Everglades – Florida, U.S.A.
Respect the mosquito. That was a major takeaway from our recent excursion into southern Florida’s Everglades.
We’d always thought the Everglades was a massive swamp. In fact, it is a large slow-moving river originating to the north at Lake Okeechobee and discharging into the Atlantic Ocean at Florida Bay. We also did not know the extent to which it is home to thriving communities of people, wildlife, plants, and insects. Did we mention insects?
The Seminoles and Miccosukee relocated here in the 1800s, evading the US federal government’s program to remove them from their lands in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida and settle them in the West. The Miccosukee live along the Tamiami trail, a scenic two-laned road that connects Miami to the east and Tampa to the west, cutting the Everglades in half.
A complex, delicate, and beautiful ecosystem critical to the region, the Everglades has been the target of more than 100 years of misguided planning policies and now some much-needed preservation and restoration efforts.
We explored the region via car along the Tamiami trail, making stops for guided and self-guided tours at the various posts of the Everglades National Park. We also saw the ‘glades up close via airboat and recommend the Miccosukee Indian Village and Airboat Rides. Also, check out the Kirby Storter Roadside Park in the Big Cypress National Preserve. There, you can walk along an elevated boardwalk that snakes across the ‘glades and into the heart of a lovely Cypress tree stand. Make sure to wear long sleeves and pants, and insect repellant.