On Sunday we didn’t make it very far into the Everglades at all, just a couple miles.  So today we went back in with the goal of making it all the way down the 38 mile (I think) drive and back. 

The first trail that we stopped to take was the West Lake Trail, a nice boardwalk through more mangrove forests.  There was little chance of seeing fish, manatees, crocodiles, or anything else in the deep green water around this trail.  One thing we could definitely see  was the water line.  In March, we are toward the end of the dry season in the Everglades.  The dry season is from about November through April.  You can see that the water level gets much higher in the rainy season of the summer.

We made it all the way down to Flamingo, a spot at the end of the road on Florida Bay.  There we walked beside the clear water of the bay for a little while and went to the visitor center where we learned more about the differences between crocodiles and alligators.  This is supposedly the best place to see the American Crocodile, but we didn’t spot any.  Evidently, they are more scared of people than the alligator, so they tend to stay away.  We looked for manatees again too, but no luck. 

When we started the drive back (the road into the park and down to Flamingo is an out-and-back road), we stopped at Coot Bay Pond for a shady lunch.  I was really wishing that we had kayaks or canoes to hop into and go explore the ponds, mangroves, canals, etc.  I guess we could have rented some, but we’re trying to be choosy as to how we spend our money, so we are letting some opportunities go.

We weren’t up to doing long trails, so we were opting to stop for just about every short trail that we saw.  The Mahogany Hammock Trail took us into a shady hardwood forest.  As we were walking along the boardwalk, a couple showed us some owls that they had found.  What fun that was!  I have seen very few owls in the wild and seeing a mom with two younger owls was a real treat!  We gazed at them for quite a while and watched some of them fly from tree to tree.  The owls were definitely the highlight of my day!  After we got back to the car, we pulled out the bird book to identify them and discovered that they were Barred Owls. 

Next was the Pa-hay-okee Trail.  This trail gave us an opportunity to have an idea of what the area appeared to the native inhabitants many years ago.  It’s hard to imagine living in this wilderness, especially during the wet season.  This must have been a very challenging environment for the natives to survive in.  We took the boardwalk trail and hopped back into the car to drive to the next one. 

For our final trail, we took Pinelands Trail.  Pines are definitely a tree that we are familiar with in the Carolinas!  You can tell that the kids are done for the day when a few stay in the car and the rest jump out, run the trail, and jump right back in.  Charlie and I were the only ones who stopped to read the signs and see the pines.  Actually, it seems the only picture I took was of an unusual (to me) butterfly. 

We made it back to the campground at a decent time for once.  We tend to stay out late doing touristy things and get back to the campground exhausted and not wanting to make dinner.  Tonight, though, we sat down at the picnic table to eat dinner together, cleaned it all up, and then a few kids and I went to find a Michaels store so that I could pick up more yarn for my hands to stay busy.  We drove through a neat tunnel of trees. 

I found my yarn and went back to turn in early for the next day.

Rebecca