JANUARY 16, The Everglades and Southern Gulf coast

After we left Key West, our next stop was a week long stay at Long Pine Campground at Everglades National Park.

This whole period had above average temperatures even for Florida (highs in the mid 80’s and humid). The campground is only 6 miles into the park, so we used it as a base to see the Everglades and a few places in the Miami area. One thing we were aware of quite quickly was how much more water there seemed to be in the Everglades than in  previous winters when we were here. There seem to be a couple of reasons for this; a wet autumn and the fact that they are raising the Tamiami Trail (rt 41) to return the Everglades to its historic flow. I think this is in general, was why we saw less wildlife than other times, because the birds and animals are more dispersed because of more water. Our first day there, we drove to the Shark Valley area of the park on the northern edge and rode our bikes on the 15 mile tram trail.

We saw alligators, herons, egret, anhingas, turtles and more. We climbed the observation tour and saw the vastness of the Everglades. 

We drove the 34 miles to the Southern edge of the park a couple of times and saw manatees, crocodiles, and a red shouldered hawk.  We took all the nature trails along the road and learned about the different habitats within the park.

One day we rode our bikes 14 miles on the Long Pine Key nature trail and saw a 3 foot long diamond back rattlesnake crossing the road. He was quite beautiful.  We took a ranger led tour of a Nike Missile site within the park.

The site was built during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and was there to protect Southern Florida. The ranger was very good and gave you an idea of the tensions during that time period. Our last evening there, we took a ranger led moonlight hike on the Anhinga trail. This was on boardwalks and raised levees above the marshes and with our flashlights we could occasionally see glowing eyes in the water!

Outside of the park, we went to to the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden in Coral Gables. It is especially well known for its collection of different palm trees and cycads. Cycads look a lot like palm trees but reproduce a different way. We took a very informative tram tour around the park and learned a whole lot. We also walked all over the park. They also had a tropical butterfly house that was amazing. The garden was really beautiful.

Another day we went to the Coral Castle in Homestead. This place got a star in my tour book, but I don’t agree. This love lorn Lithuanian built this “castle” for a lost love. It has massive tables and chairs and monuments built out of limestone. He did this all by himself and to this day, no one knows how he did it. I think the mystery is why the place is so well known.

I must also mention “Robert is here” - a very touristy fruit stand outside of the Everglades. It is probably most well known for its milk shakes - we had a key lime shake-, but we were also able to get huge red tomatoes and juice oranges!

 

We spent the next seven nights at Collier Seminole State Park near Marco Island and the western edge of the Everglades. While there we spent time taking walks in Big Cypress National Preserve, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve, Ten Thousand Islands National wildlife Refuge, Corkscew Swamp Sanctuary and our state park.

All of these different areas are working to preserve the Everglades habitat.  We also took a boat tour from the Gulf Coast Visitor Center of Everglades National Park into the Ten Thousand Island area.( It only takes one mangrove on a piece of sand to make it an island! ) Our best sightings were of dolphins flipping out of the water and playing and lots of white pelicans. It was a very nice boat ride.

We also stopped at Havanna Cafe in Chokoloskee where we had a great Cuban meal. We also enjoyed walking the beach on Marco Island.

Mark kayaked on a canal  in the state park until it became clogged with mangrove seeds. He did see 3 alligators. We also attended a fun big band concert at a park in Marco Island. It was fun listening to the music and watching people dance.

We spent one night at Koreshan State Historic Park south of Fort Myers. We did a lot in one day. We walked the trails in the park and visited the historic area. We also visited the very interesting Edison and Ford Winter Estates. It is very interesting visiting the homes of these two famous men, learning about their lives and work and visiting the beautiful estates.

We finished the day by visiting the Lee County Manatee Park. We saw 3 manatees. The manatees like this area because there is a power plant nearby which discharges warm water, which the manatees like, into the river. 

Now we are at Oscar Scherer State Park south of Sarasota. More later…