Gators and turtles and herons, oh my!
[ Main Index ] [ Previous Day ] [ Next Day ] [ Photo Gallery ]
The benefit of the Best Western was that it was just outside the main gate to the Everglades. We got a reasonably early start considering we were still on Portland time. We decided to stop at the first stopping point rather than drive to the end and work our way back. It was a good call. Lots of wildlife right from the get go. You started at a little lake then walked down a path along a canal/ditch to another lake. The first thing we saw was baby gators! Cute little things maybe 6 or 8 inches long. Farther down the path, there were some big gators lounging in the sun. Lots of birds. Heron, storks, cormorants and others. We were there early enough that it wasn’t crowded yet.
We walked down to the end where there was a big lake with lots more birds and a big gator convention. And vultures. They were hanging out with the gators. According to the signs in the parking lot, the vultures will eat your car. Apparently they find the window moldings very tasty. While the signs cleverly absolve the park of any liability, I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do about the vultures short of standing there and guarding your car. We trusted to fate and got lucky. I got a picture of one who was starting in on a camper.
We drove to the end of the road to Flamingo. Flamingo is on the ocean and there are some interesting looking islands that would be fun to boat around. But not much to see in Flamingo. Just a campground and a visitor’s center. We had lunch at the visitor’s center. A pathetic chef salad for me. Marion had a burger. A better choice. But it rejuvenated us (we were fading). We wandered around a bit and saw manatees in the harbor. A mother and baby. They just kind of float there.
There was a giant swarm of seagulls on the dock complaining about everything as seagulls always seem to do. There wasn’t even anything going on. They just seemed to feel the need to bitch. I recorded them a bit on my cell phone. It’s very funny to listen to.
We stopped at all the places we skipped on the way back. West Lake, which was very green. A mangrove forest that we wandered through. It was very quiet. No birds or critters. Then Mahogany Hammock. A hammock is an area of slightly higher elevation (a few feet) where trees can grow. Most of the Everglades is grasslands or small trees. In our walk around we saw an owl in a tree. Very cool. Unfortunately he was situated right in the sun so it was hard to get a good shot of him.
We stopped at Pouratis Pond but almost didn’t. We had been to a few lakes at this point and they were starting to look the same. But since it was on the other side of the road we decided to give it a try (as good a reason as any). It was loaded with birds and fish were jumping. You just never know what you’re going to see.
The second to last stop was the Pahayokee overlook. It provided a view out over the expanse of grasslands and gave you a feel for what it looks like. Everything is very flat so getting up a flight of stairs gives you a pretty good view. Unfortunately, the view is not all that inspiring. Generally speaking, the Everglades are not what you’d call naturally beautiful. But plenty of animals to see.
On the way out we made another stop at the first place we stopped in the morning (for a bathroom actually). But since we were there we decided to walk back out to the end. There were lots more people this time. We got stuck behind a tour with a woman guide with a very whiny/nasally voice. And stupid people. The guide said something about the ridges on the alligator’s backs being like solar panels and someone in the group said “and that helps them digest their food”. Huh?
There weren’t nearly as many gators out so it was good we went in the morning. There were still plenty to see though.
We headed back to the hotel and another meal at a Cracker Barrel. This one convinced us, if the first one wasn’t enough, that we didn’t need to stop at Cracker Barrel any more. But, the chocolate cake we saw but didn’t order at the first one was available again, and this time we did indulge. And that made it worth the visit.
We gave the pool a try after dinner but it wasn’t heated and really just a bit too brisk. We put our feet in for a bit but gave up.
[ Main Index ] [ Previous Day ] [ Next Day ] [ Photo Gallery ] [ Top ]