After spending six months going east and south, we are now headed north and west--to be back in Idaho in June! We had nine days until we were due in our next campground in Alabama, so we decided to spend four of them in the Everglades. We heard there were a lot of alligators there, but we couldn't believe it. About ten miles before we got the the park we started seeing them. A canal runs along the road and every 50 feet or so there are alligators lying along the bank.
I think I must have taken a hundred pictures of them (don't worry--I am only putting a few on the BLOG!)
The campground we picked to stay at was Midway. It in Big Cypress National Park so we were able to use our "old age card" (America the Beautiful card) for 50% off. Yeah!
This little park is just beautiful. It is one of only two in Big Cypress and has only 26 sites. We got there early on a Monday morning, hoping to get one--which we did. We only had electricity (50 amp!) but there was a dump station and water available. The roads and sites were all paved, with cement slabs, and a circled a pretty little lake.
Each campsite has two trees, including a palm tree. You can see our Dodge Neon parked where we are.
Here is a closer view of where we got to camp for four days.
Apparently, there are four local gaters in the lake. We only saw one and he was just swimming around in the middle. The Ranger told us that earlier, one had come calling at a campsite and was waiting at their front door the next morning. Another time a camper threw some chicken to one of the gators and then set his empty cooler next to their rig. The next morning his cooler was in lots of pieces. That is one thing you don't do is feed alligators. Once you do, they associate people with something to eat. And then if they continue to be a problem, they are disposed of! It is against the law to feed them.
There was a unique bird house where the houses looked like large gourds. It was frequented by quite a few birds.
The Rangers gave programs at this little amphitheater back in the woods. Were were there only during the week and the programs were presented on the weekends so we didn't get to see any of them.
The entrance into and the exit out of the park had these really pretty palm trees. They were very smoothly trimmed up to the green part, which I assume is new growth?!?
We had a big group of "birders" come through the park one day. And, our neighbors were "birders" and left each morning with their binoculars and hunted birds all day. I can understand why--there are tons of birds and some really strange looking ones. These pretty white ones were always in a large group. There was another bird that is black, with a brown chest and neck. He was always sitting in the trees with his wings spread open like he was going to take flight. We were told by a Ranger that his feathers are not waterproof and he has to dry them after each dip in the water to get food.
At one of the information centers, the banks of the canal are all cleaned off so lots of alligators come in each morning and spend the day there--sunning themselves if it is warm. They are not very aggressive--unless there is a mama and baby. She keeps her young with her up to two years. So, sometimes they have little ones two years apart to watch out for. They make a nest and lay almost 60 eggs, but only 2-3 make it to 4 years old, which is considered an adult. All kinds of birds, animals, and even other alligators (males) like to eat the tasty little ones.
We went to the alligator lecture by the Ranger and learned so much about them. They are actually nocturnal--they hunt for their food and are active pretty much at night and sleep a lot in the daytime. They only have to eat every 2-3 weeks.
They are cold-blooded reptiles so they have to work at keeping their body a constant temperature in order to digest their food. If they are too cold, their food just sits in their stomach and rots, and they may die from this.
We went to another visitors center and got to see a couple of manatees. This is the nose of one.
Manatees can get very large and are called "sea cows" because they feed on grass. They have to eat about 10% of their body weight in grass each day to survive and they have to have warm water.
There were several places you could stop and go on nature walks. This one had a great boardwalk with little picnic areas along the way. A lot of the land is really swampy and you get really wet and muddy on some of the trails.
Some of the root system of these trees are above ground because a lot of the time the water level is above the roots. It happened to be dry this day. But, one day it rained while we were there and all of this area was flooded. It was amazing to see how fast these areas filled with water. All of the canals filled way up, also. They told us that Big Cypress Park recycles its own water. It evaporates and then it rains the same water right back. It is the dry season now, but later on, it will rain every day for half the year, getting around 60 inches of rain, along with run-off water from the land above them.
These flowers are really pretty. Their seeds land on trees and the roots get nourishment through the sap of the tree. The ten or more varieties of orchids grow this same way. When they are grown in your home, they grow in wood chips instead of soil.
We saw this friendly little snake. There are a lot of poisonous snakes in the Everglades. A tour came by and the guide identified this one as a harmless water snake, but we weren't getting too close to him.
As we were walking back, this little green lizard poked his head up. His color really made him very visible.
We were still enough that he came up onto the walkway and I got this great pic of him!
As we were sitting at a picnic area in the visitor's center, this man pulled up with his "RV," pulled by a little Ford Ranger. He is from Oregon and was very interesting to talk to. He said that he paid $250 for the truck sleeper and then added all of the amenities--patio, sun roof, etc. He carries a barbecue and a small refrigerator in the back of his pickup, with an inverter hooked to his truck battery. He says he never camps any place he has to pay for. I am sure he is enjoying life just as much as all of us in our fancy RVs!
This is what happens to alligators when they try to cross the road!
We had a great time at Big Cypress National Park and are so glad we decided to spend some time there. We tried to get reservations on a 5-hour canoe trip that the Rangers do, but it was full. We showed up that morning, hoping someone would not show, but they all did, so we didn't get to go. They only had six canoes. Oh well, maybe next time.
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