The Everglades: Part II

 

 Another highlight of the Everglades is the drive to the Flamingo Visitor Center. Driving down the road to it, Jess and I laughed at this sign that acknowledged the so called “pass”. In Colorado a pass was measure in thousands, not single digits. 

Driving along we saw a glimpse of pink birds that I excitedly thought were flamingos but it turns out they were spoonbills. Despite the name of the area, flamingo sightings are quite rare and typically only in the backcountry of the Everglades. At the Visitor Center the Ranger did point us to a place to see saltwater crocodiles and we actually got to see several! They are definitely a lot more skittish than the alligators and we didn’t get too up close but it was still really exciting.

Here's my zoomed in crocodile

While viewing the crocodiles we also saw a massive osprey nest with an osprey on top of the pole. We had kept seeing osprey's driving around but it was nice to view one up close.

While checking out the osprey, people also pointed out that there was a manatee close by so we checked that out as well.  

Manatee

The Everglades is chock full of wildlife and you definitely don’t have to wander far from your car to check it out.

After getting our fill of the Everglades, it was time to drive across the Tamiami trail to our campground for the night. We passed through the Miccosukee Tribe reservation and this is about all I learned about them:

The original alligator show?

Jess had discovered the Skunk Ape research center online which also ran a campground and decided that it was a good place for three single women to spend the night. The Florida Skunk Ape is the Southernmost Bigfoot in the U.S.A and gets its name from the awful stench that it emits. We were on the lookout for it along the road but didn’t see any glaring Skunk Ape signage. We decided to keep driving until we found food and gas and ask for directions there. Luckily food and gas were but a few more miles down the road and when we asked we were told “its back that way 4 miles, you can’t miss it”. Well apparently you can because we did. Driving back we realized it was the place we passed with a giant panther statue out front. I guess we were expecting more Skunk Ape signage.

The Skunk Ape Peacock

Upon arrival, we warily entered the “Research Center” to grab our campsite for the night. The gentleman who helped us was very nice and even gave us some free skunk ape bumper stickers. We were directed to enter the gate where another gentleman on a four wheeler (mounted with some steer horns) escorted us to our campsite. We had the choice of: a lovely lakeside spot where we were told “an alligator lives around there…but he probably won’t bother you” or a site under a tree next to “a tree house haunted with Indian spirits.” We opted for tree house. We asked where the bathrooms were and were told “that red building over there, just walk past the old jet engine.” With that, we were all set for a night in the swamp. The bugs actually weren’t too bad at all and we had a nice quiet night. For a bedtime story, I read from the Skunk Ape Field Guide that Jess had purchased. Did you know that Skunk Ape's love lima beans?

Sunset in the swamp