WE TOOK ON THE WILDERNESS!
AND WON!
UH, IT WAS MORE LIKE…BIRDS, BUGS and GATORS, OH MY!
We hit the Everglades National Park as well as a bit of the Southern part of the Florida West Coast and we got so much more than we bargained for…
So many more alligators, turtles, shells, and birds!
Here is our photo documentation of such things!
First and foremost…
The Air boat ride!
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Nice Scenery…
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And Alligators and Birds!
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I think this guy liked me…as he came right up to me in the boat. I so wanted to pet him!
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Poser!
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Nice Eye Lash!
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Shoes maybe?
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Now the Birds! An Osprey, the hunters of the area!
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And then there is the scavenger…The Turkey Buzzard. But they do keep the parks clean from smelly dead animal bodies!
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After the ride, we enjoyed a walk through their small zoo.
Yes, that is me holding a little gator! He was so soft!
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Beautiful Turtle Eyes!
I will take a moment here to remind you that turtles are my favorite animal…all turtles.
And you can SEE why by this Painted Turtle’s eyes!
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Even though this guy, a giant tortoise, has food in his “teeth” he is large and in charge!
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Fun Facts about the Giant Tortoise:
1. They are the biggest reptile in the world.
2. They never stop growing.
3. They can live from 6 months to a year without food or water.
4. They can live up to 100 or more years old.
HOW YOU NOT LOVE AN ANIMAL LIKE THAT?
After our fun little zoo visit we hit the Everglades proper and it came with wildlife galore!
The Anhinga!
These birds dive under the water for food, so they need to dry out their feathers to be able to fly again.
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Beautiful Black & White
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And now some baby Anhingas!
These guys are around 8 weeks old!
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These are only 5 weeks old…and check out what they are doing!
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Yes, they put their head down Momma’s neck for their feedings!
Baby Anhingas don’t care! Baby Anhingas don’t give a shit!
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A bit of Florida Everglades Flora along our walk too close to nature!
I think I heard a Who!
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Not many flowers in the Everglades, but the color pops when you do find one!
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Love this itty bitty flower!
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Baby birds were not the only babies we saw! How cute!
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Back to the Turtle…this Painted Turtle cracked us up!
Not just because of the plant growth on his back…
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But because of how he was sunning his clawed toes too!
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Then we went off-road in Big Cypress National Preserve!
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Yep, that is 6 foot gator that close to our Subie! Subie likes the swamps!
Gators Everywhere!
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Look at those teeth!
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Let’s not forget the Bromeliads! I love the Bromeliad! So much…I touched them!
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Look at the color!
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A thousand gators and a million bromeliads later we got back on the main road (meaning just a 2 lane “highway” called the “Tamiami Trail”) and saw the below sign.
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Like the gators were not dangerous enough!
We made it safely to Everglades City…just in time for dinner!
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After a fun night hanging with the Everglades City folk, we headed up the West Coast of Florida!
Our first stop was Tigertail Beach, on Marco Island! Jim’s first time in the Gulf of Mexico!
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Shells, freakin’ everywhere!
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The sand was like flour and the locals were blue!
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And hungry! This Osprey eats the lunch he just caught!
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After out exploring the beach, we went North to Naples!
Like the Osprey…we ate our fish lunch too! Yum yum!
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Nice Nice in Naples! Nice lunch, nice time window shopping!
After driving more north, we made it just in time for Sunset on Sanibel Island!
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But that is not all we wrote, because we had to check out the “Bubble Room!”
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And now this is all we wrote! Good night folks…we have a tunnel to go through!
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.WE.ARE.GNOMADS. 
NICE pics! I even read all the captions!!
Oh and I didn’t realize you moved to FLA.
Yep…we moved right after the Halloween snow last year!
Great to catch up again. I too read all the captions. Your photo eye keeps me entertained. They are great. Glad to hear you enjoy FL. I might head there w/ a break from school to Palmetto, near Tampa…maybe look you up for quick visit!
Fabulous trip…and your photos are amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks…and just to make this clear! Jim takes some of the photos too! ;o)
You haven’t lost your wit, your gift as a photographer, or your great smile. This was a great tour of everglades fauna, including the Honey Badger reference!
Wow the pictures of the animals are amazing – was it alittle nerving being that close to alligators? You guys live a very interesting and creative llife. Love to read about it.