Nature: Invasion of the Pythons

I am watching a very interesting Nature program on PBS called Invasion of the Pythons.    I guess it caught my eye because earlier today on KNX 1070, a local news radio station, they mentioned that open season starts in March in Florida.  You can view a Naples newspaper article by clicking here.

Comments:

• By 2 years of age, they are big enough to start eating pigs.
• They can eat whole crocodiles and digestion is complete within 6 days (skull, skin, bones, etc)
• They nest and are reproducing in the wild
• They have 4 rows of teeth on the top and 2 rows of teeth on the bottom
• 2 pits to sense heat
• Florida keys have a Burmese Python surveillance program with traps set up to protect a wood rat
• Farmers are not surprised to plow into a Python
• Drivers are used to needing to steer around these snakes

View the program at the above link.  Even though it was very interesting, I do not plan on moving to Florida anytime soon.

For Amazon.com's products about Pythons, click here: Search Amazon.com for pythons

PBS Show: Walking the Great Divide and websites on the CDT

Just finished watching around 2 hours on Channel 58.1 KLCS (http://www.klcs.org/) which is a local PBS station here in Southern California. Today it was from 2 PM to 4 PM. If you missed it, they will be showing it again (not sure which parts, not clear on website or on-line schedules) on Tuesday night, 7/28/09 at 9 PM and 8/1/09 at 2 AM!

It's a fascinating documentary following an approximately 6 month journey from the Mexican border through 3,100 miles of trails and ending at the Canadian border. There's also a "tri-continental" divide where from one point, the water flows to the Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans.

You can purchase the expanded 2-disc DVD version from Flagler Films (http://www.flaglerfilms.com/).

Not sure if I have the stamina, energy, and time to do it all in one stretch. I might consider doing it in bits and pieces. The people he interviewed (most are fellow CDT hikers) all report the same things, mind over body, pain, etc.

Other sites that may be of interest:

• Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide_Trail)
• Continental Divide Trail Alliance (http://www.cdtrail.org/)
• Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (http://www.fs.fed.us/cdt/admin.htm)