Everglades
We stayed at the Everglades for a two night stay, but we were boondocking. Boondocking is where you camp but do not have electricity or water, so we had to live off of our batteries. What’s cool about the place is that we are actually camping inside the national park. Our first night there, we walked to the amphitheater and got to hear a Park Ranger talk about the park. We talked about preserving the park as best as possible but also protecting it from the outside world and how that is a balancing act.
The next day we had a boat tour through the backcountry of the Florida bay. We saw so many different animals including one crocodile and lots of different birds. The coolest part was when we got back because there were about 20 manatees in the water at the marina in a sunny spot! We have been waiting for the entire trip to a manatee and finally saw one, actually many! We did some hikes as we drove through the park, each one had a different look to it.
Since we had some time left until dinner, we went to a gator farm where they had airboat tours, gators, and even capybara! Sadly we saw no capybara but we saw over one-hundred gators! We saw a show where the guide went into an enclosure with two big gators. He picked them up and held their jaws open with his chin! We learned at the national park visitors center that this show was how Native American tribes used to do this with alligators. Then we went on an airboat tour through the mangroves. We got wet while they were doing tricks and spins and it was so fun! 🤩
After the farm, we were going to go to the gator restaurant where they served gator meat but sadly they were closed for New Years. Luckily Roberts Fruit stand was open. We got papaya, ugly fruit, and the best mango any of us had ever tasted. My favorite was the ugly fruit because it tasted like a mix between lime, orange, and lemon it was so good 😊.
Current leg: 140 miles
Total miles: 3577 miles