Big Cypress Swamp National Preserve

We said good-bye to the Florida Keys on Wednesday, November 6 in rain showers and 20-30 mph winds.  Our last full day in the Keys was cloudy, windy and intermittent rain--so much so we couldn't spend our final day on Sombrero Beach.  So, we invited two couples to go to Keys Fisheries for dinner.  As is most common, the three RV couples enjoyed one another's company and the wonderful fresh seafood of the Keys!

Our drive northward from the Keys took us to the Everglades.  We had printed a Groupon, and we proceeded to the airboat tour for our introduction to the national park.  Both of us enjoyed the ride and decided to also make a stop at Shark Valley.  Here, we took the last tram ride of the day to see the wildlife as the sun was setting.  Back in the 1980s, we drove our car in this area; but now, you either pay to take the tram, bike, walk or run the 15 mile loop.  We left the National Park as it turned dark and drove an additional 13 miles to the Midway Campground which is located in the Big Cypress National Preserve.  We had done some research and saw that this park offered power and water.  And, the bonus was the clear, dark skies of the Everglades and Big Cypress area.

Thursday, we drove the car to the Oasis Visitor Center of the Big Cypress Preserve to see the movie, learn more about the preserve, and observe from the boardwalk the alligators, great white egrets, great blue herons, the tri-color herons, cormorants and anhingas.  This boardwalk viewpoint is a do not miss.  We enjoyed watching the herons and egrets catching fish and the alligators stalking the birds.

Afterwards, we made a stop at the Clyde Butcher Gallery to see the wonderful collection of black and white photographs on exhibit and for sale.  Clyde Butcher's pictures are similar to those we have seen by Ansel Adams.  He has done not only various national parks, but many scenes from Florida.  We returned to the RV, hitched up the car and continued along Tamiami Trail towards Naples.  Our final stop at the Kirby Storter boardwalk to see the cypress and epiphytes (air plants) growing in the swamps. 

After a quick lunch, we drove an additional 37 miles to the Naples Motorcoach RV Resort on the edge of Naples.  Linda's cousin and his wife live less than 5 miles from here in the winter.  The first couple of hours of our afternoon here, the four of us explored our new home for a couple of hours followed by a short drive to see their home.  After dine at Alice Sweetwaters Bar and Grill, Jim and I returned to the rv park to relax in the hot tub and meet some other people here in the park.