Twenty Three.
Yes, twenty three. That is the number of Alligators we saw and counted as we rode our bikes up the Shark Valley Trail of the Everglade National Park. They just sat there, sunbathing on the banks right next to the flat pathed path made for walkers, bikers and trams. We watched people strolling slowly, like they were squirrels or something! Don’t worry about the big sharp teeth, the fact that they have the ability to dash at speeds close to 30 miles per hour, just keep slowly strolling. We’ll stay on our bikes and pump our legs more quickly!
But I digress, this is not how the day started. Awhile ago, Ben visited Louisiana for work and was able to go on an airboat tour in the swamps. He has wanted to take us on one ever since. So, this was the day. We had no real recommendations, so we did what everyone does these days, a google search. We came up with the real deal, the original (or so it is claimed) airboat tour in Miami. Coopertown Airboats allows you to buy tickets online or claim a coupon code from their site when you arrive. Getting on the boat was easy, they run every 30 minutes if there are guests to take out. After school and work, we headed over. Just like the RV park we had pulled up to, we were a bit like, “Where are we”? The place was old and a little run down, but it is on the edge of the Everglade Swamp, and like they said, they are the original – 60 years old. They even boast a cafe with cold beer and frog legs next door. Jackson’s adventurous palette was calling out for frog legs. Mom’s fear of Covid was rushing us away.
Our tour started with a little insight into some of the animals they have on property. There were 4 large gators behind fences – all rescues from the wild. I have always been leary of animals in cages. Largely due to binge watching the “Tiger King” like the rest of of America during the beginning of Quarantine. They were extremely large and looked very sad, but for various reasons, they could not be free. The other animals were snakes and turtles, a very knowledgable guide talked about each animal and allowed audience members to pet them as he walked them around. The biggest surprise was a wild gator next to a cage behind the seats. We asked about him, and were told that, “he lives here.” At that point, that was only the 2nd wild gator we had seen. We were all very excited.
Learning about the animals
The airboat ride started after. Our guide was an Everglades native. He loved his airboat and probably took it out frequently on his own. We were provided with high class cotton balls for ear plugs – the kids got the actual headphones. We opted not to do the private tour to save money for the Keys, so there were a few other riders with us, but we had our own row and felt pretty safe covid-wise. The ride was loud, but very beautiful. We rode on top of the grasses and marshland with stops to narrate the scenery. Even though we lived on the Chesapeake Bay, we had never seen anything like this before. On our ride back several gators were spotted. We were all thrilled! We disembarked the boat, Jackson having frog legs on his mind, me wanting to sanitize us head to toe. Then our guide asked the all important question, “Would you like to hold a baby alligator?” Um, duh. So we did. And as we posed for pictures, I asked questions like, ” Where did the gator eggs come from?” and “What happens to the baby gators when they get bigger?” Wild alligators have a very low survival rate from egg to 3 years, there are many conservation efforts in gator states. However, I don’t know that their answers were satisfactory, it felt a little Tiger Kingish to me. But, my children were very happy to see and be near a baby gator, every animal baby is cute right?
We bypassed those frog legs, having spent enough time with other people, and went right down the road to Shark Valley Trail. This is where our minds were blown. There is a 7 mile trek to an observation tower. We got there a little later than anticipated, but thought we would give it a shot on our bikes anyway. As soon as we pulled onto the path we saw a large alligator. We kept going, by the time we reached #5, we started making up rhyming songs to keep track. Sloan and Jackson screaming “7 alligators and I’m not in heaven” and “8 and still doing great.” When we saw #12, well, you know what kind of rhymes with 12. Number 13 had a turtle in it’s mouth. Not a little turtle, a very large sea turtle. This one was sad. The children thought maybe it could get away, both turtle and gator were very still, but the end of one of their lives was near. We went on, passing mile 4.
Anhinga’s are here too Giant Shells
As we passed #14 we saw a tram coming our way. We stopped on the side, but they did too, so we moved forward. They pointed to the path and said look out for the babies. What! Sloan has eagle eyes, she has become extremely good at finding hidden wildlife. Of course, she spotted the first one. It was only about 9 inches long. Then we all started finding them. After counting and pointing them out to each other, we added 9 alligators to our count. All babies ranging from 9 inches to 3 feet. At that point, we realized we couldn’t make it to the observation tower and back again, and really, did we need to? Our day was complete so we turned around and waved goodbye to the gators that were still in the sun. Many had left as the sun was going down. #13 was still there – it even readjusted the large turtle for us, reminding us of the jaw power it had. We didn’t want to be a meal for any of the others, so we peddled a little faster.
I have been up and down the East Coast. The Everglades National Park is like nothing else I have ever seen. There is so much more to explore, we will go back. If you head to the area to bask in the sun on South Beach or experience the nightlife of Miami, be sure you build in time to view the natural beauty of the Everglades. The nature there is a reminder of just how varied an area can be.
