Everglades, ba-beee!

Yesterday, January ahhh, hmmm, 23rd, yeah that's the date, lost track of time here in sunny Florida, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Everglades for the first time. 



What a wonderful mysterious place.  I'd been to swamps before in Louisiana but to experience the Everglades was, well, very different.  I most enjoyed the alligators....being a person who enjoys walking, the thought of walking merrily along and then suddenly being eaten by an alligator...seems mind boggling. 

I saw alligators across the street in canal from the turn for the Florida Trail.  GACK!  Earlier thought a Florida Trail Hiker was spotted down my the Miccosuki Indian Center on Highway 41 but he disappeared before I could talk to him.





 The amount of bird life was amazing. I got at least 3 life birds and probably 4 more that I could not identify.  They simply flew too fast.  I saw a Roseate Spoonbill! 

Lots of Anhingas fishing and sunning themselves.  A sparrow on the air boat ride flew up from in front of the boat from the middle of the grassy wetlands too fast for me to see, as did 2 ducks.  There I saw lots of American Coots off in the distance, recognizable by their distinctive outline.



 Stopped at Clyde Butcher's gift store.  Go there, check out the link to his website.  His stunning photography is unable to be described adequately. Clyde Butcher, Fine Art Black and White Photography

We ended the day in Chockoloskee eating dinner hanging over a waterway connecting the ocean to the local crab fishing boat docks.  As I ate wonderful, fresh, soft shell Blue Crab, fried to perfection, the sun set and boats returning from a day's crabbing came home down the waterway in front of me.  Excellent!

I have much more to say about the Everglades.  But will end with this, you should go there.