We really enjoyed our time camping in Everglades National Park, but after waking up, having breakfast and then packing up the car, we turned our sights to Big Cypress National Preserve.
After heading out for our final day of sight seeing, we retraced our steps back up to Florida City, where we filled up on gas and snacks. Then we began our drive west on the Tamiami Trail. For our first stop of the day, we swung into the Shark Valley Visitor Center. We had heard that they had a lots of displays on the shark teeth and remains they had found in the area, but the section on that was small and easy to miss. So I's still recommend the Ernest F. Cole Visitor Center for the Everglades.
We then crossed into the Big Cypress National Preserve. This area is adjacent to the National Park, in fact they along with Biscayne Bay National Park use the same Jr. Ranger booklets to cover all three. We drove the scenic loop there and saw lots of wildlife and enjoyed a leisurely drive with frequent stops. We saw lots of White Egrets both flying and fishing, and even one Great Blue Heron. We also learned that Egrets and Herons are really the same bird, with two different names. There were countless canals along the gravel road so there were lots of places to stop and look for wild life. We saw a baby gator go running across the road as fast as he could, you forget just how fast they can move when they want to. We also saw a few larger gators, one quite a bit closer than I would have liked. Gary and the kids also counted 6 different varieties of fish in the clear canals.
We finished out our afternoon with a stop at Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center. While there, we learned that the Big Cypress National Preserve actually plays a large role in cleaning the water as it moves through the ecosystem. It functions like a filter so that the water that leaves it is some of the freshest and cleanest water in the world.
While there Kate and Rebecca enjoyed chatting with the Rangers about everything we'd seen and done over the last few days. Kate while there also filled out a Deputy Junior Ranger booklet for Big Cypress and turned them both in for badges. We also learned about ear stones in fish (it's curious stuff, you should look it up) from a gentleman who often visits and volunteers at the visitor center. We then loaded up in the car and headed North on FL-29, to I-75. It was a very long drive home, about 5 hours, but we all had a great time, and really enjoyed the area.
We hope to make a trip back sometime, maybe over the winter next time and take the other scenic loop that we didn't have time for on this trip. We would highly recommend the online driving tours. At each stop along the loops there is something to read about and share. The kids and I particularly enjoyed learning more about the area and the wildlife, that we wouldn't have known from just driving through and looking. It is definitely a place we'd like to visit again, If you'd like to make a trip the address to the visitor center is 33000 Tamiami Trail East, Ochopee, Florida. The Visitor Center is open from 9 to 5 every day but Christmas day. However the park can be entered here 24 hours a day.
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