Through the Everglades and onto Sarasota, Florida.
Today was a short day, mileage wise, about 250 miles from Florida City to Sarasota, where I spent the night. I wanted a shorter driving day, so I could spend time in the Everglades, and I also booked an airboat tour at 12:30, but with my side trips, etc., I probably traveled more like 350 miles, and a shorter day it wasn’t.
I headed out of Florida City, which I never explored, so have no idea of what it’s like, and took US highway 41, the Tamiami Trail, much of the way, driving right through the Everglades. The Tamiami Trail, built in 1928, is a scenic 284-mile road from Tampa (north of where I was) to Miami, crossing the Everglades, and its name is a combination of “Tampa” and “Miami”. It’s well-known for wildlife viewing, and runs right through the Everglades.
As I got out the city, at first the road was surrounded by extensive grassfields on either side, and soon starting turning into densely wooded and marshy areas, with small streams, and I realized this is the Everglades. I really didn’t know what to expect, but I pretty soon got a clear sense of the area. The Everglades is so named for its low and swampy land, and is characterized by clumps of tall grass and numerous branching waterways, and it’s a derivation of “Forever Glades,” as they go on forever, and is sometimes referred to as the River of Grass. So there.
Highway 41 is pretty straight, and surrounded by increasingly dense forests, with somewhat different vegetation and trees on either side, as the southern side is salt or brackish (mix of fresh and salt) water, and the northern side is fed by freshwater. After a while, I reached the Shark Valley entrance of the Everglades National Park, stopped, and took a short hike. Things were starting to get lovely, and the weather was great.
After some mild hiking, I continued on the Tamiami Trail to Big Cypress National Preserve, maybe 20 miles or so down the road, There is an abundance of wildlife in the Everglades, and many bird species, including many large birds, like the Great Blue Heron. I saw lads as the day went on.
I walked around and hiked a little, but I had that 12:30 airboat to catch in , although I had plenty of time as it was just 20 miles further along highway 41. There was a small boardwalk along a waterway at the preserve, and I as I looked at the swampy waterway below it, lo and behold, alligators. There are something like 200,000 alligators in the Everglades and there are crocodiles as well, but only about 2,000, because alligators like freshwater and crocodiles, which can live in freshwater, prefer salt, and so more are found around the coastal areas.
Then it was onto my 12:30 50-minute airboat ride, just down the road, which I very much enjoyed. A very different experience than my sunset tour last night, but great. The boat was noisy, and we wore headsets to tone down the sound, stopping regularly for our guide to tell us about what we seeing. The boat could move, reaching speeds of about 25-30 miles per hour, and when it was moving it kicked up a hell of a wake. When it was moving, I was actually pretty chilly in my tank top and shorts due to the cool wind generated by the boat’s speed.
Although it looks foreboding, the water here is less than one foot deep today, and usually no more than two feet. When it gets even drier, it can be as shallow as six inches. As our guide says, if you fall in just stand up.
Then, not particularly interested in seeing the alligator park, or alligator wresting, or holding a baby alligator, which was part of my ticket at the park, I moved on. Actually, I didn’t move on, I moved backwards. That is, rather than heading east on highway 41, I headed west, returning to the Big Cypress area so I could take the 24 mile Big Cypress Loop Road, county route 94, which headed south off of 41, and was meant to be filled with wonderful views of the Everglades and its wildlife, and it did not disappoint.
The Loop Road was initially paved, but surrounded by increasingly dense forest on either side, but after just a couple of miles it turned into a sand and dirt road, and you should have seen the dust storm blowing up behind my car. It reminded me of when Kaye and I drove through the Mendocino Pass last year. My car was filthy then when we completed our trip, as it was today. I have to get to a car wash at some point.
But what a road, with endless stops to explore the swamps and woods of the Everglades. This is the Everglades I was thinking of, which was teeming with birds and I’m sure other wildlife I never saw. For instance, there are Florida Panthers out here somewhere, as well as Burmese Pythons that have, unfortunately, made their home here and are damaging the environment as their numbers are so large (and so are they), and are regularly hunted and killed (for prize money, I might add). But there are endless birds everywhere, in every swampy area along the loop road, and among the trees and vegetation. I saw Herons, Ibis, Egrets, and I’m pretty sure a spoonbill, which I couldn’t get a photo of, as well as other birds that I couldn’t see well enough to identify (not that I’m any good at identifying birds, but if I can get a photo, Google Lens will tell me what it is)
Driving that dirt road was great, with few others cars, and was filled with views. After about 17 miles, it’s paved again and continues to loop back round to highway 41, but I enjoyed that section of dirt road so much that I turned around and did it again, getting back to where I started. Loved it.
There were so many wonderful photos to take, and so many times a large bird would take flight, but too quickly for me to take a photo. I did see these bunch of Glossy Ibises (identified thanks to Google Lens) amd a Great Egret just hanging out in the road as I headed back to the Tamiami Trail. A carefree bunch.
And now, as it was getting late in the afternoon, it was time to head straight to Sarasota, where I was spending the night, and I drove straight through without stopping as it was about a 2½ hour drive, and would be dark before I arrived. I hated to do it, but I switched from highway 41 to I-75 when I could, and took that all the way. By the time I hit I-75, dusk was really settling and most of my drive was in the dark.
A cold front came in from the north (which I later found out was the explanation), and by the time I got to Sarasota, around 6:45, it had gone from 82 degrees at 10 am in Florida City and was bloody cold, in the upper 30’s. It’s not just up here, but all over Florida, and the south in general. It will be in the 40s tomorrow, so it’s back to long pants, T-shirt, and sweatshirt tomorrow.. Shame.
Tomorrow will be a long drive, from Sarasota to Tallahassee where I’ll be spending the night, before moving around the top of the Gulf toward Pensacola (and beyond that lies New Orleans, just 5½ hours from Tallahassee). I’m not quite sure where I’ll be tomorrow night, as I keep switching my itinerary each day as i figure things out. All I know is I gotta be back for my November 19 eye appointment.
Goodnight.