Everglades National Park - March 29

3 pm

It was only about a 30 minute drive from the Miami park to the Everglades National Park  entrance near Homestead. There are 2 'primitive' campgrounds in the park, and we have chosen the first one you come to, Long Pine. Huge campsites, lots of natural Floridian vegetation between them, no neighbours in sight. The grounds are quite empty but they say for most of the year it's easily filled up. And, it's only $16 per night, and sadly we had to pay the whole fare rather than the $8 per night that seniors pay if you are a Florida resident.

Wow, what a difference a day makes!  We spent yesterday in a resort with all of the amenities including heated pool, hot tub, tennis courts, club house, etc., etc.  ... today finds us in a true "wilderness" park..... In the Florida Everglades. No water, no electricity, no streetlights,   Okay, so there is a bathroom and you can get water from outside that facility, but that's the extent! We are all set up and the propane on our fridge is working (at least the indicator says so).  We have put out the big awning for shade and are ready to check out the Everglades.

Brilliant sun and 28 C, but a cool breeze under our side awning. As I  sit and write this, I am looking out at a mix of deciduous trees (flat shiny leaves like euonymous bushes) all sorts of shorter type Palm bushes and shrubs and lots of tall skinny pine trees.  Off in the bushes we are hearing something rustle near us.  Apparently there are 8 panthers in the park, but the park is HUGE so my vote is a curious squirrel.   Maxie is safely hiding under the bed in the trailer....

NB turns out the rustling was actually a bird upset with us for camping too lose to his nest!  LOL

8:30 pm

After setting up camp and resting a little, we went for a guided tour along one of the trails. This one, named the Anhinga Trail after the Anhinga bird, is a boardwalk that goes thru a swampy area where Joanne finally realized her dream of seeing real live alligators at close range ... Lots of them! The tour guide was a German lady who coincidentally came from the same German town as me, was a biologist and told some neat stories about the alligator species, such as they only eat 3 fish per week ....that's all! They don't need more cuz they never expend any energy, just lie around. They also injest a lot of energy from the sun. An alligator can go for many months without eating at all.

Following that we went back to camp and had a really 'country' dinner ...pizza! Since we have no electricity here we had to cook it in the turkey roaster which we plugged in at the campground washroom cuz there's power there. Have you ever gone into a campground washroom and smelled pizza cooking?

It's now 8:30 and pitch black.  And Since we are nowhere near a city or city lights there are thousands of stars. It is beautifully quiet aside from the crickets and birds, including owls. Very cool!