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| An alligator sited on the Anhinga trail |
After leaving the keys, I headed to the Everglades. I stopped at the Ernest F. Coe visitor center and asked the ranger what she would do given a limited time to explore the Everglades. She recommended a few hikes and heading down to Flamingo. My first hike was on the Anhinga trail. I got a great view of an alligator swimming across the water and another great view of another one sunning himself next to the boardwalk! I also saw a turtle swimming around. I continued following the road that winds through the park towards Flamingo. There were several boardwalks along the road to stop and explore. It is amazing how diverse the Everglades are and how even just a one foot change in elevation can drastically change what type of vegetation can thrive there. Between the super dangerous animals (and trees . . . there’s even a tree that will kill you!) and the trees that walk out (really. . .they drop down roots from their branches and slowly walk out towards the water), it’s a wonder that anyone survived exploring this area (or found their way out)!
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| Beautiful Florida Bay |
When I made it to Flamingo, I signed up for a boat tour in the backcountry of the Everglades. I had some time before the boat left, so I sat by Florida Bay and gazed out at the gorgeous aqua water and peeked through the telescope type contraptions at the visitor center to see the topical birds on the sand bar (I’m not quite sure what variety of tropical birds they were, but they certainly had very long legs). I also wandered over to the marina and saw a manatee!
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| Trees walking out into the water! |
Then, I boarded the boat and headed into the backcountry. I saw crocodiles and alligators (the only place in the words you can see both)! We wound our way through to Coot Bay and then to Whitewater Bay. It was amazing to get to go into the middle of the park like that! It was also quite nice to be in the safety of a fairly sturdy boat with two guides who were aware of the dangers. It really gave me an appreciation for people who are able to navigate and survive wilderness adventures in the Everglades!
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| River of Grass |
After the boat tour, I headed back out of the park on the same little, windy, road (seeing as it is the only road that leads to Flamingo, I had little choice). Then I headed west through Big Cypress National Preserve. I spent the night at Collier Seminole State Park. It started raining rather hard as soon as I set up my tent, so I dove down to the boat ramp to watch the storm over the water. In the morning, the mosquitos made sure I quickly got motivated to hit the road again.
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| Seriously. . .how did anyone make it into the Everglades to explore?!?! |
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