Alligator and Bicycles

About 33 years ago, John and I attended a conference on Marco Island. One afternoon we had so free time so we drove over to the Everglades National Park and stopped at Shark Alley to ride the trams into the swamp, except that the swamp was flooded which meant the water was over the paved path so that the trams couldn't run. But they were renting bicycles if you didn't mind riding through water along the road. Being young and adventuresome we rode the rental bikes on the 15 mile trail. The last 7 miles were almost totally covered with water (sometimes over the pedals) and where there was no water there were alligators sunning themselves on the paved road! We were totally unprepared with no water or sunscreen, but vividly remember that bike ride.

Today, John and I rode that same trail again. This time the path was dry, the trams were running and we had our own bikes. We packed our lunch, lots of water and the sunscreen. We saw many alligators but only two were actually on the pavement, the rest were along the sides or in the water. It was a really nice day and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. We saw lots of different birds like wood storks, snowy egrets, great blue herons, ibis and anhingas. The crows threatened to steal our lunch but we guarded our food jealously!

On the way back we stopped in Everglades City to see one of the oldest stores in the glades. Ted Smallwood saw a need for a Trading Post in the Everglades where the Seminole Indians could trade their goods for supplies, the local settlers could buy what they needed and a post office was important. The original store was built on the ground and accessible only by boat in 1906. Shortly after it was built a hurricane came thru and knocked it off its foundation so Smallwood jacked it up onto pylons and added on to it and it has stood there since 1920's. A road was built out to its island in the mid-1950's and it was in business until 1974 when they placed it on the National Registry of Historic Places and then closed down in 1982. When they closed the building they left everything inside, untouched. Ted's granddaughter reopened the trading post in the late 1980's as a museum with 90% of the original goods still in the store.