FLORIDA ADVENTURE...POST 3

By

Gypsy Rhapsody

Good Morning from the "End of the World."
Everglades National Park
As Vannie's mom would say,
"This is a fur piece from Shilou."

But...WOW...
Good parking
Great Ranger Talks
Wonderful Boat Tours
Really Good Restaurant

But...
No Cell Service...unless you have AT&T
(V and D have Verizon)
No Internet
Vannie had to drive 38 miles to the parks entrance
for me to write this blog....closest place for service.

Vannie said she was shocked at  how much she looked at her phone during the day.
She realized it when it was taken away.
Good Lesson...

Just wanted you to see exactly where we are.

The sign that says "We are here" is where I am writing this blog.

We are camping in Flamingo, FL.

This is the "Guy Bradley" Trail.

Notice Dave has on a long sleeve shirt, even though it is not that cold.

Mosquitoes.!!!

The trail goes from the campsites to the marina...about 1 1/2 miles.

Lots of interesting birds and plant life.

Vannie on the same trail...

Water in the back of her is Florida Bay.

If you really squint, you can see Cuba...

just kidding.

Ranger Guided Bird Walk...

V said that some of the people in their group were REAL birders.

V and D are just "wantabe birders".

This is one of the many mangrove forests in the our area.

There are white, red, and black mangroves.

Each have a different shade of green in their leaves.

D said that their bark looks different, too.

The red mangrove leaf excretes salt from the water on the

under side.  Early settlers used the leaves to season their food.

Interesting stuff.

bromeliads everywhere in the forest

This osprey nest is one of many in the park.

This one is right down from me.  

If you look really hard, you can see the mom peeking up.

The osprey is a fish-eating bird of prey.

They live all along the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico.

Great Egret

Loves frogs, fish, and crawfish

Dave said that it also loves to walk along the "Guy Bradley" trail.

Obviously these guys have been around people...

Cat bird

V says that it's call resembles a "Cat's Meow."

Now, that's truly the "cat's meow."

Gray with a darker cap...has a little rust color under it's tail...

I think I have a little rust color under my tail, too...just saying.

V and D said that everyone knows about morning glories...

but they are just so darn pretty, I had to include them.

...Ocean Blue Morning Glory...

D said it looked like an evening sunset sky.

V looked all over for the name of these seed pods.

She is going to have to ask a ranger.

These were dried and very spiky.

At the end of the day...just as the sun was setting,

V and D headed out to an "after dark" ranger talk

at the amphitheater about 1/2 mile from where I am parked. 

Yep...a big yellow moon makes an outdoor

ranger talk perfect.

"Shhh...Who's out there"? was the title of the Ranger talk.

It included a slide show and recorded animal sounds from the park.

V said she loved the shadow of Ranger Sarsh's hat

in the slide show....

so distinctive of a ranger.

A REAL barred owl stole the show, by 

sounding his "hoot", and then flying over and

landing on top of the screen...V and D said

everyone clapped, and Ranger Sarah was pleased as punch.

1

Ranger Sarah waited to the end of the show to

show this slide.  V said they had already been

half eaten alive by the pesky little buggers.

This is the sign at the entrance to the campground.

I'm just VERY thankful I am made out of aluminum.

Stay tuned.!!!