I loved the Everglades!!!

I have always been fascinated by the Florida Everglades and I’ve always wanted to go. I finally got to take it off my bucket list!

It was very interesting to learn of all the different types of vegetation and the different types of wildlife here.  Last month, they conducted a python hunt. The pythons are not native to the everglades and they have no predators here. They allowed several hundred hunters to come in and hunt them for a month. The biggest one was 17 feet long and weighed over 200 lbs!  I can’t even imagine seeing a snake of that size in the wild.

We went on an airboat ride that was incredibly fun, entertaining and absolutely beautiful. It was extremely loud and you had to have earplugs so you couldn’t talk to one another. We literally flew through the mangroves which grow along the banks  with huge roots above the water. At times we went so fast I felt like I was at Cedar Point amusement park. We saw an alligator about 10 feet long and other wildlife too. Normally, you would see many more but the water levels are very high this year due to the excessive rain. A lot of the birds are gone so that makes the alligators move also.

It is really an amazing eco-system and so vast. I asked our airboat driver how he doesn’t get lost. He said he has lived here his entire life and “knows his neighborhood”! The mangroves and grasslands are very different terrain than what I’m used to and I am so thrilled to have been able to be here.

After we left the everglades we then went to the Corkscrew Swamp. It is another fascinating place. You walk on this very sturdy well maintained boardwalk for 2.25 miles through the swamp. Yes! I walked the miles with no arthritis pain in my foot! We viewed the cypress trees that live in the swamp and they are huge majestic trees that have beautiful wood that isn’t destroyed by water. There were so many varieties of ferns. There was an alligator with babies on her back! A water moccasin snake added to the decor of a fallen log. The reflection in the water was magical as you looked into the swamp over the railing. My pictures are so good that you can’t tell which way is which. You can see the reflection of the tree all the way to the top of the tree. I have never seen anything like it. We spent several hours walking the distance around the swamp while enjoying the lovely Florida weather.

I have so enjoyed my time here for many reasons. The sun is always shining which is a huge blessing for me. I love the ocean and visited it several times. I got to spend quality time with my beloved parents and my youngest daughter and my husband. We don’t know how many of these precious moments we have been allotted in this life and I want to seize every opportunity I have to take advantage of them.

Tomorrow we fly back to Detroit and I have already seen the winter storm warnings for the following day, 6-10 inches of snow! So grateful for this “Florida” time!