Day #3: Friday - January 4, 2002

There’s nothing quite like waking up to the sun rising over Florida Bay, with the salty breeze blowing through your hair and the smell of a warm breakfast sizzling on the stove.  At least this is what I’m told, considering that my wakeup call consisted mostly of the other guys stumbling over me on their way to eat, mentioning the minute idea that, “We’re leaving without you if you don’t hurry up...”  7:30 in the morning is just way too early to be getting up…

Nevertheless, I didn’t really feel like walking the forty or so miles to the entrance of the park where we would begin our journey that morning, so I managed to crawl out of bed just in time to score some cold eggs and a bagel.  There could’ve been some sausage in it for me, too, but K.C. was already working hard to fill his six to ten sausage quota and I wasn’t about to get in his way at such an early hour!  All in the same, I think it was too early for my body to even figure out what day it was, let alone comprehend whether or not it was getting enough nutrients, so we were good to go for the time being.

As the kitchen crew finished cleaning up, we all gathered our trail gear and prepared to view all of the wildlife the Everglades had to offer.  Soon the bus showed up and whisked us away to our first destination, the Royal Palm Visitor Center.  It was to be about a 35 mile trip, but believe it or not, we were all just happy to get out of the cold for a few minutes – and yes, you did read that right!  Florida may be known for its balmy summers and unforgiving heat-waves, but down along the coastline it gets a bit chilly when that wind coming off the water picks up!  Nonetheless, by ten in the morning the sun was out in full blaze and we were once again experiencing the weather we had made the trip for…
 

"I dare you to touch him..."

Kathy prepped us to the best of her ability during what proved to be quite the short bus ride, but we still nearly all but ran to the trail once the bus came to rest in the parking lot!  Amazingly, within maybe five minutes, we were staring face to face with the first official alligator of the trip, close-up that is.  He had pulled himself up onto a small patch of grass just inside the retaining wall and it looked like this was his regular morning routine, almost as if he was paid by the park to lie there every single day!  One would’ve thought that having such a large group as ours approaching would’ve scared him off, but he was completely content with the situation and was obviously used to the public by now.  Am I the only one who’s maybe just a little concerned by that???

"Jasper always smiled whenever he could smell fresh meat..."

First up on our visit to Royal Palm was Anhinga Trail, which is quite possibly the most popular trail in the Everglades simply because of the great variety of wildlife in the area.  Slowly following the boardwalk around the trail, the number of birds alone blew me away, and considering the fact that I’m not really much of a birder, that’s quite a feat!  I soon found myself repeating Tony’s words and wondered how long my meager twelve rolls of film were actually going to last at this rate!  Luckily I had a secret weapon which I had been just dying to play with – my new digital camera (a Canon Power-Shot A20).  At first I was mainly concerned about battery consumption and I just naturally assumed from past experience that they wouldn’t last long enough for me to fill up the flash card with a whopping 450 pictures, but I would soon be pleasantly surprised as a single set of rechargeable batteries lasted me the entire day and partially into the next!  Although I began swapping back and forth between my digital and 35mm cameras that morning, by lunchtime I had made the decision to go completely digital and by the end of the trip I was more than happy with the results!
 

Looks kinda like a scene out of a movie, doesn't it?

Anyways, back to the trail!  The Everglades is full of surprises and apparently we had come on a good day, as the animals were alive and kicking that morning.  Well, some of them were!  The few alligators we did see were mostly sunning themselves and trying to warm up, but the birds more than made up for the inactivity of their reptilian counterparts, as the Mergansers and Cormorants fished the waters and the Anhinga dried their wings in between feeding frenzies – we definitely didn’t have a shortage of photo opportunities that morning!

A small island proves to be quite the popular sunning spot!

Continuing down the boardwalk, a kind gentleman pointed out another animal hidden to most of the public.  K.C. and I followed his directions and, looking over the railing in disbelief, we saw the disguised ‘gator which had been overlooked by countless tourists before us.  He sat under a few feet of water not more than an arm’s length away from the boardwalk, but he blended in with the bottom well enough that anyone not actively looking for him could’ve easily passed him by.  As the trip continued, I noticed how so many of the other tourists seemed to speed through the trails, failing to witness the true beauty they contained.  Maybe if they’d put down their cell phones for a minute and actually look around, they’d have a better appreciation for what was out there and what was slowly happening to the area…

Which leads me to another peeve that developed as I followed these manmade trails through the Everglades – pollution and man’s abuse of nature.  It’s really pretty sad when you’re walking through an area filled with endangered species and you come across beer cans and garbage thrown off the sides of the trail.  I’ve yet to come across an alligator that drinks beer and the lack of an opposable thumb makes it impossible to unwrap your average candy bar, so I’m just following a hunch here by guessing that humans are responsible for this.  It only got worse as the trip continued and I think it’s obvious that something needs to be done; if it requires the involvement of alligators, crocodiles and creepy, poisonous snakes to get the point across, so be it…

Either I've discovered a Faygo Soda can in its natural environment, or something doesn't belong here...

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