Squadron of Spotted Eagle Rays

I had many fantastic wildlife encounters during my July 2018 trip to Key Largo, Florida. One of the best was the squadron of Spotted Eagle Rays that our diving group encountered near Permit Ledge on Molasses Reef.

Previous to this I had seen groups of 3 or 4 together but this was by far the largest squadron I have ever seen.

The Florida Museum of Natural History tells us,

"The spotted eagle ray is commonly observed in bays and over coral reefs as well as the occasional foray into estuarine habitats. Although it occurs in inshore waters to depths of approximately 200 feet (60 m), the spotted eagle ray spends most of its time swimming in schools in open water. In open waters, spotted eagle rays often form large schools and swim close to the surface."

View of Lake Sunapee from Mt. Sunapee

Hiking Mt. Sunapee

On Friday, October 26th I took the day off from work to go hiking before the weather got bad.

Althought I had taken the chair lift to the summit of Sunapee, I had never hiked to the summit. I found a trail map and discovered there are several hiking trails to the summit. I decided to start at the Old Provence Rd. trailhead and take the summit trail to the top.

The trail was not as well marked as I would have liked but thanks to the trail map and my GPD unit I was able to make my way to the summit.