two dogs standing in a leafy wooded area with bare trees and scattered green vegetation | Two large dogs walking together on a paved path next to a mossy stone wall and green grass on a cloudy day

20 August ~2013

The dogs and I camped at timberline on the weekend of the Perseids. I got out three times during the night to watch the shooting stars, and for the first time managed to capture one with my camera. I wasn't quite ready to get up at dawn considering how little sleep I had gotten, but it is not easy to supress four wild hearted border collies who are ready to get up and have an adventure!

Sunlight streaming through a misty or foggy mountain landscape with a dog sniffing the ground in a grassy meadow below

Three nights earlier I had ended up a memorable camping trip on a isolated island 70 miles west of Key West. I slept out of the tent whenever I could, and everytime I awoke opened my eyes to the Milky Way and thousands of stars. The highlight of my trip was kayaking over to Loggerhead Key, and returning with no mishaps. The trip back was exciting, since the wind had come up and the waves were high. I had brought a spray skirt to keep seawater from splashing into my kayak and weighing it down. I also had a pump with me to bail water out. I don't know if I have ever felt so alone as when I was kayaking in the open ocean over 60 feet of water, with the front of my kayaking going airborne as a big wave went under. The knowledge that a kayaker was thrown into the water and eaten by sharks three years ago doing the same crossing did not help. I made it though, and am looking forward to doing it again someday.

The Garden Key ranger told me if I went to Loggerhead, I should not miss crossing the island and snorkeling in the coral reef that is right off shore, called Little Africa, and he described how I could find it. (follow the path across, turn right and go about 500 yards down the beach). At first I swam too far out and didn't find anything but sand and seagrass, so obviously was in the wrong spot. I then swam parallel to the shoreline, in the direction he told me, and came across magnificent corals and sea fans and a multitude of Blue Tangs, French Angelfish, Parrotfish, and many others. At one point a large barracuda swam pass my right shoulder and turned and looked at me. I kept going, not thinking much of it, since barracuda are a common site in tropical waters. After a while I noticed that everytime I looked back, this barracuda was right behind me, and watching me. Their teethy 'I would like to eat you if I could' look is a little unsettling, especially since I knew I was alone on this island, having passed the resident rangers in their outboard boat on the way over. (They came by and asked if I needed anything, and wanted to know when I would be back at Garden Key. They said if I didn't return they would come looking for me). After a while I ignored the barracuda, but I did notice it followed me several hundred yards snorkeling up and back. Onboard the Yankee Freedom I told the crew about it, and one told me either the barracuda thought you were a shark, and was hoping to get a piece of your meal, or you were in its territory and it was checking you out. Since then I have read that barracuda attacks do happen, even though they are rare. One Florida diver lost an eye when he was diving after dark and the barracuda attacked his mask. Another lost a finger when a barracuda chomped it off.

This video shows how quick barracuda can be, and why you don't want to point your camera lens at them for very long. They might attack it. It is best in full screen mode.

One evening I was at the table next to my tent, when one of my fellow campers came over with some Grouper she had just cooked, offering me some. Being on a tropical island alone and seeing a tanned slender bikini-clad friendly woman with long sun-lightened brown hair come walking over felt like a dream. There is the heart of a boy in even the oldest of men.

Calm water reflecting a colorful sunset sky with scattered clouds and silhouetted dock structures along the shorelineCalm water at sunset with partly cloudy sky, wooden posts sticking out of the water, and a small dock with a boat on the left side

click on any thumbnail to enlarge it

Underwater coral reef scene with various corals and tropical fish, surrounded by smaller inset images showing close-ups of colorful fish and a barracuda in clear blue water

Underwater coral reef scene with various colorful corals, sea fans, and multiple tropical fish swimming among themlow-lying island on the horizon beneath a sky filled with large, billowing clouds over calm ocean waterUnderwater scene showing a school of small silvery fish swimming in clear, rippling water with light patterns on the surfaceUnderwater scene with coral reefs and various tropical fish including blue tangs and a black-and-yellow striped fishA barracuda swimming near the sandy and rocky bottom of clear shallow waterUnderwater view of a large conch shell with a light pink interior, surrounded by small striped fish swimming near rocky surfacesUnderwater view of a barracuda swimming near coral formations with several striped fish around in clear blue waterUnderwater coral reef scene with a large school of small fish densely packed on the right and a few brightly colored fish swimming near coral formations on the leftUnderwater view showing a small jellyfish and a barracuda swimming near coral and seagrass, alongside part of a snorkeling camera with an orange strapClear turquoise ocean water gently lapping a sandy shore under a partly cloudy blue skyUnderwater view of a coral reef with various sea fans and coral formations in shades of purple, yellow, and greenUnderwater scene showing coral reef structures with two small fish swimming near the corals in clear blue waterRed and black kayak resting on a sandy beach with calm ocean water and a distant shoreline under a blue sky with streaked cloudschoppy turquoise ocean water extending to the horizon under a cloudy sky with sunlight reflecting off the wavesPaddle blade partially submerged in choppy ocean water under a cloudy sky with sun reflecting on the wavesLoggerhead KeySun partially obscured by dark clouds over a calm ocean horizon during early eveningSunset over the ocean with golden light breaking through dark clouds and reflecting on the water surfaceDark blue and purple sky at dusk with scattered clouds over a calm ocean reflecting the sky colors

person kayaking on calm ocean water under a sky filled with large clouds, some lit by soft sunset huesColorful sunset sky with purple, pink, and orange clouds over a calm ocean horizonPerson kayaking on dark ocean water at dusk with birds flying nearbydense star field with many bright stars and a visible band of the Milky Way galaxyMan wearing a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses, and a plaid shirt standing on grassy ground near a calm ocean under a partly cloudy sky