We woke up and got ready for our Everglades tour and disconnected everything on the motor home so it would be ready to go when we got back. We drove over to the Walgreen parking lot where we were to be picked up. After a few minutes the tour van picked us up and we started the narrated driving portion of the tour. Our driver gave us some background information on the area as we drove toward the Everglades. Naples and most of the area around it, including the Everglades was originally purchased by Barron Collier who was a self-made millionaire who made his money in advertising. He purchased 1 million acres in southern Florida and since there were no roads the government told him if he would create a road connecting Tampa with Miami he could name the area whatever he wanted. He agreed and began construction on the Tamiami Trail (Tampa + Miami). The southern part of the state is called Collier County and there are roads, parks, etc. all with his name. To provide a base of operations for the workers building the road he built Everglade City. The city at one time was one of the largest centers for the drug trade in the United States. Planes would fly in from Columbia and the fishermen used their fishing boats to distribute the drugs. In 1983 there was a huge drug bust and 2/3 of the male population of Everglade City was sent to jail. Now the city is the largest provider of stone crabs in the whole country. There are over two million traps that are baited with chicken and placed in the water during the season that runs from October 15 through May 15 every year. When the crabs are caught one arm is torn off and the crab is returned to the water where a new arm grows back.
We were taken to the dock where we boarded an air boat and went on a one hour tour through the Back Bay area of the 10,000 Lakes. The area is a vast mangrove jungle making up all of the Everglades out into the Gulf of Mexico. We saw several alligators, birds, a raccoon and interesting air plants growing on the mangroves. All of the water in the everglades is brown due to the tannic acid given off by the mangroves. After the air boat ride we were given a tour of Everglades City and saw all of the historic buildings, crab traps, and fishing cottages and homes built up on stilts.
We had lunch that included an appetizer of alligator nuggets and then went to the Everglades National Park to board a pontoon boat for the afternoon tour. We went on a trip out through the Everglades and the 10,000 Lakes where the guide pointed out wild life including osprey, egret, terns, brown pelicans, and dolphins. We went through the area known to have a lot of manatees but we didn’t see any. We made a circle around Indian Key that is at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. At the end of the boat trip we were taken back to Walgreen to pick up the car then we hooked up the car, got fuel and headed toward Florida City. We left about 4:15 PM and traveled on the Tamiami Trail – Highway 41 to the 997-S towards the Florida Keys. We arrived in Florida City and checked in to the Goldcoaster Mobile Home and RV Park at around 6:30 PM. We got everything set up, went in the Jacuzzi for a while then came home and made dinner. In the morning we will go down the Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West.
We had lunch that included an appetizer of alligator nuggets and then went to the Everglades National Park to board a pontoon boat for the afternoon tour. We went on a trip out through the Everglades and the 10,000 Lakes where the guide pointed out wild life including osprey, egret, terns, brown pelicans, and dolphins. We went through the area known to have a lot of manatees but we didn’t see any. We made a circle around Indian Key that is at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. At the end of the boat trip we were taken back to Walgreen to pick up the car then we hooked up the car, got fuel and headed toward Florida City. We left about 4:15 PM and traveled on the Tamiami Trail – Highway 41 to the 997-S towards the Florida Keys. We arrived in Florida City and checked in to the Goldcoaster Mobile Home and RV Park at around 6:30 PM. We got everything set up, went in the Jacuzzi for a while then came home and made dinner. In the morning we will go down the Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West.