Yikes!! Alligators!

Yesterday we got to the Larry and Penny Thompson Campground near Homestead, FL and got set up before the thunderstorms came. It made for a lazy afternoon. We are camped here until Monday.

But today we made up for it by going to The Everglades National Park and walked among the alligators! We entered the park and drove to the Palm Grove center where a park ranger was to give a tour. But we opted out when about 30 Cub Scouts and their parents joined us. This center was built along the Taylor Slough so we saw lots of native animals and grasses. The water that feeds the Everglades comes from rain and from Lake Okeechobee. The area between the lake and the Everglades is called a "river of grass" because the water is very shallow but very wide and moves about 1/4 mile per day. Sawgrass, cypress trees, mangrove bushes and other water loving plants make up the habitat for the many animals.

We saw lots of Snowy Egrets, Great White Cranes, Ibis, buzzards and Herons. We also saw turtles, bass, gar, and, of course, alligators! This is the dry season for the Everglades so food sources are more compact meaning that the gators congregate together more. During the rainy season, they spread out because their food is spread out. We must have seen 30-40 gators. We were on a raised board walk most of the time but there were a couple of gators next to the sidewalk as well. Luca, we did not kiss any of them! (I'm referencing a book a gave my grandson.)

The very south end of the Glades is on the Florida Bay. It was extremely windy today so we did not rent a canoe but there are lots of canoe trails throughout this part of the park. We also leaned that crocodiles live in this part of the park but we did not see any of them. This is the most southern point of the contiguous USA.