Super Moon Tides in the 10,000 Islands

"Moon Rise in the 10,000 Islands"

The best way to get the early morning and late evening photos is to just get out in it.

I wanted to get some good shots of the rising Super Moon of March 19th. This was the largest moon that we've had in about 20 years. The weather looked good so it looked like a camping trip in the 10,000 was in store for the weekend.

March 18th - We grabbed our camping gear and the boat and took off for Chokoloskee. Let me tell you - a Gheenoe sure seems small when you start loading all your camping gear in it!  It took us 2 trips to get everything out to the campsite.

We decided on Lulu Key for the campsite.  We set up on a sand bar - that allowed us to dock the boat in protective water on the bay side of the island. We had the protective cove and one side and the Gulf on the other - a perfect spot for a breeze that helped keep the bugs away.

Campsite at Lulu

After setting up camp and relaxing for a bit, it was time to start thinking about the upcoming sunset opportunities. We decided that Stop Key was the ideal spot for the conditions. One of my favorite and most photogenic mangroves lives on this key so it made the choice easy.

The tide was going out and we had the push the boat back before we could get going.

Soon after departing, we realized that the trim motor on the engine had stopped working. That made it impossible for us to raise the engine when we came upon skinny water.  We soon realized how much of a burden this would be in the Super Moon tides. The water was going out fast and we kept hitting bottom as we made our way toward our destination. At one point, we rounded an island and I could see Stop Key in the distance. The moon had just started to rise and looked enormous!
I was more than anxious to get to the photo location but the tides wouldn't let us get anywhere fast. We hit bottom a couple more times and I could see the large effect of the moon slipping away as it rose into the sky. Total frustration.

We finally got to the key. The moon was higher and the effect of it's largeness had diminished but it was still gorgeous. I had the rising moon to the East and the setting sun to the West. I was literally running from one side of the mangrove to the other to capture both environments.

"Sunset Stop"

The sun set and I knew that we had to rush back to campsite.  We had to stop along the way a couple of times for Alan to focus on the GPS in the moonlit night. Sure it was a bright moonlit night but it still feels awfully dark when you're on the Gulf at night in a little bitty boat!

Preparing to leave Stop Key and head back to Camp Lulu.

We made our way back to Lulu. As we got close to the cove at the campsite, Alan told me to hold on because we were going to have to run into the cove as fast as we could since the engine would not rise. This was an attempt to get us as close to shore as possible before getting stuck in the mud.

Well the attempt was worth the effort but we sure got stuck a long way from shore. We were going to have to get out of the boat and walk to shore. Alan got out first and volunteered to take the camera gear (thank goodness for my pelican case!). He decided to go toward the mangrove shoreline and walk that toward the beach. I saw that he was sinking up to his knees with every step and simply did not want to get out of the boat.  But - I didn't want to stay in the Gheenoe all night either. So I got out - threw out the anchor and then made a more direct line toward shore. I was sinking up to my thighs and didn't know if I was going to make it. I started feeling the temptation of going back to the boat for the evening but I talked myself into going on.

That spec on the right is the boat. That's a long way to wade in thigh deep mud!

We were exhausted when we finally got to shore. We went to the other side of the sandbar and washed the mud off of us. Then it was time for a campfire and a cocktail or three!

It was a sleepless night. I woke up at 2 a.m. as I heard the approach of high tide. I woke up with a fear....a fear that the other end of the anchor line was not attached to the boat! I could not rest until I knew. I decided to go wake up Alan to ask him if the other end was tied.  Whew! It was.

Our campsite was surrounded by raccoons all night. They were into everything that was outside of the tent. I sat us most of the night watching them in the moonlight.

I was happy to see morning come and I was up before the sun. I was hoping to get some shots of the Moon Set around the campsite. That's when it dawned on me.....the tripod was way out there in the boat.  Oh well....guess I'll have to wait until the next Super Moon!

~Always an adventure!