No trip to South Florida is ever complete without a trip into the Everglades. This trip we decided to drive to Naples and back along Alligator Alley. First stop was Big Cypress Wildlife area HQ for orientation and alligators.
Naples is a fancy town, expensive, lots of traffic, Gulf-front homes that allow for little public beach access. We did manage to watch the sunset from one public access, along with a crowd of others enjoying what little "public" there was.
We were interested in "doing" Big Cypress, so hit a mile+ nature trail in the morning, lots to see and learn.
We also drive a 20-mile park road that was dirt, went through amazingly wild areas, former agricultural areas now left to grow back into Mother Nature's plan. Delighted to see so many birds and groves of blooming epiphytes, the air plants.
White herons
White egret
Night heron
Snowy egret and night heron (?)
Snowy egret
Visited Shark Valley area of the Everglades later in the day, rented bikes for an hour.
Anhinga showing off his mating plumage
Around Shark Valley are the Miccosukki tribal areas. Looks like each family, hundreds of them, has a house built in the exact. same. style., many with all sorts of swamp toys in the front yard. There's a casino on the east side of the area that I suspect funds all of this.
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