When Andy and I road tripped down south in our RV, Florida’s Everglades National Park was high on our list of places to see. Florida didn’t impress us over all, but we loved swimming in the ocean when we visited Delray Beach, exploring some state parks further inland, and watching the shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral.
The Everglades: oh my goodness, how to sum it up? Despite being in the warm, southern climate, I was in my usual winter state and so would love to visit again at a different time of year. It was gorgeous, though, and I’m so glad we made this the second national park stop on our trip.
We saw more diverse wildlife than I’ve ever seen in one spot: alligators, dolphins, cranes, cormorants, and turtles, to name a few.
Part of what makes the Everglades so awesome is its mission to serve as a wildlife habitat. This includes, of course, alligators, which I had never seen before and have not seen since being in Florida.From the NPS website:
The park is home to a vast array of animals that have adapted to a subtropical environment in which temperate climatic conditions, characteristic of latitudes to the north, merge with tropical Caribbean conditions. The winter dry season, which lasts from December to April, is the best time for wildlife viewing in the park. Weather conditions are generally pleasant during the winter and standing water levels are low, causing wildlife to congregate at central water locations.
Female alligators will vehemently protect their nests and their young until they reach one to two years of age. Keep your eyes out for baby alligators in the Everglades – they’re about a foot long with yellow stripes.
We kept our eyes out all right. That alligator tidbit couldn’t have proven more true:
![Alligator Spotting and Canoeing in the Everglades - Sweet and Savoring [photo by Andy Milford] Alligator Spotting and Canoeing in the Everglades - Sweet and Savoring [photo by Andy Milford]](https://i0.wp.com/sweetandsavoring.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2300108299_7f3c15f2ee_o-500x333.jpg?resize=640%2C427)
Oh yes, I was not above the dumb tourist trick of pretending to touch some relatively close wildlife. Sigh.
![Alligator Spotting and Canoeing in the Everglades - Sweet and Savoring [photo by Andy Milford] Alligator Spotting and Canoeing in the Everglades - Sweet and Savoring [photo by Andy Milford]](https://i0.wp.com/sweetandsavoring.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2304362281_4ce4d28ff0_b-500x299.jpg?resize=640%2C384)
We couldn’t get enough of the beautiful blue sky and clouds: it was hard to focus on the water and things at eye level!
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No more cars in national parks. Let the people walk. Or ride horses, bicycles, mules, wild pigs–anything–but keep the automobiles and the motorcycles and all their motorized relatives out. We have agreed not to drive our automobiles into cathedrals, concert halls, art museums, legislative assemblies, private bedrooms and the other sanctums of our culture; we should treat our national parks with the same deference, for they, too, are holy places. An increasingly pagan and hedonistic people (thank God!), we are learning finally that the forests and mountains and desert canyons are holier than our churches. Therefore let us behave accordingly. –Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire
This is Nature’s own reservation, and every lover of wildness will rejoice with me that by kindly frost it is so well defended. –John Muir, Our National Parks
It looks amazing! I have not been to the Everglades since I was a kid (when my parents took me) and I would love to go back. I found it fascinating then and I know I would now as well. I love your pictures! What happened when mama gator came back?!
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What happened: we high tailed it out of there! Andy says ‘scariest growl you ever heard’. Really, we heard the growl, saw a glimpse (she came back to the nest via a large underground pipe), and ran. Oh man…reminds me of the bears in Shenandoah National Park!
Despite the fact that the alligator pictures kind of make me want to cry, I would totally LOVE to go there. It looks amazing! Great photos!-Ashley
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No, don’t cry! I was going to say I love all animals, but I don’t love centipedes. Or spiders of any kind.
Visiting the Everglades is on my bucket list. I don’t know why, but I’ve just always wanted to visit and never done it. This is a great reminder for me of what a treasure this place really is!
It really is worth the trip! Thanks for your comment, Seana 🙂
wow….what amazing pics! It looks like you guys had a blast! I think I would love to do something like that, but my hubby on the other hand…well..nope! lol
Great post….I really enjoyed it!
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Thanks, Carolann, I’ll pass on the praise to my Andy!
Welp, It’s official. I need to move to Florida right now.
Haha- I’m not sure I’d want to live there- I appreciate different seasons and landscapes too much!
Wow! You captured some amazing pictures. I’ve never been to the Everglades, but it just landed on my list of places to visit.
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Thanks Rachel! I’m so eager to visit more national parks- I’ve never even seen the Grand Canyon! So many places, so little time 😉
It looks really beautiful there and being able to canoe. Though if I saw the alligator I would probably run screaming! Haha!
Yes, I love that we did the canoe trip! I didn’t see anyone in the park running or screaming, so I think everyone there pretty much expected to see alligators 🙂
I don’t really love Florida… UNLESS.. it’s in the middle of winter and New England is miserable.
AND I love this part of Florida. What an adventure. I love seeing alligators, actually. I have a story about canoeing in Florida that still makes me giggle.
Yeah, I feel the same way- I wouldn’t want to go back to FL except to see the Everglades again- and the Keys! Because hello, Caribbean 🙂
And if I hadn’t already sent you your questions I would have asked about that alligator story! I’ll have to get it out of you another time!
How cool – my kids love watching Swamp People and I think they would be beside themselves if they actually saw an alligator in the Everglades. And I would so be that tourist pretending to touch the gator – how could you resist?
Haha, I couldn’t! I was just incredulous that they were just *there*, feet away and it was totally chill. And I imagine it would be a fantastic place to take kids!
Everglades National Park is yet another place that I need to visit. I love canoeing and it looks like you had such a good time. Maybe that will be added to my list for next winter!
Yes, we had a great time! I recommend visiting the Everglades for sure! Thanks for stopping by, Megan 🙂
That is soooo neat! Alligators are terrifying, but also so fascinating!
Haha, you said it exactly!
My dad works with National Parks a lot, so I’ve been so fortunate to see more than I can count. Visiting the national parks NEVER gets old to me. The beauty of nature is just unreal to me. I absolutely loved the everglades when we visited. Oddly enough, we went canoeing there too. It was so much fun. I didn’t see the alligators though, which may be a good thing seeing as those look quite terrifying!
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Oh I love that we both went canoeing there! Aren’t all the national parks just gorgeous? I can’t wait to cross more of them off my list. The next closest one that I haven’t been to is Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee!
Amazing pictures!