America's Everglades - The largest subtropical wilderness in the United States
Everglades National Park protects an unparalleled landscape that provides important habitat for numerous rare and endangered species like the manatee, American crocodile, and the elusive Florida panther.
An international treasure as well - a World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve, a Wetland of International Importance, and a specially protected area under the Cartagena Treaty.
An international treasure as well - a World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve, a Wetland of International Importance, and a specially protected area under the Cartagena Treaty.
This was part one of our adventure of exploring Everglades NP. We started this day at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center. Took in the movie and what the Center had to offer in displays. It was then off to Royal Palm. We arrived and picked our time for a ranger lead hike. Meeting our group and the Ranger we set off on the Anhinga Trail. This trail is 8 tenths of a mile and a easy trail to walk. We saw many alligators and birds. Our ranger was really good at telling what each one was and pointing out ones we missed. I would say this is a must do to take in and understand the park. After the hike we grabbed a quick bite to eat from the small store there. It was then off to a very different part of the park, the Nike Missile Site HM-69. This is not what you would expect in the middle of a National Park. This was a site from the cold war era that was activated in 1964. We took in the site and one of the missile barns that serves as a Visitor Center. This site is chilling to see as it shows how close we were to war with Russia. As there was no time to request permission to defend the United States from missiles coming from Cuba it was up to the Base commander alone to fire the Missiles. This site was deactivated in 1979. We took in the sites but opted out of the Ranger lead tour. This concluded part one.
Mar 31, 2019
Part two was a relaxing 38-mile drive down to the Flamingo Visitor Center. The Visitor Center was being rebuilt so only a temporary center serves the area. We took a trail hike to the campground to do some wildlife and bird spotting. We enjoyed the peace and quiet down here. The Visitor Center is only staffed in the winter every day and the other times it is intermittently. We still have much more to see in this park and will be making a return trip to finish it up.
Click here for photos of our visit
NPS Webpage
Our 137th NPS Unit and 19th National Park
