The Big Cypress National Preserve
The morning after my Key West excursion, I got up ready for the next leg of this trip. Excited to see the sun, a drive through the infamous Big Cypress National Preserve awaited me.
I Am Going To Be Rich!
As I made plans for this sabbatical, a friend who had lived in Florida, gave me advice and tips on traveling here. Specifically, the everglades could be treacherous, but I’d be just fine if I remembered to respect the area and wildlife that lived there.
One story he told was Boa Constrictors are taking over this part of Florida. People buy them as pets, and when the snakes get too big to handle, discarded into the swampy areas of the Everglades.
As he told me his story, my very vivid imagination took over. As I listened, I thought about what this part of my trip. The deserted, densely forested swampy road; snakes slowly slithering as they crossed over every 500 feet, and hanging from tree limbs as I pass by. ((shiver))
I am sure now as I write this, he was teasing me a little, because he also described for each Boa snake I killed, the state would pay me a per-foot amount for the carcass. Once again, my acute imagination had me looking like Indiana Jones, all dressed in khaki and sporting a large knife between my teeth.
I would leave the Everglades a wealthy woman as I rolled up onto more than one of these enormous beings with my van then making the call for someone to collect it and pay me. (I may have even built more time into this part of my journey for these events).
There are many attractions along Hwy 41 in, around and through Big Cypress. At least 20 adventure opportunities were offering to take visitors out into the preserve. Airboats, places to ‘camp with the gators’, and even a photographer is selling hiking packages to photograph the wetlands and alligators up close and personal, boots on the ground style.
Gators Are Body Guards
I am not a birder, but as I drove, there were so many beautiful varieties braved perching near or wading into the gator infested waters. But, it turns out, the birds have figured out its safer to nest above and near alligator holes. Raccoons are the more significant issue for the birds and can wipe out whole colonies in one feeding. The alligators are a sort of bodyguard, then with payment of fat raccoons and baby chicks that momma birds eject each year depending on the availability of food.
The halfway mark through this part of the preserve is roughly fifty miles and the location of the Kirby Storter Roadside Park. My parents traveled this road 15 years ago. They raved about this park and the one-mile round trip boardwalk that led out to a gator hole, which is an area dug out by alligators to ensure enough water when the dry season arrived.
At 7:30 am, there was only one other car in the parking lot. Although a bit anxious at the thought of who the other person might be and if they might try and throw me into the gator hole, I forged on anyway, down the long wooden pier.
Unidentified Noises
This place was fantastic! Hawks perched high in trees, eyes peeled for breakfast as the sun rose higher. Bright colors exploded in the deep swamp as rays of sunlight burst through, making this early-fall morning hike one of my all-time favorites. But, it was the sounds that got my attention.
As a visual person, not being able to see what was making all the commotion made me even more curious. The buzz and cries, some shrill, some low and repetitive, but each unique. I tried to imagine what each bird must look like. What was the message they were sharing, a warning call, perhaps? Sharing down the line, someone new walking through their domain.
The frogs, insects, and other sounds I couldn’t identify were so loud, I had snuck up on the owner of the other car. A woman bird watcher in her late 60’s, was just as startled to see me strolling down the pier as I was to see her. I was hoping to ask a few questions, but her expression said, ‘don’t bother me,’ so I just walked by with a quiet hello. As I passed, however, I did look back, interested in what she had spotted. It was the same hawk that I was watching a few minutes earlier, just from a better perspective. Gorgeous.
The Gator Hole
Finally, making it to the gator hole, I spent time searching for one. Large splashes in the water just behind me had me running back, only in time to see a gator tail slipping back into the black water. SO COOL!! I waited at that spot for a few more minutes hoping for an encore appearance. Still, she never came back while I was there. She must have been delighted with her catch.
Air-breathing fish (or so it seemed)
Bubbles popping at the surface of the water near where the alligator descended had me looking closer. I saw fish poking their mouths out of the water in what looked like a gulping motion – like they were sucking in air.
Later, I found that when there is a lack of dissolved oxygen in water, because of poor aeration and quality, it causes fish to stress. Going to the surface to “breathe” air is their survival mechanism.
Things Unseen
It was getting hot. Turning around to leave, I happened to look up. Three feet above my head was an enormous web, at least 3 feet in diameter, with a massive spider buried in its own silk waiting for unsuspecting prey. Looking further into the trees, over the gator hole, I saw 20 more. All I could think was, how did I miss this walking in?
Unable to identify the species, on my way back, I would ask the birder if she knew what they were. It disturbed me a little to be so caught up looking down for alligators; I missed the creatures dangling above my head.
Never meeting that woman again, I did have a strange encounter with a large man the last hundred feet of my trek. Watching him walk toward me, and the underlying fear of being thrown into the swamp, my heart started beating a bit faster. Pepper spray at the ready, I was prepared.
He asked if I’d seen an alligator ‘back there,’ I said that I had, and, with a big smile, he continued on only to turn around a few feet later, quickly catching up to me.
Yikes! This was it!! I was getting tossed into the swamp!!!
Trying not to panic, but walking quicker, I reached my van as he jumped off the pier and started sprinting to his car. Safely inside mine, I watched as he opened his truck and slowly, slowly removed… his camera.
This part of the story makes me smile every time. It reminds me not to be so judgemental and fearful. It’s ok to be prepared, but when fear is mentally constructed, it gets in the way of experiences. A courageous person feels the fear and chooses to act anyway.
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Follow along! Kirsti’s vision is to enjoy life with passion and curiosity. Kirsti Out Wandering aspires to exemplify well-being in mind, body & spirit, giving unconditional love to self and others, and pursuing all of the wild possibilities life serves up while living full-time from a sprinter van. She offers a monthly roundup that includes stories and tips on travel & exploring, van living, self-care, photography and service.