Everglades National Park - Almost Free

Well, it’s that time again.  Time for another road trip on the way to one of Frank’s races, which means random things to see!  We’ll travel to Clermont tomorrow for the Great Floridian.  Frank will be swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and then running 26.2 miles.  I’m already making a list of ridiculous things to do in Clermont (Frank says he’ll attend if he can walk), so hopefully I’ll have awesome pictures to show.

Frank competes in lots of triathlons and what I like most about them (besides seeing him sweaty and with his shirt off) is that we get to take random adventures because of the races.  Coral Castle, which I talked about earlier this week, was one of those adventures after Frank competed in the International Triathlon at Miami Man in Homestead.  Before the race, we took another detour… this time to Everglades National Park.

Um, I'm not really concerned about my vehicle as much as I'm
concerned about vulture damage to my head.

After entering the park at the Edward Coe Visitor Center, we drove about four miles to the Royal Palm Visitor Center. 

Here is where we took the Anhinga Trail and saw some really wonderful wildlife amidst breath-taking scenery.

Although I’m sure the Anhinga Trail is lovely any time of day, it didn’t hurt that we visited as the sun was going down, casting incredible shadows on the water.

The birds, gators, and other creatures were very active at this time as well, coming out to play before the sun fell beyond the horizon.

Anhinga Trail is one of the most popular trails in Everglades
National Park because there are so many creatures to see up close.

The trail is just less than a mile long and we must have seen about a dozen gators.

These two gators look like friends!

Before the sun disappeared, we also walked Gumbo Limbo Trail, which is right next to Anhinga Trail.

There’s not much wildlife to see on the less than half mile Gumbo Limbo Trail, but there are lots of… you guessed it… gumbo limbo trees.

And before the sun disappeared for the night, we got our fill of wildlife beauty at one of the few national parks in all of Florida.

Total Cost: $10 for vehicle entry

Best Deal: Getting an Everglades National Park Annual Pass for only $25 (if you go three times in a year, you’ve more than paid for it)

What national park has taken your breath away?