The Everglades

The Everglades occupy 1.5 million acres, covering most of the southern tip of Florida. Water from lake Okeechobee drains into the Everglades during the rainy season, effectively sustaining life. Humans need water. And with increased urbanization of southern Florida, much of the original Everglades has been converted into farmland and urban areas, and water is being diverted in its support. In an effort to save the Everglades, the national park was created in 1947, setting aside the land now know as the Everglades, at a fraction of the glades original size. The canals used for irrigation and the nutrient rich run-off from the farmland currently threaten the Everglades.

We spent two days in the Everglades. On the first day we visited Everglades City and took a boat tour around the Thousand Islands area. Some cool trivia. The water is a tea-like brown from the tannin of the Mangroves' leaves. Most of the water is less than five foot deep--so the Coast Guard maintains a canal for boats. There is at least one Osprey in that area. There are at least 10 dolphins in that area unless they swim really fast, in which case there could be as few as five. There are at least four brown Pelicans. And there are many tired, small white birds that like to sit on the guideposts marking the canal. After the boat tour, we went to Shark Valley. We felt mislead. There are NO sharks in Shark Valley. Nor did the park service even mention sharks. There were only alligators, hawks, and birds. And it was hot. Both places were stunningly beautiful.

On the second day, after a wonderful night in Florida City (don't go there if your not forced to) and some of the spiciest Habanero salsa we've ever had, we took the main road in the park down to the Flamingo Visitor Center. Solitude. A few campers. A few people fishing. And a german couple that had strong sun screen but were getting burned anyway. The beach was a gray clay. We got really close to a baby Osprey that was sitting in the branches of an almost dead, bone-gray tree. After exploring an almost deserted campground looking for the coastal trail, finding the coastal trail, walking along the coastal trail in increasing heat, seeing nothing but coastal prairie, which is beautiful, but becomes monotonous, we turned back.

From the Flamingo campsite, we started driving back towards the park entrance, stopping along the way. We walked through a beautiful Mangrove forest onto a big tannin-dyed pond--on a boardwalk. Almost hit a large soft-shelled turtle. Stopped and took a picture of the soft-shelled turtle that was sunning itself in the middle of the road for which the speed limit is 55 mile per hour. Watched a park ranger drive up and move the turtle to the side of the road. Stood across the pond from the nesting area for hundreds of Wood Storks and a few Roseate Spoonbills. Watched the Wood Storks fly across the pond, land in trees, clumsily pulling small branches from the trees for use as nesting material, and fly back across the pond. Walked through a small Mahogany island-forest that stood in the middle of a vast swampy prairie. And then finally, walked along a path and boardwalk from which we saw tens of alligators. We saw large 15 foot ones and small babies that were less than 12 inches. We got within on foot of a beautiful brown bird (see picture)--don't know its name.

And then form there, we drove down to Key West...