River of Grass

Currently in: Marathon, FL
Next up: Siesta Key



While Johnny and I were having fun at the RV park, we did squeeze in some exploration of South Florida.  We went for a ride on a swamp boat, one thing that was on my list of things I absolutely wanted to do during our RV adventure.

Most of these types of boats operate in the Everglades.  Since Hurricane Irma, only 1 of the visitor centers in Everglades National Park is open, but there are several swamp boat tours operating throughout.  We chose one that was about an hour from our RV campground.  It was a beautiful drive down through the northern part of the Everglades.   

Once on the boat, we had several alligator sightings.  The alligator below was just a few feet from us.

              

Early explorers and cartographers called the Everglades "River of Grass" since there is so much swamp grass here.  This alligator was hiding in the swamp grass.

The tour guide explained a lot about the different types of plants and animals that live in this eco system.  There had recently been quite a bit of rain, so our boat ride was smooth.

Johnny wanted to hold a baby alligator at the end of the ride.  Yuck!

Our RV campground was right on the edge of Lake Okeechobee.  There is a 136 mile path around the lake.  We decided to go for a bike ride around the path, but it was a challenge to find the access point. As it turns out, the Army Corps of Engineers has been repairing the dikes around the lake for the last five years, and may continue for the next three years! They are trying to protect the community from flooding.  Finally, we found a 5 mile stretch of the path that had already been repaired.  We picked a perfect day and had a great ride!

Okeechobee is a Native American word for "swamp grass".   There were parts of the path where all we could see was swamp.  But when we finally saw the lake, it was beautiful.