The Everglades are immense, and we decided we’d either have to devote several days or limit ourselves to one quick stop. Due in large part to my paralyzing fear of snakes, we chose the latter option.


I spent hours searching Dry Tortugas for the salt water crocodile but spotted a gator within the first ten feet of the path.

Baby alligators look so cute before they grow into dinosaur-adjacent monsters! A couple on the trail with us pointed out a nest; there were more in the nest but we didn’t want to get close because mama was lurking somewhere nearby.

So many birds we’d never seen before, and all different from the birds we saw on Dry Tortugas.
We took the short Otter Cave path, which led us through a hammock (Florida seems to have repurposed “hammock” to mean a shaded area).
One more alligator, for good measure.
After a long drive up the Florida coast, we camped at Manatee Springs State Park, where I saw my first armadillo but unfortunately no manatees.
Glad to see the six-toed cats are still living high on the hog in Key West!! Never been to Ft. Jefferson, but will have to put that on the list for next visit to South Florida, along with the “alligator nest” in the Everglades!!
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Ft Jefferson and Dry Tortugas were magical, so quiet (except for all the birds!). And keep your eyes peeled for the baby alligators – the mamas hide them well.
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