EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

MONDAY MARCH 9, 2015

Another new travel lesson learned the hard way, on this section of Florida's Turnpike in Miami there are no pay booths but a picture is taken of your license plate (every 5 miles) and the toll fee will be sent to you by mail!  Unfortunately we will not be home until November so I assume many late charges will be added on to the already expensive toll roads here in Florida.  Finally arrive at Everglades National Park and after 20 miles are surprised there are more grasslands (called Prairies and the groves of trees are Hammocks) than swamps.   Soon arrive at the first big challenge, towing this rig over ROCK REEF PASS (Elevation 3 ft.!!!), only in Florida are the mountain passes under 5 ft. in elevation.  45 desolate miles later we arrive at the hamlet of Flamingo and our beautiful campground, relax by the bay in balmy 80 degree sunshine, and are dinner to a zillion mosquitoes.

TUESDAY MARCH 10, 2015

Wake up bright and early to catch the 9:00 am boat tour of the inter-coastal waterways (I think they are swamps but Florida has their own terminology for EVERYTHING).  Discover huge intimidating CROCODILES swimming around right at the boat dock.  We are both happy this tour boat is a bit larger than the skiff we had in Louisiana.

The 2 hour tour takes us up BUTTONWOOD CANAL into and across COOT BAY through the narrow channel called TARPON CREEK and into wind swept WHITEWATER BAY.  We learn lots of history, see baby crocodiles sunning themselves, and most important the MANCHINEEL tree which is poisonous to touch, if burned the smoke will blind you, and the sap will eat you alive! Just great!!  Not only do I have to watch out for Alligators AND Crocodiles while being eaten alive by mosquitoes as I hike through quick sand but avoid trees with downturned leaves.  Why do people think hiking in the desert is so dangerous???

                                Osprey eating a fish

 After a long lunch at the BUTTONWOOD CAFE ( best food within 50 miles) JoAnn takes a nap after the arduous boat ride and I take a walk along the COASTAL PRAIRIE TRAIL right from our campsite.  As the dutiful solo hiker I am I am on constant lookout for BIG critters, soft ground (even though I did some bushwhacking) and that damn Manchineel tree.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 11, 2015

Today we brave the mosquito infested (we were forewarned but when did I ever listen) SNAKE BIGHT TRAIL, a hike I had to do just for the trail name.  Bight is Florida term for bay and snake bites would have been less painful than the mosquito bites through TWO layers of clothing and constant spraying of bug repellant which I think ATTRACTED the pesky critters.  The trail is surrounded with brackish water and thick brush but each time we heard loud splashes JoAnn was quickly through the bushes searching for that elusive crocodile she was so anxious to snap a picture of.  The smartest one of this duo stayed right in the MIDDLE of the trail.  The loud splashing noise turned out to be schools of fish feeding (on the mosquitoes I hope).

We stop for lunch on the boardwalk into SNAKE BIGHT (bay) and since JoAnn was brave enough to chase down crocodiles I braved a walk across the marsh bog but quickly turned around once my ankles disappeared into the grey muck.

We return via the ROWDY BEND TRAIL which added another 2.8 miles of stunningly beautiful swamp to the hike but what the heck we figured the mosquitoes didn't have anything left on us to bite.  In Yuma the constant wind becomes a little annoying but out here you pray for wind to keep the mosquitoes away!