Our Adventures: The Florida Everglades

When we were in Florida in 2006 we went to the Florida Everglades and loved it. So we decided to do it again. Of course as it goes the first time for everything is so special that the second time doesn’t usually compare but it was very close. We had a great time! We did what we have come to enjoy doing and that is bird watching but we also took our our sea eagle paddle ski (inflatable kayak) and paddled through the mangroves. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of a Mangrove Cuckoo but we only saw the tail feathers of birds as they flew away before we could get close. And none of them were Mangrove Cuckoo’s because they don't fly or at least not far. We did see quite a few mosquitoes up close and personal though. I HATE MOSQUITOES!!! The area we went to was called the Noble Hammock. Why the name we are not sure but the paddle was not what I thought it was going to be. The water had a rotting vegetation smell and was very shallow in some areas to the point where we had to use the mangrove roots to pull ourselves through. Thankfully our inflatable is tough! THAT is when the mosquitoes feasted on our rich red blood. We always forget to ask the right questions when inquiring at the ranger stations about things to do. The last time we did that was in Utah and we were sent on a “mountain biking” trail that was way over our heads. A trail that should have taken 1 ½ hours took us 4 because we had to walk more than we could ride. But that is for another time! This time we didn’t ask, how long the watery trail was or what it was like. We did however ask if the trial was clearly marked because you could really get turned around in those mangroves. Our first indication should have been where we put the boat in the water. It was very narrow and we had to do a 10 point turn to get pointed the right direction. We thought we would be on the water an hour but after 1 ½ hours and not knowing where we were in conjunction to where we had to go we had no idea how long it would be. The markers were made of 3” pvc pipe anchored to the bottom somehow and were numbered. We started guessing what the final number would be but after passing all our guesses we had no idea and with all the twists and turns we could not even tell where we came from. So we stopped and ate our lunch, wondering as we ate our ½ sandwiches, “should we conserve it in case we did get lost”, hahahahaha. We honestly never thought we would get lost! But we did think it would be a prettier paddle. If you have never seen the Florida waters in the swamps, it is brown like tea and doesn’t smell all that great. I wonder if the natives from Florida go home after an extended stay away and smell the air and think “ah home”! By the time we ended our little adventure we were at 153 on the markers and were not in the same spot where we put in. As we walked to the road to see where our car was we saw it about 1/10th of a mile to the right. After 3+ hours on our inflatable kayak I was ready to move around so I sprinted to get the car while Chip started deflating our inflatable. It was not an easy paddle but it was exclusive to the Everglades and that made it special. AND I use the term “special” in a somewhat sarcastic way.  A dozen or more mosquito bites between the two of us later and we were on our way back to camp and the serenity of bird watching.