FLGPS RON

I can sum up this painful experience with two four-letter words: FIRE ANTS!!!

(You can use your imagination as to the other four-letter words that were uttered.)

After finding T 237 on the north side of the highway, I crossed over and headed for this triangulation station on the south side. Our camera’s battery promptly died right after I took my closeup photos. Damn. But no problem—we had a second battery waiting in the car. As I crossed back over the highway toward the car, I felt something poking my foot, as if a piece of dried grass had gotten stuck in my shoe. Then another. Then … I looked down and saw my left foot covered with several dozen small brown ants that were, by now, biting ferociously. I yelled “fire ants!” to Rich, who was (sensibly) waiting in the car, and then proceeded to rip off my sandal and bang it repeatedly against the shoulder of the road while hopping around on my right foot and simultaneously trying to brush my left foot free of ants. In retrospect it was quite hilarious (only because I’m not allergic and suffered only the typical painful, but not life-threatening, reaction!).

As you might expect, I had no desire to cross back over to resume taking photos and potentially walk back through whatever nest I had unknowingly disturbed the first time. Hence, the only photos I have are the closeup and an area shot taken from the north side of the highway, near T 237.

The disk is in good condition and is well-marked with red paint on the guardrail and spillway wall; this and the frequency of recoveries indicate that the mark is probably used quite often.

This triangulation station has no associated reference marks but it does have an azimuth mark. The azimuth is located about 1/3 mile west along the Tamiami Trail from the station. It is on the north side of the highway, set into the west corner of the south abutment of a bridge over a canal. The bridge leads north to a Miccosukee Village. Miccosukee Airboat Rides depart from a nearby chickee. The azimuth mark is in good condition.