Big Cypress, Venice, and Clearwater

After a nice quiet night in the swamp (no wind!), we rolled out of the Skunk Ape campground bright and early since we had a long day of driving ahead of us. First we backtracked to drive the scenic road through the Big Cypress Swamp. When Everglades National Park was established in 1947, Big Cypress was originally intended to be included; however, because the land had not been purchased from its private owners, Big Cypress was ultimately released from the park system.
 



It wasn’t established until 1974 and there are still some private houses along the drive and they are surrounded by stockade fences. I thought they were really private people but I realized they lived in a swamp surrounded by many killer creatures (including the elusive Skunk Ape) so a good defense was probably the best strategy. The scenic road was a well maintained dirt road and it wound through some dense cypress growth with many alligators. Only one skittered off the road in front of us.

Can you see his tail?

Hopping back on the Tamiami trail, we stopped at the Oasis Visitor Center. There was a ditch of water out front that was also teeming with alligators.

  Our last stop in the area was the post office in Ochopee.

It is the smallest post office in the United States. The building used to be a storage facility for irrigation pipes of an adjacent tomato farm. It was turned into a post office, in 1953, after a fire which destroyed Ochopee's previous post office and general store. I made sure to mail myself a postcard from this famous post office.
 

It was now time to leave Southern Florida. I took over driving and we wound our way up the west coast of Florida. After lunch, we stopped at Caspersen Beach in Venice. This beach is known for its abundance of shark teeth.

We arrived armed only with a small bucket but were quickly intimated by the nets and other sieve tools that other beachgoers possessed. Undeterred Jess started scooping out buckets and dumping them on the beach for Lindsay and I to comb thorough. Alas, neither of us found anything but Jess managed to find 2 shark teeth!

Jess and Lindsay looking for shark teeth

I really liked this beach. I definitely prefer Gulf Coast to Atlantic Coast. It's just so much calmer (and warmer).

 

Continuing on North crossed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge which Jess and Lindsay warned me about. Apparently it is quite famous as The Travel Channel rated the Sunshine Skyway #3 in its special on the "Top 10 Bridges" in the World. The bridge is considered the "flag bridge" of Florida. It is also infamous for collapsing in 1980 when a freighter ran into it during a storm and 35 people were killed.

We drove into Clearwater to enjoy one last time at the beach. We went to Sand Key Park which is a a gorgeous beach. After playing around in the waves for a while we dried off on our towels and spyed on a beach wedding.

This picture is my "Ariel" moment