Wild Times in Everglades City

Day 270  |  Everglades City  

The sun did return and it was a perfect day for our Everglades airboat tour. We walked the lovely palm tree-lined, brick paver road to the clubhouse and caught a ride to Captain Mitch's home base. There we met Chris and Roger (Miss Utah) and their guests, Phyllis and Andy. We loaded into our airboat and off we went. Not more than thirty yards from the dock we saw our first gator, sunning in the grasses.

The tour took us through both marsh grass and mangrove ecosystems. On open stretches we accelerated to the anticipated high speed and turned sharp and hard, catching a little spray. We also snuck through areas quietly and enjoyed the view of the wildlife.

Along with the alligators were many species of birds. Egrets waded along the edge of the mangroves. Several roseate spoonbills hung out in the grassland. The stars of the show, however, were the alligators and they were plentiful.

Some of the floating "logs" had eyes. A new bird for me was this colorful moorhen. This big gator directed us back to the dock and smiled for the camera as we went by. This tour was an amazing overview of the Everglades. If you're in the area, don't miss out on a wonderful opportunity to see the "real" Everglades. Captain Mitch operates on private land so we avoided the chaos that surrounds us on the Barron River where multiple tour company congregate -- sometimes five boats at a time -- in search of an elusive dolphin. We returned to Crossroads and found this heart-shaped leaf floating in the river, just off our stern. Perfect for Valentine's Day.

Chris and I met up at the pool for a few hours in the early afternoon. As with everything here at Everglades Isle, it is a beautiful and relaxing spot. The deep red flowers on this cactus were highlights of the landscaping. The resort hosted a Valentine's Day potluck and karaoke night in the clubhouse. There was a great turnout and we discovered that motorcoach folks aren't that different from boaters. There were games, a photo booth, sparkly girl-power jewelry, and karaoke. We hung with the motorcoachers until boaters' midnight (9:00), then all slipped out of a party that was turning both weirder and wilder.

We will depart here tomorrow morning around 10:00 to take advantage of a rising tide. Miss Utah and Crossroads both draw five feet and we're hoping to have a bit more water under us than when we came in. We will anchor in the Little Shark River and set the stage for an easy day into Marathon on Saturday.