If my first post whet your appetite for the Everglades, I can’t wait for you to read part two of my time in this amazing National Park!
One of the many ranger-led programs I did was a night walk. I guess most people went to see the alligators at night (that’s the impression I got) but I was so distracted by the clear, dark sky and the bright stars that I kept running into the railings of the boardwalk.
It was cold (it got close to freezing overnight my first night, what?!? I thought spending my winter in Florida would let me avoid the freeze!). Did you know that reptiles aren’t huge fans of cold? It’s like they can’t control their own body temperature or something. So, not surprising the alligators weren’t very accommodating by hanging out on the surface of the water when the air temperature was around 40 degrees. Even without seeing many glowing eyes staring back at us from the edges of the water (or maybe because?) the experience was magical.
This brings me to a topic you are all wondering about: the alligators. Those scary, scaly reptiles that none of us would want to come across unaware. We’ve all seen pictures of them casually strolling across streets, videos of them ripping into large beasts, and skimming along the surface of the water.
My experience of them in the Everglades had none of that. It was cold, remember? Reptiles are super chill (great pun, right?) when the air temp is low. Most of my viewing of the reptiles was a little like “Where’s Waldo.” As many of them were just cooling their heels (hehe) in the grasses or near the bottom of the shallow water, where it was warmer. I was, confusingly, a little disappointed? I think we all kind of hope to have a slightly scary encounter with an alligator to tell our friends and neighbors.
You know another thing in the Everglades that could easily be missed if you don’t stop to look? Snails. I know, how interesting could snails be? I’m here to tell you that until I visited the Everglades, I couldn’t have cared less about snails – and the thought of actively searching for them? I would have laughed in your face if you’d suggested it. The joke is on me, because I not only kept my eyes out for them, I specifically went to places they were known to be and spent time thoroughly examining tree trunks looking for them. I squealed at least once when I was rewarded with particularly beautiful shells.
While all of that was really cool, the highlight of my entire trip was the ranger-led wet walk.
I was hesitant at first, the thought of traipsing through a swamp doesn’t have much appeal; mostly because I didn’t want to ruin my clothes or shoes (see how we all assume the Everglades is a dirty swamp! No wonder the rangers get so annoyed with tourists about it). It took convincing for me to be talked into signing up. In the end, as I only heard rave reviews of the experience (plus, my BFF Ranger Olivia was leading the one on the following day), I took the plunge and signed up. You only live once, right?
After meeting up at one of the visitor centers, we all drove to what felt like a random spot along the road and pulled over into the shoulder. As we got out of our vehicles there was no path which we would obviously be traveling on. Then, after being given a walking pole and told to make sure to use it to test out the ground before we took a step (see above: sinkholes!), we headed into a random place in the freshwater marl prairie (basically a rocky marsh). Almost immediately we found ourselves in knee-deep water.
Do you remember me mentioning that the Everglades is a wetland, aka the “River of Grass,” not a swamp? The water was surprisingly clear! As we stood among the grasses and limestone rocks, a layer of poop-looking things called periphyton floated around our legs. However, they weren’t animal dropping but the basis for the entire wetland food chain.
Slowly and intentionally, we made our way through the prairie and as we progressed towards the cypress trees the ground became less mucky and the water became less clear.
Then, all of a sudden, Ranger Olivia stopped, and we all took a moment to take in where she had led us.
It was one of the most magical places I have ever been. Rising above and fully encompassing us was a cypress dome. Because it was January the cypresses were bare, but that only made them more magnificent.
Our walk, apparently, had an incredibly unique feature – animals! According to Ranger Olivia, the walk is usually about the flora – not fauna, but we had some visitors. First, as we stood silently, taking in our stunning surroundings, someone whispered: “is that an owl?” We all strained our necks, peering up into the trees. Then we spotted it – a Barred Owl, sitting (sleeping?) contentedly above us. Then we heard in the distance: “Who-WHO-who-WHO.” A moment later the owl above treated us to a replying call.
But that wasn’t our only animal sighting!
Not too long after we’d left the owl hooting away, a Great Egret flew over our heads, settling nearby, its fine plumage on display.
And then (as if nature was like, “you thought that was cool? Have I got something for you!”) hanging out in a gator hole was a Wood Stork! An even more magical sight because, according to Ranger Olivia, the bird is a symbol of the restorative hope for the Everglades as it is an indicator of recovery from damage done to the ecosystems during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Birds weren’t the only creatures we found!
Then, as one of my fellow visitors was taking a picture of a stunning orchid she gasped: “is that a snake!!”
Yup. It was a snake. A very full snake. (I looked it up later, it’s a Brown Watersnake and is non-venomous, but that didn’t make me feel better at the time because we didn’t know the species at the time).
Ranger Olivia was astounded. Apparently, in the 5(?) years she’d been leading wet walks she’d never seen a live snake. Lucky us.
“None of you are afraid of snakes, are you?” She asked. When I replied they terrify me, she said she couldn’t tell. She wasn’t inside my head as I was completely freaking the f out!
Our walk was so unusual that even Ranger Olivia had her phone out taking pictures!!
Even with the snake sighting, those two hours will rank in the top five most extraordinary experiences of my life. If you ever get the chance to go, don’t let your fear of reptiles stop you!
And, if possible, see if you can do it with Ranger Olivia (you know, my new BFF).
One last thing: the vultures.
Below is a sign posted at one of visitor centers . . .
And just in case you think they are making it up, I witness them sitting on an uncovered car doing exactly what the sign warned they would do!
Vultures are weird, and cool, and awesome. But, when you take a moment to learn about it, that is also how I would describe the Everglades, too.
I'm going to leave you with a few pictures of some other cool things I learned about in the Everglades!
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