What a Wonderful World (An #AtoZChallenge): E is for Everglades National Park

 

The sun rises on the horizon at the glamping campground at Everglades National Park

My husband recently re-retired, and we are front-loading travel. My #AtoZChallenge posts this year will explore our adventures--some pre-retirement, some post. Today's location: Everglades National Park.

I think I was expecting the everglades to be a vast, dark swampland, with tall trees dripping with hanging moss, but that isn't what I found. As you can see from the photo at the top of this post, Everglades National Park has vast areas of low-growing grasses and shrubs. Yes, there is water--lots of shallow water--but the swamplands are not dark and scary, but rather filled with sunshine and lots of water birds and other critters. 

To be honest, Everglades National Park is one of the largest national parks, and we did not explore all of the over 1.5 million acres, so perhaps there is a dark, scary swamp, but that wasn't our experience.

We chose to stay in a glamping tent. It had a comfortable bed, electricity, a fan, and wonderful views. The bathroom was in a separate building, and theoretically had showers (although no hot water while we were there, "sorry for the inconvenience.") No matter. Staying in the glamping tent was a highlight. The views were spectacular, and did I mention there was a comfortable bed? We had the camping experience without having the stiffness of sleeping on the ground. (Before you book a glamping tent, be sure to verify that it has a bed. Apparently the beds are not a year-long amenity.)

The view from our glamping tent: two parts of the canvas wall are rolled up to reveal a little porch on the other side of the screen, and a view of greenery and water in the distance.

Our tent was so comfortable a little lizard was chilling out on the nightstand. (John captured him and let him go outside.)

Birds were all over the place. Here's a short video of a couple of ibises that were walking around right outside our tent. 

We went kayaking on a ranger-led tour of Florida Bay, where we saw pelicans and other birds, as well as dolphins. We even had a nurse shark swim right under our kayak! Videography while paddling is not my talent, but the following video should give you a glimpse of a dolphin.

We didn't only spend time on the water, but we took a few hikes on the land. Florida hikes are different from Utah hikes! Besides the obvious humidity difference, the flora is different.

An air plant grows on the trunk of a tree

The straw-like roots of the black mangrove emerge from the ground. If those roots get covered with water for six hours or so, the tree will drown.

Fauna is also different in Florida. The photo below shows a smiling alligator at the edge of Nine Mile Pond. Coincidentally, our kayaking trip on Florida Bay had originally been scheduled as a canoe trip on Nine Mile Pond, but the trip was changed because "the water levels were down and the alligator levels were up." I think it was a good call!

As we drove through Everglades National Park, we appreciated the humor of the signs. 

The brown sign on the side of the road reads, "Rock Reef Pass Elevation 3 Feet"

Our home sits at about 5000 feet elevation, so to see a "pass" be at 3 feet elevation was really something different!

The beauty of the everglades during the day is matched by the beauty of the everglades at night. We loved returning to our glamping tent and seeing this view! 

A sliver of the moon in the sky over the water

If you get a chance, go visit Everglades National Park, and if you can, try glamping there. 

Come back tomorrow to see where in the world we'll visit next!

.