Everglades Shark Valley Loop

White ibis

I shouldn’t be surprised that I fell asleep at 8:30 last night. We had walked a lot and were very tired. We slept soundly until after 5 am. Mary had the leftover pork chunks with beans and rice from the Cuban restaurant for this morning’s breakfast. I had yogurt, Raisin Bran and a banana. 

We made a quick stop at Walmart for replacement gel insoles then to Publix for lunch sandwiches. We drove north on US 997 to US 41, the Tamaimi Trail. The construction on Route 997 made travel slow through the agricultural area. 

Green heron

We arrived at the Shark Valley area of Everglades National Park around 9:45. Rather than getting the $80 lifetime senior pass, I opted for the $20 annual pass. The ranger at the gate told us that we could get annual senior passes for four years then turn the passes in for a lifetime pass. 

Mark & Cindy had arrived at the Shark Valley parking lot just before us so we parked by them and prepared for a walk out the Shark Valley Loop.  Visitors can opt for a tram ride around the loop for the 7.5 miles out to the observation tower and the 7.5 mile ride back to the visitor center.  Bicycles, including tandem bikes, can be rented at the visitor center for the 15 mile ride.  We have always elected to walk the loop trail since we find that we can set our pace and see more wildlife if we are on foot.  The downside is that we have never had the time to walk the entire 15 mile round trip distance.

Great egret

Since the temperatures were still in the mid 50s, there were only a few alligators out sunning when we started our walk.  We did see a number of birds including many breeds of egrets, herons, ibis, gallinule, anhinga, and limpkin as well as many others.  As we walked along the loop trail we saw more and more alligators sunning, some even on the trail.  A number of aquatic turtles were out warming in the sun and we even saw a couple of cottonmouths and a brown (nonvenomous) water snake.  We heard a few clutches of baby alligators but saw only one baby that was less than a foot long.  There were a number of fish in the canal including many gar, mosquito fish, bass and brim, as well as some invasive fish like walking catfish, tilapia and cichlids. 

As we walked along we chatted with several groups of walkers and pointed out interesting wildlife and plants.  We were pleased to watch several anhingas and herons hunting and catching fish.  The day became beautiful without a cloud in the sky and temperatures in the mid 70s.  We were especially appreciative of the nice weather as we were hearing of record breaking cold temperatures in the mid Atlantic region.  We learned that Chicago is 25 degrees below zero.  Even in Georgetown, Kentucky we hear about subzero weather this week.  People here are complaining that the temperatures here in Southern Florida are down from the 80s that they were experiencing last week.  

Although we had packed snacks of jerky, bananas and nuts we decided that we would turn around and start back to the visitor center for lunch.  The walk back went much faster since we had seen most of the animals and wildlife in the area as we walked out.  A few more alligators, turtles and snakes had come out to sun since we started our walk before 10 am.  We arrived back at the parking lot by 2 pm and had lunch of sandwiches that we bought that morning at Publix as well as fruit, including the last of the guanabana that we bought at Robert is Here on Monday.  

Large alligator basking in the sun

We got back into our cars and drove West on the Tamiami Trail (US 41) to the Oasis Visitor Center.  The canal along US 41 at the Oasis Visitor Center was filled with alligators some of which were huge.  There were many gar and invasive walking catfish.  A black racer was in the grass near the boardwalk over the canal.  There was a helpful ranger at the visitor center and interpretative signs.  The next stop was at the Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center just off the Tamiami Trail.  The rangers were closing up as we were arriving, however, they offered to reopen long enough to give us maps or tell us anything we wanted to know.  He also told us that the swamp viewing area and bathrooms are open 24 hours.  We went back on the overlook boardwalk and saw at least three manatees swimming.  They would emerge every 15-20 minutes for a breath.  We saw two adult manatees and one juvenile at one point. 

Alligator

Continuing west, we made a quick stop at the H. P. Williams Roadside Park where we saw more alligators most of which were swimming.  We didn’t stay long at this small stop on the Tamiami Trail and stopped at the nation’s smallest post office in Ochopee, Florida to send post cards to family back north.

We arrived at the Days Inn, Bonita Springs around 6 pm and checked in easily.  I was pleased that my Wyndham Rewards points covers all of our five night stay here.  I borrowed scissors from the desk clerk to trim the gel insoles for my hiking shoes since we were doing a lot of walking this week.  

Ochopee Post Office

After quick showers and a change of clothes we went to Coconut Jack’s in Bonita Springs for dinner.  It is a casual local waterfront restaurant specializing in seafood and bar food.  Cindy had a seasoned chicken dinner, Mark and Mary had coconut shrimp baskets and I had a grouper basket. We all enjoyed our meals as we ate outside on the covered deck.  Most of the staff at the restaurant appeared to be from Eastern Europe.  Our waitress, Juste, is from Lithuania, and her trainee was obviously from Eastern Europe as well. We heard other employees speaking with obvious Eastern European accepts as well.  We retrieved our rental car from the valet, also Eastern European, and came back to the room. Mary and I watched an episode of Curse of Oak Island on our streaming DirectTV Now account before going to sleep.