Mid-December…

The rain started mid-week.

By the weekend, the area was hit by the outer band of a tropical storm.

There was enough wind and extended rain that I wondered if it was ever going to end.

Friday

Today, there was a brief break in the rain.

It was Nikki’s day off. We both needed groceries so we went together.

After the shopping is done, we head to Biscayne National Park in Homestead FL.

We enjoy this park and go there often.

A Fork In The Flooded Road

On the way to Biscayne park, there’s a fork in the road.

• To the left of the fork is the entrance to Biscayne National Park.
• To the right of the fork is the entrance to Homestead Bayfront Park.

We notice the Homestead Bayfront Park entrance is flooded and there are people driving through the flood waters!

In their defense, they were trying to exit Homestead Bayfront Park. The weather service posted flash flood warnings. It’s possible the road was not flooded when they went into the park.

The trucks facing into the flooded road are Employee trucks.

Beyond the trucks are 2 vehicles coming out of Homestead Bayfront Park. They weren’t moving so I assume they stalled in the flood waters.

Heading To Biscayne National Park

The entrance to Biscayne Park was not flooded so Nikki and I drove to the park.

Before reaching the park, there’s a stretch of road where the sides are thickly lined with trees and shrubs – mostly mangroves. If you look through the mangroves… you can see the bay on one side and the marina on the other side.

Once you enter this half-mile or so stretch, there’s no place to turn around until you reach the park.

As we drive, we notice the water getting closer and closer to the edge on both sides of the road.

It wasn’t rising fast. It was possibly just waves coming in and going out but it was a little freaky.

At The Park

As we drive through the parking lot to turn around, we see the bay water overtaking the boardwalk. It wouldn’t take much for the water to overflow into the parking lot.

We drive through the parking lot, back through the stretch of mangrove lined road and exit the park… safe-n-sound.

At The Campground

After dropping Nikki off at her home, I go back to my home (the campground).

The weekend weather outlook was worse than the past couple of days. It was forecast as a “tropical storm-like” event as the outer band of a tropical storm makes its way through the surrounding area.

Friday Night and Saturday

Gusts of wind caused Bella (my van) to rock and sway.

During the night, when Bella would suddenly shake from a gust of wind, I wondered if I was being sucked in by an unknown Florida sinkhole or if Bella was about to take flight.

Sunday

After a bumpy night, I wake up later than usual.

As I begin to pull the back curtain open, my eyes squint – as if emerging from a dungeon.

There’s a bright orange thing in the blue cloudy sky!

A few minutes later… the bright orange thing disappears and more rain is dumped on the oversaturated ground.

Late Sunday Morning

The sun reappeared and decided to stay!

After being cooped up in the van since Friday… I head outdoors.

My neighbors are also outside and we briefly chat.

I walk around a bit to see what I can see. Surprisingly, there were only scattered puddles – no flooding.

Parting Thoughts

The storm finally passed, the sun came out, it cooled down and the humidity dropped.

This wasn’t a bad storm. I’ve been through worse! It was the length of the storm that I didn’t care for.

The worst part about it raining for so many days is… everything in the van feels damp. I run my heater at night (when it’s cooler) to try and dry it out but the heater can only do so much.

Once the storm passed, there was a calmness in the air.

It’s funny how there’s always a sense of calm after a storm. The air is fresher, your perspective is clearer and you somehow feel recharged.

Maybe that’s the purpose of the storm…

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About The Top Photo: This picture was taken in back of my campsite shortly after the tropical storm-like conditions ended. In the distance, you can see birds circling over the swamp.