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Florida Everglades

Everglades City	Things to do Eco-Touring	Plants & Animals	Parks & Preserves	Historic Everglades City	Florida Camping
Last Frontier	Cracker Cowboys	Swamp Walk	Kayaking	Everglades Ranch	Airboat Rides

Travels with Terry By The Oregonian's Terry Richard - Florida's Magnificent Everglades: my untold story By Terry Richard, The Oregonian

Florida's Magnificent Everglades (Travels withTerry - by Terry Richard)

A small group of visitors clusters at the edge of a pond behind the Shark Valley Visitor Center in Everglades National Park. A great-blue heronhunts nearby, but no one pays the big bird the least bit of attention.

The object of intrigue lies basking in the sun on the grass, as though itowns the place. And, in a way, it does. The critter is an 8-foot-longalligator, the star wildlife attraction of one of the world's most amazing ecosystems. Sea of Grass Everglades

Two minutes of visiting the Everglades andthe first gator had already been spotted. Try spotting a bear that fastin Yellowstone.

It won't be the last alligator, either.

Florida's Everglades, the world's only "river of grass," still present a wildlife spectacle difficult to comprehend without a visit.

True, the Glades have been unalterably changed by the water demands of Miami and Tampa, as well as by runoff from Florida's agriculture industry.The great flocks of birds -- the egrets, wood storks, spoonbills and herons-- have been vastly reduced in size. And many alligators are born with physical abnormalities, possibly linked to pesticides and fertilizers used by agriculture.

The federal governmentis spending billions to buy land and add it to the park before it disappears into suburbia. Canals dug long ago to funnel water to the cities are being rerouted to their more natural, meandering channels.

Despite the adverse impact on the Everglades from Florida's unbridled growth,vast amounts of fresh water continue to flow out of Central Florida intothe saw grass prairie of South Florida.

TheEverglades, as tour guides point out, are not a swamp. They are a100-milelong, 60-mile wide river of cleanwater that moves ever so slowly across the limestone of South Florida into Florida Bay. The landscape as far as the eye can see is no more than a few feet above sea level.

Theflow of water in the Everglades is barely perceptible -- about aquartermile per day. A one-hour ride by tour bus, from theShark Valley visitorcenter to a viewing platform in the heart of the Everglades, would takea month by the flow of the river.

With a few minutes before the next tour bus arrives, visitors give the sun bathing gator a wideberth and go looking for other wildlife. Two people have stopped unexpectedly, one using binoculars to peer into the bushes along the road.
Without warning, a 10-foot long gator pokes its head out ofthe brush, pauses to glance in either direction, sprints across theroadand plunges into the water on the other side.

It's almost as though this gator has been trained to watch for the tour bus -- and for tourists.

Click any of the Seven Stories below and Travel to Florida's Magnificent Everglades.

Florida's Magnificent Everglades - A small group of visitors clusters at the edge of a pond behind the Shark Valley Visitor Center in Everglades National Park. Two minutes of visiting the Everglades and the first gator had already been spotted. Try spotting a bear that fast in Yellowstone.

"CRACKER" The term stems from the early days when Florida cowboy cow cavalrymen, in lieu of the rope used by Texas cowboys, welded a bullwhip, 10 - 12 feet long made of braided leather, and when snapped over a cow's head, made a sharp"crack".
Thus was born the term "cracker"

Romancing the Swamp Local eco-tour provider wades into the Florida wild. Scared of the swamp? Intrigued by the swamp? Then explore the swamp. It will forever change you.

Everglades Stories - We’re trying to find ways to restore wetlands and to do it in a way that will really benefit the water quality when it finally does leave the land and also to store the water there and not sort of pipeline it straight into Lake Okeechobee and pipeline it into the everglades.

Everglades Cape Sable Through the Everglades to a shore about 20 miles to the west of Flamingo, called Cape Sable.and was said to have a pink beach literally made from shells, and also was habitat to the rare and elusive Cape Sable Sparrow, which we all wanted to see.

Little Everglades Ranch - The Little Everglades Ranch is a pioneer ranch establishing the First Santa Gertrudis herd of cattle in Florida. This breed was established to function in hot, humid and unfavorable environments. The Santa Gertrudis was developed by crossing Indian Brahman cattle with British Shorthorns and was first introduced to the Little Everglades Ranch from the King Ranch ~ Kingsville, Texas in the year 1941.

Everglades Muck About Since 1993, renowned photographer Clyde Butcher has been inviting locals and tourists alike to the Everglades cottage he and his wife, Niki, have called home for almost 20 years. Over Labor Day weekend, the couple will host their annual Muck About.

Tours OpenThe Wild

Guided tours of one sort or another are the easiest way for most visitors to experience the wild parts of the Everglades.

The grassland dries sufficiently to allow walking late in the dry season (by March orApril),but most visitors are too timid to don wading boots and take their chances of blundering into an alligator or snake.

A variety of tours are easy to join on the park's urban fringe near Miami, as well as along the Tamiami Trail andat Everglades City and Flamingo. Airboat Everglades Citty

The Everglades begin at the edge of Miami, a half-hour drive from the Shark Valley visitor center. U.S. 41, the Tamiami Trail, connects Miami with Florida's Gulf Coast as is passes the northern boundary ofthe Everglades and the similar ecosystem of the BigCypress National Preserve. Together, the Everglades and Big Cypress make up a wild area the size of Wyoming's Yellowstone.

The highlight at Shark Valley is a bus tour to a viewing tower in the heart of the grasslands. A short walk up an inclined ramp tops out at a viewpoint 30 feet above several alligator holes, inhabited by a dozen gators including a 15-footer.

everlades pine trees

BigCypress abuts the Everglades to the north.It, too, is covered by shallow water much of the year, but it's fauna is dominated by the bald cypress tree, rather than the sawgrass prairie.

The preserve has outstanding wildlife viewing from gravel roads,plus several free campgrounds for those brave enough to spend the night listening to the sounds of the swamp. An after-dark walk along aroad rousts a flock of black-crowned night herons, which squawk loud enough to be heard in Miami. Swamp bugs trail a point of light as they flyaway before a walker.

Pine treesare common throughout the Everglades, though they must grow where the land is slightly elevated.

Everglades City,on the Everglades' northwest, is known for its mangrove swamps.One boat tour, limited to six passengers, passes over water barely six inches deep during low tide as it explores channels through the mangroves. Flocks of cattle egrets fly ahead of the boat, giving the tour the feel of exploring a jungle.

Another boat tour from Everglades City plies the offshore watersof Florida Bay in the park's TenThousand Islands section. An Atlantic bottle-nose dolphin jumps the boat's wake as it leaves the harbor.

Everglades City National Park Tours

The tour offers additional insight into the fascinating mangroves,which shelter 75 percent of Florida's seafood harvest during its embryonicstage. That makes the mangroves twice as valuable by acreage as Florida farmland.

Several osprey cut into man's future fish harvest as they pluck a meal from the bay alongside the boat. The fish hawks fly to nearby trees to enjoy their feasts.

On the way back to Miami, the highway is lined with airboat tour operators.Powered by a giant fan in the back, the boats glide smoothly over water, grass and just about anything else in their way.

Because of their affect on the environment (they are loud, even ifthey don't damage the grasslands), the air boats are limited to the fringe of the park, outside the official boundary.

The driver for Coopertown's tours made the half-hour outing memorable bylocating a nesting female alligator, who sheltered several yearling son top and beside her.

Miami So Close By

The Everglades will eternally be linked with the Miami/Fort Lauderdale andFort Myers/Naples metro area,whose 5 million residents are a major competitor for precious water.With only a few places to stay overnight near the park, most visitors arrive for the day from cities to the east.

Nearest the park are Homesteadand Florida City,one of America's most modern suburbs following a building boom to replace the 75,000 homes and businesses destroyed in1992 by hurricane Andrew.

The suburbs have many inexpensive chain motels, but visitors lookingforsomething with more character usually opt for the Art Deco District ofMiami Beach. Southbeach Nite Blue Light Ocean Drive

No visit to South Florida is complete without a stroll on thewhite sandy Atlantic shore of Miami'sSouth Beach, fondly known as SoBe.

SoBe'sArt Deco District dates to the 1930s, when a style of architecture copied from Paris took root onthe American Riviera. None of the buildings are particularly famous or noteworthy, but there are a lot of them.

Town leaders considered tearing them down and replacing them with high rises in the1970s, but a preservation league helped place the district on the National Register of Historic Places.

Colorfully painted and decorated, many of the Art Deco buildings are small, four-story boutique hotels. They are painted salmon, lavender and lime to blendwith the soft colors beneath the Florida sun. Etched glass and eyebrows over the outside windows are typical characteristics.

Southbeach 5th and ocean drive

The district's low density, compared to oceanfront high risesthat stretch for miles to the north, enables the Art Deco District to maintaina people-friendly environment. It's clean, well lit and feels safe when walking at night.

A few blocks away is LincolnRoad Mall, the Rodeo Drive of the South.The pedestrian mall is lined with 300 restaurants, galleries, clothing and specialty stores. Much of the dining takes place outdoors.

If the Everglades is the place for wildlife watching in Florida, LincolnRoad Mall is the place for people watching.

End Of The Road

The only overnight lodge within Everglades National Park was at Flamingo Lodge, a compound of buildings for visitors and employees at the end ofthe park's scenic 46-mile road from Florida City.

Flamingo shares a magnificent natural setting unique within the national park system. Flamingo Lodge is a short walk from shallow Florida Bay, asteel gray body of water when clouds obscure the sky.

The Everglades' lodge is built in the style of a steel-reinforced concretebunker to withstand occasional hurricanes. Its restaurant and visitorcenter perch on two-story stilts to minimize damage from wind-drivenfloods.

The Everglades' anhinga is similar to the Pacific cormorant.
The tide was too low for the bay cruise to operate, so the only tour boat option was inland through a mangrove-lined canal to Whitewater Bay.

The tour guide noted that the hilly topography around the bay,Florida's second largest freshwater lake, was not the land but rather the varying height of trees. In dry areas called hammocks, royal palm and gumbo-limbo trees take root and grow much taller than the mangroves.

When the tour boat returns to the marina, a dark shape swims between the moored pleasure boats. It's an American crocodile, a 15-footgiant.South Florida is the only place in the world where crocodiles live in proximity to alligators. Unlike alligators, which have again become numerous, the more aggressive crocodiles number about 400 in theUnited States.

One of the boat hands, who lives a short walkaway, points out a favorite spot for crocodiles to bask in the sun. The marina employee tells how he walks quickly past the snoozing crocs each morning on the way to work.

Sure enough, an eight-foot croclies half submerged in the water, but far enough off the path so there'sno need to step around it. Like the alligator at Shark Valley, the crocignores the humans who travel to the Everglades to gawk at the magnificent wildlife.

If You go:

Naples Yabba Alligator

Getting there: It's a two-hour or less drive from Miami or Fort Myers to the main tourist areas of Everglades National Park -- Shark Valley on the north,Everglades City on the west, or Flamingo on the south -- as well as to Big Cypress National Preserve.

Lodging/park:With the closure of Flamingo Lodge, there is no overnight optionin Everglades National park proper other than camping. There are numerous national chain hotels in the cities around the park. Flamingois the park's main campground. For camping reservations, call800-365-2267, or log on to recreation.gov.

Lodging/Miami:Miami Beach, with its white sand Atlantic beaches, world-class dining andnightlife, is convenient for day trips to the Everglades.

For its boutique hotels, visit Miami boutique hotels.com, or call thevisitor bureau, 888-766-4264. Internet hotel agencies(www.placestostay.com,www.hotels.com) have deals on Miami lodging. Naples Bayrfont waterview

Lodging/Naples: with its white sand Gulf beaches, world-class dining and nightlife,is convenient for day trips to the Everglades.

For its boutique hotels, visit Naples-Marco-island-Florida.com, or call the visitor bureau, 888-766-4264. Internet hotel agencies(www.placestostay.com, www.hotels.com) have deals on Floridalodging.

Parks info:Vehicle admission to the Everglades is $10 for Flamingo (for one week at allpark facilities), $8 for Shark Valley, or free at Everglades City.

General Camping Information

There are three campgrounds inside the park, Chekika, Flamingo and Long Pine Key.

Chekika ispresently open for day-use only. Camping is not available,pending repairs of damage from Hurricane Irene in October 1999. Locatedsix miles (10 km) west of Krome Ave (State Road 997) on SW 168 Street.(For More Information on this campground please call 305-242-7700)

Allcampgrounds are open year round. Reservations can be made forcampsitesat Flamingo and Long Pine Key Campgrounds at 1-800-365-2267.

Camping from May through October will be by self-registration atall campgrounds.

Fees are not charged from June to August. If you havea Golden Age Pass )U.S. citizen 62 or older) or

Golden Access Pass(permanently disabled), camping is half price. This does not apply toward group sites.

CampgroundInformation

Campground     Open    Sites   Water     FireGrates      Showers

Flamingo       AllYear   234      Yes          Yes        Yes
Long Pine Key   All Year 108      Yes        Yes           Yes

Boat and bus tours range from $15 to $35.Entry to Big Cypress National Preserve is free. For information on the Everglades,www.nps.gov/ever or 305-242-7700; for Big Cypress,www.nps.gov.bicy or239-695-4111.

Camping and Recreation

The Campground at Flamingo

Camping sites are available year-round in Everglades National Park.Front country camping, with some services, is available at LongPine Key, close to the ErnestF.Coe Visitor Center, where 108 sites are accessible by car.

Near Flamingo 2 3 4campsiteswith some services are also available.Recreational vehicle camping is available at these sites, although not with all necessary services.

Back country permits are required for campsites along the Wilderness Waterway,Gulf Coast sites, and sites in the various keys. Several back countrysites are chickens; others are beach and ground sit Everglades City Bill and Skunk es.[89]

Low-powered motorboats are allowed into the park, although the majority of saltwater areas are no-wake zones to protect manatees from harm.

Jet skis,airboats, and other motorized personal watercraft areprohibited.However, many trails allow kayaks and canoes.

A state license isrequired for fishing, and although fresh water licenses are not sold inthe park, a salt water license may be available.

Swimming is not recommended within the park boundaries, since watermoccasins,snappingturtles (Chelydra serpentina), alligators and crocodiles thrive infreshwater; and sharks, barracuda, and sharp dangerous coral are plentiful in salt water. Visibility is low in both kinds.

Click Here for Everglades National Park Visitors Guide