Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Have You Been To The Everglades?

We're considering a trip to The Everglades in December. Wondering if any of you have been there and what your thoughts are about it. It's one place I've always wanted to see and with my focus on 60 new adventures this 60th year of my life, it seems the right time to go.

In reading about some of the habitat and flora there, I noticed they have strangler fig trees amongst the mangroves and hardwoods that populate this unpopulated area of Florida. Strangler Figs have quite a story and were one of the many fascinations of my Costa Rica rain forest trips.

So ... anybody have something to say about The Everglades or something else we should see nearby? What about The Keys? Been thinking about dabbling a bit at the north end to see a couple of preserves there. We're not beach or seafood eating folks, so it's the habitat that we'd like to see. Aren't there birds in the Keys that aren't on the "mainland?"

Share your comments with me and all who visit the blog since I'm certainly not the only one with interest in The Everglades. Thanks. Click here to go to the comment page.

Sponsored by The Herbs Place - Wholesale Prices Always
On Sale NowOnline CatalogWomenMenChildrenEssential Oils

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

i was born and live in fl but never have visited the everglades...or the keys....but i would suggest research and inquiring as you have here whenever youre planning to visit any new area...as well as having a reputable guide....so that you will be prepared and have knowledge of the dangers and precautions in order to make your trip more safe and enjoyable....and an fyi..in the event you arent aware...the non native burmese python has invaded and consumed much of the natural wildlife (deer - bobcat etc...- even alligator) in the everglades...they are difficult to find or site but my understanding is ...you can be standing alongside a very large specimen (adult 15-20 ft and 100-200 lbs) and not even notice it...but as with other snakes...i believe they detect your presence before you have a clue of theirs... a few years ago i knew someone who overnighted in the glades with a girl scout type troop...there were huts built up on stilts for that purpose...which may still be available...t y for sharing your photographs and adventures...enjoy :)

Anonymous said...

Hello Donna, all,
It's been decades since we visited the Everglades, but my strongest memories are viewing all the anhingas drying their wings, and how excited my mom was to see huge pileated woodpeckers up close.

It's funny to think about now, how much photography equipment has changed!

Enjoy your travels, so happy to hear of your 60 celebrations; fabulous idea!
Holly

Anonymous said...

If you fly into Miami, you most definitely need to drive down to the Keys. Beautiful & well worth the trip. We spent 2 nights in Key West. The sunsets were beautiful!
We didn't overnight in the Everglades just drove through part of them. Charlene

sharingsunshine said...

Thanks so much for your comments and suggestions!!

I had heard about the pythons in previous years. It's quite sad all the wild pets people get and then find out they can't take care of them. I hope the bill passes to stop all importing of pythons. They don't need to be in the USA. Wild life was meant to be wild.

Thanks for the info about a place with stilts. That would be great fun to camp out there. I will certainly check that out online to see if I can find it.

We love pileated woodpeckers also since we have them here. We had them nest in a neighbor's tree and got great pictures of them as they were feeding the babes. The photos of that begin here:
http://donnawatkins.smugmug.com/Bluebird-Cove-Our-Home-In/2008-Bluebird-Cove-Critters/8241927_4UmgN#539004958_h4WKY-A-LB

As to the Keys, we planned to go into them a little way. Our list includes John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammocks State Historical Site, Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehab Center, and the town of Tavernier, which seems to have a hardwood jungle trail. Hopefully Crocodile Lake NWR also.

Since we have free airline miles, we need to schedule at a less busy time of year than December, so seems it will be in January if all goes well.

Share This Post