On the way we passed through the Big Cypress National Preserve which is sort of a transitional area before the Everglades. Set aside by Congress in 1974, Big Cypress allows human usage of the area but monitors and regulates how the impacts of man may affect the ecosystems, particularly the vital water that feeds the Everglades. We stayed at Midway Campground which had a lovely little lake forbidden to water loving dogs because it was the ‘hood’ of some ‘gator gang!
The Big Cypress Visitors Center was informative and had some lazy alligators posing for up close and personal kind of photos.
Next day we took this really fun 26 mile scenic loop road through Big Cypress and spent the entire day just stopping, sniffing and trying to check out the weird local flora and fauna. Cokie was in seventh heaven photographing tons of things and I was frustrated because there was all of this wonderful water that the 'gators have declared off limits to dogs and people! We could glimpse watery solution holes through the undergrowth just off the shoulder of the road. These little wonder worlds are formed by the somewhat acidic water eating into the limestone layer that covers all of Florida, creating pockets in which fresh water can gather. Each hole varies in depth and size and becomes its own little ecosystem holding its own selection of trees, air plants, fish, alligators, snakes, turtles, you name it. It sure made poking and sniffing a whole lot of fun no matter where we stopped.
We drove right on to the Everglades National Park and the Long Pine Key Campground. Now let’s take a minute to talk Everglades. This area was NOT my fav. I can understand why the ‘Snowbirds’, and I’m not talking geese here, head out in the middle of April – this is hot, buggy, hot, humid, hot, sticky, hot, sad and did I mention hot? I get why they say there are two seasons – summer and winter. It’s backwards to my way of thinking because it is wet and hot in summer and warm and dry in winter. It’s sad because the National Park facilities have not recovered yet from Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, so things are shut down, not fully repaired and generally looking wretched and just sad. Plus the whole emphasis of the Park Service is geared toward saving the Everglades from man’s mismanagement of its life blood – the fresh water. Rampant population growth, farming, tourism, mankind in general has wreaked terrible havoc on this fragile water world and the struggle to get enough clean water back into the Everglades is constant and a somewhat losing battle right now. It is still a big question whether or not the Glades will actually survive this century!! The gals visited all of the informative stops and trails they could find along the 38 mile Main Park Road and I know the pictures are worth more than any thousand words Kae and I could ever put together. So I hope you enjoy what we saw:
The first hike was on the amazing Anhinga Trail! Alligators and vultures, mangroves, insects, fish and plants were all very close as we walked the boardwalk. We even caught a photo of the Anhinga bird for which the trail is named.
Next was the Gumbo Limbo Trail, named for the smooth barked tree also known as the Naked Indian or Naked Lady Tree. You can see by the pictures the name is pretty accurate.
Throughout the Everglades the landscape is dotted by various types of trees that cluster into tree communities depending on a few inches of elevation or the amount and type of water. Pine and hardwood hammock ridges lie only three to seven feet above sea level. Maximum elevation in the Everglades is only eight feet! The Pinelands Trail winds through some of these sub-tropical communities and represents one of the most diverse habitats in Southern Florida.
A .2 mile boardwalk led to an observation deck at Pay-hay-okee which offered a sweeping view of the vast Everglades from horizon to horizon.
One of the densest forest settings was at the Mahogany Hammock. This .4 mile boardwalk meanders through a jungle-like setting of closely packed hardwoods thick with vines, air plants and huge mahogany trees including the largest specimen in the US!
A quick stop at Paurotis Pond gave Cokie the chance to photograph one of the endangered American Crocodiles. The Everglades are the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles live side by side in nature.
A stop at West Lake gave us a walk on the weird side through a mangrove forest. What strange plants these are with their spider-like roots and tangled growth patterns.
Eco Pond is a tidal mudflat and was a good place to view birds.
Flamingo Visitor Center provided a view of the Florida Bay mudflats where birds, alligators and crocodiles congregate. Unfortunately the lodge and restaurant were still closed due to impacts from the 2005 hurricanes. The campground was easy to walk around in but not very near any water for a hot, tired old dog trekker.
We will end this chapter of our Florida Fling but stay tuned for Biscayne National Park, The Spice and Fruit Park, Kennedy Space Center and much more!
1 comment:
Where is Midway Campground, I can only find Monument lake on my older Big Cypress Map?
Is it east or west of 29?
Thanks, JP in Florida
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