands being nerds. To be honest though Krysta and I have fun as well. We are getting into the whole road cruisin' thing, if we weren't we would probably stay home and hang out there. So you can find us four driving the road on any random night looking for pythons. Oh, and while in the Everglades be prepared for the elevation change, it's a real ear popper. 

Shark Valley

Shark Valley is a little National Park about 30-45 minutes from our apartment. We do not know how it got the name, because there are NO sharks and it is NOT a valley. But it's a good 15 mile nature walk. You able to rent bikes or take a tour on a little tram as well. But the main reason people visit Shark Valley is to see the alligators. 

The Belliston first took us here for a combined Family Home Evening. We went at night, which was fun and free (normal enter fee is $10 a car). We were armed with flashlights, bug stray, and dryer sheets (to help with the bugs as well).

We have gone back a few times since then; Saturdays with friends, taking the missionaries for their P-day, visitors, and it's a good man date for Blake and his brother Bryan. It is a cool place to get up close and personal with all kinds of wildlife. Here are some photos from our (mostly Blake's) many trips to Shark Valley.

Now when people think of alligators they think of this...

Some feel that given the chance these beasts would charge and eat you for lunch, like a lion or something. And if they were as big as a lion they might... but they're not. If this were the case Shark Valley would be a lawsuit waiting to happen, because gators are truly just laying along side the walk way. Most the time they just lay there sunning themselves minding their own business.

So if you are ever in town, and want to see an alligator, now you know where to go.

Crocodile Hunting

A few weekends ago we decided to take a trip down to Everglades National Park. Before entering the park we stopped at Robert is Here (yes, that is the name of the place) for some milk shakes. Now all we knew about Robert is Here was that it is a fruit stand that is known for best fresh fruit milk shakes. We were not expecting this...

Robert is Here is not just a little fruit stand, it's a Big fruit stand. Cars line the road making the place standout from the surrounding farms. This is a different part of Florida with miles and miles of squared off land. They sell all kinds of local fruits and vegetables. There were heaps of mangos, coolers full of cold coconut, full canes of sugar, and a large number of different honeys (including avocado). They even have a little petting zoo out back. There was much more to the place then we were expecting. And the milk shakes lived up to our expectations. We tried a Mango, Guanoabana and Mamey milk shakes. 

After experiencing Robert is Here we were back on the road. We wanted to get to flamingo, the end of Everglades National Park before sundown. We were headed to Flamingo because this is the best place in Florida to see saltwater Crocodiles. Having lived in Florida, Blake and I have seen a LOT of Alligators... but never a saltwater croc. After arriving, we walked around Flamingo a little and did not see much. The Bellistons went to check out the kayaks. I was preparing myself with the idea of not seeing anything. Then Blake and I started to talk to a nice couple about the two osprey (Everglades National Park is also a wonderful place for bird watchers)

 After a little chat they were about to go. The couple started to walk away when the husband turned to me and said, "oh, and did you see the crocodile just over there". We were Over excited! Blake turned and yelled for the Bellistons. While the nice man just pointed a few feet from where we were standing. There, if you just looked down was a good size female crocodile. We had expected the crocs to look much more fearsome then any alligator. But only their snout and flaunting teeth were scary. Their size and really their body/tale proportion was almost laughable. 

We then walked down the bank and spotted another one. They blend-in well with the rocky shore. 

We wanted to get closer but there was no way without getting in the water. So the obvious solution was to ask the random kayakers pulling up to barrow their kayaks, which after a little hesitation they agreed. So Blake grabbed the camera, hopped in the kayak and paddled right up to the croc. 

Deciding his cover was blown he slid into the water and we watched him disappear into the mangroves. 

We ended the night eating our dinner on a picnic table, enjoying the sunset. I believe we can call this trip a success.