Southern Florida

We found Southern Florida…

…to be a vast and varied landscape! The key ingredient: water. It is not just a peninsula surrounded by water, it is a land covered in water! It doesn’t just have rivers as we may think; it is a land covered in sheets of moving water, inches to feet deep, flowing from north to south.

Everglades National Park

This is an amazing ecosystem of birds, mammals, fish and reptiles which call the Everglades National Park their home. Marshes, sawgrass prairies and forests fill the views in every direction!

Flamingo Gardens

Built in 1933, the original weekend residence of Floyd and Jane Wray has since been restored to provide visitors to Flamingo Gardens a glimpse of life in South Florida in the 1930s. In addition to orchids and gardens the site is a wildlife refuge for native Floridian Birds and animals that are unable to survive in the wild.

We saw some beautiful flamingoes, some turtles, an alligator and even a Florida Panther.

 

Buffalo Tiger Jet Boat Tour

An unimaginable labyrinth of waterways unfolded before us in our 45 minute jet boat tour of the “River of Grass.” Our driver/guide knew just where to find the gators, and how to navigate this unmarked landscape that all looked the same in every direction!

Big Cypress National Preserve

Big Cypress National Preserve is an expansive part of the natural and protected lands in South Florida. With 729,000 acres of hardwood hammocks, pine lands, prairies, cypress swamps, and mangroves. 

In the 1960s, plans for the world’s largest Jetport, to be constructed in the heart of the Greater Everglades of south Florida, were unveiled. This project, and the anticipated development that would follow, spurred the incentive to protect the wilds of the vast Big Cypress Swamp. To prevent development of the Jetport, local conservationists, sportsmen, environmentalists, Seminoles, Miccosukees, and many others set political and personal differences aside. The efforts of countless individuals and government officials prevailed when, on October 11, 1974, Big Cypress National Preserve was established as the nation’s first national preserve.

A 27 mile drive along a dirt road set off from the highway brought us in sight of  gators and lots of different wading birds.

We are heading further south to enjoy the sights on the Overseas Highway as we make our way to Key West.

More Adventures to come on the Road! And then on the sea!

🦩🦩Lori and Steve🦩🦩