01/10/07 Driving The Loop Road (23 miles one way):
The Loop Road begins a couple of miles west of the Everglades National Park's Shark Valley entrance. The first few miles are not so hot with houses on one side and a canal on the other. The houses give way and you enter the preserve. What appear to be canals follow both sides of the road and water continues farther back.
Vegetation obscures the water most of the time. It seems someone has planted those thatched palm trees on both sides of the road. When you can see back beyond them it looks like my image of a creepy crawly swamp with big green swamp monsters and such. Dwarf cypress trees and smaller regular cypress trees are about the only plants... except for those air plants attached to them. They're not parasites. They attach themselves to a tree for a place to be but get their nourishment from the air.
I quickly found that when I came to a drainage pipe crossing the road I was at a good viewing location. It seemed there was a wood stork, a great blue heron, a great American egret and a couple of smaller herons at each pipe with an alligator here and there. Great stuff.
I tried to drive though pretty quickly but it still took 1.5 hours as I stopped once or twice while taking about 40 pictures. I plan on walking some of the road tomorrow.
01/11/07 Driving The Loop Road (23 miles one way):
Yesterday I kinda hurried through an attractive drive in 1.5 hours. Today I did it in 3 hours. I stopped at each and every drainage pipe crossing the road. These usually provide some open spaces on one side or the other or both. Here is where you get good scenes of still waters and dwarf cypress trees I also stopped anywhere I could get more than just a glimpse of the canal and its contents.
I must have seen 20-25 alligators on the way. Sometimes 3 or 4 at one stop, sometimes none. I seemed to get more good shots of great American egrets than anywhere else. They didn't fly off quite so fast and I got some nice pictures with them and cypress trees reflected in water. Wood storks were quite common too, even though they're on the endangered list. Many of the smaller herons and a few ibises too.
I did what I set out to do and that was to enjoy as much of this road as possible. I'd come back here quite happily sometime in the future.
01/12/07 Driving US 41:
Driving back on US 41 from the far end of the Loop Road I was impressed by the wildlife and scenery along side this highway. I could see many birds and many alligators as I zoomed by at 60mph. Today I went back and drove more slowly and stopped many places.
I spent a couple hours going about 25 miles. The critters are much more shy here. The 'gators hit the water at first sight and most of the birds fly off immediately. Still, except for the trash in the canal, it was enjoyable.
01/13/07 Driving Turner Road:
Turner Road (CR 839) is 10 miles or so west of the Visitor Center. Turn right at the H.P. Williams Roadside Park. Like the Loop Road, this is a dirt road with a larger canal running beside it. While the Loop Road has bushes and trees at road side much of the way, Turner Road has tall grasses.
Lots of alligators hang out at the roadside park. A ranger was there on the weekend but I don't think on weekdays.
Turner Road goes 20 miles and eventually passes under I 75 and on to Bear Island Campground. The road got too bumpy for me after 8 miles and I turned back. Today seemed to be mostly Ibises and wood storks and about 30 alligators. Most of the alligators were 4-5 feet long. They weren't too shy but the birds were and it was a little difficult getting good pictures... but I tried.