Shark Valley–Everglades National Park, FL…

Another really special park can be found in Shark Valley at the Everglades National Park. There are several way to see this park… on foot, on bike, or take the guided tram. We decided to do the wonderful bike ride there since we had brought our bikes along and the weather was perfect…

The sign to Shark Valley is a bit hard to see but the cars parked all along the roadside are not easy to miss. As is typical on weekends, the park’s parking lot was already full and cars so cars were parked along the state highway. We found a spot and parked, took the bikes off of the bike rack and rode to the pay station where we flashed our National Parks Pass, which will save you the $5.00 per head entry fee.

The bike trail is a 15 mile paved road with no hills to climb or rough terrain to traverse making for a nice 2 or 3 hour ride. We know this now after having done the loop but when we first arrived we planned to ride 1-2 hours around what I recalled was a 6 mile loop… but is is much longer, ooops!!!

The first half of the loop was teeming with various birds and oodles of alligators. We stopped for many photo opportunities but eventually made it to the observation tower just short of halfway on the loop trail. It was then that I began to suspect the bike trail was closer to 9 miles… Not to be deterred we went up the tower to look over the expanse that is the Everglades…

We continued on the trail which I assumed to be about the same distance as the first part only to discover it wasn’t as it meandered back and forth along the marsh lands. The first half of the trail had been a straight shot to the tower so as time passed we both started to get a bit tired and cranky. Because we didn’t eat lunch before we began the ride, this may have attributed to some of the crankiness along with the extra 3-4 miles of unplanned riding we undertook…

If you do this ride I may recommend that you only ride to the observation town and then back along the same trail since the best wildlife viewing is on this half of the trail. Plan on a long and tiring ride in the Florida heat and as we found out we both needed some time to recover from the long day it took riding the full loop…

Road Treats of Key West, FL…

Some of our favorite things we did while here in the Keys:

• Best Happy Hour outside of Key West – Hogfish Bar and Grill
• Best Happy Hour in Key West – Boat House Bar
• Best local food establishment in Key West – Mr. Z’s
• Best Beach – Higgs Beach
• Best Happy Hour Menu – Boat House Bar
• Best Street to Walk – Duval Street, Key West
• Best Event to Watch/Photograph - Key West Race Week
• Best Biking – Anywhere in Key West
• Best People Watching – 100 to 300 block of Duval when cruise ships are in
• Best Bartender – Patty Wacker at the Hogfish Bar and Grill
• Most fun event – Key West Seafood Festival

J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, near Fort Myers, FL…

A nice side trip from the Fort Myers, Florida area is the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on the subtropical barrier island of Sanibel. It is known for its display of migratory bird populations and that fact that has one of the largest undeveloped mangrove populations in the USA.

Visiting wildlife refuges is a past time I will always enjoy going back to my roots of having studied Wildlife Biology back in college. I am always curious to not only see the refuge and it flora and fauna but I am also curious to see how the refuge is being managed and maintained. While working for Texas Parks and Wildlife I was a Biologist responsible for maintaining the natural integrity of parkland ecosystems in the eastern half of the state of Texas.

As a Biologist I assisted in many events such from prescribed burning to maintain habitat for endangered species such as Attwater's Prairie Chickens to eradicating non-native species such as sika and fallow deer from the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. So when I visit parks and refuges I am looking at them from two different perspectives… and from what I can see they are doing a lot of real good things here at the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

This super scenic four mile driving loop is well worth the $5.00 and if you have the National Park Access Pass your free for entry are waived. The absolute best to time to see the most wildlife will be during low tide. This would also make an absolutely wonderful bike ride, with camera in tow of course…

Blackpoint Wildlife Drive Park, Titusville, FL

If you are near the Titusville area then you really should take a daytrip over to the Canaveral National Seashore. Not only can you visit the National Seashore Park where you can lounge along the beach butyou will also pass a Road Treat along the way… The Road Treat I am referring to is the highlight of this area and it a nice little drive through the Blackpoint Wildlife Drive Park. Now keep in mind both of these parks are fee based but if you have a National Park Access Pass your free for entry are waived.

This self guided drive takes you along marshes, ponds and uplands where you will see a lot of different species of birds… some of the many we were able to spot were the Great Blue Heron, Tri-colored Herons, Green-backed Herons, Wood Storks, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Reddish Egrets, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, large flocks of Gadwall, American Widgeon and American Coots. Double-breasted Cormorants, Common Gallinule, Anhinga, Belted Kingfishers and Pied-billed Grebes. We also saw many other species and other notable were Osprey, Northern Harriers and one stately Bald Eagle.

 

If you are ever in this area I would recommend you take a trip to this beautiful park drive and really enjoy the day…