After 7 days at Midway in Big Cypress Reserve, we moved south to Flamingo. Before we left Midway, we took two driving tours through the back country, rode on an air boat, and traveled some of the Turner River with a group led by a Natl. Park Ranger, Marcie. I am as fascinated with alligators as most folks. We saw plenty for sure and always kept a safe distance. Most don't realize that these are ancient creatures. You can see that wisdom in their eyes. After all, the alligator has seen a lot of humans over thousands of years... Many who are not so wise and many who are just plain mean. We learned that alligators are pretty smart. They can be trained, and they have been trained to seek food from humans who feed them which is a big problem in southern Florida. Of course if an alligator has been fed regularly by a human, and a human sticks out a hand, the gator will take what is offered. That happened to a guide on an air boat not too long ago, and the gator took his hand. He offered it after all. The gator had to be put down because a human had taught it to be aggressive. How's that fair?
We also learned that mother alligators are good moms. The babies stay with mom for almost 3 years before going it alone. During that time the mms teach the babies to hunt, protect themselves, and where the best sunning spots are. We saw one very small gator stretched out on his mother's tail in the sun. Smart kid! The dads are not nurturing as they tend to eat the babies if so inclined.
On our last day at Midway, we joined a group down the Turner River led by Ranger Marcie and her volunteer Ranger Kim. We used our dory as it has shallow draft and double pointed ends. This day it was going to be a canoe. The Turner at one time became literally a mud trail because of all the serious drainage going on in the Everglades and in relation to the construction of the Tamiami Trail. It now has been somewhat restored, but we understand only a shadow of its former self. The rangers did a nice job of giving safety tips and canoeing tips for the less experienced (us). The foliage on both sides of the river was dense with mangroves and ferns of all varieties. The leather fern is the most ancient of all. We could tell right away that the water levels were shallow as we just barely skimmed the surface. Travel on the river takes you through several mangrove tunnels. The first was narrow, and it was easier to just pull ourselves along rather than paddle. The quiet was amazing. The second mangrove tunnel was not so quiet as we were huffing and puffing because the bottom of the boat was dragging. After about the third time Jerry had to get out and drag the boat, we decided to turn and go back. Ranger Kim decided to go with us to help with boat and guide us safely back to where we started. Sometimes things happen that look negative from the start but end up being the most positive. This is one of those. Ranger Kim and I took our boat, and Jerry took Kim's kayak. It was great having Kim with us. Not only is she a very dear person, she is so knowledgeable about the Everglades and especially about the many birds in the area. What a wonderful conversation. I learned so much! While I was learning so much from Kim, Jerry found himself nose to nose with a large alligator blocking his path in the middle of the river. He followed the safety tip and remained still. The problem was that the current was drifting him toward the alligator. When he got within a couple of feet, the alligator did turn and swipe toward shore. A little too close in a dinky little kayak.
The next day, Sunday, we spent a leisurely time packing up and headed to Homestead, FL to stock up, do laundry, and spend the night in a Home Depot parking lot. Thanks to those businesses that allow RVers to do overnights while traveling!!!
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