Update 54: The Everglades Jan. 8-10 and Jan 16
What do you think of when you hear the word Everglades? Do you think of a dark swamp teeming with alligators? Do you think of "The Creature of the Black Lagoon? Derrille and I expected a swamp environment similar to what we saw in Louisiana. Our preconceived ideas were wrong, yet again.
On our first visit we went the eastern entrance at the Coe Visitor Center. The center used beautiful dioramas to show life in the Everglades. The film informed us that the Everglades are NOT a swamp! The glades are really a River of Grass. If you have ever watched promos for CSI Hawaii with Horatio standing on an air boat rushing across a grassy looking field, you have seen the Everglades. A swamp contains stagnate water. The water in the Everglades moves 100 feet south under the sawgrass toward the mangroves in the Gulf of Mexico. The Everglades were much bigger. But over the years dams and irrigation canals were built to accommodate farming and increased growth of cities. The loss of water reduced the glades to about 1/3 of its original size. Efforts to reclaim a semblance of the water's original function are underway. Water is critical to the life of the Everglades. Only a 14 foot difference between Northern Florida and the mangroves in the Gulf creates the different environments of the glades. Inside the park the highest elevation is 8 feet.
We stopped at the Royal Palm attraction first and took the two short walking trails. On our way to the Anhinga Trail, the sawgrass and rivulet of water paralleled the paved path. Great Blue Herons and Great White Egrets stand like statues waiting for a morsel to swim by. Then in less time than it takes for us to blink, these great waders snap up a snack.
A Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron poke their bills into the mud and water searching for their food. We watch one Little Blue Heron hop around to fish while an alligator tried unsuccessfully to have the heron as a snack. I think I have the correct bird photos.
A Purple Gallinule pattered around another section of the creek.
A flock of Black Headed Vultures hovered nearby looking for leftovers.
Alligators snoozed on marsh grasses soaking up the sun's rays. The film had delineated the differences between the American Alligator and Crocodiles. Both species are in the park, but crocs are rarely seen and stay in the south west corner. Crocs are greenish brown, with a rounded snout and cranky. 
Alligators are black, with an angular more pointy snout and don't care about people, unless disturbed. You don't mess with gators, they probably won't mess with you. During the winter alligators are in a semi dormant stage. Their heart rate slows down and so does their need to eat. We walked within a few feet of many gators.
The Anhinga Trail half mile boardwalk allows visitors to walk above the sawgrass marsh and small lakes. The sawgrass prairie seems to go on forever in one direction. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is sedge. A grass like plant with saw tooth edges that can cut fingers easily if stroked downward. Reader boards along the walkway increased our Everglade knowledge. Lily pads float on the lake. 
A variety of birds use the lake for food. Toy size ducks, officially the Pied billed Grebe, putter around lake diving below the surface in search of food. A pair of Great Herons had an exchange while we were watching.
On this trail we met the beautiful Anhinga, the diving bird for which the trail was named. Similar to the Double Crested Cormorant, both birds need to spread and dry their wings after diving. 
The male Anhinga is all black with an amazing white design on its back when its wings are in. The female Anhinga has brown necks.
Anhinga's perched on the mangroves drying wings or nesting. Below a tree with several nests and birds, an alligator lounged in the sun at the base while a Great White Egret fished not far away.
Mangrove trees take root in the water between salt and fresh water. Florida has three kinds of mangroves: red, black and white. Their interwoven jumbled root system provides homes and pathway to marsh critters. The Mangroves are deciduous, but they only drop a few leaves at a time, leaving the main part of the tree green year round. As the leaves drop into the water their tannic properties create the dark brown or black water of the Everglades. Our Key West guide mentioned that many of the islands started as Mangroves that collected organic material creating land masses.
The trail followed the edge of the lake from one viewpoint to another. At one point 18 alligators lay in the mud or on each other. Other gators could be seen resting on the bank across the water. We estimated viewing about 40 gators and lots of birds and ducks on this walk.
We explored the second trail here wingding through a jungle like forest. A red bark tree caught my attention. The Trolley guide in Key West calls it "the tourist tree" because it is red and peeling. Central Americans call it "Naked Indian". Officially it is a Gumbo Tree, which made sense once I realized we were on the Gumbo Limbo Trail. Planted branches root and become rot-proof fences. Resin from the tree provides medical salves, antidotes to poisonwood and bee stings, preservative or canoes and incense for Mayas. Brews from the inner bark may have been the original chicken gumbo soup. 
The sun began to hang low in the sky as we drove the 38 miles to Flamingo, the southernmost ranger station and visitor center. Power boat tours leave from here. The boats look big enough for about 30 people. A large marina and boat ramp accommodates local or visiting fishermen. We drove to the end of the road and discovered the campground. As a state park campground, it has no electrical, water or sewer hookups. It does provide water, restrooms and a dump station. It's a lovely park, but you'd have to really want to come to drive this far. The entrance to Eco pond is next to the campground. We skipped the walk into the pond area which may have been a mistake. When we returned to the Flamingo Visitor Center we learned that Eco Pond is the location of the flamingo flock in the park. Oh well. The visitor center included a display of about 21 hardwoods that grow in the glades. The ranger also showed us a Burmese python snake skin. Pythons are not native to the park. They are from Asia. They are bought as pets. Then when they outgrown their desirable pet status, owners dump them in the park. Rangers estimate they now have about 100,000 pythons in the park and the snakes have no predators. The rangers catch about 40 a year trying to protect native park residents.
Manatees also hang out around Flamingo, but we didn't see any that day. Other animals that live here are the Florida panther, raccoons, deer, and osprey among others.
The sun continued its downward journey as we headed back toward the park entrance. Somewhere along the road we passed Rock Reef Pass at an elevation of 3 feet. 
A hammock in the Everglades described a subtropical tree island. They develop at the highest elevation above the water. The Mahogany Hammock 1/2 mile boardwalk crosses the glades and loops through a hammock containing a huge mahogany trees. 
The limbs of one mahogany tree looks about the same girth as a regular garbage can. These large limbs host air plants, Spanish moss, and vines like a decorated Christmas tree.
Vegetation in the hammock grows so dense that parts of the boardwalk darken as you pass. 
A few miles further up the main road we turned off on a side road headed for Pa-hay-okee Overlook. Along the road wading birds hunted in the black mud and small pools of the sawgrass river. the setting sun bounced its red orange hues off a pair of Wood Stocks perched on a snag. 
At the overlook we followed the boardwalk to an observation tower. The tower offered a panoramic view of a Bald Cypress dome and the River of Grass. The Cypress is an evergreen that loses its needles during the dry season. The River of Grass is very shallow but 8 miles wide at this location. It moves like a sheet of water. The Sawgrass is not a true grass, but tough sedge with sharp teeth on the leaf blade. In the dry season the teeth collect dew that then flows down its gutter-shaped blade to water the plant.
Ibis rooted in the mud. Evening sounds of chirping birds and clicking insects filled the air. I included the single Ibis to show how often the birds turn as I take the photo. We laugh each time I miss a shot.We hurried back to the car and drove out of the park before night totally settled in.
The next day we drove north to US Highway 41 and turned left. The Tamiami Canal with its dams and canal controls parallels the highway. We saw many friends of the Everglade residents we met yesterday hanging out along the canal. The Great Blue Heron, Great White Egret, Snowy Egret, , turtles and alligators were among some of the critters we saw. Also every half mile or so another place offering air boats rides for two, four or six people. Part of the land here belongs to the Miccosukee tribe. Signs along the highway indicate Indian Village, where several tribe members have their homes.
We entered the Shark River Entrance to the park and immediately signed up for the 15 mile (round trip) two hour tram ride. The open air tram drives on the same one lane road used by bikers and walkers. Apparently bikers and walkers are to stop and let the tram go by. Our tram driver and guide, Chris stopped frequently to talk about the animals and biospheres we passed.
The Great Blue Heron stands about 4 1/2 feet tall with a 6 foot wing span. The Great Egret with its black legs has a 5 foot wing span.We saw the Little Blue Heron and a Tri-colored Heron.
The white Ibis are seen frequently around the area, but the Glossy Ibis which is black was new to us.A Roseate Spoonbill is with the white Ibis.
Chris told us of five main environments in the 1.5 million acres of park.
- A Bayhead rises about 12-14 inches above the sawgrass. It is usually populated with plants that grow in fresh water.
- Cypress Knoll or Cypress Dome is a little higher and populated with cypress. The Cypress tree is an evergreen that drops its needles each year.
- Hardwood Hammocks are 4-6 feet above the grass. A Hammock is a sheltered area high enough for slash pine, gumbo, magnolia and other hardwood trees to thrive.
- Depressions in the sea grass are dug by alligators to catch water during the dry season. Sometimes 5-6 gators will occupy the same solution pool, unless there is a mom and babies in the pool. In some places manmade pools have been dug to help the alligators.
- Periphyton is a soft spongy mat of algae. It blankets aquatic surfaces throughout the Everglades. During the rainy season it is grazed on by fish and tadpoles. During the dry season snails, insects and crayfish burrow into it for survival. It is a basic part of the park food chain.
The half way point of the ride is the observation tower. We climbed the tower and looked out over the Everglades for miles. 
Looking down from the tower we saw resting alligators and a swimming turtle.
Chris also spotted a mom alligator with her babies. Judging by size these are some one and two year old babies. Baby alligators stay with mom for three years. They do their own hunting, but stay with mom for protection. After three she kicks them out, because the four year olds may eat the new litter. Like the sea turtles, alligator gender is determined by the temperature around the incubating eggs. Girls are hot, boys are cool.
The Everglades experience two seasons: wet and dry. The quality and timing of water determines the health of the Everglades. Too much water floods alligator nests. Agricultural runoff destroys the periphyton that provides food and oxygen for fungi and holds water so small organisms can survive the dry months. Too dry and the park can't produce the aquatic organisms that anchor the food web. Without a fresh water supply the salt water intrudes and upsets the ecological systems. 40 to 65 inches of rain per year flows across the Everglades followed by a six month dry period. The River of Grass is 1-3 feet deep at the slough's center, but only 6 inches deep elsewhere.
After this visit we left the area and went to the Keys for five days. We drove from Key West directly to Naples Florida on the Gulf side of the peninsula. On the way to the Marco Island-Naples KOA we passed by the state campgrounds of Midway, Monument Lake, and some by a Wildlife Check In station. The Pelican Pointe commercial campground also looked good. The KOA was not worth the big bucks they charged for tiny narrow sites and minimally acceptable showers and laundry. Then there were the 54 young people who partied until after midnight.
From here we went to Everglade City and took a ride on Captain Doug's Air Boats. 
The boats take visitors through the canals of the western side of the Everglades. Our boat had Capt. Mo, Derrille and I and another young couple.
The only animals we saw were the pelicans that landed next to us on the air boat and some blue crabs when a trap was brought up to observe. 
Out in the canals our captain sidled up to a mangrove and out came a raccoon. Later in the ride we stopped to see a litter of five accoons. They come for the dog food that the air boats bring.
One raccoon jumped up right on the edge of the boat next to me. I was tempted to pet it, but I knew better. These raccoons are about the same size as the baby raccoons that visit our yard at home. These little guys have a golden brown color and their ringed tails are cocoa and caramel colors.
The air boat captains race through tunnels of mangrove and spun us around in a 360 turn. For Derrille and I the ride was exhilarating! Afterwards we had a photo op.
We just had to go across the street to visit the Gulf Coast Visitor Center. It was just a small room with some information. From here we went to the Big Cypress Boardwalk.
Big Cypress Boardwalk winds through part of the Big Cypress National Reserve. A note next to the beginning said watch out for the Black Bear that had recently been spotted on the boardwalk. OK. At the end of the boardwalk a Great White Heron stood in the algae covered pond. Epiphytes decorated the bare limbed trees. Epiphytes include bromeliads, wild pine, onion orchids, resurrection fern and Spanish moss. This plants commonly referred to as air plants get all the water and nutrients they need from the air, sun and rain. They use the trees for support, but have no dependence on them for food. 
Also along the path, several Strangler Figs wrapped their entwining limbs around a host tree. The fig begins as an air plant that sends roots down the host tree strangling the host and often killing it. The roots then began to grow as a terrestrial plant that can grow 60 feet tall.
Heading home we passed a group of Roseate Spoonbills glistening pink in the sunset.Next: The Florida Keys
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