Corkscrew Swamp, Fakahatchee, Everglades
Apr 3rd, 2010, 01:05 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 541
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Corkscrew Swamp, Fakahatchee, Everglades
Thanks to everyone for your help - William and I had a great trip!
We drove down to Ft. Myers Friday evening - we wanted to get an early start tso we could avoid crowds at Corkscrew Swamp and so we wouldn't be rushed getting down to Everglades City. Corkscrew Swamp was incredible! I couldn't believe we would spend more than a couple hours on a 2 1/2 mile boardwalk through a swamp, but - even with hurrying at the end - we spent just about 4 hours. There were so many things to look at and for William to photograph: a red shouldered hawk landing on a branch about 3 feet from us, a barred owl sitting in a small tree that was even closer, a pileated woodpecker seen with binoculars , an alligator swimming right underneath us (plus more on a bank along with some turtles), and many different birds. The scenery, too - the change from pine trees and bushes, to prairie, to the swamp. The water was so still that William got a great shot looking down at the reflection of a huge cypress.
From there we went east to get on SR 29 towards Fakahatchee Strand state park. We didn't stop at the ranger's station - we just drove along the dirt road. It was fun to get out of the car and look into ponds on either side of the road - we saw crawfish, tadpoles that must have been 2 1/2 to 3 inches long (bullfrog tadpoles, I guess), little fish, more alligators and birds of various sorts. (I forgot my bird book, so couldn't identify many of the birds we saw.) There were no others cars or people, so we could hear so many birds so clearly. The next bit is why we should have stopped at the ranger station..... The dirt road we were on dead-ended onto another dirt road. I didn't have a detailed enough map to show the roads we were on, but William's GPS told us to turn left onto the next dirt road. We did - and went on and on over a not very well kept up road that had been asphalt once (you could see patches of it) but was dirt and mudholes now. We got to a crossroads (dirt, of course) and the GPS told us to turn left onto Merritt Parkway and take our next left which was 125th Street E (I made up the street).. We were driving rather slowly along this very narrow dirt road, and suddenly the GPS told us we had passed our turn onto 125 St. and we need to take the next left, which was 126th St. E. . We drive even slower and it told us to turn left NOW - but there is no left to take - there's nothing there but bushes and trees! William wanted to forge on, but I very firmly told him we were not getting anywhere fast and we were going to turn around and go out the way we came. As we were about to turn back into Fakahatchee on the first dirt road we saw a car heading toward us - we flagged them down to ask if they knew where they were going. They, too, were relying on a GPS and they hadn't stopped at the ranger's station either!
We finally got back on SR 29 and made it to Everglades City about 4. We checked into our duplex cabin at Glades Haven Cozy Cabins - I had read some iffy reviews of it, but it was fine for us. The small AC unit was set at 80, so we turned it way down and walked around a bit - then sat on our screened porch and read and people-watched. You definately want one with a screen porch and you need to go at a time of year when you can use it. The cabin was the size of half a trailer, with a double bed, bunk beds, a dresser, tiny bathroom with shower and toilet, and a little kitchenette area - sink, small 'frig, and microwave. The only place to sit was on the beds, although you could ahve brought the porch chairs inside. You do have to remember to turn on the hot water well before you want to take a shower. There's a switch above the refrigerator - they want you to turn it on about 20 minutes before you take a shower and turn it off right after. William ran out of hot water (but then he likes 1/2 hour showers), my 10 minute max shower was fine. We had planned to go to Havana Cafe for dinner, but William doesn't like seafood and the only non-seafood item on their dinner menu (think they are only opens weekends for dinner so it was a limited menu) was chicken Parmesan, which he didn't want. We ended up going back to the restaurant at Glades Haven, The Oyster House. We shared fried alligator as an appetizer (both really liked it), and then had a burger - ok but not great. It was more of a fried seafood place - but I just wasn't hungry enough. We went back to our cabin and William set up his telescope. It was a little cloudy and there was a lot more light pollution than we thought there would be, but it was better than home. The family staying in a full sized cabin next to us were coming back form dinner and stopped to ask William about the telescope, so he invited them to join us - we all took turns looking for about an hour. The live band started up soon after. I liked the music (country - ranged from Patsy Cline to the Outlaws to Pure Prairie League) and it wasn't too loud, so I sat out on the porch and read and listened to free music. Once you got inside the a/scwas loud enough (not all bad to have loud a/c!) that you didn't hear the music. We didn't get to the store in Chokoloskee or the museum in Everglades City - but next time......
We got up pretty early the next morning to get to Shark Valley at 9:30 for our 10am tram ride. The tram held about 80 people max in two cars (it wasn't full for our tour), and a ranger/naturalist told us about the Everglades - the different habitats, wildlife, ecosystem, and history of the park. The tram driver stopped frequently so we take pictures of birds the ranger spotted and identified, or so she could explain what we were seeing (hardwood hammock, sawgrass prairie, etc.) and what its' role was in the ecosystem. The sight seeing tower at the halfway point gave an excellent view over the Everglades and gave you an idea of how huge it is. Again, we saw lots of alligators and all sorts of birds set against fascinating scenery. When we got back to the ranger station, William asked the ranger about the restoration of the water flow across the Everglades - we probably talked for 20 minutes. We walked one of the trails there, but there were lots of people and it was very noisy - so we decided to look for someplace to picnic and go to Clyde Butcher's studio. We did both and headed home. We covered about 500 miles in 48 hours and 10 minutes - a great trip and one I want to do again - perhaps at a slower pace!
We drove down to Ft. Myers Friday evening - we wanted to get an early start tso we could avoid crowds at Corkscrew Swamp and so we wouldn't be rushed getting down to Everglades City. Corkscrew Swamp was incredible! I couldn't believe we would spend more than a couple hours on a 2 1/2 mile boardwalk through a swamp, but - even with hurrying at the end - we spent just about 4 hours. There were so many things to look at and for William to photograph: a red shouldered hawk landing on a branch about 3 feet from us, a barred owl sitting in a small tree that was even closer, a pileated woodpecker seen with binoculars , an alligator swimming right underneath us (plus more on a bank along with some turtles), and many different birds. The scenery, too - the change from pine trees and bushes, to prairie, to the swamp. The water was so still that William got a great shot looking down at the reflection of a huge cypress.
From there we went east to get on SR 29 towards Fakahatchee Strand state park. We didn't stop at the ranger's station - we just drove along the dirt road. It was fun to get out of the car and look into ponds on either side of the road - we saw crawfish, tadpoles that must have been 2 1/2 to 3 inches long (bullfrog tadpoles, I guess), little fish, more alligators and birds of various sorts. (I forgot my bird book, so couldn't identify many of the birds we saw.) There were no others cars or people, so we could hear so many birds so clearly. The next bit is why we should have stopped at the ranger station..... The dirt road we were on dead-ended onto another dirt road. I didn't have a detailed enough map to show the roads we were on, but William's GPS told us to turn left onto the next dirt road. We did - and went on and on over a not very well kept up road that had been asphalt once (you could see patches of it) but was dirt and mudholes now. We got to a crossroads (dirt, of course) and the GPS told us to turn left onto Merritt Parkway and take our next left which was 125th Street E (I made up the street).. We were driving rather slowly along this very narrow dirt road, and suddenly the GPS told us we had passed our turn onto 125 St. and we need to take the next left, which was 126th St. E. . We drive even slower and it told us to turn left NOW - but there is no left to take - there's nothing there but bushes and trees! William wanted to forge on, but I very firmly told him we were not getting anywhere fast and we were going to turn around and go out the way we came. As we were about to turn back into Fakahatchee on the first dirt road we saw a car heading toward us - we flagged them down to ask if they knew where they were going. They, too, were relying on a GPS and they hadn't stopped at the ranger's station either!
We finally got back on SR 29 and made it to Everglades City about 4. We checked into our duplex cabin at Glades Haven Cozy Cabins - I had read some iffy reviews of it, but it was fine for us. The small AC unit was set at 80, so we turned it way down and walked around a bit - then sat on our screened porch and read and people-watched. You definately want one with a screen porch and you need to go at a time of year when you can use it. The cabin was the size of half a trailer, with a double bed, bunk beds, a dresser, tiny bathroom with shower and toilet, and a little kitchenette area - sink, small 'frig, and microwave. The only place to sit was on the beds, although you could ahve brought the porch chairs inside. You do have to remember to turn on the hot water well before you want to take a shower. There's a switch above the refrigerator - they want you to turn it on about 20 minutes before you take a shower and turn it off right after. William ran out of hot water (but then he likes 1/2 hour showers), my 10 minute max shower was fine. We had planned to go to Havana Cafe for dinner, but William doesn't like seafood and the only non-seafood item on their dinner menu (think they are only opens weekends for dinner so it was a limited menu) was chicken Parmesan, which he didn't want. We ended up going back to the restaurant at Glades Haven, The Oyster House. We shared fried alligator as an appetizer (both really liked it), and then had a burger - ok but not great. It was more of a fried seafood place - but I just wasn't hungry enough. We went back to our cabin and William set up his telescope. It was a little cloudy and there was a lot more light pollution than we thought there would be, but it was better than home. The family staying in a full sized cabin next to us were coming back form dinner and stopped to ask William about the telescope, so he invited them to join us - we all took turns looking for about an hour. The live band started up soon after. I liked the music (country - ranged from Patsy Cline to the Outlaws to Pure Prairie League) and it wasn't too loud, so I sat out on the porch and read and listened to free music. Once you got inside the a/scwas loud enough (not all bad to have loud a/c!) that you didn't hear the music. We didn't get to the store in Chokoloskee or the museum in Everglades City - but next time......
We got up pretty early the next morning to get to Shark Valley at 9:30 for our 10am tram ride. The tram held about 80 people max in two cars (it wasn't full for our tour), and a ranger/naturalist told us about the Everglades - the different habitats, wildlife, ecosystem, and history of the park. The tram driver stopped frequently so we take pictures of birds the ranger spotted and identified, or so she could explain what we were seeing (hardwood hammock, sawgrass prairie, etc.) and what its' role was in the ecosystem. The sight seeing tower at the halfway point gave an excellent view over the Everglades and gave you an idea of how huge it is. Again, we saw lots of alligators and all sorts of birds set against fascinating scenery. When we got back to the ranger station, William asked the ranger about the restoration of the water flow across the Everglades - we probably talked for 20 minutes. We walked one of the trails there, but there were lots of people and it was very noisy - so we decided to look for someplace to picnic and go to Clyde Butcher's studio. We did both and headed home. We covered about 500 miles in 48 hours and 10 minutes - a great trip and one I want to do again - perhaps at a slower pace!
Apr 3rd, 2010, 01:37 PM
#2
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 5,904
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for the report.
We loved Corckscrew also, there was a little sign that said we should look down at the sandy bottom where there would be small black fish who ate mosquito eggs, keeping the area free from mosquitos. Darn if they didn't show up on that little patch of sand just when we looked and none of us were mosquito bitten, so I guess they do the job.
Do take the boat ride with the ranger to the 10,000 island mangrove swamp the next time you are in Everglades City, it's very interesting.
We loved Corckscrew also, there was a little sign that said we should look down at the sandy bottom where there would be small black fish who ate mosquito eggs, keeping the area free from mosquitos. Darn if they didn't show up on that little patch of sand just when we looked and none of us were mosquito bitten, so I guess they do the job.
Do take the boat ride with the ranger to the 10,000 island mangrove swamp the next time you are in Everglades City, it's very interesting.
Apr 3rd, 2010, 03:28 PM
#3
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 10,965
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for the memories. We also love Corkscrew Swamp. On a recent trip to Charleston we visited the Audubon Swamp Garden at Magnolia Plantation hoping to relive the Corkscrew experience. The swap in Charleston is o.k. but Corkscrew it ain't.
Apr 5th, 2010, 06:54 AM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 541
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
emalloy - The sign about the little fish must have been the only one I missed at Corkscrew! As you did, we saw the fish at Corkscrew when they swam over patches of sand - but in the water/swamp/pond at the side of the road in Fakahatchee we could get out of the car and look at things from ground level - and we realized how many of the little fish there were. It was like looking at swarming bees - there were so many of them. Those must be well fed little things! That was one of the good things about going to Corkscrew and Fakahatchee - Corkscrew has the signs and volunteers explaining things and you get a big, overall view of so much in the way of landscapes and wildlife, then at Fakatchee you're at ground level looking at little things by the side of the road because the vegetation is too dense to see very far into the swamp. I knew we didn't have time for the mangrove boat ride, so I didn't even look into it - but it will be something to look forward to.
321go - I have been a Clyde Butcher fan for years - before he was well-known, a friend (who is a designer) bought 5 or 6 of his large pieces for the boardroom of my family's business headquarters. I've always loved looking them, but it wasn't until maybe 7 or 8 years ago that I find out about Clyde Butcher and realized that it was his photographs I'd been admiring for all those years. He put on an exhibit, along with Jeff Ripple, at the South Florida Museum (Bradenton) last year - which was the first time I had seen so much of his work (other than in books) - so I was very eager to see his studio. I wish it had been bigger so more photographs could have been displayed (guess I was spoiled by the museum exhibition), but I really liked it. I particularly liked seeing more of the photographs he had taken out west and one that almost 3-D looking - he did it with time-lapse photography, I think. Plus one of his cameras was there - this huge, old fashioned looking thing. The guy who was running the shop said that when you look through the lens everything is upside down and backward (guess like a refractor telescope?) which, to me, made his work that much more amazing. Anytime I am close by, I'll make a point to stop.
321go - I have been a Clyde Butcher fan for years - before he was well-known, a friend (who is a designer) bought 5 or 6 of his large pieces for the boardroom of my family's business headquarters. I've always loved looking them, but it wasn't until maybe 7 or 8 years ago that I find out about Clyde Butcher and realized that it was his photographs I'd been admiring for all those years. He put on an exhibit, along with Jeff Ripple, at the South Florida Museum (Bradenton) last year - which was the first time I had seen so much of his work (other than in books) - so I was very eager to see his studio. I wish it had been bigger so more photographs could have been displayed (guess I was spoiled by the museum exhibition), but I really liked it. I particularly liked seeing more of the photographs he had taken out west and one that almost 3-D looking - he did it with time-lapse photography, I think. Plus one of his cameras was there - this huge, old fashioned looking thing. The guy who was running the shop said that when you look through the lens everything is upside down and backward (guess like a refractor telescope?) which, to me, made his work that much more amazing. Anytime I am close by, I'll make a point to stop.
