Everglades

I feel like we just scratched the surface of this big, mysterious wetland.

Friday

We woke up early and gathered our remaining items to pack into the car. Then we headed out. I drove the first hour and a half, and then we switched off. When we arrived in Everglades City, we first visited this Everglades museum. It was very cute and well-designed. We read about the native Americans and missionaries, and the movie that was filmed in the Everglades. Then we stopped at Wildman’s Pizza, Pasta, and Pythons, where we met the toughest woman we have ever encountered and learned all about this guy Dusty who has a TV show and hunts pythons. It was quite an experience. Then we drove a little further and stopped at Wooten’s, where we went on an airboat ride. It was really fun and time flew by. I had a great time apart from the last ten minutes or so, when I had a silent panic attack. It was strange and sad and something I struggled with for the remainder of the day. I’m not entirely sure why. Something inside of me was not right and I was just incredibly anxious about the trip. Thankfully it eventually subsided. At Wooten’s we bought some postcards, and we then drove a bit further down the road to the world’s smallest post office and mailed them to our relatives. We stopped at a small visitors’ center to use the bathroom. And then we continued on our journey. At one point we sang along to worship music, and it was so nice. We made it to Everglades National Park and our campground that evening, and we began to move in. Hunter made a nice, comfortable bed for me inside the tent out of blankets, a yoga mat, and two sleeping bags. We got a fire going and Hunter made us dinner. Sausage and potatoes. We ate by the fire and just sort stared off. We were exhausted. We went to bed fairly early.

Saturday

I slept so well! For the most part. When we woke up, Hunter made us oatmeal, and I tried to set up our shade structure. After eating our oatmeal and discussing the events that had transpired the previous day, we took a little “drive.” Then we went to the big Everglades visitor center, where we got to watch a documentary (!) and learn more about the history and ecology of the glades. They had a pretty deck that looked out over the borrow pond where I sat in a rocking chair for a while. We learned that the birds you see depend largely on the depth of the water in a given area. These are wading birds, so the water depth needs to be appropriate for them to be able to wade. After visiting the visitors’ center, we traveled to a pretty picnic spot on the water and made hotdogs. It was so peaceful and nice. I really liked that time. It was too hot to take any breaks, so after lunch we headed right along to the next visitors’ center that was also a trailhead for two trails. Hunter was tired and needed a minute, so we waited in the car for a bit. Then we went on the “gumbo limbo” trail, or something like that. It was nice and shaded and felt like walking through a pretty, dark forest. It was short though. Then we did the anhinga trail, which was awesome yet hot. We saw the most creatures on this trail probably. Tons of anhinga. And one alligator. I enjoyed using my binoculars. After this, though we were tired, we had to keep moving so as to avoid the heat. We traveled down the road to the “pook-e-hoo” walk, or something like that. I can’t remember the name. Whatever it is, it means “wet grass” in the Native American language. Hunter really liked this spot. To me it sort of just looked like a big field of grass. But I bet at different times of the day it can look really beautiful. Okay, after this I think we headed back to our campsite and sat in what little shade we had. Hunter made us a snack of beanie weenies. I fed our resident cardinal and friends some bread. We took showers to cool off and clean up. Eventually things really started to cool down. We tried to fish, but both of our lyres got stuck in the rocks within five minutes and we had to cut our lines. So we gave up on that. Evening turned to night, and I made a fire. We had some more hot dogs. Hunter found a COTTON MOUTH right next to our fire pit, so we sat in its presence for the rest of our time outside. Hunter whittled a piece of wood. It was a beautiful night spent with our little snake friend.

Sunday

Another great sleep. In the morning, Hunter made us eggs and bacon while I cleaned out the tent and packed our things. We enjoyed our breakfast then finished packing up. We began our journey home. We stopped in Miami for some matcha. Then we turned on a really good Sadie Robertson podcast and listened to it. Our next stop was the spot I was most excited about: the Clyde Butcher gallery. It was amazing. I had learned about this guy before in art school or something, so it was so cool to be able to view his work in person. His portrayal of the Everglades is what I have always visualized of when I thought of the glades. We were actually surprised when we arrived at Everglades National Park and everything was way less wet than we were expecting. I think we were thinking more of Big Cypress mixed with wet season. Anywho, the gallery was great. I think what his wife does with the paint is really cool. Beautiful resident photographers as well. There was a little nature trail behind the house that Hunter and I walked on. It was really beautiful and felt magical. There was also a pond to the side of the house that was like peak Everglades vibes. We continued driving and then stopped at the Skunk Ape Headquarters, which was a glorified gift shop. At the next gas station, I took over the wheel and safely transported us for 50 miles on interstate 75. We listened to another podcast. When we arrived home, we were glad to be back. But also sad. There was so much left to see and do and learn at the glades that we didn’t have time for.

I really enjoyed our trip. It was nice to learn more about this place. They said that 90% of the wading birds in the everglades are gone. That is literally so sad. And ALL of the water is now human-controlled through plumbing. And we’re not managing it very well. It’s sad to think about how much we have altered this part of the world. I wish I could go back in time and see it when it was bustling with birds and panthers. Eager for the day that God makes a new Earth and I get to play with panthers and gators. But until then, I will work on my anxiety and finding my purpose and doing what needs to be done with the time I have here.

Oh also, THE STARS. Love looking at stars.