Dec 22nd --In The Everglades!!

Three days before Christmas and it couldn't feel less like Christmas here in the Everglades!  88 degrees in the sun which is shining brightly here near Ochopee, Florida which is right in the middle of the Everglades.  I last wrote on December 15th from Key West when we stayed in Boyd's Campground RV park.  We are back up in the southern part of Florida now at an interesting older campground that caught our attention.  It is  named the Skunkape Research Center and Campground.  Out front is a larger then life Florida panther statute  along side a Silver back Gorilla.  It was just too much fun to not check out.  Very reasonable camping rates and we were lead right to our campsite by Skunkape Dave himself.   We are the edge of a marsh and next to a pond that is supposed to have 3 alligators in it.  We have not seen our resident gators as yet but have not gone wading in the pond either.  We did go for a bike ride yesterday on the highway that runs through the Everglades.  On one side of the road is a ditch which runs throughout the whole highway from Florida City to Naples and it is absolutely full of all sizes of alligators,  and many varieties of water birds - Great Blue Herons, Tri colored Herons, Egrets, Ibis, Osprey, Double Crested Cormorants, Anhingas (very interesting birds that after fishing need to stand with their wings outstretched to dry out before they can fly)   Many other kinds of birds that I have not been able to identify as yet as well fill the marshes alongside the road.  Literally hundreds were flying or perched as we rode by.  I would also like to mention that the pictures of the alligators were taken from a distance of about 12-15 feet.  They were all in the ditch along side the highway!!!

We were going to stay here for only a couple of nights but it is so peaceful here with the abundant wild life and non-abundant human presence that we are staying until the day after Christmas. 

Full Moon in camp in Ochopee, Fl

"Lilly" sunning herself!

A group of Gators

Getting ready to slip into the water

Night of Eclipse

Tri-colored heron and a Anhinga drying its wings

Here's looking at you 

Really big guys

Hitting the water

Big splash of gators

A Merry Christmas and Peaceful New Year to all!