smittenbyu (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
smittenbyu) wrote2010-01-19 08:19 pm
smittenbyu) wrote2010-01-19 08:19 pm
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Day 4 - Everglades
No it was not a 3 day trip. Just haven't had the opportunity to sit down and post about the rest of the trip!
December 28, 2009
This was truly the highlight of the trip! My back though was giving a lot of pain. There was so much sitting in the car the previous day. We took it really easy and left the motel around 11am. We went to the Ernest Coe Visitor center and saw some of the exhibits there. Then we found a picnic spot and had our lunch.
In the afternoon we went slogging through the slough with a ranger of course! It was awesome! It was just three of us. I guess many of us, the three of us included, are rather anxious about setting foot in the everglades afraid of its natural inhabitant - the alligator. In fact, we saw more alligators on the paved trails than we did in the slough/slew! We all had only sneakers. So, within the first step our feet were drenched through. The water was so cool to feel and it acted as a natural AC unit as we walked about under the sun. The life that lives in this ecosystem is just so complex. It was unbelievably fun! The ranger had to really drag us out of the allotted time for the slough tour!
We first started off in the grassy part. Not too bad. The water just was barely ankle deep. And the bare tree to my right is a cypress tree. See how small this one is and a few in the background.
Then the water came up to our calf muscles. We understood why they recommended us to wear full sleeve shirts - not because of sun exposure but if you rub yourself the wrong way with the grass it can badly cut you - aptly called saw grass.
We played with periphyton that's found everywhere in the glades. The ranger picked this floating "creeper" as well for us to check out. It turns out to be a carnivorous plant (forget the name).
A hawk that has its nest in the trees close by was keeping an eye out on us!
And then we entered the swamp. These are also cypress trees! Them being bigger than the ones we saw earlier doesn't mean that they are older. It's just the water is deeper and they get more nutrients. As we walked through the water did in fact get deeper and occasionally there were unexpected holes, where the water got almost hip deep.
And the water was so clear - looked like a layer of glass on top! Amazing how natural filtration system works!
We saw some flowers in bloom. We even saw an orchid that bloomed out of season, just for us it seems!!
And we saw some birds up above us. We thought we could take a peek at the hawk's nest but it hid it well!
We then made it to another trail to watch the sunset over the everglades. Just that the lookout point we were on casted a huge shadow as the sun set behind us!
Somehow the walking about and the water all around us help alleviate my back discomfort! It felt really good and I wasn't tired one bit!
We headed back and headed into town for dinner at a Mexican place. It was yummy! We found a more authentic Mexican place, but since Spanish was not in our list of language know-how, and we couldn't find any veggie options on the menu and so we found another option. It was good too! I still though rememebr the yummy soft tortillas from Frontier restaurant in Albuquerque! I would fly back just to have some more of that!
December 28, 2009
This was truly the highlight of the trip! My back though was giving a lot of pain. There was so much sitting in the car the previous day. We took it really easy and left the motel around 11am. We went to the Ernest Coe Visitor center and saw some of the exhibits there. Then we found a picnic spot and had our lunch.
In the afternoon we went slogging through the slough with a ranger of course! It was awesome! It was just three of us. I guess many of us, the three of us included, are rather anxious about setting foot in the everglades afraid of its natural inhabitant - the alligator. In fact, we saw more alligators on the paved trails than we did in the slough/slew! We all had only sneakers. So, within the first step our feet were drenched through. The water was so cool to feel and it acted as a natural AC unit as we walked about under the sun. The life that lives in this ecosystem is just so complex. It was unbelievably fun! The ranger had to really drag us out of the allotted time for the slough tour!
We first started off in the grassy part. Not too bad. The water just was barely ankle deep. And the bare tree to my right is a cypress tree. See how small this one is and a few in the background.
Then the water came up to our calf muscles. We understood why they recommended us to wear full sleeve shirts - not because of sun exposure but if you rub yourself the wrong way with the grass it can badly cut you - aptly called saw grass.
We played with periphyton that's found everywhere in the glades. The ranger picked this floating "creeper" as well for us to check out. It turns out to be a carnivorous plant (forget the name).
A hawk that has its nest in the trees close by was keeping an eye out on us!
And then we entered the swamp. These are also cypress trees! Them being bigger than the ones we saw earlier doesn't mean that they are older. It's just the water is deeper and they get more nutrients. As we walked through the water did in fact get deeper and occasionally there were unexpected holes, where the water got almost hip deep.
And the water was so clear - looked like a layer of glass on top! Amazing how natural filtration system works!
We saw some flowers in bloom. We even saw an orchid that bloomed out of season, just for us it seems!!
And we saw some birds up above us. We thought we could take a peek at the hawk's nest but it hid it well!
We then made it to another trail to watch the sunset over the everglades. Just that the lookout point we were on casted a huge shadow as the sun set behind us!
Somehow the walking about and the water all around us help alleviate my back discomfort! It felt really good and I wasn't tired one bit!
We headed back and headed into town for dinner at a Mexican place. It was yummy! We found a more authentic Mexican place, but since Spanish was not in our list of language know-how, and we couldn't find any veggie options on the menu and so we found another option. It was good too! I still though rememebr the yummy soft tortillas from Frontier restaurant in Albuquerque! I would fly back just to have some more of that!