Everglades NP

                                                                        

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.

Nov 25, 2024

We took in the northern portion of the park this trip. We first stopped at Oasis Visitor Center. This is a small Visitor Center with a few exhibits to take in. We then headed out on a short trail walk along Bobcat trail. This trail is less than a mile and offers a nice easy walk to take in the flora and wildlife. We did see a few alligators basking in the sun. We then headed over to Gator Park for the Highlight of the day, an Airboat ride in the Everglades. There are three company's licensed to offer rides. We had a great time, and our guild was outstanding pointing out the Gators and Turtles. We highly recommend doing an Airboat ride with one of these companies. 

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.

Feb 28, 2019
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.

Click here for photos of our visit 2019 

NPS Webpage

Our 137th NPS Unit and 19th National Park

Biscayne NP

                                                                           

A Watery Wonderland

Within sight of downtown Miami, yet worlds away, Biscayne protects a rare combination of aquamarine waters, emerald islands, and fish-bejeweled coral reefs. Here too is evidence of 10,000 years of human history, from pirates and shipwrecks to pineapple farmers and presidents. Outdoors enthusiasts can boat, snorkel, camp, watch wildlife…or simply relax in a rocking chair gazing out over the bay.

Nov 18, 2024

Made a short quick stop at the Visitor Center to get Daisy's Bark Ranger Tag, we then walked around the center and out along the boardwalks. There is not much for dogs at this site, but she enjoyed the walk and earned her new tag.

Feb 27, 2019
As most of this park is under water it presented a challenge to us to fully take in and understand. We decided that a boat trip out to Boca Chita Key would do for us. After taking in the Visitors Center and movie it was off to the Boca Chita Key. The trip out was a 45 minute ride out. Once out there we got a hour to explore the Key. We took in the light house and walked the loop around the key. The guild was great at explaining the difference between Keys and Islands ( Keys sit on top of coral reefs and are made from debris and sand covering the reef, Islands are outcroppings of land that are above the sea floor ) and pointing out the different wide life and sea birds we were seeing. He also gave us the history of Boca Chita Key, it was a private resort for Mark Honeywell who was a electronic industrialist from the early 1900s that founded Honeywell. He built the light house on the Key. We had a great visit and there is much to do at this Park.

Click here for photos of our visit

NPS Webpage

Our 136th NPS Unit and 18th National Park

Castillo de San Marcos NM

 

America Begins Here

Built by the Spanish in St. Augustine to defend Florida and the Atlantic trade route, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument preserves the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States and interprets more than 450 years of cultural intersections.

1 Nov 2024

Made a revisit here to do some more exploring of this NM. We spent half a day exploring.

21 Nov 2013

This is a great place to get an understanding of our earliest history. Having changes hands many times, it highlights the struggles of who was going to have control of the new land. We spent the morning exploring the Fort and the surrounding area. The movie was well done and explained the timeline and reason this fort was so important to Spain in keeping control of this new land. We spent a half a day here and we combined this with an afternoon trip to Fort Matanzas NM.

26 Apr 1994

Solo trip to explore this NM. 

NPS Website

Our 13th NPS Site