Backroad Odyssey : Travel, Van Life & Lost Locations
Traveling America's backroads, history and road trip enthusiasts - Noah and Noodles - unearth fascinating locations overlooked while traveling.
Living out of a van, they research and visit each story location to share the (often shocking) secrets held within.
If you love travel, history and thoughtful storytelling - join us on the road!
Backroad Odyssey : Travel, Van Life & Lost Locations
Van Life Diaries - The Manatees of Southern Florida
Southern Florida is home to an aquatic gentle giant: THE MANATEE.
But how much do we really know about this wondering benign behemoth?
Noodles and I dive deep into the warm springs, rivers and tributaries of Florida to research this fascinating creature.
As always we'll answer listener questions at the end, which include:
- Who or what did you learn to appreciate after research for the sun records episode?
- Can you keep plants alive in your van?
- What’s the best hike you’ve done?
- Did you get to visit any other petroglyph locations while in Utah?
Works Cited:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1373656?searchText=florida+manatees&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dflorida%2Bmanatees%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A78fba27a60e9b2b6ca9f6a42fb5cfa7b&seq=1
https://www.leegov.com/parks/parks/manateepark
https://www.mmc.gov/priority-topics/species-of-concern/florida-manatee/
https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/marine-mammals/mermaids-manatees-myth-and-reality
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/columbus-mistakes-manatees-for-mermaids
Noah and Noodles here!
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Your support fuels our passion and inspires us to keep sharing stories and discover overlooked locations.
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Cruisin' down the street. I wonder where this road would lead. So many possibilities. Care to share what you think. Oh Noondahs, what do you see? Back Road Odyssey.
Speaker 1:Van Life Diaries the manatees of Southern Florida. Welcome to Van Life Diaries. I'm your host, noah, in the van, along with my dog and co-host Noodles the Woodle. Let's get into it. Southern Florida is home to an aquatic gentle giant, the manatee. But how much do we really know about this wandering, benign behemoth? The short answer is probably not enough. When exploring the diverse wildlife of the Florida panhandle, the manatee in all its buoyant glory stands out as one of the most peculiar and fascinating Noodles, and I dive deep into the warm springs, rivers and tributaries of Florida to research this fascinating creature. As always, van Life Diaries are unscripted and impromptu, although I've written some note cards this week to help with all of the manatee facts and figures we've collected in our research. I can only remember so much, and there's a lot this week. So I'm excited to get into it and, as always, we'll answer listener questions at the end. I'm drinking a Hemingway daiquiri in the spirit of today's episode. Feel free to join me. If not, no worries, sit back, relax and let's learn all about the Florida Manatee.
Speaker 1:It's January 9th 1493. Christopher Columbus, sailing near what is now the Dominican Republic, spots shifting shapes in the choppy, murky water. Strange, he and his crew think. The ship's journal later recounts they were not as beautiful as they are painted, since In some ways they have a face like a man, christopher Columbus. What he and his crew witnessed that day was not the beautiful half-female, half-fish mermaid of myth and legend, but a wandering manatee. Perhaps this mirage-like hallucination was brought about by sleep deprivation, dehydration, malnutrition or a spot of wishful thinking after months at sea. But regardless, this first Eurocentric sighting of the manatee would not be the last encounter with our ever-buoyant friend, and it will be far from the sole example of our fascination with the mistaken mermaid of the West, the manatee.
Speaker 1:We are driving to a manatee observation platform down here in southern Florida where you can view them respectfully from a distance. The name Manatee Park, the location, florida's very own Lee County, which includes the lovely city of Fort Myers. The park, I'm happy to report, lives up to its name. Something like 17 acres of Manatee Park serve as a warm water refuge for the Florida manatee every single winter. And here, right away, we run into one of the defining characteristics of the manatee they get cold. You'd be forgiven in thinking that their thick-looking bodies insulate them from the incoming cold, but that's just not true, sadly. If the water around them ever gets below 68 degrees, they'll go into shock and die. So manatees every year have to find a warm, spring-fed water system or southern hotter water or just abnormally warm water in certain areas. And where we are going now is the very last of what I just said Manatee Park in Lee County, which is warmed by the nearby Florida Power and Light plant, and the warm water essentially is a byproduct of the cooling of all of their equipment. Luckily the manatees love it. So that's where we're headed.
Speaker 1:But now I'd like to ask kind of a deceptively simple but important question what is a manatee? The manatee is endangered with extinction and I think it's because it's out of shape. It looks like a retired football player, jim Gaffigan. When it comes to sheer looks, the manatee might not be at the top of anyone's model recommendations, but the deeper you dig into their habits, their demeanor, their history, the more attractive and fascinating they become as a topic. Starting with this, manatees are mammals, large round aquatic mammals, and you'd be forgiven if you, like myself, think of similarly shaped little guys like walruses, like seals, when thinking about the manatee. But alas, the truth, like much of what we're going to talk about, is more strange. The manatee's closest living relative is none other than the elephant.
Speaker 1:All right, we're here at the observation platform at Manatee Park. You look down from where I'm at and you see shifting, slow shapes of manatees enjoying the heated water. I've been here before, I've kayaked here before and I have some stories I'd like to share. But before I do that, I want to share the most present and striking thing you'll notice when viewing manatees, particularly when you're in the water with them. So every single time a manatee comes up for air, there's a sudden but a very identifiable exhale. You'll hear it right away. It's loud, relatively frequent, every something like 20 minutes when they're resting. They'll come up Four or five minutes when they're really active, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I just wanted to point this out right away. It's like a spread out, non-violent aquatic game of whack-a-mole, only instead of moles, the curious manatee gently preaches the warm water that's around him. That, to me, more than anything in all my trips to visit manatees, stands out as unique and as noticeable, as unique and as noticeable. This breaching snout protruding from the water is essentially just a shrunken version of an elephant's trunk, and the similarities to their land-loving cousins don't stop there. When they've got a proper breath with their elephantine trunk, they retreat back underwater and they use their lips to pull food into their mouths in a way really very similar to elephants. If you've ever seen an elephant grab something and pull it into their mouth, it's the same thing, it's the same concept. But maybe the most obvious similarity is their size, something you really don't learn to appreciate until you're right up next to them. Typical adult males are something like 9 to 10 feet long and weigh an astonishing 1,000 pounds, and some even reach a staggering 13 feet and 3,500 pounds. You would think their diet of seagrass and fresh aquatic vegetation would be slimming, but nope. Our herbivoric manatee friends can eat anywhere from 100 to 200 pounds of seagrass and weeds per day, once and for all halting the assertion that salads are always slimming.
Speaker 1:Sometimes I see me as an old manatee heading south as the water grows colder. Jimmy Buffett growing older, not up. I think of a question as I look down at the power plant-loving beauties below me at Manatee Park. What makes the manatees of Florida. Unique. A lot of things, it turns out, but let's start with this.
Speaker 1:There are three species of the manatee. We start with the smallest member of the manatee family, the Amazonian manatee, a freshwater species preferring the South American. Member of the manatee family, the Amazonian manatee, a freshwater species preferring the South American waters of the Amazon River Basin. Interestingly, they are the only manatee species to not have nails on its forelimbs. I'll say this this does not seem to dampen their social abilities, because West Indian manatees we'll talk about them soon may stop every once in a while to visit these little tiny guys in their natural freshwater habitat. Nails or no nails, it's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1:Next, we venture across the pond to ponder the West African manatee, which can be found generally off the coast of Western Africa. Well, it is similar in size and general appearance. This saltwater and freshwater manatee has a much blunter snout than the other two species. It's also the only manatee species that seems to intentionally eat non-plant material. Finally, we have the West Indian manatee species that seems to intentionally eat non-plant material. Finally, we have the West Indian manatee, characterized by its grayish or brownish skin, rounded tail and a set of nails on its forelimbs. They are the largest of all of the manatee species and can be found all along the southeastern United States, from Florida to actually Massachusetts in the summer, to around the Gulf of Mexico and even through Central and South America, where they may take a detour to visit their tiny Amazonian manatee friends. But regardless, the West Indian manatee also has two subspecies that are important to talk about. One, the Antillean manatee also has two sub-species that are important to talk about. One, the Antillean manatee, which explores the Caribbean to Central America and beyond. And finally, finally, our friend, the Florida manatee, which can be found off the coast of the southeastern US and along the Gulf and Florida, which is the setting for my close encounter while kayaking in the Orange River.
Speaker 1:I'm walking now along one of the little paths that cross around Manatee Park only because I wanted to get some space to share a story really quick. I'm honestly at a loss for what happened during this story, but here we go. It's my very first visit to Manatee Park. My friend and I rent a tandem kayak.
Speaker 1:The day is calm and weits gently with the current down the Orange River, manatees every now and again come up for a breath. They're far away and we give them space In the first hour or so pass by just like this without incident. Eventually, we end up by ourselves moving more slowly and more slowly as the current subsides. It's quiet, calm, no one is around us except manatees, many, many manatees. But again, we give them space, we never approach them, we just sit and watch. And after a minute or so of this just watching, we notice a small group of manatees maybe four keeps getting closer and closer to our kayak with every consecutive breath. Every time they come up for air, it's 20 feet, 15 feet. This keeps happening until they're right by us. One surfaces right to the left of our tandem kayak, the other one surfaces right to the right. Silence when they go back down. And then, without warning, both manatees dive up and under the water, one tail hitting the boat, the other creating a wave large enough to cascade water into the kayak, soaking my shirt and pants and soaking wet. We paddle as fast as we can out of the tributary and back towards the more populated area, against the current. While we're doing this, we ask ourselves what just happened. The truth is, I and my friend still don't know. Do I think these manatees were intentionally trying to capsize our kayak? No, no, not at all. They're gentle, but it's so curious how it wasn't just one but multiple manatees performing the same action all at once. Like I said, I don't know. They could be curious. We could have unknowingly made them nervous in this slightly less populated area. Wish I had an answer. But regardless, it was a memorable experience with a truly, truly remarkable animal. He lived out his life for the rest of his days enjoying the leisurely manatee ways.
Speaker 1:An excerpt from A Manatee called Steve by Gord Laws. Before you say anything, I will post the poem in the show notes. It is a treat and a treasure. It's about a manatee named Steve who leaves his THC-loving manatee friends in Florida to go to the Olympics. It's great. Anywho, we've come too far and we've learned too much to not go yet further down this manatee iceberg.
Speaker 1:Here we go with a rapid-fire manatee fact blitz. They are good mamas. A female manatee is pregnant for one whole year and when the baby is born, the baby, called a calf, stays with its mother, nurses, learns the ropes, migration patterns, what have you? For? Up to two years, they have relatively long lives. Well, they typically live 45 to 60 years in the wild. They typically live 45 to 60 years in the wild Snooty, a male Florida manatee lived until the age of 69 in captivity. They are shockingly fast. When they want to, they can reach speeds of up to 15 miles per hour in a short burst.
Speaker 1:Finally, my favorite fact, manatees cannot move their heads sideways Because they only have six neck vertebrae. It's almost impossible, or just plain impossible, for them to turn their heads sideways. They have to turn their entire body around to look behind them, which only makes them that much more enduring. If you ask me, hello, I'm back in the van. I'm going to wrap things up by asking myself the following question what, if anything, did I learn from all my encounters with the Florida Manatee? And To that I'll say this when you view something anything but particularly wildlife, with purpose, with respect, with intent, it becomes nearly impossible to lose appreciation for it and for the Florida manatee. This is undoubtedly the case. And with that, manatee Park, lee County, my Manatee friends, I bid thee a very fond farewell.
Speaker 1:Before we get to listener questions today, I'll leave you with another short excerpt from a manatee called Steve. In a land known as Florida, far, far away, there lived a beast of pleasure who chilled out the whole day. No one could begrudge them their natural way, for manatees are manatees. The old folks say who or what did you learn to appreciate after research for the Sun Records episode? Great question.
Speaker 1:This episode, more than any other episode, really made me question how much I know about anything, because the more you look into the history of rock and roll specifically, the more you feel like you have to research. You know. The more articles I went into, the more I felt I had to read. The more documentaries I watched, I felt I had to watch just a couple more just to try and do it justice, because the history of rock and roll isn't the history of one person, two people. It's a multifaceted, rich, deep tapestry of music styles that weave together into this really, really complicated story. So, more than anything, I learned that. But very, very specifically, the music of Little Richard James Brown A video actually that I watch all the time now is Sister Rosetta Tharp. She was a gospel singer. She's standing near this train track and just shredding on a guitar with a peacoat and heels on, and just to see the passion behind what she's doing and how much she's overlooked really, really, really got me. So yeah, I could go on and on and on, but it was really rewarding to look into. And some records, yeah, but rock and roll more generally. So I learned to appreciate all that so much more.
Speaker 1:Great question Can you keep plants alive in your van? Short answer is no. Short answer is no. I went into a plant shop once and told whoever was at the counter that I lived in a van and asked is there anything? Is there anything that could possibly survive in my van? The person's response was anything will scorch so fast in that van. I'm sorry but no. So, yeah, I heeded her warning and now I have a hanging crocheted little succulents, which is great. It's all the greenery I need for now, with what I can do, courtesy of Hooks and Hops, which is a crochet slash beer Instagram account that I really enjoy.
Speaker 1:What's the best hike you've ever done? I like a lot of hikes for a lot of reasons, a lot of different terrains, but if I had to narrow it down, I'd say Delta Lake. That's a, I don't know the specifics. It's seven miles into the Tetons and there's just this beautiful lake at the end of it. Then Grinnell Glacier, which is in Glacier National Park. You hike under a waterfall and you end up at this glacier where you can dive into glacial water if you want, at the end, which is absolutely, absolutely freezing, but worth it because it's a bit of a tough hike. So, yeah, either one of those are up there the end, which is absolutely, absolutely freezing, but worth it because it's a bit of a tough hike. So so, yeah, either one of those, uh are up there.
Speaker 1:Did you get to visit any other petroglyph locations while in Utah? This is a reference to the Utah petroglyph episode that I did. Uh, sadly, I only went to the Capitol Reef petroglyph location. I know there are so many other petroglyphs in the area and I would like to go back and really, really do a deep dive into petroglyphs in general, but I only did what I did the episode on, sadly, but I hope to change that in the future.
Speaker 1:It's Noah here. Thank you for listening. I realize you have so many options for podcasts. Every minute you spend here is much, much appreciated. With that said, let's get some recommendations in here.
Speaker 1:So if you're in Southwest Florida and you want to see manatees, like I said throughout the entirety of today's episode, manatee Park in Lee County, fort Myers, is a great place to go.
Speaker 1:Kayak rentals aren't terrible and you launch right into the current of the Orange River. The best times to go in general, but for this location specifically, are December through March, because that's when all the manatees congregate around the heat of the power plant. You can also check out Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River. It's a popular location. You can rent a clear bottom kayak. Some manatees choose to live there year round, which is great, and it's also the only place in the US where you can legally swim with manatees. But I'll say this whatever you do, make sure you go in good faith, make sure you respect them, keep your distance and learn as much as you can, because they're really fascinating, fascinating animals. Finally, if you find value in the effort and the research that Noonles and I put into each episodeating and reviewing is the best way to help us continue to put the effort and the research that we would like to in each episode and, with that said, be good to each other when to next.
