December 18, 2016 - Okeechobee, FL

Edith kept peeking out the window because she did not want to miss the sunrise. She went back to bed when it was still dark.  She checked again and noticed that the dawn had begun, but she did not see the sunrise.

After we were up Edith went outside to see where the sun came up.  It turned out that from the bedroom window, on Edith’s side, she cannot see the sunrise. It was on the other side of the Lil’ Home.  Tomorrow morning she may try to get up early, go outside for sunrise photo shooting.

Edith was taking a brief walk when she spotted four deer grazing in the field, not too far from the campground.  Then two more joined in.  

We spent the morning relaxing outside with Edith working on the blog and Erwin reading a book.  It was not until about 10:30 am that we decided to go out for a ride on two preserve roads.  

We saw one alligator, one turtle, egrets and herons and crested caracara.  Not much going on out in the prairie. 

Crested Caracara

Turkey Vulture

We decided at the last minute to go to Okeechobee to get gas fill-up for the Jeep and to buy groceries.  It took about 45 minutes from the state park to the town center.  After Publix we thought about going for a ride at the wetlands, but found out the gate was closed.  

Sandhill cranes

On way back to Kissimmee Praire Edith checked the news on her IPad and found out that a Atlas V EchoStar XIX rocket was getting ready to blast off from Cape Canaveral in about 10 minutes, told Erwin to find a good place without obstacles.  She was hoping to be able to see the trail of the lift-off in the sky, but did not see any.

After getting groceries put away Edith went out by herself to check out one prairie. She found a picnic table and set up the IPad to record time-lapse of the clouds.  The sunset/cloud formations were beautiful. Lots of sun rays.

Anhinga

The prairie

Erwin fixed elk liver with caramelized onions and pole beans for supper.  While we liked the elk liver we would not be able to tell the difference between this and calf liver.  It was not chewy, but dense.  

Liver & Onions

Edith went out by herself again for the astrophotography.  After deciding on a spot to set up the tripod and camera Edith looked up and realized that the clouds were starting to roll in.  No good for Milky Way!